[USER]

I know the car advice is, drive it til the wheels fall off (which I’ve done), then buy the cheapest thing you can find… but that doesn’t make the most sense to me.

I want something with at least a few features (namely air conditioning, which my current ride is lacking, in a 112 degree desert & babies in carseats)… anyway, besides buying the cheapest beater I can find, what makes the most sense long term value wise?

New ones are crazy expensive, slightly used cars are as much as new ones, old ones are still expensive, and old!

Looking at Toyota Siennas. Sooo, what is the sweet spot for long term value?

(With plans to drive it til the wheels fall off). Let’s say I can pay cash for anything I would want.

[Carolyn]

My mechanic cried when I told him I traded in my 1999 Toyota Camry after I drove it for a wonderful 16 years.

He said he would have bought it!

I got my 2013 Toyota Sienna and at 10 years old, still treating me pretty good (I only left my Camry behind because my 3 kids were getting VERY tight in the back seat).

[Hommel]

The sweet spot imo is 2000-2007ish Honda and Toyota. Before cafe standards ramped up and quality and r&d went down. If you can find an elder owned odyssey or sienna you’ll thank me later.

Shoot even a matrix or crv or rav4 if you’re into something more like that.

They’ll be low cost of maintenance and wildly reliable. Newer cars have lots of tech that can be very expensive to fix.

If you’re in a point in your journey where that’s ok, go for it. If you’re not, go for that early mid 2000s.

I’m on my 4th/ish one and have driven them into the ground (I drive 60k miles a year)
97 lexus es300 drove til 225k and sold when electronic shocks AND ac went out.

I was younger and poor and couldn’t afford to fix it
03 lexus es300. Still have at 340k miles … I put 290k on this myself
08 Toyota matrix – bought for $3k and have put 45k miles on and only needed a set of tires

04 lexus gx470. Bought last year with 110k on it and have 155k on it now.

My mom’s in an 07 Honda odyssey. Was my grandpas. Had 77k on it and she’s at 165k.

[Leslie]

Look at C-3 Auto in Plano, Texas. They have a website with their used cars on it.

They only have clean, low mileage vehicles.

[David]

12 year old sienna with 100,000-120,000 miles, private party, garage kept, carfax shows regular maintenance, one owner for $13,000-$15,000 and most likely has 10+ years and 150,000 miles left in it.

Odyssey is pretty reliable too.

[Farre]

Buy used from a high-quality brand. You don’t have the “new” penalty or as rapid of depreciation, and it will last long without needing as many repairs.

[Alex]

Coming from a Fire/medic, don’t always go cheap, accidents will cause you all the money you were trying to save

[Mia]

I think the advice to keep buying crappy beater cars is more for people who are in debt payoff mode.

Now you’re optimizing for lowest hassle & cost of ownership over the time you have this car.

Getting something at least 2-3 years old avoids the worst of the new car depreciation without getting so old that you expect a lot of maintenance issues.

Just make sure to get a pre purchase inspection before you buy!

I’m a hobby mechanic and I’ve rebuilt my own engine, but I missed an expensive suspension issues that the PPI mechanic caught.

Bullet dodged.

[Rosemary]

My mechanic’s advice: get whatever you want that’s in your budget, as long as it’s Honda or Toyota.

[Amber]

I bought a brand new 2010 GMC Terrain, still drive it with 117,000 miles on it and will be giving it to my daughter when she gets her license soon.

My husband is doing the same thing with his truck for our son.

Then we are buying ourselves new vehicles for retirement to drive until we die.

Reason being, we LIKE new, with warranty, and a vehicle that ONLY we have worked on. So we know EXACTLY what our kids will be driving AND we get the vehicle we WANT to drive for our retirement.

Not sure if that helps…

[Michele]

Not sure how many babies you have (or planning to have), but smaller vehicles are less expensive to run and repair and also wear and tear better bcz they are lightweight.

Agree with the brand recommendations from others. Although I have a Mazda3 that has been great.

They seem to have more features for less.

[Kate]

I don’t agree with this at all. I buy good quality cars that last, are very comfortable to drive, safe, and I never need to pay for much maintenance.

You have to enjoy life too.

Tomorrow is not guaranteed.

[Kyle]

Buy something quality. Toyota or Honda. Stay away from anything American, German, Korean, Chinese, or Italian.

Single owner vehicles, with complete service records, zero accidents, and absolutely zero deferred maintenance.

[Joe]

Cheapest = lowest cost of ownership. That doesn’t mean a 2k beater every year, ot means a 10k not-new vehicle with the lowest overall costs.

Including fuel tyres and maintenance as well as depreciation.

[Holli]

I buy a new Toyota Hybrid about every 8 years. I drive about 25k miles a year. and don’t have time to mess with a broken down car.

My current car in 2021 RAV4 hybrid, paid $38k new.

has 110k miles on it. I figured I’ved saved about $10,000 in gas for having a hybrid, 40+ mpg. And it’s depreciated $10k. So it’s basically free.

[Sunny]

If you’re looking for GOOD a/c, Sienna hybrid won’t get you there. My Sienna seems to not get too cold and never hot enough in the winter.

Get a gas motor for good a/c.

[Heather]

I love your comment about air conditioning. I told my husband when we went to but a new car, that there were some non negotiables.

At least one door had to open from the inside consistently, the windshield wipers had to work, and I absolutely had to have air conditioning.

And not the kind that comes from rolling the window down.

[Kristen]

Get a pre-purchase inspection by a mechanic you trust on any used car. Even if the used car is coming from a dealership!

Get a short term subscription to Carfax so you can look up their VINs for accident/maintenance reports.

Honda and Toyota are good bets for longevity. Most used cars still have a lot of great safety features.

AC comes standard on cars, and can be easy and cheap to fix yourself with an AC recharging canister.

Anecdotally, I got a 2012 Honda in 2016 and am still going strong with regular maintenance.

The car will be at least 15 years old this year and over 160k miles, and I plan to drive it to 200k at least over the next several years.

I live and drive in the Texas hill country with a lot of city-highway driving, so I understand the need for reliability and safety.

[Ruther]

I was daily driving a 2015 charger with a V8. Loved that car but was commuting 100 miles a day and spending 500+ a month on gas at 180k miles.

Sold it and bought a 2022 Camry hybrid and it’s the best thing I ever did for the sole purpose of commuting.

[Dawn]

Sweet spot for Toyotas is 3 years (lease turn ins) or 5-7 years old depending on your budget.

I bought a 5 year Toyota years ago & it is still running great & is 17 years old.

My independent mechanic always says you can never go wrong with a Toyota & this is my 3rd one in all these years.

[Author]

Posts