Hey Y’all,
Cool to see this community already exists! Would love to hear your suggestions. Thanks so much.
Here’s what I’m looking for: -used and as close to $10K as possible but up to $20K for something really solid.
-fuel efficiency important, hybrid ok. Not sure about full EV.
-Not a daily driver. Maybe 3-4 trips a week max. Mostly in town. And a ~100 mile round trip commute once a week or so.
-I want this car to last 10yrs at least. But I intend to drive it until one of us goes first.
-I live in Oakland CA, we have lots of potholes and some particularly dangerous drivers so I want something safe and reliable (solid).
-don’t care about aesthetics.
-I like to drive but fun to drive is just a nice to have.
-trunk space: enough for light camping or moving my bass and amp around.
-size: no SUVs or trucks please, prefer sedan or smaller (parking). 2 door/seat is ok as long as it has trunk space. I’m short, if it matters.
-I do like my music so some media controls are nice (like on the steering wheel), but can upgrade the sound system and console later ;)
-the simpler the better in terms of components, controls, maintenance. I’ll be happy with a roller window, no key fob, etc.
-it’ll be parked in a garage most of the time.
-some cars I’ve looked at that seem decent are: prius, golf, Mazda M3. Golf’s seem fun to drive and is a good size for me I think.
-I’m down with a manual if that comes up.
A Toyota Corolla will outlive the planet if maintained somewhat regularly. Its also under the radar enough to not draw attention and unless your hauling a 6x12 cab, should fit your gear.
thanks. one day…I’ll have a 6x12 :D
Heck yeah! Best of luck on that journey. My bassist has one and… whoo, it pushes some air. 😁
If you can find a Honda Fit, they’re supposedly incredibly reliable, very practical, and fun to drive.
I have a friend with one that I’ve been in a couple times. It may have been her, but that car felt like a snail lol. I’ll take another look though, thanks.
I don’t know what I’d recommend, but it seems like an EV would fit your driving needs very well as long as you can charge it at home. Just wondering why the unsuredness.
I think a full EV may limit my options a bit. I’m unsure if these are totally valid though.
I actually used to drive a tesla fairly often. It was my ex’s, who I lived with. We actually did street parking in that place, with no charging at home. Closest charger was 15 mins away. Not a huge PITA honestly - as long as you plan to charge around other errands. But we took a few road trips and there was always so much planning around the next charge, how fast it was, what the interface was (if not a supercharger) - and that’s in California!
I was also always paranoid about the battery dying in the middle of nowhere with no way to get it running without a tow to a charger. With a reg/hybrid, one can at least get a can of gas.
I do have charging in my current building’s garage, but there are several EVs here already, I don’t know/see how busy they are. I may also move soon.
When EVs are commonly found at 500mi ranges, I’ll be more interested. Willing to have my mind changed though!
- As was said, it’s hard to beat a Toyota Corolla.
- Honda Accord is also right up there for simplicity, reliability and long life.
- Hyundai also have a reputation for solid cars.
- A Prius can be a great car, but is the opposite of simple to maintain.
And honestly pretty much any modern car will last a very long time if you have a solid mechanic, and take their advice.
I was in a similar dilemma with similar preferences a couple years ago. You have good tastes!
I went with a 4th generation Prius (2016-2022 I think) when I found a 2021 with 37k miles for 17k. It was more than what I wanted to spend but honestly I couldn’t be happier.
I’m averaging 62 mpg with city driving, best is 72.1 mpg, and 46 mpg when I drive 300 miles to see my family at 90 mph. This generation is averaging over 350k miles on the battery in NYC taxis and doesn’t have favorable catalytic converters to steal either. Steering wheel media controls, tons of space for camping, comfy enough on bumps, I even got gently rear-ended and the bumper absorbed it all…no damage at all! Just had to pop a sensor back in place.
This will last you forever, cheap to maintain, cheap to run, cheap to insure, aaaaaand nobody will steal it lol.
Hey, I appreciate your thorough response to my points! Seems like I came to the right place. Prius is a solid contender. I’ll look at these in particular. I’ve been wondering what happened to those bumpers that used to be on older cars (80s/90s?), just give me a bumper car hahah.
Hahah I’d so take a bumper car
You might want to look at a Chevy bolt. Could get a slightly used one within your budget. And your use case doesn’t sound like it needs a separate charger. You could probably get away with a regular outlet for charging.
Oh for real? I’ll look at that one closer then. Thanks.
Your use case seemed similar to mine. I commute short distances to work, run errands and the occasional longer trip. I only use a standard outlet for charging. It only charges 3 miles per hour but with how long my car sits and isn’t driving I’ve been more than fine with it
Check out the hyundai venue. My wife just got a 24 with only 10k miles for $17k (was a rental that was in a minor fender bender like 3 months in so they sold it). The thing will get 47mpg highway if you stay around 65-70mph. It doesn’t have a ton of power off the line in normal mode, but sports mode has some pep to it.
It’s a bit higher off the ground than a sedan, and it’s actually shorter than an elantra, but has pretty good trunk space especially if you lay the back seat down.
You can actually get one new for a bit over $20k.
One trick is to find a non-hyundai dealer that’s close to a hyundai dealer. They’re a bit more motivated to sell the hyundai for a good deal.
Another good alternative is a hyundai Santa Cruz. I absolutely love mine, and I can get 37mpg highway if I baby it (usually around 32mpg if I leave CC on). Plenty of cargo space with the bed, and it’s roomy inside. I’m 6’3 and this is the first car I’ve had where putting the seat all the way back is too far. Plus, it has AWD and can tow 3500lb.
This is a great rec, I appreciate the tips and details. Didn’t know that about the dealers. I’m always down to take the trip to santa cruz too :D. That sounds like a steal at 17K. I like that it is a bit higher but still compact. Will look into this one more for sure!
You’re welcome! Also take a look at the kia soul. I had my OG soul for 13 years and nearly 200k miles before I traded it in. It was perfectly fine except for needing a new power steering pump that I didn’t want to fuck with (and they gave my $6k for trade-in on my truck when KBB was $1500)
It’s not much bigger than the Venue, and that thing definitely has a deceptive amount of power under the hood. It was fun to drive for sure.
Used Toyota Camry that hasn’t been in an accident will check all your boxes and you can pick pretty much any year that matches you spending limits. If you go older, like pre 2010 or whenever center consoles became a thing you will get reliability even on an older model if you double check things like the alternator that could be aging enough to replace.
I would double check any vehicle by year for problems with center consoles and other electronic issues though.
Thanks. any reason for the camry over the corolla?
A little roomier, more trunk space for camping and bass/amp. Otherwise they are pretty similar.
