New mid-sized sedan

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Feb 28, 2015
Messages
733
Location
MD
I may be in the market for a new or barley used mid-sized sedan.

I don’t like that the 2018s as far as Toyota and Honda are brand new engine and trans wise. I never like to be the guinea pig. Wife is really pushing for a new car just for warranty piece of mind.

Where do you all research common problems and customer satisfaction type stuff?

What are your opinions on Mazda 6 / Toyota Camry / Honda accords / Subaru Legacy?

I like that Camry now is dual injection but that is only on 18 as far as I can tell which comes with an all new trans

Accords 2.0 turbo is appealing but that comes with a new trans as well and the new body isn’t that appealing to me. I could deal with it but turbo combined with a new trans scares me a bit.

I don’t know much about Mazda’s except that you guys seem to love them.

I can find 2017 accords left over. Haven’t found any camrys or 6s (6 seems to have a 2017.5 model so I guess that’s why). I was kind of hoping to find a smoking deal on a leftover 17.

I’d like to not be spending over around 20k.

I’d like it to be serviceable at home for the most part as I’m an ex dealer tech (quit about 4 years ago to work fleet) so I have all my tools At home now.
 
Last edited:
Lots of ‘17 Mazda6’s around here are discounted heavily. You might be able to get into a Touring for that outlay. There’s $2500 rebate -or- $1000 rebate & 0%. Currently there are several GT with premium package for $27k, that’s $7k off sticker. The Accord and Camry are new, so I don’t think you’ll see those discounts. Being a tech in your past life I am assuming you don’t want a first year model.

I love mine and have 18k miles trouble-free miles since I bought it in July. When I bought there was a $3k rebate and a $2k dealer discount on my Grand Touring.

Easy to service, like my Accords before. If you can find an Accord left over, I had good luck with my ‘12 & ‘14. Both Accords were showing signs of VTC actuators getting noisy, so it’s still an issue with K24 engines.
 
Why not consider a Nissan Altima? I've had mine for nearly 4 years now, and have been extremely pleased with it. Great fuel economy, quiet, smooth ride, good features.. and trouble-free.
 
What about certified pre-owned? If you don't want a 2018 first year model, then get one a year or two old that is a previous generation. Often you can get them with a better warranty than new. Used car prices are low right now. If I was buying a car, I would go that route. In about 10-11 months I'll be looking at a new truck because used truck prices are so high.
 
Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
Only problem Mazda is looking very dated.



That’s your opinion, not factual.


Check out the forums for the cars you are interested in. If there are any major issues they will pop up there like Honda’s fuel dilution.

Mazda 6
Toyota Camry
Honda Accord
Nissan Altima.

Just my preferences and not in any order.
 
Also consider the new Malibu. Its way better than the previous generation cars.


The Ford Fusion is also a fantastic sedan.

IMO the accord sport, Mazda 6, and Fusion are the best looking midsize sedans. The new civics are very nice as well and almost as spacious as a midsize.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: LotI
Lots of ‘17 Mazda6’s around here are discounted heavily. You might be able to get into a Touring for that outlay. There’s $2500 rebate -or- $1000 rebate & 0%. Currently there are several GT with premium package for $27k, that’s $7k off sticker. The Accord and Camry are new, so I don’t think you’ll see those discounts. Being a tech in your past life I am assuming you don’t want a first year model.

I love mine and have 18k miles trouble-free miles since I bought it in July. When I bought there was a $3k rebate and a $2k dealer discount on my Grand Touring.

Easy to service, like my Accords before. If you can find an Accord left over, I had good luck with my ‘12 & ‘14. Both Accords were showing signs of VTC actuators getting noisy, so it’s still an issue with K24 engines.


Everything I’ve found around here are 2017.5’s. They say they have a couple more options included for the same price as the original 17s. Not sure how much wiggle room is on a Mazda, I’ve always heard they’re hard to get down on their prices.

I don’t care what the year is just figured if I can really find a 17 it’d be a better deal.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
What's new about the Camry's transmission?

It's just an Aisin 8-speed right? Probably the same box I have in my Volvo.


I don’t know much about new cars anymore. Maybe it’s not new, just new to the Camry. I didn’t even know they used aisin transmissions...that’s typically a good thing. They lasted in jeeps forever. I just thought I read here that the new Camry’s are rolling off the lot with trans issues right away.
 
Originally Posted By: wallyuwl
What about certified pre-owned? If you don't want a 2018 first year model, then get one a year or two old that is a previous generation. Often you can get them with a better warranty than new. Used car prices are low right now. If I was buying a car, I would go that route. In about 10-11 months I'll be looking at a new truck because used truck prices are so high.


Nothing against that, it just seems that they are priced so close to new prices that it may not be worth the risk of buying a lease turn over or rental that nobody took care of. No real way to tell that though. If these DI motors are like any of the early Hyundai’s then the oil is going to look dirty even immediately after an oil change and maintenance history only comes up on history reports if done by dealers it seems like right? Not out of the consideration but the pricing seems too close to new. I’ll look closer at the CPOs around me though for sure.
 
Originally Posted By: t1snwrbrdr12
Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
What's new about the Camry's transmission?

It's just an Aisin 8-speed right? Probably the same box I have in my Volvo.


I don’t know much about new cars anymore. Maybe it’s not new, just new to the Camry. I didn’t even know they used aisin transmissions...that’s typically a good thing. They lasted in jeeps forever. I just thought I read here that the new Camry’s are rolling off the lot with trans issues right away.



Aisin is part of the Toyota family
 
How long/how many miles do you plan to keep the car for? For me, I plan to get as long a service life as I can before sending it to scrap, that removes alot of choices from my list. Knowing that Toyota is so behind in offering an 8 speed auto, kinda tells me they have tested them out for quite some time already. I personally wouldnt worry about an 8 speed auto or DI on a camry. Worst case, few year old Camrys, legacy's or accords can be had for a nice discount and still have lots of life left in them.
 
Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
Only problem Mazda is looking very dated.


What alternate universe are you from?

Every time I see a Mazda 6 driving down the road, I want to buy one.
I don't even remotely feel the same way about the Camry or Accord.

BC.
 
I keep my cars a long time. I have an 03 Accord I don’t really want to get rid of but may need to depending on if it has issues I’m not willing to sink money into. It has almost 250k on it and has been a great car. Burns a ton of oil but besides that has been trouble free. I’d love to get someThing to give me similar service. Car has been maintained and repaired at home since I bought it at 100k. I know stuff is getting bigger tech so there may be less and less I can do at home, but the goal is as much as possible will be repaired at home.

My biggest issue (without having driven any) is the 6 looks goofy to me without the big wheels of the touring or GT. the big wheels have a odd tire size that there aren’t many choices and all the good choices are quite expensive.

Now that you guys have told me the camrys tranny isn’t “new” my biggest issue is it’s a first model year and that it takes some odd ball 0w16 oil. The engine is actually very appealing since it should solve the DI valve carboninf issues with its traditional injectors.

The Accord I just don’t know if I could do. A 17 has the CVT and are still listing higher than 6 and Camry, not that it can’t be haggled down but they seem to want a pretty penny still. The 18 is just too new even given the rave reviews I see of it. I’d want a 2.0t if I went 18 and they seem to ask upper 20s for the 2.0. The 17 cvt sports I see around would have an odd and expensive tire like I see with the Mazda’s.


And I haven’t found any good deals on legacy’s. They seem to want upper 20s for those for any with a trim package that make them look visually nice.
 
Last edited:
Does anyone know if dealers can do better than “Costco” and credit union buying service pricing?

I know an ex salesman who says they hated Costco deals bc they made no money on them. I just find it hard to believe that simply going through Costco or a credit union is the best deal, just due to the fact it’s so easy. Ever car purchase I’ve made has been a pain and now that I have kids time is at a premium, I don’t want to be shopping and haggling for hours or half the day or more (at least after I’ve decided what I want)
 
If you're really concerned about new powertrain components and don't need the grunt of the 2.0T in the Accord, the 1.5T now has years under its belt and the Honda's CVT has proven itself even before the turbo engines were introduced.
 
Originally Posted By: gofast182
If you're really concerned about new powertrain components and don't need the grunt of the 2.0T in the Accord, the 1.5T now has years under its belt and the Honda's CVT has proven itself even before the turbo engines were introduced.


Aren’t there plenty of reports of the 1.5 having issues? Fuel dilution if I remember right? I don’t need the most powerful motor for any reason, just read that the 2.0 is a k24 based motor which has been proven reliable and around quite awhile. That and the regular automatic as opposed to a cvt is what leaned my interest to 2.0. I haven’t driven newer cvt’s yet but the original Nissans and Subaru’s a few years ago I hated the drive. Driven a new corolla as a loaner and disliked it as well. I know I need to get out and drive the new ones on the actual vehicles I’m interested in just doing as much research as possible before hand
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top