EJ123

I drive a nearly 20 year old car, ever since I was old enough to drive. It is super reliable, with cheap insurance, and easy to fix. It is getting near the time to upgrade to a new vehicle, but I cannot justify the premium on a used vehicle in this market when new vehicle financing is pretty solid. The only problem is trying to balance (based on favorite priorities):

1. Low rate of depreciation
2. Deciding between mid-size and full-size sedans (I hate driving other passengers when they're cramped in the back-seat)
3. Fuel-efficiency
4. Reliability
5. Cost of routine maintenance and repairs

Ideally would keep this car until it is payed off and use for 10+ years. I have thought about the Toyota Avalon (+- hybrid but they are discontinuing next year), Toyota Camry Hybrid, Honda Accord Hybrid, VW Arteon, and the Mazda 6. I also REALLY like how Kia has re-branded themselves and the new K5 mid-size seems really good overall. Any recommendations on if buying new is the way to go (assuming good financing) or any particular models/brands to consider?

ahsposo 

I've owned a VW since 2017, a Golf Sportwagen. I would buy another one in a heartbeat if they were still available but they are no longer imported to the States. More a recommendation for the brand, really. I may buy a Jetta next as I am seriously on the cusp of retiring and won't use the next car for work. With the routine 10,000 mile maintenance, really incredible brakes and suspension, few serious repairs in 5 years (water pump and oil pan is all that comes to mind) I'd buy the brand again.

Having said that, there is nothing else like a test drive to give you the feel of a car. I have some massive dislikes for some brands after my last search, won't name them because YMMV from mine.

My criteria for a vehicle is more like

1. Fit (Some cars just don't ever feel really comfortable, no matter how I fiddle with the adjustment)

2. Ride (I drive somewhat aggressively in traffic and I want reliable acceleration, braking power and nimble steering at all speeds)

3. Color (No bright colors - did I mention I also like to go as fast as I can get away with? Bright colors seem to attract speeding tickets according to my highly unscientific rental car law enforcement experience survey. Give me a common, boring looking vehicle, please)

4. Fuel efficiency (Yeah, I pinch pennies at the pump)

5 Extensive dealership network and parts availability (No Peugeot, Alpha Romeo, Citroën, etc. thank you very much)


I would really like to consider an electric vehicle but the chance of having to replace batteries out of warranty is daunting, to say the least.

SkinGriz

Why do you care about rate of depreciation if you plan on owning it forever?

FBOATSB 

Just about any car made these days should last "10+" years before major repairs happen. Study reviews and ratings for that. I am not brand prejudiced. I tend to lean towards Ford cars and trucks mostly because there's a dealer within walking/biking distance of the house and the top sales person for years there was a friend of the family. Even after she retired we've never been mistreated there. My advice is get the smallest, cheapest four banger you can drive and haul stuff comfortably and don't look like you're getting in and out of a clown car lol. In '06 I got a new work commuter there, got the next step up from the Fiesta, the Focus, the Fiesta was just a little too small. Still driving the Focus.

Hondo Gravel

Honda CRV .. will run forever.

Altair 4

Well, the OP did say "sedan." But running with Hondo's thought, we had a Honda Accord that ran 225,000 miles over 20 years with no major issues.

Hondo Gravel

My sister has a Honda Accord no problems. Her previous Honda cars ran over 200K and was sold to a teen who would trick them out and run them another 100k.

clemsongirl 

A neighbor friend bought a Kia Niro Electric recently as their city only car and really likes it. The savings with no gas (even more so with the recent unstable costs of gasoline), much cheaper and less maintenance (even things like brake wear is much less due to the levels of regenerative braking) and being environmentally friendly are her favorite parts. The size is also perfect for her family with two children. She has gotten 200 miles out of a full charge but since it’s just a city car she only tops it off over night. Our electricity provider also has lower EV only rates for night home charging which saves even more too. Since it’s a newer model she also got a $7500 federal tax credit and got $2750 in Ca. rebates.

Hondo Gravel

Here is my sister’s ride a 2018 Honda Accord aka the same car as an Acura minus the interior you would F up anyways mechanically same car. Swear by Hondas all the way to Honda powered lawn mowers, pressure washers etc etc. And I’m not easy on equipment lol. Good value for the $ can’t go wrong IMO. It has all the latest techno it drives me berserk driving this car. Not Electric lol. 37mpg …


Not a bad ride for a bunch of rednecks lol.

Hondo Gravel

Not BSing here my two Honda engine powered lawn mowers. Run forever just care for them with synthetic oil they will love ya back with years of service. The parts of the equipment will fall apart before that one banger Honda will fail.


Honda runs forever not sure about Panaracer lol

ahsposo 

I've owned 3 Honda Accords, a 1984 and two 2004s. Nice, dependable cars.

StanSeven

There’s also electric and plug in hybrids with a $7500 tax credit.

Hondo Gravel

Honda powered power washer in the S Texas climate gets used a lot and treated bad 7 years going strong. Yes Troy Build exterior.


Ya need something cleaned? lol

50PlusCycling

I've owned a lot of cars (60-70), and have gravitated toward BMW. My favorite all-around model is the 530i. It has the powerful and reliable 3.0 6 cylinder engine, accelerates strongly, stops on a dime, and does well on gas. It also has a comfortable and well laid out interior. What I like most is how it drives, it drives like it is on rails, it doesn't roll at all in turns, handling is telepathic. If you like to drive, it's the car for you. I traded in my 530i for a new 7 series (my wife said we needed a bigger car since we have a kid and a dog), and though I like the raw power and the OMG luxury of the 7, I really miss driving my old 530i.

Altair 4

Wow, that's a lot of cars! I'm 64 and I've owned 6 cars. The OP's current car is 20 years old - what's the longest you've held onto a BMW? How's the dependability over the long haul?

DiabloScott

I'm not a car guy. My truck is 18 years old. I've NEVER had a new car.

So my advice is financial, not automotive.
You can save a lot of money by paying in cash and not getting Comp and Collision insurance. Far more than you'd lose by paying whatever premium they're putting on used cars, and you'd also be saving interest, no matter what the new car dealers are offering.

Only you can determine if you really need C&C and whether it's worth it.

SkinGriz

Didn’t BMW have a major issue 5-10 years ago with valve guides or something?
My wife’s sister had one and it didn’t have a lot of miles before it needed major engine work.
Not Toyota or Honda level of quality (200-300k miles with just maintenance and small stuff like O2 sensors and valve cover gaskets).

bikecrate

Just got a 2022 Honda Civic hatchback. Not an Accord, but based on the quality you probably can't go wrong with any Honda. I still have my 19 year old Element.

FYI, new car shopping is brutal. Don't expect much of a deal and stock is limited. I got lucky that the color and model Civic I wanted was coming on the next truck. They only had two new Civics on the entire lot.

50PlusCycling

That was the N63 engine, which had a lot of issues. That is why I prefer the 530i over the 550i, though the newer versions have solved the valve seal issue. I got nearly 10 years out of my 530i with no issues at all, other than having the brake pads and shoes replaced. BMW recalled it for a PCV issue, but they gave me a loaner, the part was replaced in one day.

50PlusCycling

I've had 4 of them. Two vintage (2002 and 3.0 CS), and two new ones (530i and 760Li). I had my 530i for 10 years, though owned other vehicles alongside it. I used to "flip" cars; buy one, drive it a few weeks or months, sell for a little profit, and buy another. I've had some very interesting ones.

Juan Foote

Much like 50PlusCycling , I have owned a veritable boatload of cars. If I were going to go for a dependable 20 year sedan I would probably pick the go to suggestions in Accord or Camry. With that said, the sitting height in those cars and back seat room can be a challenge. I would not be adverse to owning a Chevy Malibu but would not suggest it would be a 20 year car. I think that Buick has some interesting vehicles in that segment as well with a roomy back seat, but same longevity issues being GM.

Personally think there is something to be said for the large 4 door truck with a V8 segment but certainly way away from what you inquired about.

StupidlyBrave 

I voted for this

beng1

New cars are garbage, especially those from USA companies, and they will only get worse. Automotive engineering, as with all consumer goods, has moved towards manufacturing something useful and practical for the consumer, to manufacturing something that does more for Wall-Street than it does for the consumer.

An automobile used to be an object used for transportation, and because manufacturers were competing they had to produce something that fit that definition. Over the last 20 years steadily, motor-vehicles have been turned into objects as disposable as cell-phones are, which are hard to maintain and have planned obsolescence. They are rolling computers among other things.
The best automobiles were manufactured from the late 1980s through about 2001, many automobiles from that era can still be seen on the road today in practical use with hundreds of thousands of miles racked up on them. Now look at the automobiles sold in the last 20 years and you will see a lot of rusty rolling hulks, and you will notice that they age much more rapidly than their predecessors and have major failures with the chassis, engines and transmissions earlier than the previous generation of vehicles.

The next step for Wall-Street and it's auto-industry will be to actually sell vehicles which are not repairable. You will be able to change the oil and tires, but they will be made so that they barely last the life of an average auto-loan, and the repairs they need will be so expensive the average consumer will have little choice but to buy a new vehicle. This is exactly what happened with the home heating-furnace industry and it's new "high efficiency' furnaces which have very short lives, and which often have failures as costly as buying a new furnace.

Obviously, my advice is to find a cherry old car made from the 1980s through 2001 that has electronic fuel injection, something an old lady owned. A friend of mine took over driving his deceased father's 1995 Toyota Camry and drove it over 600,000 miles before it needed an engine overhaul, then drove it 50,000 more miles before someone ran into him and totaled it. And he lived in the famous rust-belt of the northeast USA.

If I had no choice but to buy a new vehicle, I would buy a Toyota Camry or Honda Accord with the least new technology I possibly could. A vehicle from any other manufacturer is going to not only depreciate like crazy, but will be much less reliable. My choice would be a non-turbocharged four-cylinder gasoline engine. If society completely collapses then their EFI could be reprogrammed to run on straight methanol or hydrogen. Your military uses Ford engines powered by hydrogen in some of it's drones. Hybrid vehcles just have more systems to malfunction, and electric vehicles are currently a farce unless you can charge them with a windmill or solar. Ask an electrician about line-loss and you will know that charging an electric car remotely from a gas or coal-burning electric utility that is miles away makes it less efficient and more of a polluter than a gasoline automobile with a small four-cylinder engine.

If you must have a late-model vehicle, then you will certainly do better buying one that is a few years old. Another friend of mine who is not too bright recently sold his 2017 Honda Accord with low mileage so he could buy a used German sports car, which he has had to spend thousands on in repairs. Whoever ended up with his Accord, which he bought new, got a fabulous deal compared to buying one new. Patience is your best friend in buying a used vehicle, anyone in a hurry always ends up losing.

I-Like-To-Bike

Baloney!

I voted for this last November:

genec

What is ironic is that you actually did what the prior poster had suggested:
Isn't that a Toyota Camry... or a Corolla? It is some sort of Toyota.