Hello Sir! I have a 2008 Nissan Altima hybrid with 200,000+ miles. The hybrid battery finally died and I don't want to pay the money to fix it. I'm looking to buy a cheap used car and like the '95 or earlier Jeep Wrangler. My husband says they're unreliable and unsafe and wants me to get a used Honda Civic. PLEASE!!! Are the Wranglers really so terrible and, if so, what older vehicle is reliable but still not a boring Civic? I like vehicles old enough to be considered classic. Thanks so much for all your help and, FYI, my husband spends WAY too much time watching your videos!
What are you looking to do with this car? daily driver? weekend toy? city driving or highway driving? What's your budget?
Daily city driver but I only drive maybe 20 miles a week on average. I have 2 kids, 6 & 9, so I'd rather not be broken down on the side of the road. However, I argue that my chances of that are slim since I don't drive much. I'd like to spend between $5,000-$10,000.
Your husband is correct relating to modern Jeep reliability, it is nothing better than horrendous. As a Scotty viewer, he probably already knows about how Jeep is part of Chrysler, which already had dismal quality, which then got merged with Fiat* and their products from then onwards earned the "absolute pile of junk" award by Scotty and members of this forum; and for the matter "avoid like the plague" badges by carcomplaints.com. As for safety, your husband couldn't be more correct. Even newer ones are known to roll over. You really aren't meant to drive them on the highway. (**) The side crash ratings are horrible, and in the IIHS FRONTAL crash (we are talking new models) it rolled over to its side, and in the NEW Wrangler, there were no side airbags in the side crash. Now think 3 decades ago. Of course its not safe. You shouldn't be buying a Wrangler for safety. When it comes to reliability, back then they were better made and would last a lot longer, but its too old to be a daily driver or anything like that.
As for the Civic, you say its boring, but to fair anything is an improvement over a hybrid Altima. Its fine not to like a car, just consider a different car. Are you willing to compromise? We can't recommend a specific model because you didn't specify a segment of car you prefer.
Good luck!
*Chrysler mergers:
In 2009, Chrysler filed for bankrupcy. Fiat took a 20% stake in Chrysler, later raised to over 58% in 2012, and now owns all of Chrysler and its subsidiaries. In 2021, Fiat Chrysler merged with PSA (french car companies) and now they are Stallantis. For your purposes, that was the time Jeep was a subsidiary of Chrysler, before the merger with German company Daimler-Benz.
** Jeep Wrangler 2021 Crash Test
**1997 Jeep Wrangler Crash Test
Wranglers are notoriously unreliable. I wouldn't look at driving any classic car daily. Better to have something that is newer and can take the mileage. Like.....a Honda Civic. {black}:wink:
What about a Toyota Corolla? You can get a nice modern 2014-2016 for around $9000 and they get 40+mpg highway.