Got T-boned about 4 hours ago, any new car suggestions?

[flyweightnate]

I drove Subarus for a long time. They're...ok. Easy to work on, reliable, but glitchy.

We all use Outbacks (2023) as fleet vehicles unless we can prove certain industries and upgrade to a truck. Everyone has tens of thousands a year and is great... but the bluetooth drops all. the. time.

My 2007, which I sold this year, had some corrosion issues from the Northeast driving earlier in its life but hit 200k easily. (The last 15k are when the rubbers and plumbing all started breaking down.) My 2014 Legacy was far less good; the front end needed a replacement by 80k (Dallas roads).

So, good engines, but not quite as trouble free as they used to be.

[waffles2]

2023 Outback…why are you using Bluetooth when you have CarPlay or Android Auto? Just plug your phone in and call it a day.

[flyweightnate]

That's what i mean...
The connection to Carplay/ AA was dropping over Bluetooth.
Switching to USB, it would STILL stop working. Sometimes 3-5 different times on one drive. Which is fine... until you're cutting across Oklahoma diagonally on weird routes and you lose all mapping visibility and need to hold your phone with one hand while doing 75 at night on a 2-lane with no lighting.

So yeah... not just Bluetooth. All phone connectivity, wired or wireless. And I wasn't the only one.

[Melrosejedi]

glad your ok, but man not the way a honda is suppose to go. My daughter had a similar civic involved in a multiple car accident and it had alot if life left. She picked up a subaru crosstrek and its a nice car. Im a honda guy myself and probably would stick with them. Good luck finding a replacement and probably best to find through an private seller as to save some money.

[Trbo323]

Honda or Toyota. I'm going to be 40 in 3 months and have owned only 3 vehicles since I was 16

Honda Civic
Toyota Tacoma
Toyota tundra

They just work, on the two trucks I've spent a combined $12 on repair parts (not counting wear items like tires, breaks and light bulbs)

Sent from my motorola edge 2024 using Tapatalk

[Cunha]

Camry, corolla, civic, Prius, crv, rav 4, accord

Whichever you find in your price range and acceptable condition. There's no guarantees with any car. So you just try to get a decent one.

Mazda and Subaru are significantly worse to keep going but are not nightmares.

[CatFarmers]

Might catch some crap...I love my 24' Ridgeline.

[Tinybear]

What is it you want? What’s your ur Priority?

Some of the most reliable vehicles I have owned have been a Toyota Matrix (utterly reliable but equally mind numbing hates driving that car). And my present Tacoma, great all round truck done everything from off roading to fairly hefty towing.

I also had at 1986 VW Golf diesel with 400,000kms on the clock that ran like a top. Loved that car slow as all hell but was fun and so damn good on fuel. Regrettably I loved it so much I replaced it on a whim with a newer Jetta TDI which turned out to be one of the least reliable cars I have ever owned.

another GREAT cheaper option would be a Ford Ranger 1983-2011. These were great basic SIMPLE mini trucks. The 3.0l v6 was a Dog but utterly reliable. The 4.0l was a decent option. Neither offered very good Economy though.

[Chuck E Ducky]

My Jetta TDI was amazing until VW ended my good tune they were using to cheat the EPA with an "UPDATE". Ran like crap after and the buy back was welcomed drove the car for free basically for 3.5 years. I then put 290K on an Allroad 2.7TT but parts became to expensive as it got older to maintain and it was flashed for power not good MPG. I replaced it with a Q5 TDI that I reworked for MPG and power. AWD just under 500 HP and 48mpg in a mid sizes SUV that hooks like a sports car. Best part is I got less the $18K into it. I'm keeping this going until parts get to expensive I love it. Just ordered a new updated Head unit for it so it's got touch screen car play now with the bang olufsen upgrade stereo I love it! (680 miles to a tank just smells like a school bus)

You can buy all the good stuff off the shelf up your way.

[Glovebox Operator]

I stay away from things past around 2003, unless it falls in my lap. Most manufactures switched from throttle cable to a drive by wire system around then. From a former ASE Master Tech that doesn't want to do more work than he has to.

[Chuck E Ducky]

I drive a lot in the winter so I defiantly would want something AWD. But I would just look for another Civic if you just need an economy car and that has worked for you. Subarus are decent alternative to the CIvic and are available in AWD. They can be reliable if you stay away from the ricer versions and you know enough to stop driving when your head gasket eventually goes at 100k ish. As long as you know to pull over and not cook the engine they will run another 300K miles after replacement. They often rust out before the break in our area.

[Chuck E Ducky]

I was assuming he was going used. I don't have experience with the newer ones. The older ones I would just replace the head gaskets on with a good quality aftermarket, and they would be good to go for the life of the car after. I was thinking of cars in the price range of an older Civic that are comparable. Insurance will likely only give him around that. I didn't see a budget posted so I figured he was just looking for a replacement. Buying new with a warrantee I would just get whatever is in my budget that fits my need exactly. For me my minimum requirements would be AWD, Auto dim mirrors, and a good stereo.

[flyweightnate]

Ah, that makes sense.

[Spaghetti Overdrive]

head gasket issue is on the NA EJ252 that came in non-turbo models, and is a cheap fix (few hours, like $20-30 in parts, though you might as well do water pump/t belt, etc, at the same time since you're taking heads off, so maybe like $150ish in parts)

head gasket isn't an issue on any model outside of that specific one because the dinguses at GM thought it was totally smart to save money by using a composite* gasket instead of a metal one on those. literally the only problem. the 06-08 had some EGR issues after the EPA updates and requirements in 2005, but those concerns are overblown and is mainly just complaining that you lose a few HP and gain a little extra complexity. No real change in reliability other than sometimes there's a clogged sensor you can just pull and replace by hand.

But you know how these things are - once you're in there, you may as well spray some seafoam in there to clean shit off the valves and throttle body and replace spark plugs while you're at it, yada yada. There's reasonable room in the engine bay but it does suck that the engine's accessories are obviously atop the motor since it's a boxer. You can definitely DIY it in your garage and score another ~100k+ miles without doing anything other than oil changes if you're using good plugs and make sure they're appropriately gapped when you first install them.

[William the Third]

You can get a Ferrari 348/355, or 456 if you need more seats, for ±$50,000 these days.

Ok, ok, so that's not really practical. Apparently I'm in the majority here, as my primary daily driver is a 2017 Subaru Forester 2.5. 2017 is the second to last year you could get a manual transmission (6-speed), as with the 2019 Gen 5 it became CVT only (which is why I will never own a Forester beyond 2018). Can do 30+MPG on the highway, but I drive like a hoon, so I typically get ~25 in mixed driving. Does burn a bit of oil (1~2 quarts every 5k), but this is pretty normal for the FB25 engine. Subaru did have a recall to replace the engine if it consumed excessive oil, but it was for engines under 100k. I got mine with 102k two years ago, and I have no idea if it was performed (going to guess not). Meh, burning a little oil doesn't bother me (most of my cars burn and/or leak a little oil).

I also have a 2003 Subaru Forester 2.5 (second gen Foresters are the best looking IMHO) with MT. Its down for the typical EJ25 head gasket failure (since it's got over 200k on it, I'm sure it's been fixed at least once, but they probably used shitty OEM/OEM like gaskets, rather than quality six-star gaskets), so it's become an off-road project (going to put a lift-kit and etc on it).

[Spaghetti Overdrive]

just a heads up that the head gasket issue is on the NA 2.5 only. the turbos have a proper metal head gasket, and it's also a pretty relatively simple DIY fix to replace the gaskets with real metal ones instead of the crappy paper gaskets on the NA models, and then it's tough as nails.

[William the Third]

Spaghetti Overdrive the OEM head gaskets on the EJ25 family of engines were not paper, they were coated steel. The failure point is the coating.

[Spaghetti Overdrive]

i did more reading
idk where i had the paper thing in my head from. they're composite with metal

[Spaghetti Overdrive]

What are your top 5 needs from a car, stack ranked?

- RWD Volvos and Ford era Volvos (absolute tanks, absurdly comfortable and safe, decent power, really good audio)
- another civic, but newer
- any corolla
- any mazda 3, but especially post-ford mazda 3s
- post-ford mazda 6
- any camry
- gen2 prius (this is the money shot right here - disgustingly reliable, handles well, efficient, spacious, cheap parts), or gen4 prius
- any hybrid or v6 lexus ES or the lexus CT
- crosstrek (2nd gen or newer, first gen is kinda buggy and so, so weak)
- any modern impreza (2018+)
- current gen chevy trax (no joke)
- 4th-6th gen subaru outback
- 4th-5th gen subaru forester (avoid base model, avoid 3rd gen)
- 2011-2013 TDI VW jetta, passat, touareg, or v6 touareg
- any acura rdx with the 2.4 motor specifically
- honda CRV, ridgeline (if you can find an affordable one - rock solid resale value for a reason)
- 1st-3rd gen honda MDX or pilot
- 1st gen awd v6 highlander (specifically this combination - incredible, but get the sunroof and drains redone ASAP, only other major problem is the design for the brake booster/master cylinder)
- v6 rav4

[JeeperCreeper]

I hate most things after 2015. More software and plastic than anything. I own a 23 Colorado. Love the truck but the stupid little software problems really grind my gears.

[ford]

My current whip is a 07 honda accord. It's the v6 version and a lot of seals are starting to leak oil and the timing belt is due soon. Otherwise it's been a great car for the small amount of attention it requires. If I had the 4 banger version it'd probably be good for another 100,000 miles.

I'm tentatively looking at cars,

The 2022 Toyota Avalon is a incredibly robust engine/transmission which while not amazing for gas mileage is a work horse and should be good for potentially decades X_x

Also been looking at the newer Honda Accord hybrid systems. The MPG, ride quality is great. it's not quite as punch as the Avalon and I hear it loses some efficiency on the highway if going above 70 MPH but I drive like a granny so it would not bother me. The hybrid complexity factor I don't love... but the engine bay offers lots of room for working on whatever comes your way down the road.

Really glad you're ok. Driving is the most dangerous thing most of us will ever do and we do it almost daily...

[Moodog]

I have a newer hybrid accord and love it, but you definitely lose efficiency above 70mph. I also lose efficiency in the rain or when I use the heater. Those aren’t huge problems for me in Dallas but something to consider.

[Blackmagic71]

Is there an update to this? Did you find a vehicle you liked?

[Reflex0283]

Looking at a 2015 civic in stickshift on Saturday, insurance is paying out this week

[Blackmagic71]

Solid potential choice. Good luck 🤞

[Riot]

Just came to ask for update too… now that it seems I may also be in the market. Haha

[Kit352]

In this day and age it's almost stupid to pick anything other than a Honda or Toyota. I'm a life long Subaru and jeep owner of 30 plus years and I will tell you to not buy either one these days. Both are living on past reputations. Gone are the days of 200k mile Subarus with no issues and jeeps that will always get you home.

[Reflex0283]

Yeah, one of my friends works at a dealership and warned me against subarus, stating head gasket issues always after 100k, differential problems and CV axles going pretty regularly. I also really don't like the crosstreks my parents have