Looking for a 4 door Maxima sized appliance for my Wife as a daily driver......
As always cost is a factor in these trying times. And must be auto trans.
So how are "other" manufactures for reliability and ease of maintainability? Cars like KIA, Hyundai, Mitsubishi....
Thanks for any input...
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May 5, 2011 10:32 a.m. noddaz New Reader
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May 5, 2011 10:44 a.m. integraguy Dork
If you are shoopping the "other" brands, I'd go Mitsu, Hyundai, then Kia...in that order. From what I can tell, tho I have no first hand experience, the automatic in a Galant will outlast the automatic in a Mazda, and the engine is decent too. (At the lower price point that you are looking in, it's the transmission that is mostly the weak link.) If I remember correctly, the Sonata's rep is kind of spotty, but the Elantra's isn't too bad, but you said you wanted a Maxima-sized car. Kia Optima? Similar reliability to Sonata, due to same parts, but cheaper to buy...also a bit uglier in some years....but that's in the eye of the beholder.
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May 5, 2011 11:00 a.m. noddaz New Reader
racinginc215 wrote:
Malibu
Really? Anyone else back that one up...?
I guess I should also clarify that it should not scare me if the car has 100k miles on it... So I guess I am looking for a full sized car that still has 80k miles left in it and is cheap... Not asking much, am I?
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May 5, 2011 11:14 a.m. Cole_Trickle New Reader
Fusion.
I do really love mine as a DD.
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May 5, 2011 11:30 a.m. jstein77 Dork
Mazda6 - Only 17K miles
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May 5, 2011 11:41 a.m. pres589 Dork
Rat-rod Q45.
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May 5, 2011 11:45 a.m. tuna55 SuperDork
My wife's PT Cruiser has been fantastic. Really. Girls generally like the looks of them too, and you can haul serious stuff with the rear seats folded down, too. Parts are dirt cheap.
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May 5, 2011 11:56 a.m. fast_eddie_72 Dork
tuna55 wrote:
My wife's PT Cruiser has been fantastic. Really. Girls generally like the looks of them too, and you can haul serious stuff with the rear seats folded down, too. Parts are dirt cheap.
The turbo is kinda fun. Doesn't handle great, but kinda fast.
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May 5, 2011 12:08 p.m. Bobzilla Dork
How old are we talking? Price point? I would not recomend a 2002-04 Sonata/Optima because of the "old" drivetrains (knockoff mitsu 4cyl and transmissiosn) and the rear bearings rate of failure. The newer are so much better it's retarded. Not much to do for maintenance as they are chain driven engines.
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May 5, 2011 12:09 p.m. 914Driver SuperDork
My wife's friend had a Malibu, she's a buy-American only person; no end of trouble from starting to heater core leaks to rapid tire wear. This is the only person I know with 'Boo and she may be the exception.
YMMV.
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May 5, 2011 12:17 p.m. Maroon92 SuperDork
oh...wait...wrong appliance.
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May 5, 2011 12:17 p.m. Maroon92 SuperDork
914Driver wrote:
My wife's friend had a Malibu, she's a buy-American only person; no end of trouble from starting to heater core leaks to rapid tire wear. This is the only person I know with 'Boo and she may be the exception.
YMMV.
what year Malibu? The new ones are excellent.
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May 5, 2011 1:00 p.m. Vigo Dork
So I guess I am looking for a full sized car that still has 80k miles left in it and is cheap...
Easy... 98-04 intrepid with a 3.2 or 3.5. NO 2.7s ALLOWED (there arent many left anyway).
Its huge (similar to 6g maxima), gets decent mileage, reliable, easy to work on, and cheap. Concorde, LHS, and 300m also apply, same basic cars.
As for the 98-up malibu, i dont like them. IMO they dont hold up all that well and you would have to worry about trans issues more than an intrepid. I have 2 friends with them that i do the work for and i have no particular love for those things.
But really, you can get a really nice Intrpepid et al for $3500-4k in great condition and it'll be a nice car. You can get them cheaper in less good shape, down into the ~$2k range.
I assume you're focusing on the ~$2k range since ~4k will also get you a '00-02 maxima anyway.
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May 5, 2011 1:37 p.m. tuna55 SuperDork
fast_eddie_72 wrote:
tuna55 wrote:
My wife's PT Cruiser has been fantastic. Really. Girls generally like the looks of them too, and you can haul serious stuff with the rear seats folded down, too. Parts are dirt cheap.
The turbo is kinda fun. Doesn't handle great, but kinda fast.
She doesn't want fun, fast or handling - she wants an appliance. The NA Cruiser has less stuff to break and less junk under the hood. I'm telling you, slam dunk for an appliance. It's roomy and comfy on the inside, and the leather seats have these awesome suede inserts...
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May 5, 2011 1:38 p.m. tuna55 SuperDork
tuna55 wrote:
fast_eddie_72 wrote:
tuna55 wrote:
My wife's PT Cruiser has been fantastic. Really. Girls generally like the looks of them too, and you can haul serious stuff with the rear seats folded down, too. Parts are dirt cheap.
The turbo is kinda fun. Doesn't handle great, but kinda fast.
She doesn't want fun, fast or handling - she wants an appliance. The NA Cruiser has less stuff to break and less junk under the hood. I'm telling you, slam dunk for an appliance. It's roomy and comfy on the inside, and the leather seats have these awesome suede inserts...
Oh - and they depreciate like mad.
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May 5, 2011 2:10 p.m. Wally SuperDork
My wife has an 02 Malibu. 280,000mi we've replaced front hub bearings, cat, waterpump, tranny cooler line, and thermostat. It is an appliance, but it was cheap and it keeps going.
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May 5, 2011 2:26 p.m. pinchvalve SuperDork
Vigo wrote:
Easy... 98-04 intrepid with a 3.2 or 3.5. NO 2.7s ALLOWED (there arent many left anyway).
+1. Best appliance ever, and if you go for the R/T you can actually have some fun with it. The later SXT had the same H.O. engine, minus the suspension bits, and is a great all-day highway cruiser.
From my personal experience, avoid Mitsubishi like the plague. Worst build quality, rustproofing, and support I have ever seen. (on the cheapo stuff, no experience with the EVO)
If you want the ultimate tank, get a first gen Kia minivan. They were heavy, so not great on gas, but they were the most overbuilt car of the last 20 years. Get one on a lift and look at the front a-arms: they look the same as the F-150 Raptor's.
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May 5, 2011 3:24 p.m. integraguy Dork
My brother has had 2 or 3 Malibus of the '00 to '03 generation. He buys one, drives it until it's too broken down to repair cheaply, then buys another with, hopefully, lower mileage. I think they are like some other GM cars in that if you find a decent one it will last with maintenance...but it is no Accord or Camry. I agree a P T Cruiser is a good car, tho no direct experience, from what I've read on here. But a Cruiser is smaller than a Maxima.
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May 5, 2011 3:31 p.m. Bobzilla Dork
pinchvalve wrote:
If you want the ultimate tank, get a first gen Kia minivan. They were heavy, so not great on gas, but they were the most overbuilt car of the last 20 years. Get one on a lift and look at the front a-arms: they look the same as the F-150 Raptor's.
I have to agree that they are tanks. I've seen my share survive collisions that others wouldn't have. But they were so finicky electrically, the AC compressors were junk and that 3.5L engine was terrible. But if I had to choose a minivan to take a broadside from a Semi, that would be the one I'd take.
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May 5, 2011 3:39 p.m. dculberson Reader
A good friend of my family just had a really serious accident in his Kia minivan - broadsided by a red light runner that was going about 45mph. The van is a total loss of course, but the family (including two small children) escaped with only minor injuries. One of the firefighters said the Kia was one reason they were still alive - he claimed that the Kia minivan in particular is more survivable in bad wrecks than others.
Data point of one, but a pretty solid one.
The other reason they're still alive? Seatbelts and child safety seats. Don't be lazy!!
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May 5, 2011 3:52 p.m. noddaz New Reader
Hmmm... The Dodges/Chryslers sound promising... Except for the PT Cruiser which is way too small... Besides, my Wife does not like them... And actually I have maybe $5k to work with. Thank you everyone for your help...
