patrick.net

Onvacation says

Toyota, Honda, and Mazda.

I've got a 4 Runner (wife) with low miles and 2 Nissans with 200k+ miles. I'd throw Nissan into that group. Everyone I see with older model cars it's all Nissan and Toyota. I don't know Mazda. I just think of the small coupe with Mazda and I ain't fitting in that.

Occasionally I'll see an older Ford or Chevy on the road that's pre-2000's. Subaru seems to do okay, but they feel like station wagons with good AWD. They have shit clearance on all their models and it's a bitch car in the mountains. Think Denver, Bozeman, Tahoe, etc. My Nissan Armada has been the best car we've ever had by any standard. We thought we were crazy buying it at the time. No regrets besides the starter going 1 year ago or so and that was labor intensive. At 220k and hoping for 400k.

NuttBoxer says

So not just the makers listed, but the year is important. The art of Six Sigma was perfected in Japan in the early 1990's. If you can still find a Honda or Toyota that are from that era, those cars were made to last. I know a guy who had a Civic 500k and was still going strong. Also, ask anyone about the old Toyota trucks, the 22RE is legendary.

https://www.carcomplaints.com/ has interesting info on year of manufacture.

I got 220k out of a 2003 Camry before it started to leak oil (head gasket) and I got rid of it. Bout the same with a Sequoia, then a freeze plug (iron) rusted through and it sprung a leak, losing all my coolant in a few minutes. Got rid of that too. I miss that one. Maybe I should have pulled the engine but I don’t have an engine hoist. We donated the car.

Head gasket is a pretty routine repair, and a lot cheaper than a new car. I wait until it's high miles and transmission, or engine rebuild.

I'm keeping a couple cars from the time before "drive and steer by wire" (i.e. newer cars liable to being Michael-Hastings'ed)

clambo says

I don't understand why anyone doesn't just pay cash for a used car.
After a few years they lose most of their value but they still are good.
I guess it's a dumb question; nobody has any cash.

I could raise cash from my Retirement plan, but I have to pay taxes on withdrawals. If my marginal tax rate exceeds the loan rate, a loan makes sense, right?

I've had a good run with a 2011 Kia Rio that we bought brand new. I used it to commute to work, and now my 18 year old son drives it. It has manual shift, steering, and windows. Few of his male peers can drive a stick! Good MPG. We change the oil every 5 or 6 thousand miles. We've replaced tires, brakes, fuel injectors, spark plugs and an O2 sensor. No big issues.

In 2017 we bought a used 2012 Kia Sedona minivan so that we could haul kids and friends around. It's never had any issues. I've changed oil every 6,000 miles and replaced tires, brakes, and battery. Now that my kids are older, I use it to go to work and for surfing. The back seats can be removed. You can sleep very comfortably in it. If you don't need 4wd, minivans are the shit.

I had the transmission rebuilt in a 2004 Accord at 160,000. $2,500. I got another 80,000 out of it and gave it to my daughter. The engine was in great working order and all systems and electronics worked perfectly.