Help deciding on which car to purchase

General Discussion
1

Hey guys. I’m buying a used car and trying to decide which one to purchase. All of the following ones I have located have clean car faxes, oil changes and regular maintenance done regularly. I just want to hear what some of you would choose and why. They all have timing chains which is one of the major things I look for compared to cars with belts.

2010 Toyota Corolla - 82k miles - $9400

2011 Chevy Cruze 67k miles 1.4 Turbo Engine - $9600

Choice of 2 Hyundai Accents

2013 Hyundai Accent with 13k miles for $9700
2016 Hyundai Accent with 40k miles for $8700

      • My opinion * * *

Originally had my mind set on a Camry or Corolla and was happy when I found this one. Then I looked at the price and the mileage. 82k is still decent mileage for the price and it’s a Toyota so it will have plenty of miles left to go.

Then I seen the Chevy after much more searching. Not a big fan of Chevy and I’ve been reading really poor things about newer Fords and Chevys. But then again everything you read about most any car as some good and some bad. But 67k isn’t too bad either and I’m sure it has plenty of life left.

Then I thought well there are a few Hyundai’s near by one that is practically brand new with only 13k miles which is probably the more logical option for me. The 40k 2016 would just come down to color which would be my family’s pick for color but that doesn’t matter to me. I’d rather have the lower mileage.

I’ve been reading a lot about Hyundai’s and they seem to have a lot of good reviews and many people favor them over ford and chevy.

I am just looking for a car to get from point a to b with good gas mileage which all of these have. But right now I’m leaning more towards the two Hyundai’s even knowing how reliable Toyota is.

With the Hyunda’s I would more than likely keep them until 120,00 miles and sell them. The other I would be keeping until 180,000 range.

2

Normally I’d suggest a Corolla but… The 2016 Hyundai Accent at 2 years old with 40K miles means mostly easy highway AND the “infant failures” should have been addressed.

Hyundais have shown steady quality improvements and Carcomplaints.com shows the problematic Accents were 2010 to 2014. In this, the 4th generation of the car, the 2016 is the next to last year and the bugs seem to have been worked out.

3

I just chose this one because this is 5 years old when you can get a new one for less than 17000 in my area with lower finance rates and full warranty.
The other thing is are you even comparing trim levels vehicle to vehicle.

4

With only the information given and considering MY region, this is what I would look at first. Years here means rust and three years is a lot. I also want something that has seen reasonable use. An older car with very low miles is a yellow flag to me. Probably severe condition use- short trips. My FIL has had two Hyundais and they were great cars. The first one was handed down to granddaughter and is still running fine.

5

I had a few Hyundai in the past and they all felt like clunkers after a few years. This is why I switch to Toyota because of the built quality of the car. I would take the Corolla over anything else on your list even if its a bit older than the rest.

6

The Accent is a subcompact car, while the Cruze and Corolla are compact cars. Of course the Accent would be less expensive. I also suspect that the Cruze is a high trim level because it has the 1.4L engine. In addition to price, you need to compare trim levels and car size. If none of that matters to you, buy one of the Hyundais.

7

Not surprising coming from the guy with COROLLAGUY as his moniker :wink: :smile:

3 Likes
8

Lets see, it is 8 years old. Has it had the care required for a vehicle to last as long as possible ? As any used vehicle it could have 100 miles or 50000 miles left. There is no way to actually know. If one were to look at the Toyota Nation Forum one might conclude a Toyota is a terrible vehicle.

9

The Toyota engine is just starting to be broken in at this milage.The only problem I see is that it was the first year of the 10th generation Corolla.The electric power steering had to be tuned because of high sensibility to road surface.

10

I own an 2012 and 1999 Corolla but I prefer the older one.The 2012 electric power steering took me a long time to get use to.

11

Any of them should make for good daily drivers. For price/10 year out reliability/projected maintenance and repair costs I’d rate them in this order

2016 Hyundai Accent with 40k miles for $8700
2010 Toyota Corolla - 82k miles - $9400
2013 Hyundai Accent with 13k miles for $9700
2011 Chevy Cruze 67k miles 1.4 Turbo Engine - $9600

12

I vote for answer choice “E”–None of the above. The “high water mark” for the Toyota Corolla, in terms of quality, reliability, and “bang for the buck” is the 2003-2007 generation. As a 2010 with 82,000 miles has no more warranty remaining than a 2003-2007 with 100,000 miles, I’d go with the earlier model, which is also much cheaper.

The 2003-2007 generation is my favorite, and I have put a little over 100,000 miles on my 2004 Corolla, bought new, and it has been extremely reliable. It’s also a very basic model with hand crank windows, no power seats, no “security system”, etc.

I would not under any circumstances buy a car with a turbocharger or supercharger, nor would I ever buy anything with a “direct injected” engine in which the fuel is added to the already compressed cylinders. Personally, I prefer cars with a rubber timing belt, as long as the engine is non-interference. These type of engines are easier to work on, and eliminate the risk of major damage from timing chain/belt/tensioner failure.

13

Exactly!It is a well known fact that GDI engines in general will need an expensive valve cleaning job at 60,000 miles or even sooner due to carbon buildup. The problem is that most car manufacturers are adopting this technology .Here is an interesting video about it.

14

Not exactly. For this generation only, they switched to a plastic intake manifold that needs replacing after a while because they crack. Older generation had an alluminum manifold that didn’t need replacing.

15

I won’t say which is the best on the list, but I know the one I’d exclude. The Chevy Cruze. Our partner site, CarComplaints, stamps that model and year with the “Avoid Like the Plague” label due to transmission problems. You can see more here.

16

Given that just about all new cars have, and all future cars will have, GDI and turbos, the pickin’s will be slim for many of the posters here…

1 Like
17

Hey guys. Thanks for all the helpful feedback.

Let me tell you what I hate most recently…2002 Ford Taurus purchased at 150,000 miles for $2500. Lasted until 259,000 miles with only the alternator and waterpump having to be replaced other than brakes and oil changes.

Since I had luck with that one I purchased the 2004 Ford Taurus which was almost identical at 70,000 miles for $4900. This time around the transmission went out at 100,000 miles. It is now sitting at 149,000 miles but am looking to obviously upgrade since this one has a used transmission and aleady went another 50,000 miles.

My ford experience has been 50/50 but I see the newer ones are all having problems with tranmssions.

Coming off of some later model vehicles and I am looking to upgrade to something newer year model for a change. CorollaGuy ----Hoping to get something newer than the 04-07 corollas.

I realize most every car has mixed reviews and there are negative things about everything. Of course there is also limitied inventory in my area to what can be found and also how soon I am looking to find a new one. That all adds to the equation of what can be found.

New question…What car to buy from 2010 until 2016?

I tend to stay away from the new car prices so I;m looking in this range to find something used. Since beginning my search I have seen a few Camry;s that have been sold. I see a lot of cars with timing belts. The Hyundai’s all of the gdi which I was aware of the valves needed to be cleaned. I see there is a product to use every 10,000 miles but no telling if the previous owner used it or not of course.

The Toyota’s I see tend to have high mileage and high prices which was expected. Same with Honda.

Most Hyundai’s come with a similar price but much less mileage.

Ford not so sure which if any are good nowawdays.

Chevy looks like the same thing.

SUV"S are way too exensive and have a ton of miles.

I’m selling pickup truck. I don’t need one of those.

So in the car world what is the best buy from the 2010-2016 year models. Thanks!

18

Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla

2 Likes
19

That is just too broad of a range and too many different vehicles and options for anyone . You are all over the board on what you are looking at .
Why are you not even considering new ? I just purchased a 2018 Ford Fiesta SE. The sticker was 17705.00 , I paid quite a bit less than that . I have 3 year 36000 miles bumper to bumper and 5 year roadside service.

1 Like
20

Check April 2018 issue of Consumer Reports, or one of their Used Car Buying Guides, for recommended models by type and price range.