Model Year 2010+ Trouble Free Vehicles?

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Originally Posted By: Alfred_B
Get a luxury car and keep it for a very long time. They are built better than the regular cars so with age they won't feel as tired as an Accord will. The usual 3 from Germany, or Lexus from Japan.


Everyone that I know that has BMW, M-B, or Audi complains about little things with it. Definitely not trouble free.
 
Originally Posted By: Alfred_B
Get a luxury car and keep it for a very long time. They are built better than the regular cars so with age they won't feel as tired as an Accord will. The usual 3 from Germany, or Lexus from Japan.

This is not true because more features create more odds that something will break.
Most luxury brand parts are the same as base models: most Infiniti pars are Nissan, most Lexus parts Toyota, most Audi parts are VW and most Cadillac parts are GM. They add leather and wood to dress this up, but don't be fooled by marketing.
As far as reliability, German luxury brands fare the worst. Accroding to Consumer Reports "BMWs are some of the most expensive cars to maintain over the long term. Once the free maintenance period expires, the X3 averages more than $1,100 a year in maintenance costs":
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2012/12/what-that-car-really-costs-to-own/index.htm

Whether a car is trouble-free depends on the brand. It does not depend on if it's luxury. In fact most luxury brands fare worse becuase of more [censored] that can break.
The top brand for reliability is Lexus/Toyota.
 
Any used vehicle that you have not driven since new may or may not be reliable. Go for new..buy one with few bells and whistles.
 
Originally Posted By: DrRoughneck

The top brand for reliability is Lexus/Toyota.

+1 Not only are Lexus/Toyota scored high in reliablility, but they also hold it value better than other brands. If and when you have a repair, it does not cost you an arm and a leg to get it fixed, compared to other German luxury cars.
 
Yaris.

If you want a no nonsense owning experience, start with a no nonsense car.

Not sure why some cars have one door short of a pizza oven.
 
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Subaru. Look into a Legacy with the six cylinder engine, it is in the same class as your Honda. Plus you'll get full time AWD (handy during those Cleveland winters), but probably a bit less mpg than the Honda (due to the full time AWD...)

In the interest of Full Disclosure however, since date of purchase (October 4, 2008) my Forester has required the following repairs:

- A shaft bearing in the manual trans around 37,000 miles. Described as having been "chipped" by the repair tech after job done. Didn't fail yet but was getting noisy.
- Ignition coil around 40,000 miles. Known issue 2009 and 2010 EJ25 engines only, most fail by 60,000 miles mine went early, replacement is updated design.
- Catalytic converter right after the coil replace. Result of ignition coil failure for cyls 1 and 3 dumping raw fuel into cat.
- Neutral position sensor (manual transmission), dtc code 0852. Ordered part and DIY repaired, around 56,000 miles (few weeks ago)

The first three repairs the car was just out of warranty but Subaru picked up 100% of the tab anyway citing customer good will repair. last one was a simple $38 sensor swap out did myself, no need to drain trans oil it is mounted above fluid level.
 
My Canyon trouble free - the GMC I had is at 390k - two wheel bearings ... Engine/trans/rear - no issues.
No issues with Fusion or Explorer
Cruze lost a turbo at 70k - No charge (that one driven by 20 something male)
 
Originally Posted By: camryrolla
Originally Posted By: DrRoughneck

The top brand for reliability is Lexus/Toyota.

+1 Not only are Lexus/Toyota scored high in reliablility, but they also hold it value better than other brands. If and when you have a repair, it does not cost you an arm and a leg to get it fixed, compared to other German luxury cars.


Yeah, but if you want a cheap luxury car, the German cars are better because of the high depreciation. You can drive a 2014 Mercedes E350 for around 30-35k when they went for 60-70k new. Even 2010-2011 models are in the 15-20k range and the 2008-2009 were ok and they're in the 12-18k range. I've had mine for about 2 years and have been able to avoid the dealer, repairs/maintenance have been about 1k in that time frame.
 
Originally Posted By: Wolf359
Originally Posted By: camryrolla
Originally Posted By: DrRoughneck

The top brand for reliability is Lexus/Toyota.

+1 Not only are Lexus/Toyota scored high in reliablility, but they also hold it value better than other brands. If and when you have a repair, it does not cost you an arm and a leg to get it fixed, compared to other German luxury cars.


Yeah, but if you want a cheap luxury car, the German cars are better because of the high depreciation. You can drive a 2014 Mercedes E350 for around 30-35k when they went for 60-70k new. Even 2010-2011 models are in the 15-20k range and the 2008-2009 were ok and they're in the 12-18k range. I've had mine for about 2 years and have been able to avoid the dealer, repairs/maintenance have been about 1k in that time frame.


When, after 10 years, a $20k when new Toyota is worth the same as a $60k when new Mercedes... that should tell you something.
 
Originally Posted By: Leo99
Originally Posted By: Wolf359
Originally Posted By: camryrolla
Originally Posted By: DrRoughneck

The top brand for reliability is Lexus/Toyota.

+1 Not only are Lexus/Toyota scored high in reliablility, but they also hold it value better than other brands. If and when you have a repair, it does not cost you an arm and a leg to get it fixed, compared to other German luxury cars.


Yeah, but if you want a cheap luxury car, the German cars are better because of the high depreciation. You can drive a 2014 Mercedes E350 for around 30-35k when they went for 60-70k new. Even 2010-2011 models are in the 15-20k range and the 2008-2009 were ok and they're in the 12-18k range. I've had mine for about 2 years and have been able to avoid the dealer, repairs/maintenance have been about 1k in that time frame.


When, after 10 years, a $20k when new Toyota is worth the same as a $60k when new Mercedes... that should tell you something.


Yeah, it tells you that the Toyota is way overpriced and people don't even consider a Mercedes. You have to think outside the box and not listen to people who don't know anything about cars and just automatically go with a Toyota or Honda when they have their share of problems like the OP has mentioned. Don't get me wrong, you still have to do your research, I'd never buy a 2006 E350 or an early 2007, those had the bad balance shafts and you'd get stuck with a bill for $4-7k or even 1k in parts if you felt like removing an engine and replacing the shafts yourself. And of course their SBC brake by wire was also an expensive fix, but they got rid of them after 2006. Anyway, I like driving mine, lots of fun. People do say things like nice car, that never happened when I was driving a Ford.
 
Originally Posted By: Leo99
When, after 10 years, a $20k when new Toyota is worth the same as a $60k when new Mercedes... that should tell you something.


Pricing is basically a function of supply and demand. No demand, the price drops til there is demand. Most people are afraid of the repair costs so demand is low on a Mercedes and people who buy them new just dump them after a few years for a newer model. It's why luxury cars are usually a better deal as a used car, they didn't get dumped because there was something wrong with it or the owner couldn't afford to maintain it, they just got bored of it and got another.
 
My stripper model 2011 Mazda6 has not had any issues with exception of the driver and passenger side power windows rattling when half rolled down. It has just under 85k miles on the car. It is fairly basic including a manual transmission and naturally aspirated 2.5L 4 cylinder. The only luxuries the car has is cruise control, power windows and AC. Otherwise very basic and simple.
 
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Originally Posted By: Alfred_B
Get a luxury car and keep it for a very long time. They are built better than the regular cars so with age they won't feel as tired as an Accord will. The usual 3 from Germany, or Lexus from Japan.


German cars have a bad rep with the "foreigner experts" here, especially from a British expat who runs a garage business. The theory is that Taiwan acts like a "stress-testing" environment, because of the climate, which is hard on the plastics and rubbers, the driving style (mostly city stop-go) and the indifferent maintenance.

They are still bought for "face" reasons, but for reliability Japanese is the way to go.
 
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Originally Posted By: Ducked
Originally Posted By: Alfred_B
Get a luxury car and keep it for a very long time. They are built better than the regular cars so with age they won't feel as tired as an Accord will. The usual 3 from Germany, or Lexus from Japan.


German cars have a bad rep with the "foreigner experts" here, especially from a British expat who runs a garage business. The theory is that Taiwan acts like a "stress-testing" environment, because of the climate, which is hard on the plastics and rubbers, the driving style (mostly city stop-go) and the indifferent maintenance.

They are still bought for "face" reasons, but for reliability Japanese is the way to go.


I just like them for the options, not all options are available on the Japanese like the pano sunroof and active curve illumination on their Bixenon headlamps. New in 2010+ was their automatic high beams, they dim automatically when it senses other cars on the road and their parking sensors also have parking guidance which tells you how to turn the steering wheel when parking. Granted it's sort of a gimmick just like the headlamp washers, but it's all fun to play with.
 
Just need to sort through your options.

My checklist would be:

1. An engine/trans combo that's been around a while and is known to have no known issues

2. A make that is known for being reliable and also easy for DIY repairs

3. As little options as possible without sacrificing what I want

The end result for a 2010+ for under 15k meeting that criteria will give you corollas, camrys, Yaris, mazda2, civics... You can probably name off some more without thinking too hard.

Like some said, for that price point I would shop new. You know the maintenance history since day one. I would look for incentives and grab any base models dealers are trying to dump off. I've seen base 2015 Focus's advertised for $12-13k when they were unloading them. Just opt for the manual trans.

Hyundai Elantras are nice too from what I've driven in.
 
Originally Posted By: Alfred_B
Get a luxury car and keep it for a very long time. They are built better than the regular cars so with age they won't feel as tired as an Accord will. The usual 3 from Germany, or Lexus from Japan.


I can't really agree.

1) Luxury equates to added complexity for the most part, and complexity equates to opportunities for failure
2) "feeling" solid doesn't equate to BEING solid. Luxury cars may sound like everything is so smooth that it'll run forever, but the truth of the matter is that a dirt-simple old truck with simple pushrod gas engine or a pre-common-rail diesel that shakes like a dog pooping a peach pit and has zero sound deadening might run 3x as long without a breakdown.
 
Originally Posted By: 440Magnum
Originally Posted By: Alfred_B
Get a luxury car and keep it for a very long time. They are built better than the regular cars so with age they won't feel as tired as an Accord will. The usual 3 from Germany, or Lexus from Japan.


I can't really agree.

1) Luxury equates to added complexity for the most part, and complexity equates to opportunities for failure
2) "feeling" solid doesn't equate to BEING solid. Luxury cars may sound like everything is so smooth that it'll run forever, but the truth of the matter is that a dirt-simple old truck with simple pushrod gas engine or a pre-common-rail diesel that shakes like a dog pooping a peach pit and has zero sound deadening might run 3x as long without a breakdown.




Right, it MIGHT. But it would be terribly boring to drive.

And yeah, every time I slam the door, I keep thinking, that is a really solid thunk, no rattles at all.

As for complexities, after they've been making them for a while, the failure rate tends to go down. People use to worry about power locks, power windows and sunroofs failing all the time, but these days, they rarely do. Also when some luxury items fail, you also have the option of not fixing them, but you can enjoy them before they fail.
 
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