I had to purchase a new car for the wife a month ago myself. Old car 2012 Focus with the worst transmission in the history of automobiles died with 74k on it. Tranny just stopped working while driving down the interstate. Very scary to hit the gas and just rev the engine while driving in the left lane at 70+ mph.

Anyway, sold that heap of crap and bought a 2015 Accord EX with sunroof and 33k miles. What a great ride this Honda is. First import I've owned since an old old mitsubishi eclipse as a young kid I bought for $500.

My old 02 Sport Trac has been super solid for me since I bought it 12 years ago and I will keep it till it completely falls apart.

    Dufferman Old car 2012 Focus with the worst transmission in the history of automobiles died with 74k on it.

    We have a 2012 Fusion that has been OK so far (33k mi) except that it has had an open recall for airbags for about 2 years now. At this point Ford has been providing an F150 rental vehicle for 3 full months and will continue to until the part is available for the Fusion.

    Back on point, this new 2018 F150 with 7k miles on it rides like garbage. It's got a 10spd transmission and at town speeds can never decide what gear to be in, leading to a noisy, messy, unpleasant ride.

    The Fusion struggles to find a happy place at 37mph, otherwise it's OK. I know the Focuses have been shit for years. We'll probably trade the Fusion in once the recall work is done.

        ZWExton

        The Fusion at least wasn't saddled with the auto shift manual transmission in the Fiesta and Focus. At low speeds it would shudder like if you tried to take off in 3rd gear in a manual. Shifting would jerk also. Handling was nice and the car looked good, but over all meh. Sadly the Transmission issues were not well known when we bought it.

        I can't even tell when the Honda shifts. Plus, the larger car with larger motor actually gets better highway MPG then the Focus.

        Ford is stopping production of cars for the US market, at this point it is probably the right choice.

        I rode in rented F150 this summer. When we stopped in traffic the engine would stop to save gas. Problem was it was HOT outside. AC would not work well with the engine stopped. GIVE ME AIR, MPG BE DAMNED!

          Honda Accord a very nice ride....my buddy has two + a CRV, they put a lot of miles on vehicles and swear by them. I like the CRV and HRV, but would take a hard look at the Civic hatchback if I were buying. Slick looking car, which I would put up against an Impreza hatch for a tough choice. If my 08 Vibe ever croaks, it will sure be fun car shopping!

          I gave my daughter my 2014 Toyota RAV4 back in the fall of last year, and I ended up getting her Volks Wagon Jetta in exchange. Got tired of having to deal with getting into and out of what pretty much amounted to a bobsled that sat low to the ground, so I decided to look around for something similar to the RAV4 that I very much enjoyed, something that didn't require a wench to get in and out of.

          So a fellow member at my club owns a car dealership locally that specializes in refurbished automobiles. They're called "R" titles. They were totaled by the insurance company for whatever reason, but most of them are either hail-damage or flood damage. After hearing several other members talk about their pleasant dealings with him over the years and how dependable and reliable they are, I decided to browse his lot. I came across this one.

          It's a 2017 Subaru AWD Forester. It had 3000 miles on it. I asked him about it, he told me that the flood damage was very minimal, the only they they had to do was replace the flooring upholstery. It had only been under water to the floorboard for a few days, engine was perfect, no rust, they replaced the carpeting in the floorboard. But since it was an R title - they had to list it as such...

          I took it for a test drive, took it to my local mechanic and had him give it a look over. He asked me the selling price, I told him $14k, he said, "That's a great deal. If you're gonna drive this thing until the wheels fall off - I'd do it. The engine is basically new, transmission and everything else comes out great on the diagnostics."

          So I traded in the Jetta, got $5 grand for it, ended up spending $9k for it total out of pocket. And although an R title voids the factory warranty - he gave me a year/15k mile warranty and told me that if I didn't like it he would put me in something else for the same value on his lot within 30 days.

          It's been a great ride thus far. I'm averaging 28 mpg in the city and 32 on the hwy. Great fuel economy, nice powerful engine for a 4 cylinder, and it looks brand spanking new. Had it for almost a year now with nary an issue. 🙂

            PA-PLAYA
            You got a steal!
            I've had a Legacy for a while now and my wife has a 2017 Outback,both awesome cars.
            Plus Subaru's have one of the highest resale values of any car made....100k+ miles is pretty common.

              Kia stole the BMW 3 series guy and a guy from Mazarati came to Kia to build their first performance car, the Stinger. Most fun car I have ever had, lots of speed, lots of torque, juts a blast to drive. Very happy with it so far. Some will not purchase because its a Kia....big mistake. Great car and warranty.

              /Users/williamkroen/Pictures/Photos Library.photoslibrary/resources/proxies/derivatives/01/00/1fe/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_1fe.jpg
              Lexus RCF My wife says the neighbors hate me because of the noise. 467hp, V8

              PA-PLAYA I just traded in my ‘14 Forester 2.0 XT, but man was hat a great vehicle. For what you paid there, you will be super happy for a long time I’m sure. I needed a bigger vehicle, I tried to convince my wife to take the Forester, I loved that thing! She didn’t like the idea of premium gas ( it ran like shit on regular) for the turbo and it was time for tires, brakes etc. Great buy on your part!

                PA-PLAYA
                My neighbor leased a Forester awhile back. He liked it so much that when the lease was up he leased two of them (one for his wife).

                  This is our regular driver.
                  I unfortunately drive a company car...but at least it's free.

                  rsvman

                  Thanks. Rocking the brand! That's SWMBO's Patriots decal. My Broncos decal is on the rear left side.

                    As a life long car nut(always bought a new car every year or two) I have got to the point where the stuff on the market these days dosen’t move me. I’m an old personal luxury two door coupe kind of guy and that segment has gone away( except for a few high dollar choices) . Currently own both cars so no car payment is nice. That being said i’m Impressed with the Alpha Romeo Giulia. Four door but my kind of look plus a cool interior that’s not limited to black or gray. Other than a reluctance to start a new payment i’m on the edge of saying what the hell, do it.

                      Nice "Stang." Makes me wish I still had my first ride, a 1969 Mustang Mach 1. Ya Spuzz, it was kind of blue. Gulfstream Aqua. My current ride is a Ford Edge. Yup, deep impact blue.

                      Tinker I’m an old personal luxury two door coupe kind of guy and that segment has gone away( except for a few high dollar choices) .

                      How about an Audi A5 Sportback? 4-doors, but a larger trunk for stuff and sporty.

                        BTW, I posted a pic of my commuter car, our weekend car is a 2009 Infiniti M35 that we have had since 2010:

                        Damn I should've skipped this thread. Still driving my '06 TL with ~ 165K miles. I did get the wife a '15 MDX earlier this year and she lets me drive it once in a while. I may get something newer next year. I would love to get something with a stick while some are still available. Can you get that Kia Stinger with a manual tranny?