Should I buy a foreign or USA vehicle to get the most bang for my bucks?

Question

I need cost effective and afforable transportation for a family of three. I am not opposed to buying from an owner and I want something that will help with rising gas prices and be fun to drive around town. I have only one kid so I don't need a hugh vehicle. What is a great buy and where for me...do I go for a foreign or USA car?

Answer 1

Cost effective, affordable and reliable with good gas mileage:
toyota
honda
mazda

I've always have wonderful luck with toyotas and mazdas. Several of my friends have hondas and love them too. They always get good ratings from consumer reports as well.

Answer 2

I've been selling cars for about three years now (first Honda, now Pontiac, Buick, and GMC) and I can tell you people have too much faith in the Japanese cars. Yes, many of them are good cars and made well, but so are most GM cars, now. In the last ten years or so, Toyota and Honda began cutting production costs, making their vehicles less reliable than they were fifteen years ago. --during that time General Motors improved the quality of their vehicles. Whatever you do, don't buy a hybrid. Even for the same car, the hybrid version costs three to six thousand more. And unless you drive 60,000 miles a year, it will take you at least five years before you make back that money from lower gas spending---and by this point you will need to replace the hybrid cell, another $3,000. I recommend the Pontiac G6 - 4 cylinder model. The 2.4L Ecotec engine (Toyota design) gets 34 mpg highway, without sacrificing power. This sedan is spacious and there have been few complaints about its reliability (though it's only been around two years). You can buy one for under $16,000. And it looks much better than the ugly Prius hybrid. Whatever you decide, though, remember not to give the Japanese cars more credit than they deserve---though some models are pretty good.

Answer 3

Whoever said that a Chevrolet Malibu is built the same as a Honda Accord or Toyota Camry hasn't read anything about anything dealing with cars and is going strictly by word of mouth.

It's true that you'd have the best chance with a Honda or Toyota. Sure some people have good luck with other cars, but you want the car with the least possibility of failing on you with the most options and comforts you can fit into that category. With all the data that's poured in from service stations we can see that Toyota and Honda are still on top of reliability.

But if you're going to wait a little while you might want to keep an eye out for the new Ford Fusion (aka Mazda 6/Lincoln Zephyr/Mercury Milan). If you can get a deal on one of those (and Ford has some good deals going) that would be a pretty good buy.

Your best choice in my opinion would be the Toyota Hybrid Prius. Their reliability is outstanding, they're roomy enough for a small family, fit and finish is excellent as always, 40-60 miles per gallon, and still start at about 21k.

This is one of the best cars too buy. It performs well, and is very unique to drive because it's a Hybrid - it's quiet, electrically powered movements in the city are smooth and enjoyable. Plus you get that tax write off.

Answer 4

Most of the advice on here so far has been good. One car I haven't seen mentioned, the Geo Prism, is kind of a sleeper since it is really a Corolla.

If you want to have a vehicle that gets good mileage but has a lot of flexibility then look for a used Accord wagon or a used mini-ute such as the CRV [Honda] or Rav4 [Toyota].

There are also some Corolla wagons out there.

I agree with other posters that the reliability gap has been narrowed.

BUT, the real value of the Honda and Toyota cars becomes apparent when you sell it. IE, they will bring more, often MUCH more, on the back side of the deal.

Answer 5

From my experience, Honda makes the best cars around. Even the small Hondas have plenty of head and leg room, they are very fuel efficient, and they always rate at the top as far as reliability goes. Honda is the way to go.

Answer 6

go look at them all, don't even look at the name on the car. many of the cars will have different names and even different company's on them but still be the same exact car made in the same plant. I believe its the Chevy Malabo that is the exact same car as the Camry or acoprd but is less money.


I have had great luck with fords, but I buy ones with V8's us company's make great large engines. I run all mine to over 200,000 miles with out any problems or major repairs (just normal stuff, breaks, tires, the stuff what wares out) then sell them, sold one to a friend of mine about 5 years ago, he was over 300,000 miles on it last time I saw him.

Answer 7

Japanese cars are better quality, even if it does mean forgoing the American market. They last longer (I've had my Accod for 10 years, 125,000 miles with no major problems). Fuel efficiency is pretty good, too. I believe the Accord gets 24/30 mpg or something like that. There may be other models that have better fuel efficiency, so you may want to check out Yahoo Autos for more research.

Answer 8

I would get a used recent Corolla, no timing belt, (less maintenance) excessively reliable, real good on gas, I have owned both American and other Japanese makes, as a matter of fact I now own a Honda Civic.

Answer 9

Buy a Ford or Chevy truck, or any Japanese car. It should have at least 30,000 miles on it. Take it to a good mechanic who can check it over for you first. Then sell it when it has 130,000 miles and do it all over again.

Answer 10

Look for a 2004 Hyundai Elantra. Great car and even better warranty. You can't get more for your money.