Would be awesome if the 206 Peugeot would return.A French Honda Civic if you will. Manual gear level,roll up windows and heat only. Like the old 70/80's cars up north. That would be a proper car.
What new make/model is easiest to work on?
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Originally Posted By: HoosierJeeper
A Wrangler probably.
Any GM truck.
Lol, the two items I have in my driveway. Honestly, this is my first Jeep and I was tentative at first. I am quite confident however that regardless of what goes wrong with it, SOMEBODY out there makes a quality replacement part or upgrade. And you can definitely tell it was built to be "modular" by the engineers. My Silverado truck isn't too far behind either.
A Wrangler probably.
Any GM truck.
Lol, the two items I have in my driveway. Honestly, this is my first Jeep and I was tentative at first. I am quite confident however that regardless of what goes wrong with it, SOMEBODY out there makes a quality replacement part or upgrade. And you can definitely tell it was built to be "modular" by the engineers. My Silverado truck isn't too far behind either.
I’d take a good look at Subarus. My Impreza is super simple to do all the regular maintenance items on. The only repair that I had to do was replace a squeaking idler pulley at 118K miles ($16 and 10 minutes with basic hand tools). The car is still on its original brakes all around and still has more than 50% of life left on the pads. The car is used as a commuter car in the Northern Virginia area which is full of stop and go driving.
Anything without variable valve timing or cylinder deactivation. Both of those are totally unnecessary.
Probably a 4-cyl, manual-trans pickup. Simple, and reliable. Engine is mounted in the engine bay the correct way, and everything is easy to get at. Simple, manual gearbox, standard driveshaft to the rear axle, no FWD CV axles to deal with. A V6 or V8 pickup would be about the same as long as you stayed away from anything turbo.
Also, trucks are usually just more durable.
Hard to beat a Tacoma. You couldn’t pay ME to own a small domestic pickup.
A FWD inline-4 cyl. manual trans car wouldn’t be a lot worse. Most everything still easy to access; you just have to deal with CV axles when they go bad.
Stay away from FWD V6 cars. PITA to access anything, especially if it’s in that rear bank.
Avoid CVTs of any kind.
Also, trucks are usually just more durable.
Hard to beat a Tacoma. You couldn’t pay ME to own a small domestic pickup.
A FWD inline-4 cyl. manual trans car wouldn’t be a lot worse. Most everything still easy to access; you just have to deal with CV axles when they go bad.
Stay away from FWD V6 cars. PITA to access anything, especially if it’s in that rear bank.
Avoid CVTs of any kind.
Originally Posted By: IveBeenRued
I’d take a good look at Subarus. My Impreza is super simple to do all the regular maintenance items on. The only repair that I had to do was replace a squeaking idler pulley at 118K miles ($16 and 10 minutes with basic hand tools). The car is still on its original brakes all around and still has more than 50% of life left on the pads. The car is used as a commuter car in the Northern Virginia area which is full of stop and go driving.
How did the brakes last so long ????
I’d take a good look at Subarus. My Impreza is super simple to do all the regular maintenance items on. The only repair that I had to do was replace a squeaking idler pulley at 118K miles ($16 and 10 minutes with basic hand tools). The car is still on its original brakes all around and still has more than 50% of life left on the pads. The car is used as a commuter car in the Northern Virginia area which is full of stop and go driving.
How did the brakes last so long ????
Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
I'm a pretty big fan of the Corolla/Matrix twins-easy to work on, in the UNLIKELY event it breaks!
I haven't had any repairs on my Corolla or Rav4 that I couldn't handle myself and I'm not a great mechanic. Took it to the shop for a fuel pump because I didn't wan to fuss with gasoline and a rear brake caliper that I didn't have time to fuss with. Very easy to work on both of them with 4cyl engines.
I'm a pretty big fan of the Corolla/Matrix twins-easy to work on, in the UNLIKELY event it breaks!
I haven't had any repairs on my Corolla or Rav4 that I couldn't handle myself and I'm not a great mechanic. Took it to the shop for a fuel pump because I didn't wan to fuss with gasoline and a rear brake caliper that I didn't have time to fuss with. Very easy to work on both of them with 4cyl engines.
Fiesta? Fiesta with a turbo.
British mechanic who runs a garage/car sourcing business hereand used to post on Forumosa rated Subarus. Bit puzzled by that since at least some of them are/were flat fours and I've heard spark plug access can be a real pain, butr perhaps everything else compensates.
Then predictably Toyotas, particularly the Hilux, Corolla and Zace.
Europeans not much, and especially not VW's, Mercs and especially especially BMW, which die young here. Porsche are apparently OK, though I don;t really need to know that.
Doesn't like Jeep Wranglers. When pressed (I'm an ex-Lada enthusiast and the Wrangler is probably the closest I could get, in fact the one I was looking at seemed even cruder) he admitted that they were "built like with Leggo" so could be fixed frequently, a necessary feature.
Still, he advised against my current car, so what does he know?
Then predictably Toyotas, particularly the Hilux, Corolla and Zace.
Europeans not much, and especially not VW's, Mercs and especially especially BMW, which die young here. Porsche are apparently OK, though I don;t really need to know that.
Doesn't like Jeep Wranglers. When pressed (I'm an ex-Lada enthusiast and the Wrangler is probably the closest I could get, in fact the one I was looking at seemed even cruder) he admitted that they were "built like with Leggo" so could be fixed frequently, a necessary feature.
Still, he advised against my current car, so what does he know?
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Nissan Frontier stick shift.
Anything 4-cyl VW will be pretty easy, and has a huge DIY community similar to BITOG where people are actually helpful
Inline 4/5/6 with a rwd will be easiest to work on. The rest of the "challenges" just require an extra tool or two. Less perks yield less quirks. No AT, will give you less hoses and wires, no a.c. etc etc. I have no problem working on my Lexus cars, nor did I have issues with my previous BMW, infinity. Had more issues with my simple old Chevy Beretta , v6 with fwd, of worse yet deville with a transverse v8
Originally Posted By: AshleyQuick
Originally Posted By: FordBroncoVWJeta
Well what kind of vehicle are you looking for?
Probably a sedan
I'd go with a pre owned Camry 2015-17. Yes, I realize it's not new however IMHO, they're better than many new cars. And if you can get a low mileage clean used Camry, you'll be driving it without many repairs for ever.
Originally Posted By: FordBroncoVWJeta
Well what kind of vehicle are you looking for?
Probably a sedan
I'd go with a pre owned Camry 2015-17. Yes, I realize it's not new however IMHO, they're better than many new cars. And if you can get a low mileage clean used Camry, you'll be driving it without many repairs for ever.
1st choice -Nissan Frontier 5 speed manual. Sedan choice - try to find a 2017 Camry 4 cyl.
Originally Posted By: Char Baby
Originally Posted By: AshleyQuick
Originally Posted By: FordBroncoVWJeta
Well what kind of vehicle are you looking for?
Probably a sedan
I'd go with a pre owned Camry 2015-17. Yes, I realize it's not new however IMHO, they're better than many new cars. And if you can get a low mileage clean used Camry, you'll be driving it without many repairs for ever.
That would be a good choice as far as reliability, but we’ve actually had threads here talking about the fact that you don’t save much $ by going pre-owned (at least, one or two years old) with Toyota, Honda, Subaru, because the resale value is so good. Certainly wouldn’t hurt anything to investigate this yourself, though. The Camry would definitely be on my short list if I was looking for a reliable, if pedestrian, grocery-getter.
When was the last time a Camry was offered with a stick?
Originally Posted By: AshleyQuick
Originally Posted By: FordBroncoVWJeta
Well what kind of vehicle are you looking for?
Probably a sedan
I'd go with a pre owned Camry 2015-17. Yes, I realize it's not new however IMHO, they're better than many new cars. And if you can get a low mileage clean used Camry, you'll be driving it without many repairs for ever.
That would be a good choice as far as reliability, but we’ve actually had threads here talking about the fact that you don’t save much $ by going pre-owned (at least, one or two years old) with Toyota, Honda, Subaru, because the resale value is so good. Certainly wouldn’t hurt anything to investigate this yourself, though. The Camry would definitely be on my short list if I was looking for a reliable, if pedestrian, grocery-getter.
When was the last time a Camry was offered with a stick?
Originally Posted By: john_pifer
Originally Posted By: Char Baby
Originally Posted By: AshleyQuick
Originally Posted By: FordBroncoVWJeta
Well what kind of vehicle are you looking for?
Probably a sedan
I'd go with a pre owned Camry 2015-17. Yes, I realize it's not new however IMHO, they're better than many new cars. And if you can get a low mileage clean used Camry, you'll be driving it without many repairs for ever.
That would be a good choice as far as reliability, but we’ve actually had threads here talking about the fact that you don’t save much $ by going pre-owned (at least, one or two years old) with Toyota, Honda, Subaru, because the resale value is so good. Certainly wouldn’t hurt anything to investigate this yourself, though. The Camry would definitely be on my short list if I was looking for a reliable, if pedestrian, grocery-getter.
When was the last time a Camry was offered with a stick?
Very true, very true!
However, I do see them in my area for reasonable prices used w/low miles, clean title & Carfax. About $14K-$15K, low miles for what was around $25K+ when new. In my area, that Camry when new was $25K+(mostly Camry LE/4cyl). When new, I may have been able to pick it up for ~$23K(maybe le$$) & low financing in my neck of the woods. But, it's different for all regions. I know because I checked back then. Something I do from year to year on many cars.
Originally Posted By: Char Baby
Originally Posted By: AshleyQuick
Originally Posted By: FordBroncoVWJeta
Well what kind of vehicle are you looking for?
Probably a sedan
I'd go with a pre owned Camry 2015-17. Yes, I realize it's not new however IMHO, they're better than many new cars. And if you can get a low mileage clean used Camry, you'll be driving it without many repairs for ever.
That would be a good choice as far as reliability, but we’ve actually had threads here talking about the fact that you don’t save much $ by going pre-owned (at least, one or two years old) with Toyota, Honda, Subaru, because the resale value is so good. Certainly wouldn’t hurt anything to investigate this yourself, though. The Camry would definitely be on my short list if I was looking for a reliable, if pedestrian, grocery-getter.
When was the last time a Camry was offered with a stick?
Very true, very true!
However, I do see them in my area for reasonable prices used w/low miles, clean title & Carfax. About $14K-$15K, low miles for what was around $25K+ when new. In my area, that Camry when new was $25K+(mostly Camry LE/4cyl). When new, I may have been able to pick it up for ~$23K(maybe le$$) & low financing in my neck of the woods. But, it's different for all regions. I know because I checked back then. Something I do from year to year on many cars.
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