Which car out of this list for $2500 ish cad

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Hello, I am helping a friend find a car for around $2500 cad. He does not have high expectations and my personal preference was to keep the kilometers as low as possible. All he wants is a car that will run and be reliable for 2-3 years. He just hopes the car doesn't brake down or need major repairs during this time. After researching and all the help from this amazing community we narrowed it down to these cars and want your opinion on which will be the most reliable. i have not driven these car's but will go tomorrow with him to check them out in person! the following are either currently available or a the same model will get posted with similar km's as i have noticed since i have been watching the ads for past 2 weeks. he wants AUTO trans and no accidents/rebuilt preferably

all cars are auto trans
2007 honda civic - 225,000 km's, seems to be in good shape, only con is a that one of the doors is lightly scuffed in the size of a pillow, looks like some gentle type of curb rash, owner said it rubbed against a parking lot light. seems to be why the price is good. no accidents
2004 pontiac vibe - 200,000 km's seems to be in good shape, was pending purchase last time i spoke to owner, will test luck tomorrow ( a little under 3k but will try to haggle them down to 25 ish)
2007 toyota matrix - 235,000 km's seems to be in good shape ( a little under 3k but will try to haggle them down to 25 ish)
2005 toyota matrix - 250k km seems to be in good shape, probably a second choice to the one above
2005 mazda 3 - 200k km $1700 cad good price but rust seems bad in the rear wheel well areas, can go check it out and if its not too bad underneath maybe a decent option?
2008 mazda 6 - 190k km seems to be in decent shape but can see some paint peeling, seems to be out slightly out of town hence the price and lower km
2007 mazda 6 -230k km seems to be in good shape, dont see rust in pics
2006 mazda 3 - 215k km seems to be in good shape, can see light rust and a dent
2007 kia rio - only 156k km, body looks good, only has problem with fuel gauge and trunk which isnt a big deal
2006 kia rio - 180k km good shape
2007 ford focus not facelift - 160-185k probably similar shape to above
2008 ford focus facelift - 170-190k km similar shape to above
2004 ish ford focus - 160k-180k
2006-2007 pontiac g6 - 160k-180k km similar shape to above
2009 pontiac g5 - 145km has some lock issues etc but looks to be in good shape, will prob be sold b4 i can even take a look *just added, thread updated*

so of course my friend does not care about the cosmetic or appearance of the car, he cares most of reliability. we will of course check all the cars for bad rust underneath and if we notice the rust is bad or can see holes etc then we will skip on that car. out of the cars listed in what order would you rate the reliability knowing only the km's and the year and other info above. you can just give a top 3 to make it easier


thx so much!
 
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All of those are relatively good and reliable cars. Personally I’ve always had the best luck with Ford and Toyota. The Matrix and Focus would be the top ones on my list. The G6 I know a lot of people that like those. The Mazda I have a very positive opinion of too because they are good and reliable. The Vibe I’m not too familiar with but I think it should be fine. The Honda they are good too. Really any on that list as long as given proper care and maintenance will last a long time. To make it easy my top 3 would be
1. Ford Focus any year is good for those
2. Toyota Matrix any of the ones you listed as long as in proper shape.
3. Mazda 3 can’t beat a Mazda especially since they are like Ford they are very reliable cars.
 
Oh, he wants manual now? In your last thread you said before he wanted automatic :unsure:

The Mazdas you listed are very rust-prone

From your list, the Vibe/Matrixes would be ranked at the top, then the Civic, then the Focuses, then the Rios, then the G6

You might also like this Aerio

@AutoMechanic the Vibe is a rebadged Matrix
Interesting I didn’t know that. I used to work at Toyota and didn’t even know that LOL.
 
Oh, he wants manual now? In your last thread you said before he wanted automatic :unsure:

The Mazdas you listed are very rust-prone

From your list, the Vibe/Matrixes would be ranked at the top, then the Civic, then the Focuses, then the Rios, then the G6

You might also like this Aerio

@AutoMechanic the Vibe is a rebadged Matrix

sorry i wasn't thinking i meant auto aha. thread updated!
 
Oh, he wants manual now? In your last thread you said before he wanted automatic :unsure:

The Mazdas you listed are very rust-prone

From your list, the Vibe/Matrixes would be ranked at the top, then the Civic, then the Focuses, then the Rios, then the G6

You might also like this Aerio

@AutoMechanic the Vibe is a rebadged Matrix

for the matrix and honda would u basically go in order of km driven? like if everything else is the same condition etc, then lower km one prefered? or do u think the matrix/vibe have better quality then the civ?
 
The chances of the Mazdas not being a total rust bucket are slim.

If it were me I would take a serious look at the Honda and Toyotas. I think there are/were more of the Civics ( 2007 Honda Civic sold in U.S. sold 331,095) on the road and in the bone yards and parts (especially used parts when that type are needed) will be easier to find, than the Matrix ( 2007 Toyota Matrix sold in 21,369 in Canada ).

However I could not find any sales volume figures for the Civic in Canada before 2012, so it may be that the 2007 Civic was not originally sold in Canada the availability of used parts for the Civic in Canada may be scarce, unless you are willing to pay for parts from the U.S.

It looks like the Toyota Matrix was sold as a hatch-back version of the Toyota Corolla in the U.S. in 2007 so the sales figures would only be available in the US for the entire line-up of the Corolla which sold 371,390 total in the U.S. that year. But how many were the hatch-back Matrix in disguise are not easy to find out.

So that being said, and the Civic of that year not being originally sold in Canada, and the original 2007 year of the Matrix being sold in Canada, it may be that in Canada used parts for the Matrix would be more readily available. You could call the local new and used parts suppliers and question them on which one would parts be easier to find.
 
All of those are relatively good and reliable cars. Personally I’ve always had the best luck with Ford and Toyota. The Matrix and Focus would be the top ones on my list. The G6 I know a lot of people that like those. The Mazda I have a very positive opinion of too because they are good and reliable. The Vibe I’m not too familiar with but I think it should be fine. The Honda they are good too. Really any on that list as long as given proper care and maintenance will last a long time. To make it easy my top 3 would be
1. Ford Focus any year is good for those
2. Toyota Matrix any of the ones you listed as long as in proper shape.
3. Mazda 3 can’t beat a Mazda especially since they are like Ford they are very reliable cars.

thanks so much! will keep that in mind. so in this case if i can find a good low km ford focus u were prefer that over the higher km vibe etc if condition is the same?
 
thanks so much! will keep that in mind. so in this case if i can find a good low km ford focus u were prefer that over the higher km vibe etc if condition is the same?
That’s correct. I have had amazing luck from Ford. I know lots of people with the Focus and they are very happy with them and they rarely have issues.
 
The chances of the Mazdas not being a total rust bucket are slim.

If it were me I would take a serious look at the Honda and Toyotas. I think there are/were more of the Civics ( 2007 Honda Civic sold in U.S. sold 331,095) on the road and in the bone yards and parts (especially used parts when that type are needed) will be easier to find, than the Matrix ( 2007 Toyota Matrix sold in 21,369 in Canada ).

However I could not find any sales volume figures for the Civic in Canada before 2012, so it may be that the 2007 Civic was not originally sold in Canada the availability of used parts for the Civic in Canada may be scarce, unless you are willing to pay for parts from the U.S.

It looks like the Toyota Matrix was sold as a hatch-back version of the Toyota Corolla in the U.S. in 2007 so the sales figures would only be available in the US for the entire line-up of the Corolla which sold 371,390 total in the U.S. that year. But how many were the hatch-back Matrix in disguise are not easy to find out.

So that being said, and the Civic of that year not being originally sold in Canada, and the original 2007 year of the Matrix being sold in Canada, it may be that in Canada used parts for the Matrix would be more readily available. You could call the local new and used parts suppliers and question them on which one would parts be easier to find.
thx for the reply! and lets say if those mazda have mostly rust on the cosmetic side, and when i slide under and take a look there doesnt seem to be much of a rust problem. in that case would u recommend them?
 
I would keep looking. All those vehicles already have one wheel in the grave already.
 
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