Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Thank you in advance I have just read some posts on here on used cars and it has already been helpful, so thanks for sharing the expertise folks.
After three years managing on one car in LA we think the time has come to get an old reliable enough car to just do some local runs maybe three times a week with my two kids. We live ona steep hilland it is so tough pushing two kids up the hill if we even want to go to the park 20 mins walk away.
Currently we have a jeep compas 07 which we bought used with 44 k on the clock. Every year we have had to do an expensive job on it....throttle just went and then computer......anyway now friends tell me never buy an American made car as they do not have a good reputation......and Subaru has been suggested twice.
So we are looking for an older one for 1500 to 3 k but just wondered of anyone has any insight on them?
We realize at that price we may have mechanical repairs every year but since we have had this Ina much newer car anyway that cost more than triple that , we figure cars just break every year so let us spend less on the car anyway if this will happen for a 10 k spend anyway, in our experience.
We are unbothered what the car looks like as long as it is safe and as reliable as an old car can be expected to be.
We will do any long journeys in our jeep so it will just be for the school run ,gym or play spaces journeys, maybe 30 to 40 miles a week on surface roads.
Just wondering if there a certain mileage when things beginto break on these kind of cars. A friend said you can get 400 k out of them before they die.
Any other recommendations or tips gratefully received.maybe a Honda civic but I think they're more expensive maybe?
All of my Subies have been bought used, with at least 100K miles on them, and all but one have delivered another 200K miles with reasonable expenses on routine maintenance. These are tough, durable little cars ... with the notable exception of the 2.5 4-cam engine from the late 1990's through to when these were discontinued in favor of the 2-cam 2.5's.
You mention "LA". If this is Los Angeles, and you are using this only for local driving, then the AWD of the Subie becomes a limitation. With the climate out there, you don't need the AWD, but you'll pay for it in the fuel economy being lower than a comparably sized car that's FWD only.
Thanks sun sprit.that is helpful. Not sure what AWD is but if it pushes up gas per mile that will be a con.
No snow here ever.
Maybe Honda civic better in sunny climes........
Thanks sun sprit.that is helpful. Not sure what AWD is but if it pushes up gas per mile that will be a con.
No snow here ever.
Maybe Honda civic better in sunny climes........
"AWD" is full time all-wheel drive. And it does take a hit in the fuel economy department. If you don't need it our use it, it's a detriment to the car for your purpose.
"FWD" is front wheel drive only. These cars will deliver better fuel economy.
A big negative to AWD is you must keep all 4 tires within a fraction of an inch of each other as far as the diameter is concerned. Personally, unless you need AWD I would forgo it. I know on Volvos that have an AWD tranny you can disable it manually by taking out the VC and running with just the front two tires making it a FWD car. Either that or prepare to pay the $2k for a new VC.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,551 posts, read 81,085,957 times
Reputation: 57729
Subarus get great mileage despite the AWD, and snow or not they are safer even on wet pavement from rain. The Outback is the most popular vehicle in our state according to DMV records. The used car lots have various Subarus with as much as
200,000 miles on them still running strong, even as old as the late 80s. For the price you can buy two and have a spare if one does go bad.
Subarus get great mileage despite the AWD, and snow or not they are safer even on wet pavement from rain. The Outback is the most popular vehicle in our state according to DMV records. The used car lots have various Subarus with as much as
200,000 miles on them still running strong, even as old as the late 80s. For the price you can buy two and have a spare if one does go bad.
The older used Subies get pretty bad mileage parents have a 2006 IIRC it's lucky to get 24 MPG highway. The new ones get good mileage though.
Thanks everyone- okay so yes we do not need that AWD feature as california is sunny and we only holiday within CA.
That is a lot lower per gallon than our jeep which has broken down again tonight, juddering up the hill and stalling.... the third time in a month....after having the computer replaced two weeks ago.
So UNIMPRESSED with jeep unless we got a dud which is why we want to try and find a car that is not so achey breakey.
Maybe honda civic is better but the used cars are so much more here than in the UK- even stuff that is 15 years old people ask a lot for- I don't understand it- the difference from the UK in pricing on used cars.
Thanks everyone- okay so yes we do not need that AWD feature as california is sunny and we only holiday within CA.
That is a lot lower per gallon than our jeep which has broken down again tonight, juddering up the hill and stalling.... the third time in a month....after having the computer replaced two weeks ago.
So UNIMPRESSED with jeep unless we got a dud which is why we want to try and find a car that is not so achey breakey.
Maybe honda civic is better but the used cars are so much more here than in the UK- even stuff that is 15 years old people ask a lot for- I don't understand it- the difference from the UK in pricing on used cars.
While your experience with the Compass may be at the extreme end of difficulties with these vehicles, they have a very poor reliability record. Overall, the Jeep product line has not been very well rated in that aspect. Their strength has historically been in those areas where the off-road capabilities are needed; as a road vehicle, they're way outclassed by just about everything in the marketplace.
Honda civic has a much better reliability/durability record than the Compass.
UK used car pricing is predicated on a whole different structure as the cars age due to compliance with MOT, which becomes prohibitive after awhile to keep a car on the road. Unless a vehicle has collectable value or is a rare high value car, it's simply not worth the expense to keep it on the road. In comparison, in the USA, many states don't have anything comparable for vehicle inspection and required maintenance, and among those that do have vehicle safety inspections, the requirements are rather minimal ... to the point that a lot of marginal vehicles are still licensed and insured, legal for street use. Hence they retain a lot higher value because they can still deliver a transportation use for many more years.
The older used Subies get pretty bad mileage parents have a 2006 IIRC it's lucky to get 24 MPG highway. The new ones get good mileage though.
My wife drove her 2000 OutbackWagon Limited from our ranch to Cheyenne WY to Estes Park CO (for the celtic festival), then down to Arvada CO, then back to the ranch today. Fueled up in Cheyenne this AM and again tonight on the way home. This is a composite drive of about 60% highway driving at 75 mph, then mountain roads up to Estes at 55 mpg, then metro Denver area traffic which was stop and go from the West side of the area to Arvada and thence back to I-25 where she could again do 75 mpg. This car has 198,000 miles on it, I bought it with 189,000 miles on it and no service records, and we run Michelin M&S tires all year around.
Mileage was 265 miles, fuel used was 9.4 gallons = 28 mpg on 85 octane fuel.
Keep in mind that our base altitude is almost 6,000' elevation and up to Estes runs over 9,000', Arvada is back down to just under 6,000'. There's some serious prolonged mountain grades/winding roads with turns posted at 35-40 mph there, too, to get to Estes Park.
Folks getting only barely 24 mpg Highway on a 2006 Subie either have very poor driving management skills or a Subie that is not running properly. That vehicle has some very significant improvements than our 2000 and 2001 subie's, and should easily equal or exceed our fuel economy. Of course, the very latest ones with CVT transmissions get substantially better fuel economy, but at a serious increased cost of admission.
Last edited by sunsprit; 09-07-2012 at 10:55 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
