I have a 2000 Nissan Altima. It has 110,000 miles on it, but has not given me any major problems (knock on wood). Actually, this past weekend the radiator broke and i had to put in a new one, but other than that, it runs just fine.
My friend has a 2006 Toyota Yaris, and it has 60,000 miles on it. Mainly highway miles and has not have any damage or problems to it.
What car is better, in the long run?
Should I sell my Altima and go with the Yaris, or should I just stick to what I have, run it to the ground and then go from there?
110,000 is only a lot of miles for your car if the body is in bad shape as well. Ask yourself if you can live with a Yaris compared to an Altima as a driving experience rather than just looking as the finances. You don’t want a car you can’t stand. I would spend lots of time driving it where it will be used to see if you like it well enough.
Ask yourself if you can live with a Yaris compared to an Altima as a driving experience rather than just looking as the finances.
Very good advice! At one time my wife and I had a 1978 Oldsmobile Cutlass and a 1974 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. My wife was on the road a lot and used the Oldsmobile. The Chevrolet used a lot of gas, so we sold it and bought a new Ford Tempo. This was in 1985. We didn’t like the Tempo at all. Usually, we drive a car into the ground, but I traded the Tempo after 3 years for a Ford Taurus. The Tempo was reliable and got good gasoline mileage, but it just wasn’t comfortable for us. I was sorry that we replaced the Monte Carlo with the Tempo.
The Yaris will run much longer and cheaper as well as more reliably than the Nissan.
However, as others point out the Yaris is a very poor highway car; we had a very lengthy thread on this from a lady who insisted on buying one and then regretted it. It is one of the very few cars with an outstanding reliability record that Consumer Reports does not recommend because of its poor creature comforts shortcomings and poor handling!
So, the choice is yours. Personally, if it was my only car, I would keep the Altima, a basically good car, and drive it till it expires, that would be in another 6-10 years or so at your present pace.
thanks guys for the advice, especially Docnick. I was looking for a straight forward answer, compared to “its up to you”. I do not know that much about cars, and i wanted a straight answer. im going to stick with the nissan, for i have no car payments or any money tied down to it. it would probably be a hassle to go to dmv, car insurance, and try to sell the altima, before i can get the yaris, while also owing my friend more money.
The Yaris has some disadvantages. It’s noisy on the highway and you have to speak loudly to be heard and the stereo needs a translator on the highway. Every song sounds bad unless you are parked. The shift gate will break down if used often, making it hard to shift between OD and D. The dash is just stupid. You can’t see anything because of the roof pillars. The headlights are kind of useless. The brakes are touchy.
I forgot the first time; the intermittent wipers are a bad joke.
There are people out there who loved their Granadas, Tempos, Fiats and yes, Yaris. Why would some one “tell” you what to do. If you did enjoy driving it regardless, of what anyone else or CR says, it’s a good buy given it’s reliability. That’s why it has to be up to you. We can only reiterate the faults. You could get that info. picking up a magazine.
I’m a devote fan of CR, but I use them as a reference only…I make the choice, not CR.
Dagosa, what we are telling OP is that it’s difficult to go from a nice, comfortable and civilized car like the Altima, to a rather crude, but reliable econobox like the Yaris.
Most people regret downsizing creature comforts.
OP would do best to borrow the Yaris for a weekend and take it on a trip. That would quickly decide whether it’s worth it for him.
Isn’t that what I said in my first post ?
Yes, that’s what it boils down to. You either like econoboxes or you don’t. I think they’re great for running around town.
That person’s biggest problem was testing out the sedan and buying the 3dr. hatchback.
I see the Yaris(and Chevy Aveo) as a size 15 shoe that was assembled at gunpoint by slave labor in some rundown warehouse in the middle of nowhere, not all that dissimilar to the Yugo
“or should I just stick to what I have, run it to the ground and then go from there?”
That sounds like the best option.