Buying a used car

[Lee Schierer]

I've owned 5 Mazdas and had at least 3 with over 100 K miles and never had one of them in the shop for anything other than oil changes and tune ups and occasionally for tires. There is a world of difference between a Miata and a Mazda 3. We also own a Miata and it has never been in the garage for repairs either. I currently own a 2004 Mazda 6 with 100K miles. The body is starting to show some rust, and we live in the snow belt of PA, but the engine and drive train are sound. We get 31 mpg on the highway at 65-70 mph.

[Larry Edgerton]

I've owned 5 Mazdas and had at least 3 with over 100 K miles and never had one of them in the shop for anything other than oil changes and tune ups and occasionally for tires. There is a world of difference between a Miata and a Mazda 3. We also own a Miata and it has never been in the garage for repairs either. I currently own a 2004 Mazda 6 with 100K miles. The body is starting to show some rust, and we live in the snow belt of PA, but the engine and drive train are sound. We get 31 mpg on the highway at 65-70 mph.

Ditto. I've owned 5 Miata's and my wifes car is currently a Mazda 3, has 140K on it and has never broken. Still runs just as strong as it ever did and averages 35mpg year round. I will say that the Mazda's handle better than any budget minded cars that I have ever driven, not a bad thing when someone pulls out in front of you.

Our next car will probably be another 3, but the Mazda 6 is in the running.

On the Suburu, they are not a good car to buy used. They are hard to work on, and so the bills are always high. They tend to have a problem with bolts snapping off in areas with salt when trying to take parts off. My brother has a repair facility and now refuses to work on them for these reasons. If they are going to be mad about the bill he would rather have it be the dealer.

Larry

[Pat Barry]

We looked briefly last night at the Mazda 3 and Nissan Sentra. It was a bit chilly though so we didn't take a test drive. My daughter did like the Mazda 3 however and we hope to try a test drive soon. We had not considered the Subaru or Kia or Hyundai however, I'll run those by my daughter and see what she thinks. To me I want her to get dependability and safety. She values gas mileage and style and some features such as heated seats (I wish I had them) and Bluetooth and auxiliary sound inputs. She liked the Mazda because it felt solid.... She isn't too high right now on either the Honda's or the Chev Cruze but she seems to like the Malibu. I'm happy that we are starting early so that she doesn't have to make a quick decision - its her first car purchase. Thanks to all for your thoughts

[David Weaver]

I would look at used Scion XBs 2008 and after. they're basically a puffed up corolla, and they're cheap (I don't know what they're like used, though - in terms of price) and they're simply made, so any mechanic can work on them.

[Chris Hachet]

Depending on budget, I would say Subaru....very safe and reliable.

[curtis rosche]

no matter what you pick, stay away from CarMax... I know a number of people who have had problems with them, including stupid things like they charge extra if you want the manual for the car

[Wade Lippman]

On the Suburu, they are not a good car to buy used. They are hard to work on, and so the bills are always high. They tend to have a problem with bolts snapping off in areas with salt when trying to take parts off. My brother has a repair facility and now refuses to work on them for these reasons. If they are going to be mad about the bill he would rather have it be the dealer.

Larry

I am sure your brother knows more then I do, but Subaru sold me a 6 year warranty for $500. They can't expect many expensive repairs. Only one I ever bought, but it seemed cheap.

But now that I think about it, replacing turn signal bulb was not a DIY job; fortunately it was covered by the warranty.

[David Weaver]

It's around the 100k mile range that they get expensive. I recall seeing an eric the car guy video where ECTG (a mechanic) said that they have a known head gasket issue or something around 100K miles and it's expected. There are a lot of vehicles like that (some of the early import minivans like hondas had door problems and they have transmission problems - both of which are expensive to fix).

Simple is good in a car that's already several years old and is on the second half of the first 100k miles.

[Greg Peterson]

Subaru's head gaskets are pretty much a standard service procedure. Subaru is practically the state car in Oregon. We sell a lot of head gasket sets.