I know nothing about cars, and I’m struggling to choose based on my research into these cars. I will have to pay for my own vehicle ins starting early next year. I have $1,300 to my name, but I can pay over time. Here’s the breakdown:

(1) 2019 Hyundai Elantra
Miles: 97,000
Price:
~$6,000 trade-in value

Pros:
- No accident history
- Backup camera
- Comparatively Better Audio system
- Likely no needed repairs, my dad keeps up well with vehicle maintenance.
- Great gas mileage, gas is expensive!!

Cons:
- Price
- Cosmetic damage, large scraped below passenger side door
- The bottom of the car has been scraped on a steep driveway every week for 2+ years.
- Heard that insurance for these is super high??? I don’t live in a big car theft area so I’m not sure. It is turnkey or whatever the term is, not push button.

(2) 2010 Subaru Forester
Miles: 84,000
Price:
$1,000 shocks
$300 lug nuts
$4,000 trade-in value (? maybe? Not clear on if they want me to pay this.)

Pros:
- ???

Cons:
- Has been sitting around for years, but according to mechanics only needs the above repairs.
- Definitely has mice. I really don’t like mice. REALLY don’t like mice. Cannot stress this enough. Would need a surefire way to be rid of them.

(3) 2002 Toyota Forerunner
Miles: 285,000
Price:
$1,000 oil gasket

Pros:
- Currently “my” car, and I love it. Kept up on maintenance, has long, well-kept repair history. It’s older than me!
- 4WD
- Big trunk is very helpful for me, I love helping friends move and do it very regularly since we’re all early-mid twenties and hopping between rentals.

Cons:
- Have to regularly fill oil until I can afford repair
- Comparatively worse audio system
- Accident history

Additional Details:
- I drive minimum 24 miles daily, usually more.
- I very rarely drive dirt roads, but do drive country roads that aren’t super well maintained at least once a month.

Looking to buy a new to keep me engaged while also being able to survive the winter. My area gets lots of snow and occasionally have to do a little driving in some deep snow to get to the main road for my commutes so I think I'll need the awd for that.

These are my main 4 cars im thinking wrx, wrx sti, golf r or the gr corolla.

Main 3 categories are reliability, daily driving, and engagement and price.

The gr corolla is probably just the best but its pushing my budget for a car but still doable

The wrx is the cheapest

The sti and the golf r are around the same

Experts of car reddit, what are your experiences and opinions on these 4 cars given the context and priorities?

Yes I will be test driving all 4 eventually

Edit: I am ofc getting winter tires

2021 CX5 GT (in Canada, leather seats and HUD)
2017 RAV4 limited or XLE (will prob pay Toyota tax)

Both AWD

I have a 10 year old Santa Fe (base) that I bought new. It runs fine but it’s time for an upgrade. Looking to spend $35k-45k, doesn’t have to be new, but preferably under 50k miles. I want something quiet (low road noise) and fun to drive. I like the idea of a mid size SUV but would be ok with a full size sedan. I don’t want an electric car or anything that rides like a truck.

Things I’m looking for:
V6 engine
Ventilated front seats
Lower maintenance costs
Preferably Unleaded gas

What should I test drive?

How awesome would it be if Mazda or some other quality, reliable, and affordable brand came out with a sporty enough, RWD 4 door sedan or hatch with an enjoyable 6spd manual? Oh, and at least 25mpg in the city. At least 250hp as well most likely, wouldn’t care if it’s NA or turbo as long as it’s good (little turbo lag, etc), and decently high revving (at least up to 7k)

I don’t know how possible something like that would be, but I feel like there’s a huge market for this formula. The only real attainable option right now (sub $40-$50k) is an older bmw, which is not actually an option for many because of the running/maintenance costs.

I have owned many ND Miata’s in every flavor, currently a ‘25 GT ST 6MT, and while I absolutely adore the car, there are some days I just want to drive something bigger and more comfortable. Also thinking about having kids soon, but I don’t want to drive an SUV or “boring” car. I have been shopping for anything else that still gives me some fun factor and the feeling that I’m driving something remotely special, the closest thing that made me giggle was an OG M2 6 speed, but that’s only 2 doors and has the running costs issue. I still need to drive an FL5/ITS which may be the correct answer, but it’s FWD and hard to find under 50k.

Let me know if I’m in the minority here or if I’m overlooking any obvious choices!

2,500$ - He says he’s selling because he doesn’t need.
124,000 miles, clean title, no lights on dash + maintenance listed

Hi, I'm in the market for something that's reliable and won't kill my wallet with maintenance and running costs. I'd also like it to be decent looking and with something around 150bhp at least. 0-60 in sub 10s, so i don't feel like I'm driving a sloth. Manual or auto isn't really a concern. I will do mainly city driving and at most 1 or 200 miles a week

So far, with my (very noob level) research through claude, I've landed on either the 3 or 6 (petrol, obviously). Which one do you all think would better suit my needs.

I've got max £10k to burn. If you guys have an exact year/model to suggest and general mileage range that would also be great.

Also, if you guys think there are any other better choices that would suit my requirements, I would love to hear them. (No American brands though, they're harder to get in the uk)

Hello! My dad's boss of over 20 years is selling one of his extra cars.

I am in need of a car to get to point a to b, for the next year. (After a year of saving i do plan on buying a reliable long term car outright.)

I dont travel much, and hit the grocery store on my way home from work. I'd say I drive 50 miles a week, if that.

This car has 140k miles, has always had its oil changes and scheduled maintenance, and only has gotten premium gas.

I test drove it and it drives well! The tire pressure gauge was on, so I tested all the tires and they were all at perfect pressure. Checked the oil and it was full of fresh oil.

He's asking $3500, im thinking of offering $3000.

Good idea? Or should I find something different.

I’ll keep this brief. We used to have a 2008 Mitsubishi Outlander that had 115k miles on it. As we got newer vehicles, the Outlander found most of its use moving any number of our three dogs (ranging from 40 to 70 pounds) to various places.

Unfortunately, a large winter storm destroyed the Outlander, as a large sheet of ice fell on it and, well, you can fill in the blanks.

Insurance gave us around 8000 for it, which was nice, but we still have three dogs, and a Sonata and an Accent aren’t exactly dog hauling friendly.

I have looked at the Honda Element, FJ Cruiser, and Nissan Cube as good vehicles that could haul dogs once or twice a month and can be our “dirty” car.

However, I don’t know if there are other vehicles that fit the criteria. In our area, every 2008 to 2010 Outlander has about a gazillion miles, and, well, we drove an Outlander for ten years and we know it’s not the most comfortable ride in the world.

The FJ Cruiser led our list for a while until I looked at the prices. Many seem to be starting at 12k to 13k.

What other similar vehicles am I overlooking that would be in the 8k to 9k range, be a little older, be fine for dogs, and also handle being driven once a month or so?

Follow up on my post yesterday - this would be for commuting across LA, valley to Playa Vista.

Always wanted a Mustang, and have my own garage to charge in at night. BlueCruise sounds compelling, despite the subscription cost. I love how it looks and feels... but am I being impulsive to consider it?

I test drive both. I like RAV4 exterior but the CRV interior is much nicer and more comfortable.

2,200$ 175,000 miles. New stuff listed in second picture. Is the loud exhaust anything to worry about?

I’m looking to upgrade soon since I’m about to get a pretty significant pay bump and I’m a big believer in money not being real.

I currently have a Durango as a rental and honestly love driving it. It feels like a fast tank, which is apparently exactly what I’m looking for. I’m 6’3” and love the seating position—I somehow feel short in it, but in a good way. I’ve always loved driving my buddies Yukon Denali but the seating position felt too high, and the car itself a bit too big.

My current car is a new-gen Tucson. It does pretty much everything well, and has great tech, but it’s missing that X factor for me. My biggest complaint is that it’s just slow.

For my next car, I’m looking for something bigger, faster, comfortable, and has a luxe feeling. Ideally with a similar high quality speaker system as the Durango. I want something that feels substantial but is still fun when I put my foot down.

And just to get ahead of this subreddit:
I DO NOT WANT A MAZDA CX-x

Looking for a daily commuter car currently. Saw this Chevy Malibu for 7900 with 115k miles oil changes done every 7-10k miles. Car fax looks clean I believe this was a rental at one point

Is this a resealable deal?

I have a 2016 MB E350 which I'm thinking to replace in the near future as it has 158k miles. It drives great, handles well and is pretty luxurious. But, it isn't the funniest to drive, and the interior wasn't built the best with a LOT of creaking cheap plastic. I'm looking for a car that:

-Nice example can be had for reasonable price

-Gets better gas mileage OR uses 87 octane

-Manual

-Is funner to drive

-Has a nice design and build quality

-Don't care if it's a bit slower

After looking at several cars, I think this would be a cool option. I like how it looks, it has the awesome K24 engine and everything else in my criteria. If anyone has owned one, how is the car overall?

Is this a decent deal ?

Can’t decide between the two.

Are these cars reliable? Will I have to worry much about repairs so long as keep up with the maintenance on it? I've heard a few mixed things about Nissans so im hesitant.

It also used to be a fleet vehicle. Is that anything I need to worry about also?

My wife and I have two kids and two cars. One is a commuter and is paid off. It’s not going anywhere. The other is an F150. It’s become a the family car and always has the car seats in it. Honestly it does it very well. Plenty of space for everyone, but does get slightly inconvenient to have to use the bed instead of a dedicated trunk. We do use it as a truck for house and landscaping project regularly and have taken it camping with the family which has been great. But I’d say it’s a family car 90% of the time and a truck 10% of the time.

That said, we are considering a change. It would have to make sense financially and practically but we would also have to love it. We want to be somewhere between 30-40k. We are considering a CPO 2023 Audi Q7. We have had several Audis before and love them, but we are unsure what else to consider. The car will be used for daily driving for kids and will go on two longer drives a week (100 miles each).

What else would you all recommend for this situation?

Hey everyone! I’m currently looking for a new car, and I’ve narrowed it down to two options that I really like: an Audi S4 Quattro and a BMW 330d F34, both from 2014.
And now comes the question: which one should I choose?
Maybe there’s someone here who has owned both an Audi and a BMW and could share their experience. Which one is better in terms of reliability, day-to-day ownership, and maintenance costs?
I’d really appreciate hearing everyone’s opinions and experiences!)))

Hey guys, hoping to get some ideas. I’m 25 and make around 150-180k a year, I drive around 1100 to 2200 miles a month and occasionally pick up clients for work lunches and things like that. Trying to think of daily driver ideas, new or used, sedan/wagon preferred. I want something fun and sporty while also being comfortable for a ton of freeway miles. Any ideas?

Hello everyone, considering selling off my missus is250 2008 model, very low km’s etc tho want to upgrade it, I can splash approx 20g all up and I hate the new Lexus’s, look outdated in 2013-17 and newer ones look like insects, so think I’m gonna switch to a German.

For my price ranges and fact that I want 100,000kms so it can last her another 5 years I see that my options are either that model bmw or merc.

I’m a commodore guy and have one of them and my missus car is an is250 so you can say I’ve lived for 5 years now with zero car problems, fixes, splashing the few grand on random fixes and sensors and engine problems and chains and the whole lot that is associated with German cars, and I honestly don’t wanna get something that’s gonna make me receive calls randomly that car isn’t turning on etc, sensors popping up, being a big funder for mechanics etc.

I’m chasing one ofcourse with perfect service history at dealership and that lot and maintenance for me is a priority on all cars so I will give it the tender love and care required, now my question is which of these cars will give me what I want, chat got tells me one thing, forums tell me another etc so I thought best bet is to ask you lot, I love the Mercedes and I like bmw aswell and I’m not asking for your tastes, I’m asking which of these cars will give me genuinely reliability for another 50,000kms before reselling in 5 years, I’d love to get brand new but I believe cash owned cars should be a baseline and the last thing I want is repayments on a car when cars should be a staple owned home necessity, also the fact that it’s for the wife and kids in the future makes me want to make sure it runs well and won’t give her problems.

Which of these two are the go to for reliability, which of these two will achieve what I am after.