If You Had 30K to Spend On a New Car

Yes, you may be splitting hairs. Honda or Toyota may be better than USA designed cars, but not by a significant amount. Noticed I used the word designed because many "foreign" cars are actually built in the USA.

The requirement for a car to last 200K miles or more is no longer a very stringent requirement. Almost any car made today will do that with normal care and maintenance. That gives you a wide choice to pick from.

So, if you have $30K to blow, might as well be something that you find fun, but I would not buy a car new

There's one new car I might consider - the Scion FR-S. The 2013 model is the first year it's been available in the US. It's said to be loads of fun to drive and it meets the under $30K criterion.

Jay Leno had lots of great things to say about it, as did the guys at Top Gear (the UK version I saw).

Jay Leno's Garage

Agreed.

I've always preferred Fords, but my current 2003 Sierra 2500HD diesel cost me just less than half your $30K budget 5 years ago, with 169,000 km (just over 100,000 miles) on it and over 327,000 km now- so over your 200K miles. This includes towing up to 10,000 lbs. And I could still get half what I paid for it easily.

I've bought used Ford F350's with any amount of mileage already on them and they all went over 250,000 more without ever touching the engine. Other's claim to have gotten over a million without any trouble.

Agree with AH. Get something you'll enjoy driving.

I'm approaching 180,000 on my 2001 Ford F-150. Everything still works like new. I bought it with 50K miles on it. Nothing major has gone wrong.

Do some homework. Consumer Reports, etc.

Find a group of cars that you think fit your needs.

Rank them, first choice, second, etc.

Look on the net for cars in your locality, for sale by owner.

Don't go to a dealer.

And at that price point - get a pre-purchase inspection at an independent shop.

As part of the sale make it contingent with having the car inspected at an independent garage. It may cost $100 - $200, but it beats the alternative and any laundry list the mechanic finds can be used to either get the salesman to fix it or discount the final price - or walk away.

If the person refuses you should also walk.

My choice, a TOYOTA amazon turbo diesel, the height of comfort whilst go anywhere, I have a colarado and that's brilliant, the amazon is one better.

Bazzer.

of the American manufactures I believe Ford is doing the best all around job.GM was forced to up their game and I think they have. Chrysler has always had good looking cars but they just fall apart so fast with low bid components that seem to be slapped together. how Jeep survives is puzzling to me

Well as some basic strategies, there is safety in numbers, buy a popular vehicle....the key to longevity is maintenance, so you want a vehicle that's easy to work on, and the parts are plentiful and cheap....I like to buy a vehicle that is 1 or 2 years old, usually has been leased, with low miles(under 10,000 miles) that is being sold as a certified used vehicle, that means it's like new but at about half the price...that also means it's still under warranty....and you can usually get the warranty extended....

Good thoughts.

I'm not so sure about the safety in numbers thing (they sold a lot of Cavaliers).

you must have misread my post, its about quality

This has everything I need:

no gas mileage issues there

I want one of those toooooo!!

"Damn it! Was that a Tesla I just ran over? Oops, Sorry"

For maybe another year or two I wouldn't touch a used vehicle older than a 2013. At least not anywhere near the landfall of hurricane Sandy. The volume of salt water submerged vehicles from that storm is astonishing. I figure three or four years should weed out or expose the vehicles that should have been scrapped from the dry ones.

maybe you could still find a "Katrina" deal

We are a Ford family here and have at least 10 vehicles now that made it well past 200K miles and everyone of them entered our family with at least 100K before we ever touched them.

Funny you should ask this question. I'm always having friends and their friends ask me this same question, without any particular price set. I've alway recommended that they take note of the cars,(make and model), they find broke down along the highway or headed to the garage on the back of a tow truck. And stay away from them!

My daughter lives less than a block away from 2 new car dealers, Mercedes Benz and an Audi, While visiting her for a week, I couldn't believe how many of their cars came in on the tow trucks, not just one a day, it was 2,3 or 4 cars a day. one day Mercedes had 5 lined up back to back first thing in the morning waiting for the shop to open.

I know Audi's are notorious for ignition problems, 3 friend have have Audi's and all had the same problems and major $$ for the repairs.

So much for the high-end $$ cars

I have to agree with AH, buy used, at least some of the more common problems and recalls have been dealt with by the previous owner.

What were the ignition problems?

I wonder because mine uses an Audi part and they have been notorious for failing.

At least you can get replacements for about $15 (parts) and it takes less than 20 minutes to replace the silly switch.

Their biggest problems have been the coil packs and spark plugs.

Many years back a friend of mine owned a Jaguar XKE. The Lucas electrical system frequently reminded us why Lucas earned the title "The Prince of Darkness". [You'd think that an ignition system from an island country known for rain would work well in the rain, but no.] The vanity license plate holder summed up that car perfectly, "Oh, but when it runs!"

For stamina and seldom needing repairs I vote for a late 90's Jeep Cherokee Grand Laredo. Daughter gave my wife her old one as a stand-by car. Had 150K miles and a noisy rear-end. I drove it to over 300K mi when the rear end finally gave way. Put it in 4-wheel and pulled off the 4 lane road and called a flat bed to take it directly to the junk yard. Paid nothing for it, good mileage, good heater, good radio, comfortable to drive, no one else wanted to drive it and the dog loved to ride in the passenger seat with me! What more could I ask for? My brother had similar experiences with the Jeep Cherokee he now drives.

The wife's new Lincoln blew the transmission at 70K mi. Had to be replaced but fortunately it was covered by the warranty!

Cars for fun-- Triumph TR-6, Austin Healey 3000 Mark 3, Dodge 1500 P/U 4wd (it would go anywhere I pointed it), Model A, Suburban and a few others.

I would take the money, buy a used well maintained Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo, buy one of the fun vehicles and have some money left over to have some fun with them.

Good Luck, Old Salt

your post sparked a thought. as far as reliable...I used to drive an old 63 Dodge Dart with a push button auto trans on a slant 6. not a hot rod, the gas mileage was just okay but when my hot rods were in pieces this old workhorse just kept chugging along.

Fredski-

Folks had a '64 Dart. Red convertible, slant 6, ......... First car I ever got a ticket driving. Cop said I was "weaving between the lanes of traffic" on a 6-lane highway. Actually we were trying to keep up with a car load of girls, all on our way down the shore. "That red car syndrome". Unfortunately it blew a fuel pump gasket and leaked gasoline into the oil pan and engine seized at 49K mi. I rebuilt it for them but they said it was never the same. Since I didn't cost them anything "you get what you pay for". What do you want from a college kid over the Labor Day week-end?

Thanks for the fond memories!

Good Luck, Old Salt

Perhaps a car I dreamed of in the early 70´s called Torino 380W (230 cu in engine with 3 Holley 2 barrel carbs and a 4 gear ZF manual gearbox)?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IKA-Renault_Torino

Something seems to have gotten lost in the translation. The picture I see sure looks like the car sold in the States as the Rambler American, and then later as the American Motors Rambler. Late sixties these were sold here new for $1999 US.199 inch six cylinder and a three speed manual. 2 or 4 doors available. Optional was the bigger six (230 inch???) and V8s up to the powerful 390 inch powerhouse. The body appears to be the series that started here in 64, and ran till about 68 when the rounded area behind the headlight got more squarish.

It was a locally made Frankenstein with an European look:

"The Torino was developed by IKA as an Argentine hybrid of AMC's 1964-65 Rambler American and Classic with exclusively designed front and rear body panels, bumpers and interior. The central body section, the engine and trunk compartments derived from the 64-65 Rambler American. The rear coil suspension was borrowed from the Classic, albeit with a four link setup rather than a torque tube. One unique feature is the Torino's front unibody "frame rails" also borrowed from the Classic, they are longer than the American, extending all the way back under the car to the front of the rear rails. This made for a stiffer chassis, better adapting the car to the rougher road conditions of Argentina at the time. The Torino rode on a slightly longer wheelbase (than the American) by one inch - 2723 mm (107-inch). Although the engines were not obtained from American Motors, the vehicle's basic AMC platform continued throughout its lifetime.^[3] As upgrades were incorporated over the years, such as AMC's flush door handles, the Torino became mostly a product of Argentina with few imported parts." Source: WIKI

As long as you brought up the subject of Renault, I purchased a house that had some sheds on the property. One contained what was the worst car I could ever hope to find. A Renault Fuego. In America, Renaults were not well liked. In America the people that liked Renaults did not like the Fuego. I did join a Fuego car club on line. Seems all the Fuego collectors were in South America. Argentina I think. I did find another member in Miami, but he did not have any interest in my Fuego. Sold it for scrap.

Hi Bob! you are right, I don´t like Renault´s either ... About the "Fuego": this car was well liked in my country cause it happened to be the first "modern" car made in Argentina in the early 80´s cause it had 4 wheel disk brakes, an aluminium engine block, some electronics and a few gadgets more. In those days many were dazzled by it because the other choices were: Falcons (built by Ford Argentina without mayor improvements since the late 50´s), the Chevrolet 400,
Peugeot 403 / 404 and the Fiat 1600 .... and that was it! As we say here: "in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king"!

You have had your share of Frankenstein cars. I saw a picture of a Chrysler produced in SA that had the roof-line of a 54 Plymouth or Dodge, but with the front and rear fenders from a late 60s Dodge or Plymouth. Fins and all. Grotesque.

A Torino, one of the first front wheel drive if I remember it right.

Oh, I thought a torino was a sub-atomic particle. :-)

Is that the particle that's so fast it can be two places at the same time?

Do you mean your garage and the dealer's workshop?

A form of entanglement where the your bank account is controlled by you and that same dealer.

Yes, that the one...........

In my country, the Torino always had rear wheel drive. As American Motors was locally sold to Renault, the paradox is that the only car with rear wheel drive Renault ever made was this one in Argentina.

well then,..... maybe I remembered it wrong........

Ahhhh, it was the Ford Torino that I was thinking about. But my memory is still wrong, it was rear wheel drive........

The Oldsmobile Toronado was front drive.

Along with this bad-boy:

FWD big V8..

Stretched Toronado...

...more doors than a public toilet!!!

General Motors used the front wheel drive setup out of the Tornado to make a motor home sold by GMC. Same Olds motor and trans, with bigger brakes, and twin axles in back. The rear axles were actually not a solid axle that ran across the vehicle at all. Just a pair of lower arms with a wheel hub attached to it. Nice low flat floor in the back.

Thanks tornado....... That is the car I was thinking about.....

I've had Fords, Holdens (GM), Toyotas and Datsuns. I've basically run them all to the ground <200K. My last two cars were Subaru. My previous was the Liberty. It ran to 395K. I was hoping to get it to 400K but alas the gearbox (manual/stick) gave in. I currently own the Impreza 2005. Bought new, now just over 300K. Not many major issues just regular servicing and wear and tear. I will never (unless they fault their designs) will get anything other than a Subaru again.

If I had 30k to spend on a car I'd take that money and do something else. Like some world travel and adventure.....you'll return and not want a new car. Solved.

Myself and family have had daily-driver cars from Ford, Chevy, Mazda, and Subaru, run over 200K miles. All were also under $20K purchased new.

All of these vehicles could have lasted LONGER, but 8 to 10+ years of North East USA winters (with copious road salt) destroyed the structure and suspension parts beyond any reasonable repair.

Maybe we are lucky(?) but we've never had a significant engine/drive-train failure before road salt dissolved the rest of the car.

Volvo! You have to get a slightly used one.

Depends on what the use is. Truck or car I'd get Toyota. Fun, I'd probably build one!

I do not think I have had a German or Japanese car that didn't last that long without any special maintenance. I have a Korean car that ought to also make that mark without any special treatment. 5000 miles+ on oil changes etc.

Just found this!

It wouldn't link so I've posted the URL.

http://driving.ca/toyota/4runner/auto-news/news/die-hard-cars-here-are-the-10-longest-lasting-vehicles/

No Guarantees on accuracy or lack of bias by the writer, or comment on the fact that of the 13 trucks and SUV's and 3 cars mentioned, maybe 2 can be had for less than 30 K USD new.

Although 5 of 16 are not the big 3 and the list could have been altered by grouping similar platforms (Suburban/Yukon/Tahoe), it still looks good for domestic trucks. I've personally ran a 2003 Suburban (#2) to just shy of 200K miles before trading in on a 2008 Expedition (#4) due to the need to carry 7 people in comfort, and have over 200K miles on my 2002 2500HD (#5). All bought used for a maximum of $30,000 each including taxes etc.

One would have great difficulty in buying a car for 30K, in Japanese Yen.

That would be how you take care of it.

I no longer buy new cars, I had purchased a Used 2000 Oldsmobile Intrigue back in 2005 with under 40,000 miles. It just turned over 200,000 two weeks ago..

I know that Oldsmobile is history, but one still has to investigate each car. Even though I am very satisfied with mine. I did very little investigation.......... otherwise I would have been more aware that the Intrigue has a lot of cosmetic issues....... switches on dash board button fall out, window regulator failures........ The biggest is that they rust from the inside out........ and its to a point, of the jack no longer works with out damaging the frame.

I'm currently shopping for another low mileage vehicle.

But you question of cars from the 70's and 80's, Cars built in Japan had problems with rust due to the purity of its metal........ which can be a whole another post.

In the 30G range it would be a 2-3 year old Camaro with as much motor as I can find. Another option would be a 2-3 year old Challanger, again must have Hemi.

I have been without a toy for too many years now. I WANT TO GO FAST.

A muscle car........ what didn't you say that.

If I was to buy an older car I'd go for one that I previously owned (and wish I still did)

1965 Comet Cyclone with the High Performance 289 - 270 HP, but I rebuilt that 289 to have around 350 HP and it was a fun car for sure! Only weighed around 2700 lbs. 12 sec 1/4 mile times! With availability of good suspensions, brakes, and tires today, that car would probably be in the 10's now. Wheeeeee! Or maybe my '56 Merc, with all new running gear, etc., or maybe the '36 Chevy 2 dr. Sedan...or the '38 Plymouth, or 32 Ford Sedan, or.... (I've owned around 30 different cars in my lifetime)

2,700 lbs is lite by today's standards by a good margin. I have been told they were nicknamed Lead Sleds in their day.

Lead Sled refers to the hot rods that were customized by using lead filler to shape the bodies. The 65 Comet was a small car and was pretty light. With a few heavy things removed for racing, like spare tire, rear and passenger seats etc. you could get a pretty light car. Not a lead sled by any means!

The term Lead Sled Was also hung on some of the bigger cars of the sixties. The Oldsmobiles, Buicks, Mercurys, Chryslers, and such were heavy cars with very soft suspensions that isolated the occupants from all road feel. But also tried to rub the door handles on any turn. The Chrysler products with the torsion bar front suspension were better, but none were good.

If I was alive and had USD30k to spend on a car in 1925 I'd get this one....

If I was alive and had USD30k to spend on a car in 1925......

I would have bought stock in GM, Ford, Chrysler, Mack, Coke and a few others.

if you can get it for 30K BUY IT!!!