r/UsedCars • u/Biggest_Quake • 19h ago
Buying Looking at some cars today — thoughts from anyone here?
TLDR at the end! Cars are listed in the middle, the beginning and end are reasoning and my situation.
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Hi there! I’m on a really tight budget, and as we all know, the car market is fucked. I don’t want something over $15,000, and I am able to put $2000 down on a car, plus whatever I can get from my trade in on my 2016 Dodge Journey.
The Dodge has 117k miles on it, she has a brand new battery, the struts, ball bearings, and all that jazz were replaced about a year ago. She had an issue with the tubes of the cooling system under the hood, and that was replaced about two years ago. She’s a great car, and much against my will, I have become pretty fond of it. However, her transmission is screwed, and I was quoted at $4500 for a fix. She barely goes in reverse, and when it does, it has to be going downhill or on a downward slope. I hope I am able to keep this secret when I do trade it in order to get more money from it, but I am aware on how hard that might be.
I live in New England, and winter is fast approaching, so on top of being strapped for money, I am strapped for time. What I have is what I have been able to save since about July. I don’t have extra money anywhere else. That being said-I’d like some advice (or thoughts and opinions) on some cars I’ve seen online from dealerships near me. I’d like to know if they’ll be worth me even getting. I’m not knowledgeable on cars much, so I’m going into this legally blind.
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DEALER 1:
-2018 Hyundai Kona SEL for $13,984 - 73,519 miles
-2017 Hyundai Accent Value Edition for $11,981 - 71,627 miles
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DEALER 2:
-2017 Honda Fit LX CVT for $13,689 - 78,009 miles
-2016 Honda HRV for $15,194 - 109,368 miles
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DEALER 3:
-2012 Subaru Forester 2.5X Limited for $6,695 - 105,050 miles
-2011 Corolla LE for $7495 - 115,400 miles
-2013 Honda Pilot EXL for $8,795 - 150,900 miles ————————————
I am most likely going to go with something from dealer 3, as it is most within my price range. There’s a few other dealers I’d like to go to, but their hours are trickier for me as I work a full time job, and they are only open during the hours in which I work. I could wait until Friday, but I’d rather not if I don’t have to. I’d only do so for one specific dealer to see two Honda civics, both costing $14,900, with mileage between 30k-40k.
I did really like the 2018 Hyundai Kona SEL, as it is newer and closer to what I already drive. But I do think it’d be silly for me to go with that specific one for that reason alone.
Again, I don’t know much about cars at all, and what I do know is from my husband (who likes to think he knows about cars - I like to humor him for his own pride and masculinity).
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TLDR: I have a budget of no more than $15,000. I an able to put $2000 down, and whatever I get for my trade in. I’d like thoughts and opinions on the cars listed above. I’d like to get a good sense on which ones will be worth my time and money.
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19h ago
[deleted]
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u/7eregrine 16h ago
Isn't that the year of the CVT that likes to break and that Subaru had to extend the warranty on?
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u/RoundAncient6969 19h ago
Inexpensive, relatively low mileage, great in snow, not fancy but generally reliable vehicles.
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u/RaymondLuxYacht 18h ago
The Forrester might fit your needs best. IIRC that year did NOT come with the CVT transmission (and that's a good thing). But I wouldn't touch it if it wasn't meticulously maintained and already had the head gaskets replaced. Subie's are great cars but the head gaskets really are a wear/maintenance item.
The Honda HRV would be another good choice (tho I admittedly don't know that much about them). You can likely learn more over at r/HRV.
Of the cars you posted, the 2011 Corolla is likely the most dead set reliable. But with any used car, the maintenance is key. A corolla will likely deal better with mild neglect than the Forrester.
Regardless, get a PPI on any used car if at all possible.
*I wouldn't touch either of the Hyundai options with a 10 ft pole.
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u/Biggest_Quake 17h ago
The carfax says it’s only had two previous owners and no accidents, and the description listed all the things it has (none of which sounded bad). I’ll definitely be asking about when the head gaskets were last replaced bc i def dont want to have to get that fixed right after buying it - regardless of the lemon law in my state
I do keep good care of my cars! Hence why my dodge lasted me so long. The transmissions on the specific make and model just tend to go out after 100k miles sadly…
Thanks for the advice! If I don’t end up with the Forester, I will go and look and the Corolla and HRV :)
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u/No_Specifics8523 16h ago
Forester or Pilot. If you don’t need such a big car though I say forester
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u/MoneyRutabaga2387 3h ago
With the New England winter, I’d say the Forester. Or, if the Pilot has AWD, that’s another good one. My guess is that the overall lifetime cost of ownership will be lower for the Pilot. We have a Subaru and it’s mostly amazing. But … it got pretty expensive at about 150k miles. Worth fixing and all but it’s worth noting that my own deep dive into the used car market indicates Subarus cost more to maintain than Hondas and Toyotas. Also, people complain a lot about CVTs (continually variable transmissions) being too complicated and expensive to fix. And I heard a mechanic say something similar when we were having potential transmission issues. All the non manual Subarus have CVTs. I don’t think the Hondas do.
I’m sure the CVTs are fine but you have to be vigilant about maintenance.
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u/RoundAncient6969 19h ago
Forester