TJLack

I am in the market for a car for my daughter - she has a son and my priorities are safety, reliability and value. If you want to know why I'm in the market for a car for her see my thread on the "Not so GR8 RX8 anymore"!

A very close friend has offered me his father's 1999 RL 3.5 for $10,000 - which is at least $500 - $1000 below wholesale. The car has 51,000 miles on it and appears to be in excellent condition. Recently had new brakes, master cylinder and tires.

If I didn't purchase this car, the alternatives for her would be something like:

- 2004 Malibu LS 6 cyl 30k miles - ~$12000
- 2003 Impala 6 cyl 30k miles - ~$13000
- 2004 LeSabre 6 cyl 30k miles - ~$14500

It seems clear to me that the Acura is a better value, is a better car (tho 4 - 5 years older) and would hold the value better.

My question is whether the age of the car would outweigh those benefits in terms of more maintenance and higher costs of maintenance??

My friend is happy for me to take the car and drive it for a day or two and have my mechanic look over it.

Your opinions would be appreciated! I've always gotten great advice and information from this community and have tried to provide the same.

playdoh43

id go with Impala or the RL, with preference on the RL, Acuras are amonst the most reliable cars out there though the newer post 2000 impalas are pretty good too and it will be much cheaper to maintain and buy parts for. If your daughter's income is pretty tied up with raising her son, mortgage etc, then Id say go for the Impala or Malibu. Recent long term reliability has shown the overall reliability of Chevy has climbed above both Nissan and Mazda.

cleoent

Go with the honda. Every time.

Sephiroth

Im curious about why you are limiting your options to only 4.

EDIT: If you are adamant about choosing one of those, id pick the buick. The Acura will get expensive to repair once things start going wrong (things WILL go wrong as it ages).

crossbow

Any reason you aren't checking out the new civic hatch? Good power, decent space, mileage that rivals hybrids.

OneEvilRx8

2006 honda civic 4 door. ex

mikeb

I would stay import

LIShinka

Out of those 4, I would go with the RL.

It's the best looking of the bunch, has an interior that is both well made and handsome, and the reliability should be at least equal to the newer GM options. It will also hold onto it's value much better than the others. In 3 years, you can count on it losing maybe another 2-3k in value, while the other 3 will drop more along the lines of 5-8k.

I don't think maintenance costs will be much of an issue. Basically keep the oil changed and you won't need to do too much else. The difference in parts cost does not impact much when it comes to routine maintenance, as labor is the primary cost in most regular maintenance.

If your daughter is under the age of 60, I'd say the Buick should be out of the question. It has GMs infamous bulbous curve designs, inside and out; along with shoddy interior materials, sloppy handling (could be dangerous if she is used to the RX8) and the retiree stigma. A proven, reliable, efficient and reasonably powerful drivetrain are the only positive I can come up with.

The Chevrolets are good quality cars, if a little bland, and filled with too many vast expanses of cheap plastics on the interior. For all practical purposes, they are admirable cars, with the Impala being my choice of the two due to it's spaciousness and nearly equal economy to the smaller Malibu.

Overall, the RL would be my choice if they were all the same price. With it being a few thousand cheaper, I think it's a clear choice.

therm8

Check out the Saab 9-3 Linear. I see '03's going for $13-15000 usually. Doesn't say much for resale value, but it's a safe, nice looking car with enough power to get out of its own way. They handle good for a fwd sedan (you might not think handling matters, but have you ever tried to dodge a flying soda can in a car that doesn't handle well? The 8 did it magnificently, the poor guy behind me caught it on the windshield ). Not sure about maintenance costs on them. But if looks matter, it looks better than most cars in that price range. Interiors are nice and the 2.0T engine is proven.

LIShinka

Just as a note on the 9-3

Consumer Reports (I don't know how much you value their opinion, but the info is based on owner surveys) named the 9-3 one of the least reliable sedans on the market.

Japan8

I know you must be kidding about the Acura. A good friend in college was an absolute Honda lover. His cars run fine. First an '88 Accord and then a '93 Accord. but you should see what he was spending on maintenance on them... Practically replaced every drivetrain part. It had better be running well. Last time I spoke with him (about a year ago) he was tired of putting money in the car... the paint sucked and the engine needed yet more stuff done to it. he planned to just drive it into the ground and then get another car.

Stay away from an old Honda/Acura (actually I'd say that about most cars).

As some have mentioned... what's wrong with the new Civic? Mazda3? Used Mazda6? Used Altima? If it's gotta be from the list... go Impala. The looks aren't all that, but I've heard they are pretty well built.

Ike

This is going to come across as bias... But if value, reliability, and safety are major concerns for you an older Subaru is a great choice. Something like a 01-02 Legacy can be had for under 15k and they are about as solid as cars come and the AWD is great in bad weather.

Also, since some have mentioned it, you can get a new 9-3 on lease for under $300 a mo. My friend got one for $269 a month and it's a nice car for that price and scheduled maintenance is free for the first 24 months.

Rhawb

Ah, Ike, you're so predictable

Ike

Funny thing is I highly doubt I'll ever own a non turbocharged Subaru. But if safety and reliability are high up on your list they're great cars to consider

DARKMAZ8

A used solara

TJLack

Thanks. She was used to her 2000 Taurus - the RX8 was mine but got burnt up when her Taurus exploded! Appreciate the input.

TJLack

Thanks. She's living with me while finishing college, so I'll be the one maintaining the car for another two years. She just takes care of gas and insurance. Appreciate the input.

TJLack

That's funny - I have a friend whose wife has one and they've had all kinds of problems with it!

TJLack

I'm getting $7k - $8k for the 2000 taurus from insurance and was basically looking at what was available in later models in the $10k - $12k range. Just so happens that there are a lot of the GM program cars that fit the bill. The Acura came out of the blue as my friend's dad was recently hospitalized and as a result can no longer drive so they are selling one car.

I looked at Accord, Camry and they are hard to find and priced at a premium (more like $16k and up for a 2003 or newer). NIssan Sentra is another car that I have thought about - can get a 2002 or 2003 with decent mileage around $12k.

TJLack

Trying to limit the investment to $10k - $12k. She is the oldest of four daughters and I want to be careful about the precedent I set!

babylou

Why, so you can pay more money for less reliability by most import manufacturers? Or so you can ensure that our American economy is weakened? Or because you just don't know the facts?

Stats from the publicly available 2005 JD Power Vehicle Dependability Study prove my point. The study covers 3 years of ownership for 2002 year model cars. The numbers are problems per 100 cars. In red font are the three brands the original post was asking about:

• 139 = Lexus (the best)
• 149 = Porsche
• 151 = Lincoln
• 163 = Buick
• 175 = Cadillac
• 178 = Infiniti
• 194 = Toyota
• 195 = Mercury
• 201 = Honda
• 203 = Acura
• 225 = BMW
• 231 = Ford
• 232 = Chevy
• 235 = Chrysler
• 237 = Industry Average (weighted)
• 240 = Saturn
• 242 = Oldsmobile (now defunct)
• 245 = GMC
• 245 = Pontiac
• 252 = Mazda
• 260-397 = Sniffing the tail is 16 other import brands including Mercedes and Nissan.

Comparing non-luxury vehicles to each other it shows only Toyota and Honda doing a bit better than the Americans. For luxury vehicles it is a dead heat.

Sephiroth

If you are looking for some of the latest cars, domestic is the best way to go. Like i said, buick for the win. Good luck with your hunt.

Dinhx8

I wouldn't take JD power ratings alone to mean much more than ratings in Maxim magazine. JD power has a category for everything, just make sure you cross reference. Have you seen the new Kia Amanti commercial where it wins a JD Power award for "MOst appealing Midsize Sedan"? what a joke.

Id go with the RL or a used Corolla or Camry. Those thigns will drive for a while, and with my expreience at the least, youll have very little maintenance issues if you treat it well.

map

Buicks are so reliable because they're driven by 100 year olds to the grocery store once a week at 13 mph. Of course they show very few problems! They are still the same cars from the same factories as Chevy. As for Chevy being close, just because they don't show as many problems as they used to still doesn't mean they are built as well as an Acura. The tightness and quality feel are still not there. I'd take the acura in a second.

Ike

THat JD power survey is the initial quality survey which means dick when it comes to buying a used car.