Help me choose my new car

[Danny-Darko]

Has anyone purchased a used car from a rental car company (Hertz, Avis, Enterprise, etc)?

 

My brother-in-law swears by them. He buys all his family cars from those car rental companies. He says they are still very new and well kept and a reasonable price. That's all I know but he and my nephew know a lot more about cars than I. Based on that I'd say it's worth at least a look into!

[+ keroscenefire]

 

Glad your VW kept you safe. I’ve owned several and they are nicely finished, fun cars to drive. But unless you have an excellent, non-dealer repairman, they are best avoided.

 

Yeah, I went to a dealer nearby which was convenient but basically every repair was over $1000. I did my front brakes there for that and then realized I could just go to Midas for much cheaper which was good..but even Midas was like $600 for the back brakes just because when VW brakes go you have to replace both the pads and rotors apparently. I had friends tell me that they got all of their brakes replaced for only $600 and I can't believe how much I spent on mine.

[+ keroscenefire]

Has anyone purchased a used car from a rental car company (Hertz, Avis, Enterprise, etc)?

 

I was looking at this too because actually my credit union has this deal with Enterprise. But their selection was pretty crap. Basically the only thing in my price range were lots of Nissan Altimas, and that car has gotten bad ratings across the board. Apparently many have a transmission problem that is very costly to repair. I should take a look at Hertz and some others though.

[+ Reisr30]

My first cars were VW Golfs and Jettas. I enjoyed driving them but they were expensive to repair and the reliability was not great. I switched to a Toyota SUV and have been really happy with them and the reliability

 

I looked into Audi’s and BMWs but my friends told me about how expensive there were to maintain and I decided to go Japanese

[Danny-Darko]

I was looking at this too because actually my credit union has this deal with Enterprise. But their selection was pretty crap. Basically the only thing in my price range were lots of Nissan Altimas, and that car has gotten bad ratings across the board. Apparently many have a transmission problem that is very costly to repair. I should take a look at Hertz and some others though.

 

Yes, don't consider the Nissan Altima. A niece had one awhile back and had nothing but serious problems!

[+ keroscenefire]

Yes, don't consider the Nissan Altima. A niece had one awhile back and had nothing but serious problems!

 

Yeah everything I read is just really bad for Nissans generally and Altimas in particular. I guess they are one of the cheapest new cars, which is why rental car companies buy them in droves, but they do not hold up well and are not very stylish or fun to drive.

[Danny-Darko]

My first cars were VW Golfs and Jettas. I enjoyed driving them but they were expensive to repair and the reliability was not great. I switched to a Toyota SUV and have been really happy with them and the reliability

 

I looked into Audi’s and BMWs but my friends told me about how expensive there were to maintain and I decided to go Japanese

 

US is even less expensive and better in my opinion! I'm looking at the Chevrolet Malibu. I like the Impala but it might be a bit too much. Dodge Charger and Challenger are great options too and so fun to drive!

[Guest]

It's a shame about Nissan, they were a client of mine and I was down at their factory in Tennessee quite often. I've had Maximas and Altimas as rentals and both were really nice except for the navigation system which sucked hard, luckily they had CarPlay. For awhile I considered getting an Infiniti G60 but have moved on knowing they're having issues as a company. I've had two Audis and a Benz and the MB was the best car I ever owned/leased. Second best was my 90 Toyota Celica GTS, that was an amazing car. I owned it the second longest next to my 4Runner so I'm a bit biased towards Toyota.

[MidwestCoastal]

I'm on the waiting list for a....

[Guest]

I'm on the waiting list for a....

 

DROOL............

[Guest]

My first cars were VW Golfs and Jettas. I enjoyed driving them but they were expensive to repair and the reliability was not great. I switched to a Toyota SUV and have been really happy with them and the reliability

 

I looked into Audi’s and BMWs but my friends told me about how expensive there were to maintain and I decided to go Japanese

All though models can differ, and I would check Consumer Reports, which keeps hard data (unlike opinion sites), in general Japanese and Korean brands tend to have the best reliability, US, German, and Scandinavian in the middle (but with US brands being far less expensive to maintain and repair), and Italian and British models having the worst reliability.

[+ pdxleo]

Never ever EVER buy a first year of a Ford- let the suckers be the guinea pigs!

[+ bashful]

I looked into Audi’s and BMWs but my friends told me about how expensive there were to maintain and I decided to go Japanese

 

Extremely expensive. My neighbor said he had to pay $795.00 for a break job on his Q5, and that was at least four years ago.

Edited August 2, 2020 by bashful

[+ bashful]

My brother-in-law swears by them. He buys all his family cars from those car rental companies. He says they are still very new and well kept and a reasonable price. That's all I know but he and my nephew know a lot more about cars than I. Based on that I'd say it's worth at least a look into!

 

I have no interest in Hertz, but with their bankruptcy, I would think there are some deals to be had.

 

www.hertzcarsales.com

[+ bashful]

I'm on the waiting list for a....

 

Good for you, but it's not for me. All I can do is imagine a rough ride, and then, a hemorrhoid popping out before I even got home from picking it up from the dealer.

Edited August 2, 2020 by bashful

[+ bashful]

I like the Impala but it might be a bit too much.

 

I would take a look at an Impala, however as @Danny-Darko said, may be a bit over budget.

 

Well rated. I would think it would be quite, and ride well on a long drive, and you have a choice of a fuel efficient 2.5 liter 4 cylinder, or a powerful 3.6 liter V6. Unfortunately for the Impala, it came out as people were shifting to SUVs vs. sedans, so a lot of them went into the rental fleets, which is good for you who doesn't want to buy brand new, and suffer the depreciation.

[+ Charlie]

Gee, after reading all these comments about brakes, I don't feel so bad about recently paying $500 at the dealer for brake replacements on my M-B at the 40K mile service.

[+ bashful]

British models having the worst reliability

 

An old joke, back from the early 2000's, was if you buy a Jaguar, you need to buy two, so you have one to drive while the other is in the shop.

[Samfoslom]

check out a used Mazda 3 sedan or hatchback. They have some sportiness. I personally like hatches because there is more ability to get stuff in the back. trunks on some swoopy 4 door coupe types result in a tiny opening. i've had rental cars where the trunk was big but it was a challenge to squeeze the suitcase through the small opening (small because the decklid is so small)

[JayCeeKy]

check out a used Mazda 3 sedan or hatchback.

I have bought Mazda's for the past 25 years. My last two were a Mazda 3 Hatch and now a CX-5 SUV. They have always been excellent cars with little or no repair.

[+ E.T.Bass]

Consumer Reports is no longer the go to guy on reliability. Try CarComplaints.Com and MyRepairPal.Com The best used car in your price range is the 2010 or 2011 Toyota Camry. They were the best Camrys ever made. However 2012 to 2014 it was redesigned and suffered front end issues and lost its above average crash rating, one with 50k miles runs about 8k. Korean cars have improved greatly since there introduction, however certain models have annoying electrical problems. VW unreliable.

What changed at Consumer Reports?

I was planning to subscribe for researching my next car.

[+ Charlie]

check out a used Mazda 3 sedan or hatchback. They have some sportiness. I personally like hatches because there is more ability to get stuff in the back. trunks on some swoopy 4 door coupe types result in a tiny opening. i've had rental cars where the trunk was big but it was a challenge to squeeze the suitcase through the small opening (small because the decklid is so small)

I have bought Mazda's for the past 25 years. My last two were a Mazda 3 Hatch and now a CX-5 SUV. They have always been excellent cars with little or no repair.

We had a 2013 Mazda3 hatchback, which was a good car and a lot of fun to drive. We replaced it with an SUV only because it was getting hard for old men to get into and out of.

[JayCeeKy]

What changed at Consumer Reports?

I was planning to subscribe for researching my next car.

CR is still a good resource for buying cars, both new and used. My problem with CR is that they used to give you the complete ratings for various items (e.g. appliances, kitchenware, computers, TVs) but now the magazine only gives you the "Best, Best Value, Great Picture" etc. You have to subscribe to their online site (I got for $12/year on sale) to get all the ratings in particular categories. They do have the "Car Issue" every March which you can buy on Amazon for about $12. You can also use their online service for buying a car which will tell you how much the dealer actually paid for the car (including add-ons) and what a good price might be. You probably already know all this.

[Deadlift1]

What changed at Consumer Reports?

I was planning to subscribe for researching my next car.

It's not terrible. It's just that there are other free sites which are just as good or better. I also check to see if the car I was interested in has an online forum where I can actually ask owners about there cars. And plus see JayCeeKy comment.

[+ E.T.Bass]

It's not terrible. It's just that there are other free sites which are just as good or better. I also check to see if the car I was interested in has an online forum where I can actually ask owners about there cars. And plus see JayCeeKy comment.

Are there one or two free Sites you recommend?