I found 3 vehicles I'm interested in getting for a daily driver.  A 2000 Toyota Avalon with 109,000 miles, a 2002 Hyundai Elantra GLS with 97,6000 miles, a 2000 Hyundai Elantra Wagon with 110,000 miles (5spd) and a 1997 Subaru Legacy 2.5 GT wagon with 131,000 miles.  I am trying to figure out which one I'd be able to put at least 75,000-100,000 more miles on before it'd need any major mechanical fixes (i.e. engine overhaul).

Any opinions?

Thanks!

Chevy Monte Carlo.

        Potter

A JEEP!!!! 

I dunno, Mel, even with all the bad press about Toyota, I think the Avalon would be my choice for reliability. My daughter traded in her Toyota Camry with 210,000 miles on it.. got $3,000. in trade in....still looked great, too!
My son has his 2nd Hyundai, both purchased new, both pretty reliable, but it was falling apart after 80K miles.
Oregon is  touted to be'Subaru" country.....haven't really been interested........

All in all, It's a great time to wheel n deal. go for it!!

Cathi

Obviously all are high mileage. My wife and daughter both drive Camry's. One is almost 10 years old one is 7 years old. I have not had a lick of trouble with either. My vote would be the toyota.

Joe

Cathi, I hear ya.  I probably will end up getting the Avalon just due to the realiability alone.  My old 2000 Corolla, which is now Jesse's work car, had 70,000 when I bought it 6 years ago.  It now has 180,000 and is still ticking just fine.

Subaru.  Get them to fix any oil leaks it has, and replace the timing belt (if it hasn't already been done.)  Then you should be good to go.

Best,

George

My best friend is a Toyota mechanic at a dealer and has been for like 30 years now and swears by Toyota and they just keep going as long as you change the oil when they need it. Myself I drive a 95 Toyota T100 4X4 and it is just about to turn 200k and has never been rebuilt or had a problem, really wish American cars could be as dependable.

BigMatt wrote on May 4^th, 2010 at 5:39pm:

really wish American cars could be as dependable.

So do I!  And it frustrates me when I ask some friends what they think and one of them just has to pipe up and say "buy American".  Well I would if they were built better!  Not big huge freakin tanks.  That size was gone with the 1900's, ya know?

I'd go with the Toyota. From all I've seen and read about Hyundai I'd stay far far away from them. Unless there's cute mechanic at the Hyundai store you'd like to see more (alot) of.

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Or maybe not.

Toyota Avalon. nice car. Frankly I'd drive that and give the other driver yours or Jesse's car! It's a step up from the Camry.

Well, buying Toyota doesn't necessarily mean *foreign*.  Just ask all those workers in Huntsville, Alabama; Georgetown, Kentucky; Princeton, Indiana; San Antonio, Texas; Buffalo, West Virginia.

deltadarlin wrote on May 5^th, 2010 at 8:49am:

Well, buying Toyota doesn't necessarily mean *foreign*.  Just ask all those workers in Huntsville, Alabama; Georgetown, Kentucky; Princeton, Indiana; San Antonio, Texas; Buffalo, West Virginia.

Oh I know!  I was going to explain that they are manufactured here, but this lady has tunnel vision, so I let it go. :-X

Anyway, hoping that life aligns pretty soon in order to go see it (1.5 hr drive), but Jesse's on 3rd shift, he's working on a side job this week as well, he needs to plant the 2000 trees he ordered and I have a garage sale this weekend.

Sometimes I wish there were 2 of me. :-[

   To prove a car was made in the U.S.A. the VIN will start with 1, 4 or 5. People are surprised that their American brand car is actually made some where else.

    I feel for you. I have been looking for a truck for a while. My price range and that I am looking for a '95 or older doesn't help.

Paul

It is sad that the Toyota’s are made more in the US than say Fords. I have been told that most Fords are built in Canada and in Mexico, maybe if American cars where, let’s see, I don’t know maybe made by Americans in America they would be better and more reliable? We really need to stop outsourcing things to other countries and make out own stuff here and get the pride back in made in America, I would even be willing to pay more for it if I knew it was good and that it was made right here in the good old USA.

Well, for the most part, my Buick Century was made in Canada.  I have over 180,000 miles on it and (knock on wood), have never had any problem with it and I get decent gas mileage to boot (especially if I keep my foot out of the engine).

BigMatt wrote on May 5^th, 2010 at 6:44pm:

It is sad that the Toyota’s are made more in the US than say Fords. I have been told that most Fords are built in Canada and in Mexico, maybe if American cars where, let’s see, I don’t know maybe made by Americans in America they would be better and more reliable? We really need to stop outsourcing things to other countries and make out own stuff here and get the pride back in made in America, I would even be willing to pay more for it if I knew it was good and that it was made right here in the good old USA.

Business 101 - maximize returns for shareholders. If the cost of doing business was the same or less here in America, the work wouldn't be jobbed out over the border.

Now why would it cost more to manufacture, assemble, etc. here in the USA? Could it be out of whack union contracts? A general lack of tax incentives to keep the work here? Getting "the pride back in made in America" is not one of the reasons businesses list as a top priority. Making money is. But that's now a mortal sin.

Who recently said, "I do think, at a certain point you've made enough money."

Well, checked out all 3 and no dice.

I have my eye on 2 Honda Accord's and one Civic on Craigslist right now.  Trying to get more details so I can then go and look at them.

Can't wait till I find a car already! :P

For high milage vehicles I'd go with the Toyota.

I found a '96 Corolla with 129k for $2950.  Jesse probably doesn't want me to get something that old though, but I don't mind!

BigMatt wrote on May 4^th, 2010 at 5:39pm:

My best friend is a Toyota mechanic at a dealer and has been for like 30 years now and swears by Toyota and they just keep going as long as you change the oil when they need it. Myself I drive a 95 Toyota T100 4X4 and it is just about to turn 200k and has never been rebuilt or had a problem, really wish American cars could be as dependable.

i was a toyota mechanic and i second what matt said. i would put toyota up against any car manufacturer in the world period. they are easy to work on and seldom need anything done. if you were to look under matts truck you'd notice that it has straight front axle similar to my 78 f-150 4x4 as opposed to an independent front suspension used by american truck manufacturers nowadays.

when i worked at the dealer there were 5 camrys that came in for service with high miles.
1992 camry v6 560,000 miles
1994 camry 4 cyl 750,000 miles
1995 camry v6 470,000 miles
1998 camry v6 380,000 miles
1996 camry 4cyl 620,000 miles

all of these cars were in very good condition. no rust no upholstery problems. the only indication that  any of these cars had that kinda mileage was the drivers seat was broke down a little bit were your ass sat and the pedals were slightly worn. you could pull up the history on any of these cars. nothing more would come up other than gaskets, seals, a few brake jobs, and alot of fluid and filter changes.

as for subaru. probably a little fuel mileage. very durable but high labor hours to fix and part cost a little more.

i personally have own a honda prelude for years. honda makes a great car but i dont think they are good in the snow. they are built well but they are very light.

a toyota would be a good car to get around in up there in Wisconsin.  they hold up good to pot holes and they get through the snow pretty good.

for the love of god stay away from fords and chevys

:) Thanks Johnny



I have it narrowed down now to a Toyota Camry or Honda Accord.  I have a bunch printed out that are scattered all over the state, but Jesse's going to help me pick out ones that'd be worth the drive.  I just wish one would pop out at me to tell me "that's the one!".  I've had that feeling with every vehicle I've ever bought, so this is very frustrating to me!! :P

I vote Toyota.  We're a two Toyota family.

when i bought my 1970 ford truck i saw it and i fell in love. the engine knocked and smoked and the the transmission shifted and slipped badly. price was $200. mom asked why i bought such a piece of shit home. i sent the trans out to my buddy and i took the engine apart had all the parts hot tanked and i put it all back together. i invested about $2k. that was 15 years ago. it's sitting out in the driveway right now. i used the last 4 winters to haul in firewood and i used it yesterday to pull my tractor out of the mud. granted it has a 390 cubic in engine and it gets about 11 miles to the gallon none the less when its 20 below and i need a truck it absolutely will start and i will get things that day......as long as it doesn't run out of gas.

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Johnny, that's how I felt when I found my Corolla (which is now Jesse's work car).  The dealership had the wrong price on their website and when I brought them the printout, they honored it (was about $1500 less than what they really wanted).  It had 70,000 miles on it then and now has 184,000.  Still going great!  It does need an alignment though and I've been on hubby's butt to get it in, so I think I just might take it in myself and have them do it without him knowing, lol.

I'd love a Camry, but they're a bit scarce up here so we have to drive a ways to find one.  My budget is less than $5000 and I don't want one with more than 150,000 miles on it. 

I'm sure it'll pop out at me eventually!

I find it hilarious that the pop-up ads when viewing this thread are all hawking Chevys and Buicks.

And they say the government doesn't control the internet.

Brew, mine is one for Progressive, lol 


Well, I thought about something this morning while taking the kids to school, and that is when Lily gets her drivers license in Oct., she'll need a car to drive back and forth.  SO, instead of being selfish (which I like doing when it comes to vehicles, it's a bad trait I have :-[), I'm going to find something for HER.  I will be the main driver of it until then though.

So, it's now either a Camry or Corolla and for less than $4000, hopefully in black!  (she wants a black car, lol)

Not sure how I can keep miles off the Suburban though after she starts driving other than maybe sending her shopping for me?? :-/  (small grocery list, not the BIG one! ;))

I send Megg and Dyl shopping for me from time to time. 

you know mel, one thing about camrys is they hold there value very well. even the high milers.

also some places give you a free alignment if you buy 4 tires

Thanks Johnny, you're making my decision a little easier on me. :)

Mel, I drive a 1999 Toyota Camry that we bought new.  I don't drive many miles (short commute from home office to home), and my Camry is just turning 70,000 miles.

But, when we first bought it, it was Tarey's car and he commuted about 90 miles EACH WAY (180/day) from his office in Charlotte to home in Jamestown, NC. 

We have never had one ounce of problem with our Camry.  Oil change, tires, regular stuff.  Nothing else!

As troubled as Toyota is right now, I would still buy another Toyota.

Other than this Toyota, we have never bought a new car off the lot, and never will.  Two seconds after driving your new car off the lot, you have lost hundreds in it's value. 

Sandy - still love Toyota!

I found a 98 97 Camry Ava and I are traveling an hour and a half to look at tomorrow (Jesse is very busy right now and can't come).  I hope this is the one!

Toyota Camry - A#1 in my book.  I love mine.

Hope it works for ya Mellie!  But, in buying any used car, take it to a trusted mechanic to look at it for you before you buy - Toyota Camry or a whatever!

Sandy

keep in mind the problems that toyota is having is with the hybrids. they have a rheostat type gas peddle much like the dimmer switch dial you might use to dime the lights in your dinning room. anything older than 2008 will have a throttle cable that run from the gas peddle on the firewall directly to the mass air flow valve at the end of the intake plenum.

in a nutshell a 97 isn't effected by this ;)

Oh, I know that the recalls are due to the new ones, I'm not worried about a '97. :)

I'm just a tad nervous buying a vehicle on my own without Jesse, but he trusts my intuition (he called it superstition earlier, lmao!).

I'll know if it's a good car or not the minute I get in it and start it up!  I'll also check the engine oil, underneath and the paint to make sure there wasn't any previous damage.

The last 2 cars I bought all by myself were both Corolla's.  The first one I ended up losing to the bank and I miss it very much.  It was a 1991 burgundy 5spd and had a CD player and air conditioning.  We even put a hitch on it and towed a small trailer with a light weight jon boat.  I LOVED that car!!! :'(

Here's a couple pictures of the car...

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Get the VIN and run it through one of the used car history websites, like START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE

Or go to Google and type in something like "check used car history."

Did that already Brew, checks out clean.

Melissa wrote on May 10^th, 2010 at 5:04pm:

Did that already Brew, checks out clean.

i say go for it.  [smiley=thumbsup.gif] check yur PMS on FB. call me if u need help.

Nice looking car!

Well, there were things I didn't like about the '97 that made me say no to it, but we looked at their other cars and I found a '99 Camry that I loved!  It's an LE with 142,000 miles, never been in an accident and only 2 owners.  We brought it home today and I couldn't be happier. :)

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way to go mel! those were especially good years for toyota. ;) ;)