Hi Scotty,
looking to buy a used car, 5 to 7 years old. If I don’t go in the direction of Toyota or Honda, what is my best alternative to either of those brands in the SUV or sedan segments?
Well... A manual transmission 2011 or so Subaru Legacy/Outback would be good but their torque converter automatic were made by Nissan and the CVTs were weak.
Mazda is alright but they really started improving in the last 5 6 years, but they are still not trouble free.
Kia/Hyundai became very junky with their engine designs around 2010 or so, so stay away from them. I have a 2009 Kia Sportage and the late 2000s Kia/Hyundais were actually decent I have 12 years on it and still very reliable.
I don't really know what else to consider.
Daimler,no
Bmw, no
Nissan group, no
Ford, not really
VW, run away
Chrysler, definetly no
Toyota, Honda, Acura, Lexus seems to be the gold standard.
loL there is the 2010 Pontiac Vibe if that counts
But in general Toyota Honda Mazda Subaru are going to be your top brands.
If not Honda or Toyota, my next choices would be Mazda and Subaru.
Japanese owned car companies seem to have an ethic for quality and reliability when building their cars.
Yes but remember exceptions. Subaru autos were sort of weak. I would take a 2011 Legacy manual all day over a 2011 Mazda 6 automatic.
Thanks, these were my leanings
Ford Fusion's can be had pretty cheap. Seem to be reliable.
In my family we have 4 Subarus (2010-ish Forester, 17 Crosstrek, 18 Crosstrek, 18 WRX), but not because of any affection for Subaru, just that's how it worked out. I have been pleasantly surprised by reliability. And even though they do use some cheap parts, they are so cheap and easy to work on that offsets much of the downside.
In general, Subarus are a good value if you want what they are making. You are trading luxury and sophistication for simplicity (which generally leads to longevity) and AWD (which is not simple, but in Subaru's case is bombproof and generally not a source of problems). Subarus are noisy and rough-riding, but reliability is generally fine.
Get Lexus or Acura. Newer Mazdas seem to be good cars but still not even close to Toyota or Honda.
1 - Avoid engines with turbo-charging or Gdi
2 - Avoid vehicles with CVT transmissions
3 - Choose Fwd or Rwd instead of 4wd for most vehicles
Many of the above "innovations" are popular for vehicles in the (5yr - 7yr) time horizon you request.
Your choice of vehicles will increase if you look at vehicles (7yr - 12yr) old.
Your choice of vehicles will increase if you consider those with manual transmission.
