Are there any types of cars/ features/ powertrains that that you would avoid altogether ONLY because you don't have a garage or covered parking? Asking from New England.
Living in the NE, we deal with badly paved and maintained roads, salt & sand & gravel everywhere. We also have hail & snow, pollen & tree sap. I had a rust spot that I just addressed from an acorn or nut of some kind falling and breaking all the way through to the primer. Some things are unavoidable and other environmental effects can be mitigated with more regular washes. I want to hear about the deal-breaker type items.
Background: I'm not looking at any convertibles or any fancy sports cars. Mostly looking at Japanese sedans that are least one step up in power (and cost) over base powertrains. So I know ground clearance already puts me at a disadvantage. I really don't want to give in to the SUV craze and a truck just doesn't make sense for many reasons.
If you are going to Buy a used car, you can look at something in one of the states in the sunbelt and have it shipped. There will be significantly less rust and corrosion on the car. I had my car shipped from Fort Worth, Texas to Connecticut last year.
my kid is up there in a Camry
tomorrow's forecast is low of 9, warming up to 22, winds out of the north at 18 mph
i would probably own a subaru forester if i lived in the northeast
For the average person I would recommend either a Subaru wagon or more preferably an suv with either 4x4 or full-time AWD that is on a truck frame & avoid everything else.
I've been stuck in New England for 41 years, in that time I drove everything from a 77 Chevelle to a 99 F150 with no road issues issue aside from them rotting. You can't escape the rot unless you keep it off of the road from October until they sweep the roads in April.
I've tried cleaning them with a powerwasher once a week to no avail. With that liquid salt mix they dump in most N.E. states now it eats through even the best of coatings.
Honda Accord 4 door Sedan and the Honda Accord 2 door Coupe.
Honda Civic.
New Zippy Toyota Corolla and The Toyota Camry both in 4 and 6 Cylinders.
Toyota uses a Zinc Primer and they Electro-Statically Powder-Coat their vehicles and that's great for New England and other vehicles that are in the North East Rust Belt.
buy beaters for work, drive then for a year or so and get another one
If your more in the northern Vermont/New Hampshire region where sand-dirt roads abound then I would probably go for a Subie as they abound up there. Best thing you could do is just constantly wash and undercarriage wash the cars to extend life. I live down in CT and we also have the "Brine" salt solutiuon here and ya gotta be diligent in undercarriage washing when possible. Rust can be held off but never eliminated.
Got it. Thanks all for the input. SUV's are just terrible to drive compared to my sedan but it's looking like I'm going to have to give in. The truck based ones are too big and not nimble enough for the kinds of places I need to drive and park every day, and none get decent city gas milage. Most of the advice is line with what I was expecting. Honestly surprised Subaru doesn't just build a plant up here....I added no low profile tires to the mix because of potholes (why are manufacturers putting 18's and 19's on everything?) and put to avoid sunroofs if possible. But no one has said anything about sitting out in the weather being especially bad for turbocharged engines (don't tell Scotty).
Unless if you go off road, a FWD sedan is ideal for you in the northeast. AWD always gets worse gas mileage and when the system breaks down especially a used car that hasn't had the AWD systems maintained well, It will be very expensive to fix. Probably more than the used car value. FWD in a sedan is good in the snow and the car has overall control. In heavier snow, you can put snow tires on a FWD sedan. Toyotas have the best protection from rust and most Toyotas now-a-days because they are Zinc Primer and Electro-Statically powder Coated (Not Trucks) can withstand rust for 30 years. (Some will just have superficial rust which is nothing) Subaru's use an outdated archaic boxer engine. Any problems with an older boxer engine, it has to be completely removed from the car to work on it costing thousands of dollars. Subaru's with Turbo, wear out the engine faster making it not last longer. New Subaru's are good, but wait 5 or 6 years down the road when they hit 80,000 miles. Then they become an expensive money pit vehicle. Truck frames with a "Chasis" are way more prone to rust as to a unibody sedan. (Even Toyota Trucks)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKPnpWd2P-I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVzIbhsYQVk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XSm9hfcIkk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzLQlkmk5ps&t=179s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe5EXTq_zD0