Appliance advice needed

My buddy has miserable experiences with cars in general. His kids have even worse. His adult(ish) daughter needs an appliance sedan, 5-door, or small SUV. Had an older Forester that had something happen to it around 100k. Currently has a V6 Accord that just crapped the ATX at - you guessed it - around 100k. At least the Accord is paid off. Already suggested getting the trans fixed and driving it another 100k miles, but apparently it has some other issues that are making it hard to get through emissions inspection.

Need a reliable appliance vehicle, as new and low mileage as possible, priced around $11k. He proposed an ex-rental 2013 Accent GLS sedan with 34k on the clock for around $11,500. I wouldn't buy that particular car for that money, but I've got nothing against Hyundai in general. I figure if he/she can add about $4k to that, they could get a new one.

Other than that, I've suggested a number of local sub-40k cars in that range: 2012 Civic LS, 2009 La Crosse, a couple non-rental 2012 or 2013 Hyundais. Any other suggestions?

My 11 Elantra now has 180K on it, the only replacement was rear shocks at 140K, still has the original brake pads.

My manual always gets 40 mpg

certified/off lease matrix, versa, fit

Elantra (11-up), Forte (10-up), Accent/Rio twins, Sportage/Tucson twins with the 4cyl.

aussiesmg wrote: My 11 Elantra now has 180K on it, the only replacement was rear shocks at 140K, still has the original brake pads. My manual always gets 40 mpg

Yeah, I don't have a problem with the suggested Hyundai, it's just that I assume the rental history will void the otherwise awesome warranty.

I would suggest her check out a 4-cyl Camry or a 4-cyl Ford Fusion. If the hybrid Camrys or Altimas are available at that price, have her look at those first.

Does this family have good habits regarding preventative maintenance?

If not, is there something we can offer in addition to recommendations for specific cars?

In reply to Type Q:

I was thinking the same thing as well...

They have an OK but not great history that way. My buddy is somewhat of a car guy - he knows enough to know that cars need to be maintained - but his kids form a somewhat extended family and he doesn't always have control over maintenance. Also, they never have enough money so I assume they tend to buy from the bottom of the price barrel, and under time pressure too. So in addition to a little deferred maintenance, they probably start with somewhat troubled cars that they weren't savvy enough to spot the hidden issues.

I'm going to say no automatic trans then and something with a timing chain. as ATF drain and fills are cheap preventive maintenance that if not done will cause issues around 150k. The forrester I'm assuming popped a headgasket because forrester.

Ford Taurus, Chevy Malibu. Whatever Frigidaire non-ex-rental car they can find from an older couple that took care of it. Check Florida.

captdownshift wrote: I'm going to say no automatic trans then and something with a timing chain. as ATF drain and fills are cheap preventive maintenance that if not done will cause issues around 150k. The forrester I'm assuming popped a headgasket because forrester.

Actually, the Fozzie was a '98 or '99 and didn't have HG issues. I just found out it was killed in an accident. Not sure if she'll be interested in a manual or not.

Duke wrote:

aussiesmg wrote: My 11 Elantra now has 180K on it, the only replacement was rear shocks at 140K, still has the original brake pads. My manual always gets 40 mpg

Yeah, I don't have a problem with the suggested Hyundai, it's just that I assume the rental history will void the otherwise awesome warranty.

Regardless of original owner, second owner receives the 5/60 b2b. rental or not.

These are probably the type of people who should lease.

In reply to JohnRW1621:

Well, I was thinking about recommending that, too. Not sure how well that idea would be received.

JFX001 wrote: Ford Taurus, Chevy Malibu. Whatever Frigidaire non-ex-rental car they can find from an older couple that took care of it. Check Florida.

I just inherited my grandmother's 06 Malibu with the V6. It has only 40,000 miles and is going up for sale quick as I hate the car. It reminds me of all the reasons I drive European cars.. overboosted steering, overboosted brakes, generally no road feel what-so-ever, but it goes have some serious get up and go

In reply to JohnRW1621:

+1 on this. They need at least 1 lease car in the fleet. The appliance is the best candidate for that. Great $0 down lease deals on Civics and Mazda 3s heck if they can do manual trans then go for a $0 down lease on an Accord or Mazda 6.

You are making payments for the stability just as much as for the car.

Bobzilla wrote:

Duke wrote:

aussiesmg wrote: My 11 Elantra now has 180K on it, the only replacement was rear shocks at 140K, still has the original brake pads. My manual always gets 40 mpg

Yeah, I don't have a problem with the suggested Hyundai, it's just that I assume the rental history will void the otherwise awesome warranty.

Regardless of original owner, second owner receives the 5/60 b2b. rental or not.

CPO should provide the full 10y/100k mile drivetrain warranty in addition to the 5/60 b2b already mentioned on a used Hyundai or Kia.

Of course that means going through a dealer...

Low miles you say? 11k you say? Last gen impala is your friend.

Almost nobody does scheduled maintenance anymore. Everyday I print peoples maintenance schedule and talk to them about it. People get so butt hurt that they need to change brake fluid every THREE YEARS, or coolant every 100,000 MILES, and truthfully for most people it doesnt matter that much, because they dont keep them long enough. I mean damn, I do all fluids on my toy cars once and year and its probably the least expensive thing Ill do to the car all year.

Tell her to buy any appliance mobile with a timing chain, and tell her to make sure she changes her oil and trans fluid on time. If she can get those two down, she'll probably be okay.

I would normally recommend a Toyota because Ive had such good luck with older ones, but they all had T-belts, and the new ones all take synthetic, sure they go like 10K miles but people cant swallow 60-100 bucks on an oil change and just dont do it, or put E36 M3 conventional in it and go the 10K anyways. I think the 2.4 was the last one that didnt require anything but normal 5w20 (later it did switch to 0w20) and had a change, so maybe a 2.4 Camry.

I have been pretty pleased with hyundai/kia as an appliance. Most still take conventional, and dont require any exotic fluids and are pretty reliable and no more difficult to fix than anything else. I have some issues with parts availability, but nothing that'd sway a purchase just be aware when you're buying. Also a lot of newer cars have stupid tire sizes that cost a fortune to replace even on appliances, so make sure it has a set of 15s or 16s on it, with a normal size.

The worst is when someone buys an appliance with a 17 or 18. From the factory they'll have a real nice touring tire on them so they drive real well. The they wear out and go price a new set and all the nice touring tires in that size are like 150-200 bucks a tire so they buy the cheapest thing and it is almost always a E36 M3 "performance" tire and it makes the appliance mobile drive like E36 M3. TL;DR: Good touring tires in 17 and bigger are expensive, and you (okay... they. Any reader on GRM may want a performance tire on their camry) dont want a performance tire on your daily appliance mobile.

Holy, crap, Carmax! Both these cars are local to me. Both are from dealers.

Carmax is kinda smoking crack.

Why wouldn't you buy this for the same money?

It's one mile down the road. And probably open to negotiation. Seriously.

[edit] Alright, it's not as bad as I originally thought, but it's still pretty bad. 2-3 years older and twice the mileage.

There's a reason I said '11 and up Elantra. Those are still timing belt cars. They are great engines, but require a t-belt every 60k miles. It's not a hard job (I can do it in about 90 minutes on my garage floor now, first time took 4 hours)but it has to be done on a regular basis. The 11-ups are timing chain (as well as all the other Hy/Kia cars).

Also, the SE is the top level car with leather, 16" alloys, fog lights, cruise, AC etc. The GLS can be no-AC, no cruise no nothing. Its like looking at a G8 GXP over a base model (minus the RWD, V8 and cool stuff.)

Gotcha. The Carmax Elantra I originally linked was identical in trim to the black one except it is a 2008 with 120,000 miles on it. Price is $9,990, but I was confused between cars and thought it was $11,990. So my outrage was somewhat misplaced.

Don't get me wrong, both of those will be a great appliance for 250k miles. They will just require a little bit more PM than their newer brethren.

Looks like she's going with the white 2013 Accent I originally linked. They're down to something like $11,200 out the door, TTT, and change-of-state inspection included. Balance of Hyundai warranties and 5 years roadside assistance. It should do well enough for her.

Thanks, everybody, for all the advice.