Hey Scotty I have 6000 I’m wanting to spend on a used car I want to know what reliable car would be best I currently own a 08 Nissan Altima which I’m sure the cvt transmission will go out soon it’s slipping too much. I would like to know your thoughts on which car and where’s the best place or website to buy from much thanks ,
love from Atlanta.
Go on craigslist and set it to "by owner" and $4000-$7000. Look for Toyota Corollas, Honda Civics, Toyota Camrys, Toyota Avalons, etc. If you want an SUV, pay attention to CR-Vs and Pilots.
Really depends on what you would like. My personal recommendation based on reliability for you to check out is the 2008 Corolla and 2011 Honda Civic. Both are very reliable cars and you can find them for your price point. Though the price is tempting, you will see many 2009 Corollas and 2012 Civics and I would stay away from them as they are pretty low quality and had some more issues compared to other years. I would consider a Toyota Camry from 2003-2006. You could get it way below 6 grand and that generation of Camry has so much quality that they look brand new and you can find them with lower mileage. For example, I live in California where prices are %50 %60 higher for japanese cars compared to other states (it should be much less expensive in Atlanta), and I found a 2006 Toyota Camry fully loaded XLE V6 model in great condition going for $7000. Imagine what you could compromise on and get below 5 6 grand in Atlanta.
If you have not realized already, I would stick to Toyota Honda.
If you could find a 2007 Toyota Highlander, I would also recommend that for an SUV.
No matter what you find, I would bring the car to a trusted experienced independent mechanic to check out the car and make sure it is in good shape. Also, before checking a car out, you should put the car in the forum and we could say whether it is a decent car (in the year make model spectrum).
Car brands to stay away from (specifically at your price point) as you will see many for sale:
FCA (Fiat, Chrysler, Dodge, Ram, Jeep)
GM (Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC, Buick)
Most Fords (Ford, Lincoln)
BMW (BMW, Mini)
Daimler (Mercedez-Benz, Smart)
Hyundai (Hyundai, Kia, Genesis)
Volkswagen (Volkswagen, Audi)
Renault Group (Nissan, Infiniti, Mitsubishi
most Subarus
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Good luck with getting a 'new' car!
Thanks for the great feedback. What do you think about 08-12 Toyota Camry?
The 2007-2009 should be avoided at all costs because of defective made engines and oil burning that starts around 70 80k miles and is very expensive to fix (out of warranty). The 2010-2011 seem decent but still low quality. If you were to find lets says 2011 one with a V6 it could be OK but it seems too expensive people know the value and charge extra. The thing is I find 05 06 ones which look brand new even with 200k miles and the 07 09 ones that are falling apart. Just shows the quality. FYI the 07 camry, 09 corolla, and 06 rav4 were all start of the lower quality cheaper made generations of Toyota. 2013-2014 Camrys were reliable but should cost a good 8 9 grand. I would look at a 07-08 Corolla or 04-06 Camry.
In all solely on reliability, avoid the 4 cylinder 07-11 generation.Here is my backup:
https://www.carcomplaints.com/Toyota/Camry/2007/
https://www.carcomplaints.com/Toyota/Camry/2009/
I found a fully loaded 2012 Toyota Camry 2.4L for 6850 with 195k miles what are your thoughts?
Is that the oil burning 2.4L?
Do they burn oil?
Where do you live? The 2012 Camry came with a 2.5 4 cylinder in the US. The oil burning was from 2007-2009 in the 2.4 engines. 2012 Camrys are pretty reliable check it out but that is very high miles. I personally would look for one with lower miles like 120 130k.
Oh nevermind you lived in Atlanta are you sure it is a 2.4 engine? The engine choises were a 2.5 and a 3.5 engine
I would suggest you watch this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtQY30UIMYA
As far as I know the generation is 2012-2014. This particular one is an SE trim. SE trims have more sporty driving dynamics. My personal favorites are the XLE and SE trims for that generation. Transmission and engines are bulletproof.
Start looking up Craigslist for a used Corolla or Civic. And shortlist 1-2 cars which you feel are the best & have them checked out by a reputed mechanic, before you buy it.
Yes, I would also recommend puting the listing in this forum to see the thoughts of others on the year and model. Some best be avoided, like the 06 civic and 09 Corolla.