What is the most reliable economy car?

[ringmastery]

[sendero]

1. That's a very broad question...

... new or used? Really small or pretty small?

I'll take a stab anyway...

You cannot go wrong with anything made by Toyota, Honda or Nissan.

You are unlikely to go wrong with anything made by Mazda, Mitsubishi, Isuzu, Geo or Saturn.

Hope that helps :)

[ringmastery]

2. I'm looking for something used

in the $5k price range.

I have a toyota corolla now and I'm happy with it without many problems, but it's 13 years old and I'm looking to trade it in for something newer.

[sendero]

4. I just recently..

... bought a "second" car to supplement my gas-guzzling pickup truck, which I need but not for every trip.

I did a lot of study. I wound up buying a used Mazda Protege with the 1.5 liter engine and manual transmission. It's EPA mileage rating is 30 in town and 37 on the highway.

Stick to the makes I mentioned and you are unlikely to go wrong. However, there is a lot of variation in gas mileage. Go to http://www.fueleconomy.gov to see the ratings - which are not perfect but are going to be correct relatively.

My only complaint with the Korean cars such as Hyundai is that their gas mileage for the equivalent car/engine is substantially lower. They just don't yet employ the more advanced technology required to squeeze the last bit from a drop of gas. But they are almost as reliable as the second tier of cars I listed.

[Lou_C]

3. Hyundai

I had a Hyundai Excel that lasted me 10 years and it had 160,000 miles on it and it had been in a head on collision but it still ran up until the day that I had to junk it.

The reason that I junked it was because it needed a new transmission and I didn't have the bucks to put one in.

[flowomo]

12. we bot a HYNDAI last yeat... Sonata.... great price, warranty, features...

and the quality keeps going up

[Lou_C]

13. The warranty is the best part

I believe that it is for 10 years now?

I got great milage out of my car and I miss it but it was in bad shape and it needed more work then it was worth. I had some major body damage on the front of my car and I was afraid to drive it.

[Eurobabe]

5. Honda

hands down, without a doubt. Owned one model or the other since 1991, wouldn't have it any other way. Just bought an Acura, it's fabulous!

[icymist]

14. I gotta go with Honda too.

If it has 180,000 + miles on it, have a new timing belt and water pump put in. Other than basic maintenance (tune up, muffler) after that, there should be no problem. I drive a '88 Prelude. Great little car and it's loaded!

[TexasBushwhacker]

15. Love my Honda

I had good Mazda's too, but I hear they aren't as good now that they are basically Fords.

FWIW, on all cars, I think you should check out the safety rating as well. You'd be surprised which cars are real death traps. You can check them out here:

http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/{/url]

[chaska]

6. Toyota Tercel

Check consumer reports - they love it. I just sold one (an '89) that I had for about six years. I never had to do anything to it except replace a water pump. I drove it cross country a half dozen times. It had over a 230,000 on it when I sold it. Great car. And 40 mpg.

[mitchum]

7. Honda Civic...

bought mine new in 91 and I've just watched the odometer rack up 175, 000 miles. I plan on driving that little beast into the ground.

[Rationality]

8. I'm a fan of the Nissan Altima, but I imagine there are more economical

cars out there...

Addendum: Try looking up Consumer Reports. They're good at determining that kind of thing.

[azmesa207]

9. Chevy Cavalier

I had them since 1983 I had 6 of them all the way to the 97 I now drive and everyone I owned went well over 100,000 My 89 has gone 163000 and still going all got 35 to 38 miles on the Highway and never no major problem all basic Maintenance Buy U S

[flewellyn]

10. According to Consumer Reports...

The Honda Civic is the second most reliable car on the market. The first? Honda Accord. These are very well made, very reliable cars. Not sporty, but they will keep going long after something fancier has bit the dust.

[HuckleB]

11. Go with a used Civic.

Never buy a new Honda. The dealers are terrible, and the pricing scheme scummy. They make you buy far more crap than most people want in a car.

Otherwise go with Saturn or Toyota. There's a big drop off from there.