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Hello,
I wanted to put this question out there for the mechanics at this website. I’m going to start looking at new cars to replace my wife’s SAAB. I’m looking for something 3-4 years old that is reliable and practical, but no minivans please. A small SUV or wagon would be desirable.
Are there any cars of this type that never seem to show up in the shop? Or cars where the costs of repairs are low and availability of parts is high. Preferably something with some soul as well?
Any cars to avoid? I talked with a mechanic here and he said to avoid mid to late 2000 Mazda 3s. In Quebec they all rust out and the suspension parts break after only a few years.
If this is in the wrong area, feel free to bump it. I thought it’d be good to get a mechanics recommendation though as they will see all of the problems.
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For a small SUV, I’d recommend a Buick Enclave, they are very reliable as long as you get one 2011-present. Earlier ones had timing chain issues, GM rectified this. Wagon, that’s difficult nowdays to get a true wagon, however Subaru has some good alternatives such as the outback.
I would definitely check out Subaru, sounds like either an Outback or Forester would suit you well. Great cars!
I like those cars a lot. My family has a 2008 Outback and a 2002 Impreza TS. They’ve put a lot of miles on them and have shown themselves to be rugged vehicles. At the same time they have had some expensive repairs on the way. From what I’ve heard the parts aren’t super cheap and they’re not the easiest to work on. If I’m wrong, let me know.
The Impreza had a head gasket failure, which was very common on the 2.5s of those years. It first started leaking oil and coolant slowly, then suddenly overheated and had to be towed. To complicate matters, the heads lie flat (boxer engine) which means the entire engine had to be removed for the repair.
The outback had the throwout bearing in the manual transmission fail around around 150,000kms. This caused the clutch assembly to let go and punch a big hole in the transmission wall. This failure scrapped the entire transmission, which was also a pricey repair.
From reading it seems that these are kind of unusual failures. However, are there any known problems like these on the newer Subarus it’d be great to know.
[quote=”Arcturus” post=130215]Thanks I’ll check those out. Is this similar to the GMC acadia?[/quote] Yes they are built on the same platform. Both have good build quality.
I will warn you every car is gonna have it own set of problems. Subaru’s are a good option especially the outbacks but gas mileage on the boxer engines can be less then ideal. Volvo Wagons are really good but the costs on maintenance can be quite high cause of it being European. Honda Pilots I have heard can be good but dont quote me on that.
Many of the wagons from GM in the 70″s and early 80″s were built like tanks. They were cheap to own parts are still available for them.
The tough part would be to find a clean one today but it would be my first choice over anything new. Quite possibly it would be cheaper to fix an old one up than buy a new one.but seriously I would take a look at the Ford Flex
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-l15d2crPbb0/T4YKfsXMaAI/AAAAAAAAAYQ/S_qdY4A6jOs/s1600/2009-Ford-Flex-Woody.jpg&imgrefurl=http://imgarcade.com/1/ford-flex-custom-paint/&h=316&w=494&tbnid=wqH460JtemMDRM:&zoom=1&docid=EwKrzznbXPbc4M&ei=iij-VLLTIJKvyQTXmYGYDQ&tbm=isch&client=opera&ved=0CBwQMygUMBQ4yAEI Totally agree with about the older cars but i think the guy wanted newer stuff so I suggested newer stuff. Also The 80’s models caprices and stuff like are good I prefer the boat like 90’s models.
I did suggest the Flex which is in my opinion a very good vehicle.
Bonus points for anyone who recognizes the third photo
If you can find one in decent shape, a Jeep Grand Wagoneer is a real good choice as well, since older vehicles were mentioned.
I do not know about newer Subarus, but my 1999 has had too many repairs. I thought three hoses, two tires, and the battery in one years was frustrating, but thought the Arizona heat could have killed them. I allowed my ex to drive it for one year and I believe she was hard on it. She was not bright, but she easily replaced the spark plugs and wires on my Civic, while I needed to remove the battery, windshield washer reservoir, and intake in order to to replace the spark plugs and wires. I believe the shop wanted to charge two hundred dollars for that.
I have been trying to decide whether to replace the head gasket or sell the car as-is.
[quote=”xist” post=134369]I do not know about newer Subarus, but my 1999 has had too many repairs. I thought three hoses, two tires, and the battery in one years was frustrating, but thought the Arizona heat could have killed them. I allowed my ex to drive it for one year and I believe she was hard on it. She was not bright, but she easily replaced the spark plugs and wires on my Civic, while I needed to remove the battery, windshield washer reservoir, and intake in order to to replace the spark plugs and wires. I believe the shop wanted to charge two hundred dollars for that.
I have been trying to decide whether to replace the head gasket or sell the car as-is.[/quote]
Three hoses, two tires, and a battery are a lot of repairs? Tires are wear items, batteries go old with age, and hoses can dry rot from age. You’re driving around a 15 year old car…. Spark plugs are also an item that you need to change out.The shop that I quickly stopped using said it would be $300 for one hose. The mechanic said that Subaru parts were overpriced and there were not any aftermarket ones. Recently, I talked to a shop owner who said that when you order on-line, you cut out the storefront’s markup and the shop’s, so the hoses may have been $300 each through them. I shopped around and ordered them through subarupartswarehouse.com. The following is my receipt:
Items Ordered:
Item: steering, p/s pump & hoses, p/s pressure hose Forester POWER
Price: $217.06
Qty: 1Total (before taxes or discounts): $217.06
Item: hvac, air conditioner & heater, condenser, compressor & lines, suction hose
Price: $210.19
Qty: 1Total (before taxes or discounts): $210.19
Item: hvac, air conditioner & heater, condenser, compressor & lines, discharge hose
Price: $162.71
Qty: 1Total (before taxes or discounts): $162.71
—————————–
Items Total: $589.96
Shipping Method: Ground
Shipping: $70.80
Handling Fee: $0.95
Coupon Discount: – $88.49
_________
Order Total: $573.22$573.22 just for parts, plus labor to install, flush two systems, and refill them. Referring to the hoses, tires, and battery, I admitted “the Arizona heat could have killed them.” I was not complaining that I needed to replace my spark plugs, but that I needed to take apart my engine bay instead of simply popping out the old ones, and putting in new ones. I also spent a couple hundred because my driver’s door stopped locking. They clearly overcharged me there, so that was my last visit
For a reliable family vehicle new is better than old. Newer vehicles, vehicles with less than 100K, tend to have few problems no matter the brand.
Vehicles commonly seen on the road have more parts readily available.
Vehicles with lots of dealerships mean shorter tows. Be on vacation and have your vehicle break down and then find you are 150 miles from the nearest dealership means you either try your luck at the local shop or pay for an expensive tow.
Vehicles that have easy access under the hood means you are more likely to keep up the maintenance you can do yourself.
I do not know about elsewhere, but there are only two Subaru dealerships in the Phoenix area, and many people say that their parts are unnecessarily expensive. Maintaining a Subaru is more difficult because of the boxer engine, requiring removal of the intake, battery, and windshield washer reservoir to replace the spark plugs. I am on my third Honda, but according to this link, Toyotas are the most reliable: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.php/friends-do-not-let-friends-buy-volkswagons-31037-2.html#post466729
I am not trying to bash Subarus. If you need AWD, one is probably worthwhile. I may not like how many repairs the car has needed, but I am not saying it is a bad car, although I wish that I had known to replace the head gasket when it needed a timing belt.
Everybody has their own experience, probably based on biases, driving styles, and how well they take care of their vehicles. I loved my Accord, but I hit an elk, and there was not anything to do after that. However, the car still drove over a hundred miles, all of the way to the junk yard. A friend followed in what was once a similar Accord, but he insisted it was garbage, and complained incessantly about it.If you do not take care of a good car, it will probably stop being a good car.
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