Looking for a car, advice?

[Tim Mead]

, Once again Consumer digest/reports makes for an informed purchase..
While everyone makes a lemon here and there some make far less than others..
Fit and finish of a nissan is not as good as, Mazda is a bit weak in the powertrain..Subaru makes quality ride but dealerships a scarce..
#1 Toyota
#2 Honda
The consumer reports should vouch for that..

[olstyn]

Nissan fit and finish may not be as good as Toyota and Honda according to consumer reports, but in my experience driving them (and I've driven several examples of each), Nissans are nicer to drive. They just feel tighter and more involved with the driver. They may be less perfect in other areas, but they're better "driver's cars."

Regardless of personal preference, though, just about any of Honda, Toyota, or Nissan's cars will last approximately forever if you take care of them. You really can't go too far wrong with any of those brands.

[BPelizabeth]

You can never go wrong with a honda!!! I have a civic v-tec and I love it...but that is a 6 speed. Soooo fun to drive. But you can go with a regular civic or an accord for more room.

[Blue Apple Herps]

You buy American made to support American companies..

How about buying what's made in the US to support American workers? Just sayin'...

But I digress, these days its hard to buy a lemon. Even the domestic cars have made leaps and bounds the past decade for reliability. Pretty much any new(er) car will easily go 150k miles and then some if you treat it right.

Mazda's are rock solid. My brother has a '03 Protege 5 that has close to 100k, he hasn't had a single problem with it. All he's done is regular maintenance - has yet to do an unscheduled repair. Pretty much any of the Japanese cars are rock solid and have a track record to back it up.

Someone also mentioned the Chevy Malibu, those are also smoking cars! If I were to buy a domestic car, it'd be either a Chevy Malibu or Ford Fusion.

Best thing would be to come up with a list of ~5 cars or so and just go test drive them and see which just "feels" right.

[DemmBalls]

My wife has an '02 Focus ZTS Mach Audio edition with over 150k...never put a dime into repairs. It's also fun, spacious, and economical. We've had a few of our 75 gallon fish tanks in the back seat! We've also hauled stacks of 6+ foot pieces of lumber in it for building our tank stands. It's been used more like a truck than a car and the thing still looks/runs great!

I would assume the new ones are still great cars???

[AndrewGeibel]

I'm gonna vote for Subaru. I have put over 80,000 on mine and never had to repair anything. Plus it's fun to drive, comes in a manual, and it's good in the snow.

[Swingline0.0.1]

I have a Chrysler Sebring limited. I would never buy another. I am so going back to Honda in a few months.

[GeckoGreatness]

Im going to vote Toyota Corrolla S model ...well because we just bought one yesterday I love it ..... its pretty spacious inside it looks a little sporty and it does not cost an arm and a leg ... we got ours for 17,500 and the big thing with toyota is 0% financing and 2 years scheduled maint.

I'll second the Toyota Corolla S. We got one 2 weeks ago and I just love it! Even made a trip to Costco (for a family of 5) and was able to fit it all in. We went with a sunroof and paid $16,785.

[rabernet]

Check out consumer digest/reports and I think you'll find that either Honda or toyota is going to be the best rated..

And Nissan. Toyota is having another recall - you couldn't pay me to drive a Toyota these days.

I love, love, love my 2009 Nissan Altima, lots of leg room in the back for back seat passengers - HUGE trunk, CVT transmission (or you can get manual). It's a solid car, and it consistently gets high ratings, both in safety and consumer satisfaction.

[rabernet]

What kind of Nissan? My parents have a Max, and it's def not gas efficient. They had an Altima before that, but I don't know the gas mileage for that one.

My Altima average 32 miles to the gallon.