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I have a Corolla. I don't know. It's reliable and good on gas...but I had a Jetta before and it ran smoother and was more comfortable. I am very tall, and yes the Corolla is small, but so was the Jetta and I think I fit better in the Jetta. I always feel like I have a crook in my neck and I have to readjust my spine after a long ride in the Toyota.
I have 92k on the Toyota, though, and by this time I had a few major repairs on the Jetta.
Last edited by Mightyqueen801; 02-04-2017 at 05:20 PM..
I have a Corolla. I don't know. It's reliable and good on gas...but I had a Jetta before and it ran smoother and was more comfortable. I am very tall, and yes the Corolla is small, but so was the Jetta and I think I fit better in the Jetta. I always feel like I have a crook in my neck and I have to readjust my spine after a long ride in the Toyota.
I do not know anyone who has reliability issues with cars when they are new (i.e. 1 - 5 or 7 years, maybe even up to about 10 years). They might have some little annoyances like the airbag recall, but I know of no one who has had a major issue recently with a new car period. Back in 1995 my brand new Camaro Z28 had an odd sound when shifting (probably throw out bearing). I took it ot the dealer and had it back in a day or two with a new transmission. That was major, but I do not see how that is such a problem that I would buy some Toyota appliance instead. In any event, I simply do not see anything like that with newer cars. My dad has leased 5 Buick's in the past 10 years and had 0 issues. My daughters both have 3 years old (bought new) cheap cars (Fiesta and Spark) No significant issues. the Spark did have some minor precautionary recall issue that was handled during an oil change and never manifested as a problem.
All cars are about the same when they reach beater age (say 15 years). For beaters, reliable or not is not about brands, it is about how the car was driven and cared for. Any car, any brand can be great os POS at this age. If the owner drive 35 MPH down a road where the lane edges are all potholes for 15 years, you are going to have bad tie rod ends, control arms and shocks/struts on that side, no matter the brand. If they changed the oil every 20,000 miles, you re likely to have engine problems. If the car was babied, you are going to have fewer problems. Maker makes no difference.
So in comparing reliability it is the 7 - 15 year age that apparently matters. How much difference is there in reliability? From what I have seen it is very marginal. Like 5%. They are certainly not 50% more reliable during the 7 - 15 year old span. So, people buy a car they find boring to obtain a 5% or so increase in reliability for the 7 - 15 year age?
Even in that time period, I have not experienced many issues with reliability, meaning it sill simply not get you to your destination. I have had some cars that needed significant repairs in that age range, but no relationship to brand or model. If there is a problem you are aware of it in plenty of time to address it before the car stops moving. If the concept is to avoid having to do any repairs - nothing will do that. There will always be something. If the concept is to limit repairs, that makes sense, but the difference is minimal and in most instances you more than make up the difference in repair costs by the difference in price.
There are a few exceptions here and there by model and year were some cars were just terrible design or oddly fragile, but you find those by model and year. Not every Toyota and Honda is immune to bad design'/fragility, not every Ford or Oldsmobile is poorly designed. Some are, some are not.
So while you can avoid certain year models of some cars, choosing a car by brand even though you find the car boring or mundane, I just cannot understand. I get that some people like them better for other reasons, but if they think they are mundane, dull no fun, it is hard to understand buying them on perceived reliability issues only.
Maybe not so much reliability as durability. Everyone says the Corollas last and last. Mine is a 2010 that I bought in 2012. I want this thing to go for a while. I'm not a person who buys cars to impress anyone--it's transportation to me. If you sneer at me because I'm driving an old car, well, be assured I don't give a rat's ass. I don't see how a car could be considered "fun" to begin with. It's a way to get from here to there.
They look nice. It's hard for me to justify a big car, though. 99% of the time, no one else is in it.
Plus, I just noticed your location, so you'll get this--I drive from the Jersey shore to Brooklyn two days a week, so you know I'm sitting on 278 waiting to cross the Verrazano, just burning gas into the Staten Island air.
Last edited by Mightyqueen801; 02-04-2017 at 06:50 PM..
Reason: Capital I
They look nice. It's hard for me to justify a big car, though. 99% of the time, no one else is in it.
Plus, I just noticed your location, so you'll get this--i drive from the Jersey shore to Brooklyn two days a week, so you know I'm sitting on 278 waiting to cross the Verrazano, just burning gas into the Staten Island air.
I get it. That drive stinks.
I basically only drive the RAV4 on weekends (I have a company car for the week) plus being a taller guy with a family, I wanted an SUV, just not a large one.
Old thread, but yes, I find my Toyota's boring. My Jetta was much more fun.
But I own three Toyota's (well two, one is in the wife's name). Supposedly all cars have gotten much better in quality. But I like having my vehicles be all "similar" in function.
Doesn't bother me to own boring vehicles. Point A, please meet point B.
I've been driving my new Corolla for almost six months now and I still love it. Every time I get in the car, it's super exciting for me! For one thing, it smells amazing. The new car smell wore off but I replaced it with new car scent air freshener spray, which I love. I also bought a leather scent spray even though I don't have a leather interior. So I spray both in my car and turn on the vents to circulate the air around and it just smells so great. Then I turn the music on and omg. I love my car so much! It's such a pleasure to drive and sniff.
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