The wife needs a new (used) car

$10K does not give you much these days

a friend of mine got '15 Honda Fit yesterday at a local dealership; there is one minor accident on Carfax, with 32K miles on odometer he paid $17K OTD for it
That's about the absolute worse vehicle from a ride/comfort standpoint he could have bought. But hey! It's a Honda even if it's one of the few stinkers they made.
 
I suggest a low mileage civic with the 2.0L non turbo 2017 and newer. Honda has a 5k OCI gauge on that model year so i think people are more likely to have done it. I you go over it changes the ODO to an alert counting the miles you are over every time you start the vehicle. Its a good system to bug the owner to do the change. I ran 5w30 full synth and shes loved it.

The only concern is the AC, honda extended the condensor coverage, but there is a wringle: crooked stealerships charge diagnostic and inflate the bill elsewhere. That model has cvt, but that cvt is doing really good. the cvt fluid change on that is EASY as pie compared to others. Buy the honda cvt fluid, they nail you for $20/qt but its only 4 qrts. Change it once and forget about it.

General Advice:
NEVER buy a rental, they don't change the oil and fraud the records. NEVER BUY A RENTAL.
NEVER BUY A USED KIA, NEVER!!!! ESPECIALLY THE RED ONES!!!!!!

Any used care you buy, look the AC condensor over good, and the connections of the lines. you are looking to black oil stains. The leaky ones have PAG oil that attracts dirt. There are a lot of pin hole leaking ac's with the new R-1234 chemical. If you can find 2017 or older with r-134a you are in a lot of luck, i think those acs will last longer and be easier to fix and are def cheaper to service.
 
My wife has taken a new job that will require her to commute about 18K miles per year in addition all the around town driving she does. I figure 24k miles a year is reasonable estimate of it's annual miles. That means her current car (Ford Expedition) is not going to be a good fit.

What car should I get her? Given the following considerations:
  1. Used, not going to buy anything new
  2. Paying cash
  3. Very reliable
  4. Durable - Will reach very high miles quickly
  5. Excellent fuel economy
  6. I'm a cheapskate :)
The obvious choices might be a Prius. or a Corolla. But what other gems should I look at?
From that large to that small may be quite a shock. Maybe look for something a step up in overall comfort. Accord, Camry, Legacy if you are in a winter wonderland type environment or keep her sitting up a bit more as she's been used to with CR-V or RAV4. Hybrids available in most as well, if you want to go that route. Good luck.
 
That's about the absolute worse vehicle from a ride/comfort standpoint he could have bought. But hey! It's a Honda even if it's one of the few stinkers they made.
he got in accident recently totaling his old '09 Fit; he settled on '15 this time. he likes its maneuverability, practicality and fuel efficacy;

I drove it on a highway with 130HP it was pretty peppy ride
 
he got in accident recently totaling his old '09 Fit; he settled on '15 this time. he likes its maneuverability, practicality and fuel efficacy;

I drove it on a highway with 130HP it was pretty peppy ride
That's a real trick since the ECU limits it to 118mph.
 
That's a real trick since the ECU limits it to 118mph.
He basically said that for 130 HP, it seemed pretty peppy, not that he did 130 MPH. Who would even dream of 130 MPH in a Honda Fit like you’re suggesting he said? HP, not MPH. 😂
Man, that would be a scary ride in a Fit. Jeez, 118MPH would be a bit sketchy.
 
He basically said that for 130 HP, it seemed pretty peppy, not that he did 130 MPH. Who would even dream of 130 MPH in a Honda Fit like you’re suggesting he said? HP, not MPH. 😂
Man, that would be a scary ride in a Fit. Jeez, 118MPH would be a bit sketchy.
you see it clocked at 130MPH 😀

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I might have the opportunity to buy a 16 RDX with 145K for well under 10K. Mechanically, it’s perfect- I’ve done every service on it since new (except for 1 oil change). Cosmetically, it is pretty rough. Decisions, decisions. 🤔
How rough is rough? Might be a decent flip… but as a keeper…?
 
Ford Fusion with a 2.5 or a Mazda 6. While there are other good cars already mentioned you'll pay less for those two.
 
I might have the opportunity to buy a 16 RDX with 145K for well under 10K. Mechanically, it’s perfect- I’ve done every service on it since new (except for 1 oil change). Cosmetically, it is pretty rough. Decisions, decisions. 🤔
My wife has a 2014 rdx. I posted a three year review here some time ago in her rdx. We have had the 2014 rdx for four years now. Oil changes and new Michelins in four years. That is it. The timing belt will be soon, but no big deal. We bought the rdx as a one owner California car, we bought it from the same dealer it was sold new at, and serviced the rdx.

Other than it being rough, thumbs up in the rdx you are looking at.
 
Well, I finally bought the wife a commuter car. It checked most of my cheapskate boxes. I ended up paying $11.5K for a 2012 Prius from a local auto body shop doing a Copart paint and flip. It has 56k miles and a nearly perfect interior which was very appealing to my wife. They showed me the before pics showing what they had fixed. It was involved in a very minor rear end accident and they had to straighten a crease in the the hood and put on an after market bumper cover. I couldn't tell it had any body work done on it. The core support looked perfect, the headlights are square, etc.

Anyway, the wife is happy, my wallet isn't too much lighter and she'll have a rig I don't have to do much to for a while (knock on wood) and she'll burn less than a third of the gas.

I still can't get over paying more than 10K for a 10 year old car, but them's the breaks these days.
 
My wife has a 2014 rdx. I posted a three year review here some time ago in her rdx. We have had the 2014 rdx for four years now. Oil changes and new Michelins in four years. That is it. The timing belt will be soon, but no big deal. We bought the rdx as a one owner California car, we bought it from the same dealer it was sold new at, and serviced the rdx.

Other than it being rough, thumbs up in the rdx you are looking at.

I'm confused. What kind of car was it again? Was it an RDX?
 
I'm confused. What kind of car was it again? Was it an RDX?
Yes, a 2014 Acura RDX. For my Wife who knows nothing about cars, not a thing- the RDX is a wonderful car. I am out of town working quite a bit (heading to Bangkok later today) and having the RDX in the garage for my Wife helps me sleep well while I am out of town.

If her RDX was stolen, I would buy another same RDX as a replacement. Perfect Wife vehicle.

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When I see Subaru I think head gasket blown. Am I overeacting to the stigma?

Possibly. They fixed that, and they fixed the affected cars. How important it remains to you is a call only you can make. I understand the concern, but I feel pretty safe recommending the Crosstrek.
 
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