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!

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

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.

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'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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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."

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

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

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

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

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!