[Reactor]

I'm looking to buy a new car and having a hard time deciding. In no particular order I'm looking at :

VW Passat or Jetta
Hyundai Sonata
Subaru imprezza
Toyota Camary
Scion tC
Honda Accord

I've driven the VW Jetta SE with connivence and sunroof, and I really liked it. When I read edmunds and consumer reports the choice worries me because they seem to believe it has below average reliability. Reliability is important because I won't have a lot of money due to a divorce and going on disability. I've been to the Hyundai dealership and at least looked at and sat in the Sonata, and it's a nice car, consumer reports gives it a average in drivetrain reliability and better in most else. I've been in a Subaru and it's a nice car, and rated as being average or better reliability except the interior.

So I need some help from the car fanatic monkeys. Tell me what you know about any of the cars above as far as reliability and ease of work, etc.

Thanks!

 

[Pesqueeb]

 

[CrabJoe StretchPants]

Epic spelling is epic.

 

[kickstand]

I've heard a lot of good about the new subaru impreza, I was comparing it and a ford focus and bought the focus hatch.

I was averaging 30-33 mpg over the winter, now with the warmer weather I am averaging 37 mpg over the last 3 tanks of gas.

I don't like any of your other options. My imprezza RS coupe I replaced with my focus was a good car at 150k miles when I sopld it

 

[Sandwich]

I got a ride in a hybrid Sonata and I thought it was fantastic. The interior quality is on par with my 06 Infiniti, which is not german quality but it says something about the grade of the Hyundai. The drivetrain was pretty smooth if not a little buzzy but the car felt rock solid overall and had great design qualities.

Jonspanked likes his Impreza, but it doesn't do much for me.

I haven't liked any of the toyotas I've sat in for the last couple of years. The interior quality seems pretty poor and I keep hearing about problems with them...it seems that the "It's a toyota, it'll run forever" comments are passed their prime. Plus, the interior lights are blue, which baffles me. It looks pretty, but it messes with your eyesight at night.

I wouldn't touch a VW with a ten foot pole...which is a shame because I think they drive better and have better interior quality than most on the market...plus the diesel wagon... but reliability remains an issue and the germans have a way of dealing with things that is distinctively german.

Good luck, but I'd pick the sonata. My wife and I will probably get one to replace the Infiniti for commuting sometime in the future.

 

[kazlx]

Out of those, I would buy the Impreza, if for nothing more than enjoyment of driving. At least it would be somewhat fun. I think your sister would like the Jetta.

 

[stevew]

sucks about the divorce.

get well.

my brothers wife has a new jetta....likes it....no problems.

i like subaru's without their sh!tty auto transmissions.

 

[Pesqueeb]

We have an 05 impreza that we like a lot. Auto transmission is "meh" at best but the wifey didn't want a manual. Since it's her car........ Other than that no complaints.

 

[Icantdrive65]

I would buy the Jetta in GLI trim, but I would recommend the Toyota to someone else. That way they don't get mad at me because it breaks when they don't maintain it.

I would at least look at the Subaru first, though. I have never been impressed with Subaru's build quality, but it's worth a test drive.

 

[CrabJoe StretchPants]

The irony of taking car buying advice from a guy with the username "Icantdrive"

 

[CarChkka]

Just get the subi. We will be adding the impreza to our collection soon.. they are fun to drive and handle well.
I have a friend with a jetta.. While it may be far from stock, he loves it more than he loves his fiancé.

 

[CarChkka]

it seems that the "It's a toyota, it'll run forever" comments are passed their prime.

I almost didnt notice this comment. I always understood toyota cars are **** but it's the trucks that will run forever.
I got a good deal on a tundra with relatively low miles.. next month will make one year since I got it, and we have had nothing but problems. while it's towing and off roading may have me impressed, the constant repairs are starting to get old.
my point: if toyota trucks are built better than their cars, you couldn't pay me to own one.

 

[Reactor]

I've heard a lot of good about the new subaru impreza, I was comparing it and a ford focus and bought the focus hatch.

I was averaging 30-33 mpg over the winter, now with the warmer weather I am averaging 37 mpg over the last 3 tanks of gas.

I don't like any of your other options. My imprezza RS coupe I replaced with my focus was a good car at 150k miles when I sopld it

The focus hatchback was near the top of my list but the local dealer is an asshat. Maybe I'll give it a Look after all.

 

[SkaredShtles]

Reactor drive-by?!? Welcome back...

Get the Subaru. Just don't get an automatic in it.

 

[dan-o]

Buy a VW and give it to your ex in the settlement.
That'll teach her.

 

[Reactor]

It seems people ether love or hate the Jetta, there isn't a lot of in between. The auto with the Shifttronic transmission was pretty nice. I like the ability to shift between an economy mode and a sport mode. I may reconsider the diesel option. The Relibility issue scares me and I haven't been a "car guy" for quite a while. I loved my 2006 ford F-150 super cab xlt. Quiet, powerful, more comfortable than a Cadillac and I could take five bikes and five people biking with no problem.

 

[Reactor]

that will get her

 

[ICEBALL585]

Get a minivan. Chicks dig dudes with minivans

 

[Reactor]

Reactor drive-by?!? Welcome back...

Get the Subaru. Just don't get an automatic in it.

Been a while, I've been fairly sick, had a couple of heart attacks, lost my truck, having my house forclosed, had my wife arrested for domestic violence, she is sleeping with a convicted felon, losing my job and going on disability. That's the short version. But on the bright side I'm getting a divorce.

 

[stevew]

It seems people ether love or hate the Jetta, there isn't a lot of in between. The auto with the Shifttronic transmission was pretty nice. I like the ability to shift between an economy mode and a sport mode. I may reconsider the diesel option. The Relibility issue scares me and I haven't been a "car guy" for quite a while.

my brothers routan sh!t a transmission and went through brakes....but that was just a fvcking chrysler/dodge in disguise.....

 

[SkaredShtles]

Been a while, I've been fairly sick, had a couple of heart attacks, lost my truck, having my house forclosed, had my wife arrested for domestic violence, she is sleeping with a convicted felon, losing my job and going on disability. That's the short version. But on the bright side I'm getting a divorce.

Dude. Don't add a Jetta to this list of woes.

 

[Sandwich]

Dude. Don't add a Jetta to this list of woes.

I think the ford would be a good option too. I really liked crabjoe's focus, and the new ones are even nicer looking.

How about the mazda tree?

 

[binary visions]

Been a while, I've been fairly sick, had a couple of heart attacks, lost my truck, having my house forclosed, had my wife arrested for domestic violence, she is sleeping with a convicted felon, losing my job and going on disability. That's the short version. But on the bright side I'm getting a divorce.

Jeez, sorry to hear it - but a big on the divorce.

How about the mazda tree?

I've hated both Mazda 3s that I've driven. Interior is cheap, and the visibility is awful. For a reasonably good sized car, I felt like I was driving in a two seater sports car. The belt line is high and slanted, I just never felt like I was comfortable with what was going on around me.

 

[kickstand]

All of you talking about the subaru trans keep in mind the new imprezza now has a CVT transmission not a normal slushbox auto.

I like my focus, it's not overwhelmingly awesome, but in the 10k miles i have put on it since november it's been a good car. I am happy to see that with the warmer weather my mileage has really jumped up...I was a little dissappointed with the 30-33 I was getting during the winter.

I almost didnt notice this comment. I always understood toyota cars are **** but it's the trucks that will run forever.
I got a good deal on a tundra with relatively low miles.. next month will make one year since I got it, and we have had nothing but problems. while it's towing and off roading may have me impressed, the constant repairs are starting to get old.
my point: if toyota trucks are built better than their cars, you couldn't pay me to own one.

agree, I bought a 1992 toyota mini truck with the "it lasts forever" 22re motor.Original owner provided me with full maintenance records, everything done to the letter of the manual, I continued on that same path and promptly got about 5,000 more miles out of it before it spun rod bearings....125k poof....**** toyota.

 

[Reactor]

I considered a couple of other cars too.

Mini cooper - dealer non responsive and Relibility issues expensive for what you get, but fun to drive.
Hyundai Veloster - poor visibility, just a little too small but otherwise nice
Hyundai elantra - nice, but two star passenger crash rating combined with small size is a death sentence for my daughter if I ever have a crash.
Mazda as a brand I like but the Mazda 3 visibility issues are a problem

And cost, I need to be around $25k out the door, which means about $22k for the car because of our 8.8% sales tax and high registration costs. The Costco auto program has given me some real leverage in getting a decent deal and most dealers are going about 8-10% under sticker and cutting out any of the BS added dealer options.

 

[kickstand]

I don't recall what the impreza was offered to me at.

I walked out the door, tax (6%), title, registration, under 21k on my car. Sport package, winter package, upgraded wheels, manual trans.

 

[Sandwich]

Nissan jyook?

 

[Silver]

Honda Fit?

 

[Dirtrider]

A year or two old Honda oddessey gets decent mpg (29ish) and can carry a ton of ****. Smaller, I would seriously look at focus or fiesta hatch (high 30s). VW..stay away from unless you're a 17 year old chick, reliabilty sux. Accord and sonata are roomy and reliable with good mpgs; however not as good as smaller hatchs. I like buying a car a couple of years old. Let someone else take the depreciation on and fix any issues

 

[Toshi]

If money is a concern don't buy new. CPO or plain jane late model used, common, and boring is the way to go for those goals.

 

[SkaredShtles]

A year or two old Honda oddessey gets decent mpg (29ish)

Holy crap - are the new ones *really* getting mileage that is this good? If so... that's pretty damned respectable.

 

[jdcamb]

A 72 Cuda

Perfect Family Car!

 

[norbar]

Avoid the last 2 generations of passat. Jetta prolly too. They have a ton of issues and the newest gen has some stupid issues. Both were company cars in my internship and my mothers company. Almost all of them had problems. DSG and some other gizmos are nice, they don't drive that bad but the issues would kill me.

Also don't get a mini cooper if you can get a bmw 1. Similar cars, a lot of same parts but bmw is RWD.

 

[IH8Rice]

Avoid the last 2 generations of passat. Jetta prolly too. They have a ton of issues and the newest gen has some stupid issues. Both were company cars in my internship and my mothers company. Almost all of them had problems. DSG and some other gizmos are nice, they don't drive that bad but the issues would kill me.

your experience with the current Passat doesnt echo with what almost every single review of it has said. the Jetta though, has been tanked in it's current guise and is hideous to boot. regardless, i would never get a VW product.



the Sonata is a pretty good car, especially for the money

 

[nyhc00]

I currently have an 07 Jetta with 60K miles and no problems. That being said, once i'm done with school in December I'll probably look to get rid of it. Having car payments is getting old.

 

[Quo Fan]

BigT bought a Kia Forte with the ECO package 3 months ago, and loves the car. Loaded, not sure of the gas mileage. She got it out the door for a little over 16k.

 

[norbar]

your experience with the current Passat doesnt echo with what almost every single review of it has said. the Jetta though, has been tanked in it's current guise and is hideous to boot. regardless, i would never get a VW product.



the Sonata is a pretty good car, especially for the money

It could be a faulty batch but the keyless system doesn't always lock the car, the a/c gets crazy sometimes for no reason and tries to freeze or fry you. It's too short to say if the engines have the same problems as the previous ones since from what I remember the previous one failed after at least a year of heavy use.

btw. What's with current transporter prices? Are they only mad in Poland?

 

[HardtailHack]

I was surprised to see no Kia mention but Quo just did it, if you are looking at Hyundai go for the Kia they are pretty much the same car but the Kias always look better than a Hyundai.

Also car fanatics would never get excited about any car in this thread(except the Cuda).

Are your Camries made in the US?

 

[stevew]

someone better tell volkswagen their cars suck.

 

[CarChkka]

Also car fanatics would never get excited about any car in this thread(except the Cuda).

I dunno about this. I can easily get excited over an Impreza. The Mini Cooper is a definite maybe, but I do love the first generation coopers. Then the Mazda 3 was mentioned; I got to drive around a MS3 at autocross and it was almost as fun as frying bacon naked.

Here's something to get excited about (aside from the Cuda of course):



You can drop 10k on one of these babies!! Then expect to replace the engine around 80k miles if it hasn't already been done and you might as well set aside another 10k for parts over the next few years.. but this is all besides the point.