What newer Sedan would you buy for a college kid?

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    1991 Mercury Cougar LS 5.0
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    As the post says, my son needs a new car. He currently has a 2008 Sonata with 168k miles on the clock, a lot of rust and a host of small issues. It's been a really good car as My wife bought it with 10k and a year old. Good maintenance history, but it's been a good car( color me surprised).

    Looking for sedan with less than 60k miles, less than 6-7 years old and less than $18,000. I'd rather spend $10-12k, but this needs to last 5 years as he's going for his doctorate😬.

    About opinions on Jetta or Malibu( I'll ensure it was not a rental). He really wants to keep a sedan, and there aren't tons of choices anymore. I hate SUVs.
     
    I owned a 2019 Jetta. The 8-speed automatic has a reputation for being noise (tcc). I cannot speak to the previous generation, but that community generally prefers the 5-cylinders, which would make it too old for what you stated.

    Never owned a Malibu, but I did own the related 2015 Regal Turbo. An absolutely fantastic car, but I sold it after the warranty was up. It did have occasional small issues, such as a noisy HVAC fan.

    My recommendation would be any SkyActiv Mazda. I owned five of them, every one fantastic. Mazda transmissions feel the best to me. Choose one without cylinder deactivation to reduce complexity; if it has cylinder deactivation, there would be a power flow screen in the infotainment. Choose the naturally aspirated SkyActiv; nothing wrong with the turbo, but it's unnecessarily powerful and more thirsty. Between Mazda3 and Mazda6, just pick your preference.


    I'm not surprised the Hyundai did well. Korean cars have moved way beyond their 1980s reputation.
     
    1997ThunderbirdLXV6 said:
    I owned a 2019 Jetta. The 8-speed automatic has a reputation for being noise (tcc). I cannot speak to the previous generation, but that community generally prefers the 5-cylinders, which would make it too old for what you stated.

    Never owned a Malibu, but I did own the related 2015 Regal Turbo. An absolutely fantastic car, but I sold it after the warranty was up. It did have occasional small issues, such as a noisy HVAC fan.

    My recommendation would be any SkyActiv Mazda. I owned five of them, every one fantastic. Mazda transmissions feel the best to me. Choose one without cylinder deactivation to reduce complexity; if it has cylinder deactivation, there would be a power flow screen in the infotainment. Choose the naturally aspirated SkyActiv; nothing wrong with the turbo, but it's unnecessarily powerful and more thirsty. Between Mazda3 and Mazda6, just pick your preference.


    I'm not surprised the Hyundai did well. Korean cars have moved way beyond their 1980s reputation.
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    Looked at a 2015 Sonata with 62k on the clock, but reviews are sub-par on that engine. It was in the $11k range, so I was interested before looking online.
     
    IMO..... If reliability is the main concern you can't really do much better then a Japanese brand sedan. IMO starting with the best Toyota Camry or Lexus ES350. Honda Accord and Mazda 3 or 5 are also pretty solid options.

    GM and VW are questionable. Hyundai and Kia are in the same (low) class as Nissan.

    Carmax is a great place to go check out cars. They have a bit of everything so very easy to go get some test drives in and see what you like. Just be carefull buying from there as they are the goto place people can quickly trade in their problemed cars they are trying to get rid of.
     
    A Mazda 6 is the right answer here. The Hyundai’s and Kia’s have crazy amounts of engine failures and oil consumption issues. Toyota, Nissan, and Honda are all using CVTs, which fail suddenly and catastrophically. Subarus also use CVTs and add to that the head gaskets fail so much they decided to fix it by making head gasket replacement recommended maintenance at 100k. Anything with the Ford ecoboost 4-cyl likes to crack blocks and cylinder heads. German cars are electrical nightmares and parts are 3x the price. Mazdas are the only cars that I don’t see coming in with major unfixable issues.
     
    Toyota Camry before 2024 are not CVT, the Hybrid models do come with CVTs. Honda Accord V6 models are also nonCVT.

    Toyota is using timing chains compared to Honda using belts that need replacment. I'm not sure what Mazda is using these days.
     
    Toyota hybrids use transmissions which are CVTs in name only. They are planetary "e-CVTs", so they function similarly to a conventional automatic. It's the belt or chain type CVT, i.e., the classic CVT that is prone to failure, especially on older Nissans. However, many owners now report high reliability with frequent fluid changes.

    Non-hybrid Camrys use the same Aisin 8-speed as Jetta, which is to say it's known for noisy operation (though still reliable).
     
    I hear the Toyota and Honda, but I hate spending that money on a college car that will get all the door dings. Plus I don't love my wife's Honda, with it's shifter and start/stop issues. I fixed that with a work around so start stop is always off.

    Mazda is difficult to find around here for some reason. I did like the 6 before it got discontinued. Almost bought the wife that, but she wanted a soulless SUV. I now dub them Soul Undertaking Vehicles.

    Where's an old granny Buick lesabre w/3800 when I need one!?
     
    2nd gen Fusion, my dad had a 2010 Fusion sport for about 12/13 years. It was great. It was never in the shop for anything other than regular maintenance.
     
    There's only one Mazda 6 within 100 miles. It's a bit higher miles than I was hoping for. Drove a 2020 Sonata tonight and it was fine. Rather uninspiring, but it's a low mile good fuel mileage mode of transportation. He was ok with it, but not overly confident that's what he wanted. I hope to have him drive a few vehicles before we make a decision. While I'm not looking for him to be in love with the car, I don't want him to hate it.

    I did spot a '14 Camry with 93k on the clock. Might drive by it tomorrow since it's on my way to work. It's a few grand cheaper, but I expect should have a little of life left. The search continues.

    Appreciate the responses and opinions. I used to be a car guru when I worked at a dealership during college. Been out of the game for too long outside of a few specific purchases and trucks.
     
    Green T said:

    Used 2012 Subaru Forester in Waterloo | Certified Used Subaru Car Dealer near Cedar Rapids | JF2SHBGC6CH431611

    Save big on a used 2012 Subaru Forester 2.5X Touring at our Waterloo Subaru dealership, serving Cedar Rapids. VIN: JF2SHBGC6CH431611.
    www.candssubaru.com www.candssubaru.com

    This a good college car. Not sure if you're going to be able to find much under 60,000mi for $10K.
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    I'm sure it's a good car, but they're so ugly. And I know I'll spend much more than 10k for low miles.
     
    I don't trust any Subaru with a CVT or the 2.5 after they redesigned it in 2010 seems like a giant oil sieve waiting to happen. I had to reseal a 2019 2.5 a couple of months ago. Never have I spent so much time cleaning form in place gasket off of parts. Reminds me of a meme of whatever they are called that I saw some time back. The first picture just showed some late model Subaru with its hood up and the caption was "Subaru's are great cars with just regular routine maintenance". The next picture showed two guys pulling the engine out of the car and the caption was "Routine mainenance", which isn't too far off.
     
    Anything Lexus in that price range is fantastic, Toyota reliability and super luxurious.
     
    My 2 cents....

    1st cent: 2012 -2017 Accord, v6 or i4. Both are good cars. Neither uses a CVT so there's no problem with that. The v6 though may have Variable Cylinder Management (VCM) issues as it's "big" issue. As a Honda owner myself, I'd vouch for either of these, and if reliability and more the way of going here, then opt for the i4 optioned Accord as the k24 is pretty stout.

    2nd cent: 2010 - 2019 Ford Taurus. Having owned one myself (it was the wife's car) it's a nice car. The v6 though does have the water pump issue that plagues all the FWD 3.5 v6 engines of this era. You can DIY it for ~$500 in parts or spend about ~$2,400 at a shop to get it fixed when it goes out.

    Anther option to consider are Honda Civic as they also come with that k24 reliable engine and the newer Civics are fairly large (as large as my 2000 Accord!)
     
    Chingon1 said:
    Anything Lexus in that price range is fantastic, Toyota reliability and super luxurious.
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    The price for a used simmilar model Lexus isn't much different than a Toyota either. My wife and I were originally shopping for a 2-3 year old Camry. I looked into es350's they were almost the same price. I think people stay away from them because they assume a luxury brand is going to be less reliable. In reality the es350 is just a Camry with all the options and a nicer quality interior.

    Heres two examples, same years and miles.... only $1000 more for the Lexus, it also has the 3.5 V6 which is bullet proof


     
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    Kenz said:
    The price for a used simmilar model Lexus isn't much different than a Toyota either. My wife and I were originally shopping for a 2-3 year old Camry. I looked into es350's they were almost the same price. I think people stay away from them because they assume a luxury brand is going to be less reliable. In reality the es350 is just a Camry with all the options and a nicer quality interior.

    Heres two examples, same years and miles.... only $1000 more for the Lexus, it also has the 3.5 V6 which is bullet proof


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    And that's also from before Lexus hit it and the rest of the cars in their lineup with the ugly stick.
     
    Not sure if this was mentioned, but Ford uses Toyota hybrid technology, specifically the planetary transmission, under license. So Fusion and MKZ would be a good hybrid alternative and potentially cheaper than Camry.
     
    Kenz said:
    The price for a used simmilar model Lexus isn't much different than a Toyota either. My wife and I were originally shopping for a 2-3 year old Camry. I looked into es350's they were almost the same price. I think people stay away from them because they assume a luxury brand is going to be less reliable. In reality the es350 is just a Camry with all the options and a nicer quality interior.

    Heres two examples, same years and miles.... only $1000 more for the Lexus, it also has the 3.5 V6 which is bullet proof


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    Makes more sense to get a Lexus IMO I’m pretty sure they use more sound deadner in them too. Overall you just can’t beat it. I like the GS body types those years, and hey have that 4.6 v8 that’s a ripper 🫡
     
    KevinVarnes said:
    I don't trust any Subaru with a CVT or the 2.5 after they redesigned it in 2010 seems like a giant oil sieve waiting to happen. I had to reseal a 2019 2.5 a couple of months ago. Never have I spent so much time cleaning form in place gasket off of parts. Reminds me of a meme of whatever they are called that I saw some time back. The first picture just showed some late model Subaru with its hood up and the caption was "Subaru's are great cars with just regular routine maintenance". The next picture showed two guys pulling the engine out of the car and the caption was "Routine mainenance", which isn't too far off.
    Click to expand...
    I can attest to this but with a polite disagreement, My parents have a 2019 outback that did have to get re-selaed under warranty (at about 52,000 miles) because it was seeping oil. However the 2.5 has actually been really good to us now sitting at 55,000 miles and it doesn't burn any oil (maybe we have a unicorn) and the fuel economy is fantastic (at worst we get 27.5 mpg or 8.5L/100km in -4°F) and we have done the cvt fluid change (at the dealer) and it has given us no problems (knock on wood) thus far. its also started in very cold weather with nothing more than a block heater. Its also a beast on the icy roads with awd and winter tires. Just my experience though, I know that anecdotal evidence is the lowest form of evidence there is but i just wanted to point out that subaru's aren't all bad news with oil and head gasket problems.
     
    Toyota didn't use the 4.6L 1UR in the 4th gen GS. The only V8 option by then was the GS F, and not before 2015.

    I'm not the biggest fan of Lexuses from the mid-2010s onward, but they were still solid options as daily drivers for non-enthusiasts before the bottom fell out on virtually all cars starting in this decade.

    Anyway, I'd easily take an ES350 over a Camry of the same era. I just remembered now that I once rented a Camry of that vintage from Enterprise for a couple of days and I forgot everything about it other than an uninspiring infotainment system with comically large Fisher-Price buttons. I can say that it was indeed a car.
     
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