New highway car?

'18 or '19 Hyundai Accent or Kia Rio ? They both do well in the IIHS crash tests , https://www.iihs.org/ . Our '18 has an average of 39 M.P.G. overall ( calculated ) since purchase in September of '18 . The computer is too generous of overall m.p.g. up to 4.2 more than calculated . Rides and handles well with the factory installed Continental Pro Contact TX ( H ) tires . Kept at 34 > 36 P.S.I. , 33 is recommended . Put COOPER Evolution winter with studs on late fall . Does very well in snow with those .
 
Last edited:
Sorry I've been away, but just got back from another epic long drive in the 2011 F150 EB SuperCrew. Got another coming up on Tuesday.

I want to thank all of you for the suggestions.
 
Certain CPO extended warranties might work to your advantage. I believe MB had a time based but unlimited mile CPO.
 
Certain CPO extended warranties might work to your advantage. I believe MB had a time based but unlimited mile CPO.
Yes, I mentioned it earlier. CPO cars from MB come with 1 year of CPO and you can buy 2 more years for 3 years of CPO and unlimited miles. New they come with 4 years/50k new car warranties so if you get a 3 year old car, they go by the in service date so you could have a 4 year of coverage with unlimited miles.
 
...
Now the lifetime warranties beyond 100k usually require all maintenance to be done at the dealer or some other 'catch'. So that has zero value to me personally. ...

My wife got one of those lifetime powertrain warranties when she bought her new Crosstrek in 2017. The catch is, it doesn't cover gradual wear out. Some loss of compression and gradual oil usage at a higher mileage would not be covered. The other "catch" is to follow the Warranty Book maintenance schedule. Anyone capable can do these inspections and repairs. But they should be documented as required. I can really comment on the warranty until I invoke it. I'm sure some back room dealing can be done: Dealer repairs the car under this 3rd party warranty, Owner promises to trade the car in in 90 days. It's Win-Win: Dealer get a "running/operating" car as a trade to market at high margin, also gets a new vehicle sale. The Customer doesn't get saddled with a $4,000 R.O. invoice on a used up car.
 
Your not content on the newer Camrys and I suggested earlier either a Camry Hybrid or Accord Hybrid. Then I recommend a new VW Jetta SE TSi -- lotta car for the money. Ours in signature gets over 40mpgs all day and my woman has a really heavy foot to start with.
 
However, I'm driving A LOT lately, mostly due to a prohibition on company airline travel. I'm driving twice a week from South FL to Savannah, GA (850 mile round trip) and every few weeks from FL to TN and PA. Often putting 3000 or 4000 miles on in the trip. I drove over 12,000 miles last month, Yikes!

I hate to spend my hard earned money on a boring travel car, but that might be necessary.

Suggestions for something reasonably inexpensive, comfortable, quiet and reasonably efficient? I don't really like the Prius.

I'd suggest a Camry ... the new 4 cyl is peppy, economical, and comfortable. More pep and somewhat less economy is the 6 cyl. Both should last almost indefinitely with the type of driving you do and with good maintenance.
 
$30-40 for an oil change every 7500m is OK to have the Powertrain covered
Right. First of all Kia/Hyundai are saying most vehicles fall under severe service with oil changes at 3750.
Plus they'll want to do brake fluid, transmission fluid, pay $50 to install cabin air filter all on accelerated schedules.
Not a good deal at all if you're driving 100k mi/year.
 
I dont know why in the midsized car segment, Toyota and others designing in HUGE and w-i-d-e center console and center section that crowds away all the extra width that a midsize provides. So with Compacts having the wheelbase AND Mass of where midsize cars were a decade ago, I'd stick with a Kia forte or Similar. Even dreaded NIssan Sentra has a stellar " Better than BMW 328i" chassis at a cheap price - too bad the engine and trans are junk.
p.s: Or maybe Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi learned how to make engines since the Fugitive,criminal Ghosn has gone "missing"
Are Nissan in reality making the A-class FWD cars "for" Mercedes Benz at an expanded facility in Mexico, AFAICT
 
No way I would touch a Versa!


That being said, here are 8 of the best cars you are likely to find for under $5,000, according to industry experts:
  • Toyota Camry, 2002-2006.
  • Toyota Sienna, 2004 to 2010.
  • Ford Focus, 2008 to 2011.
  • Honda Civic, 2006 to 2010.
  • Subaru Outback, 2005 to 2009.
  • Acura TL, 2003 or earlier.
 
2002-2006 Camry? With the problematic 2.4L? Seems like a ... wait, OP has zero interest, I could be wrong but I don't think he's looking for a 20 year old Camry. Something a bit more powerful and fun (not that it'd take very much), and without any reliability problems to deal with on his frequent and long highway jaunts.
 
Right. First of all Kia/Hyundai are saying most vehicles fall under severe service with oil changes at 3750.
Plus they'll want to do brake fluid, transmission fluid, pay $50 to install cabin air filter all on accelerated schedules.
Not a good deal at all if you're driving 100k mi/year.

Nonsense. Highway driving is not a severe one, you can change everything yourself just keep the records. There’s plenty of dealers to offer $50-60 special for an oil change, air filter change and tire rotation. The cabin filter is $10-15 from amazon, any 5yo can change it in 2 seconds. Transmission fluid every 60k if you want the warranty, but I’m sure there’s no car manufacturers who cover the powertrain without servicing.
 
Just a quick note, I don't like Kia/Hyundai cars. I rent cars all the time and know that I prefer the driving dynamics of other brands.
 
How about this, add on the extra CPO years of course:


Or you can get some newer E300s for mid 30s if you wanna go that high.

For the kind of miles your doing, everything needs to fit you just right.
 
That much time behind the wheel would be pretty tedious in anything other than a BMW. My opinion, anyway. Miles go by better not just when you're isolated from noise and vibration, but when your *engaged* with the car. 50/50 weight distribution, perfect ergonomics, smaller turbo engines that give huge torque but decent mpg... you get the idea. Maybe it all ended with the e90, I don't know. When I was commuting to Chicago I couldn't imagine having done it anything other than at 335 sport.
 
Back
Top