Car shopping

My sister has been looking to trade in her Saturn Ion, she hates it. She wants to get an affordable car, being that the saturn is worth $9,000, she's been looking at Mazda and Kia mainly.

My experience with both brands hasn't been all that great. I've worked at multiple dealerships around town, and have come across many Mazda 2, 3, and 6's, and have never really adored their quality or craftsmanship. Same thing with Kia.

I've been telling her to stick with Toyota, Honda, and Nissan.
I was hoping some of you guys could back me up, or persuade me.

Have any of you had problems with Kia or Mazda? Major transmission, engine, drivetrain issues? Big wallet hurting issues. Resell value, etc.

Give me your pros and cons.

My sister has been looking to trade in her Saturn Ion, she hates it. She wants to get an affordable car, being that the saturn is worth $9,000, she's been looking at Mazda and Kia mainly.

My experience with both brands hasn't been all that great. I've worked at multiple dealerships around town, and have come across many Mazda 2, 3, and 6's, and have never really adored their quality or craftsmanship. Same thing with Kia.

I've been telling her to stick with Toyota, Honda, and Nissan.
I was hoping some of you guys could back me up, or persuade me.

Have any of you had problems with Kia or Mazda? Major transmission, engine, drivetrain issues? Big wallet hurting issues. Resell value, etc.

Give me your pros and cons.

I am completely in agreement w/ your assessment. Had a Mazda tranny go out right after warranty expired. Complete rebuild was necessary. A Kia would be a step or two below a Mazda imho. Now, I stick w/ Lexus or Toyota. Just remember to do your scheduled maintenance and your car should last a long time w/ little problems. Honda's okay too but stay away from the newer 08-10 and maybe the '11 Accords. They have been getting issues w/ premature brake pad wear.

Had a Chevy Geo (Toyota engine/trans) once and it lasted 'cept for the parts made in the USA, should've bought a Corolla in hindsight.

If your sister is inclined to drive a small SUV I think the RAV4 or CRV is the way to go. Reliability and versatility are top notch and excellent resale value to boot.

Most of my mechanic friends have Toyotas and to me that says a whole lot.

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Honda's okay too but stay away from the newer 08-10 and maybe the '11 Accords. They have been getting issues w/ premature brake pad wear..


Honda knows there is a problem an updated the rear brake pads. No big deal. Brake pads are cheap. The older Accord's with V6's are the ones to watch out for '98-'05 with major trans issues. It's more a problem with '98-'02 but the '03-'05 have issues too. I have a 2005 with 75K that will need a trans soon.

I'm not sure if she has considered this, but you might also consider Subaru. They're incredibly safe and are known to last for a great deal of miles.

My wife and I are going to likely purchase a Forester for under $7000 with the likelihood of it - while having probably 130k+ miles - lasting to at least 300k based on numerous other experiences with the vehicles.

If you're going to stick with Toyota/Honda, I would echo the thoughts already shared and go with Toyota, which is the second choice for me and my family.

I'm not sure if she has considered this, but you might also consider Subaru. They're incredibly safe and are known to last for a great deal of miles.

My wife and I are going to likely purchase a Forester for under $7000 with the likelihood of it - while having probably 130k+ miles - lasting to at least 300k based on numerous other experiences with the vehicles.

If you're going to stick with Toyota/Honda, I would echo the thoughts already shared and go with Toyota, which is the second choice for me and my family.

Yea, she's looked into those. Her boyfriend has a Legacy.
I personally love Subaru, but over the years (working at a porsche dealership and at a honda dealership across the street from a subaru dealership) I've heard that their service is really expensive.
Not sure if that's accurate, or if it's mainly the WRCs that have the big service bills, but I advised against it and told her to stick with toyota and honda.

Also, my grandma has an Outback, and has had it for 11+ years. She's driven it across country, through canada... pretty much all over the place. It's pushing 300,000 and still kicking. But like I said, my only worry is the service prices.

But my sister has decided to go with an 09 Honda Civic Coupe.

I'm new in here, Hope to enjoy this forum.

Welcome :smile:. Feel free to browse and ask any question you might have/comment on threads if you feel so inclined.

Nothing wrong with the Hondas. The only major issue was the transmission on a few specific years, which is heavily documented by this point. Some of this is believed to be due to people shifting from Foward to Reverse or vise versa without allowing the car to come to a complete stop... something you shouldn't be doing anyway but is particularly stressful to a Honda transmission. Honda eventually recalled all the affected transmissions.

More information on it here:
http://www.hondaproblems.com/problems/transmission-failure.shtml

Now if you want to consider premature break pad wear a major issue, one which Honda has fully acknowledged and agreed to fix. Well I guess that's your MO :loser:

I agree. Toyota, Nissan, or Honda.

I bought a 2002 Honda Odyssey in 2005 with 42,000 1 owner miles. I got it used from the local Honda dealer and opted out of the extended warranty. Long story short the transmission went out at 45,000 miles but Honda still stood behind it without a warranty. A new transmission was installed free of charge to me (over $6000.00).

On the other hand, I only have experience with those 3 makes and have never owned a Mazda, Kia, or Hyundai

I bought a used vehicle from www.cars-repossessed.com (http://www.cars-repossessed.com)
It was a repossessed vehicle. I was a bit concerned at the first time but i was very pleased afterall.
My experience was great and I would highly recommend Cars Repossessed Inc to everyone that I know. They were very professional and appreciative and the price was great. I paid only $9,599 for 2007 GMC Yukon XL K1500 and the shipping was included too. God Bless!!

Thank you all for your info. It was very helpful.

Buying new? Hyundai and Kia are good bets. Best warranty in the business, powertrain to 100,000 miles. Try a (new) Hyundai Accent or a Kia Forte. I have a friend, a retired diesel mechanic, who has been a Hyundai owner for many years and just bought a new Tucson.

Not the only good choices out there but don't discount 'em either.

Agreed...nissan!