Camry, Accord, Altima, or Taurus

[pburchett]

My daughter is 21 in her last year of nursing school. She can drive well and navigates Lexington KY. She drives a 2009 Ford Focus and it is well worn. Yes, it is my money but will be her car. I do not plan on dropping $$$ for something stupid, unreliable, or has no close dealership no matter where she moves to. Where we live only the big cities have a Mitsubishi, VW, Subaru, BMW… or other dealership.

I wanted to get the general feeling from others. It will of course come down to a mixture of items (MPG, Seating, Interior, Exterior, Visibility, Color, Trunk Space,…) to select a car but reliability has to be close to the top. If used is 2,000-3-000 cheaper than a new one then there will be no reason to get used. I do not like CVT or Hybrids.

My wife has a car she drives only on Sunday but you will see her drag racing it between stop lights and down at the drag strip!!! HA/ HA

 

[Mad_Hatter]

Dunno what your spending limit is but if you can get a used Sonata or Elantra with some warranty time left (certified used?), that might be worth looking into.

There are two dealerships in my area, one is a Chrysler and the other a Hyundai/Kia and they both offer a "lifetime limited powertrain warranty" on CPO's. Maybe you could find something like that in your area???

Here's a Honda dealership offering it...

Honda Lifetime Warranty

 

[skyactiv]

Other than the Taurus Sho, how many people under 30 have ever bought a new Ford Taurus? Why on earth do you think she wants that?

 

[Nick1994]

Here's what I did:

February 2017, searching for sedans. Cheapest 2015 or newer Camry in the state was $14k. Cheapest 2015 or newer Accord in the state was $16k. Cheapest 2015 or newer Cruze in the state was $11k.

Picked up my 2015 Sonata for $9,990. Let the first owner of a Sonata take the depreciation.

Just hit 100k miles in it last Friday, have had 1 small CV boot tear. That's it. No other issues.

I could put a crate engine in it and still be ahead over having bought an Accord.

 

[Leo99]

Originally Posted by pburchett
My daughter is 21 in her last year of nursing school. She can drive well and navigates Lexington KY. She drives a 2009 Ford Focus and it is well worn. Yes, it is my money but will be her car. I do not plan on dropping $$$ for something stupid, unreliable, or has no close dealership no matter where she moves to. Where we live only the big cities have a Mitsubishi, VW, Subaru, BMW… or other dealership.

I wanted to get the general feeling from others. It will of course come down to a mixture of items (MPG, Seating, Interior, Exterior, Visibility, Color, Trunk Space,…) to select a car but reliability has to be close to the top. If used is 2,000-3-000 cheaper than a new one then there will be no reason to get used. I do not like CVT or Hybrids.

My wife has a car she drives only on Sunday but you will see her drag racing it between stop lights and down at the drag strip!!! HA/ HA


What's wrong with the car she has now? How many miles are on it?

 

[WagonWheel]

According to good ol' Scotty Kilmer, avoid the 2018+ Camry (non-hybrid) due to the 8 speed tranny. 2017 and prior have the more solid 6 speed.

https://youtu.be/65Id2686cVg

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted by skyactiv

You should scratch the Taurus and Altima off.

https://www.hertzcarsales.com/used-...43123&geoRadius=100&model=Avalon

Are these stripped down versions since they're rental car specials?

Pretty good price for a late model year Avalon, regardless.

 

[aquariuscsm]

https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=38&acctid=2024

 

[miden851]

all interesting options there

from my experience and all I've heard you don't want Taurus and Altima; they are just mediocre mean of transportation

another thing, just as it was mentioned above, you don't want to get used Camry or Accord; they are just pricey in the used market; you would be scored better with their brand new models

as for all other options I'd get her some 5 door hatchback later model compact car that does not hold value that good as Toyota or Honda
GL

 

[Ammofirst]

I'm gonna agree with the poster that said go for a fusion. 2.5 L four-cylinder non-turbo, should be very reliable and you can pick them up dirt cheap. you could probably get a 2018 with 15K on it for 13 grand. Good luck

 

[Cujet]

Originally Posted by miden851
you don't want ..,.Altima

you don't want to get used Camry or Accord; they are just pricey in the used market;



Well that was my point, that I neglected to make. The Altima is amazingly less expensive. So much so, one could purchase 2 brand new transmissions and still come out ahead.

Up until recently (prev gen) , a brand new Altima was $17.5K locally plus fees. Any way you slice it, it was under 20 out the door. Used ones with 30K miles are 11K. Hard to beat that.

 

[SirTanon]

Originally Posted by skyactiv
Originally Posted by SirTanon
Originally Posted by skyactiv

You should scratch the Taurus and Altima off.

I'm curious what makes you say this...


Here is what Consumers Reports says about the current generation:

"Nissan's redesigned Altima is a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. That explains why it sneaks in as the lowest-scoring CR-recommended midsized sedan."

And this is what they say about the previous generation:

"Despite a few high points, the Nissan Altima is not competitive among midsized sedans. In a segment brimming with better cars, the Altima is a lackluster choice. It ranks below virtually all of its competitors with a humdrum driving experience. "

So that's it? Your reasons are based on what Consumer Reports has to say? Consumer Reports, a magazine known to be prone to 'outside influences' and biased?

Do you have any actual personal experience with this car? I do, in fact I have two, and I have found them to be comfortable, reliable, full of good features, and quite responsive while driving. They're also excellent on gas mileage. I'm a frugal person, and to me, they were a great bang for the buck.

Originally Posted by skyactiv
The 2017 Ford Taurus according to Consumers Reports:

"Somehow the Ford Taurus manages to be a rather large sedan with a tight and cramped interior. Poor packaging efficiency, with a center console that resembles the Great Wall of China and not much rear seat room, results in an interior that feels smaller than many midsized sedans. Small windows and thick pillars add to the claustrophobic feel, making it difficult for the driver to see out, and there's an awkward driving position to boot."

I don't think too many cops that have a Taurus particularly care for them.

I can't speak to the Taurus overall, but I did look at a couple at one point or another. Again, the car seems nice enough, but the poor fuel economy was a breaking point for me, so I stopped considering them based on that.

 

[Skippy722]

Originally Posted by SirTanon
Originally Posted by skyactiv
Originally Posted by SirTanon
Originally Posted by skyactiv

You should scratch the Taurus and Altima off.

I'm curious what makes you say this...


Here is what Consumers Reports says about the current generation:

"Nissan's redesigned Altima is a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. That explains why it sneaks in as the lowest-scoring CR-recommended midsized sedan."

And this is what they say about the previous generation:

"Despite a few high points, the Nissan Altima is not competitive among midsized sedans. In a segment brimming with better cars, the Altima is a lackluster choice. It ranks below virtually all of its competitors with a humdrum driving experience. "

So that's it? Your reasons are based on what Consumer Reports has to say? Consumer Reports, a magazine known to be prone to 'outside influences' and biased?

Do you have any actual personal experience with this car? I do, in fact I have two, and I have found them to be comfortable, reliable, full of good features, and quite responsive while driving. They're also excellent on gas mileage. I'm a frugal person, and to me, they were a great bang for the buck.


Woah woah woah CR is absolutely, totally, unequivocally unbiased! Never mind their relatively small sample pool of ~470,000 responses to cover 18 years worth of vehicles

I had a rental 2018 Altima while my 300 was in the body shop. It wasn't bad, I just wish the engine was a bit quieter in the cabin. But I drove that thing hard and never got below 30mpg so I was impressed by that.