My Wife Want's a New affordable 40MPG Car

[Arragonis]

Kia, Proton and Hyundai are all worth a look - the quality is pretty good. Focus is also good.

How about a Fester (Fiesta) or a Yaris ?

[cfguy2000]

http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dl...111029935/1254

How much money do you want to spend? What do you need the vehicle to do?

Japanese cars are still consistently rated best in reliability and in resale value. The Korean's have to offer such long warranties, otherwise no one would buy their cars. Honda has a very short warranty and still sells tons of cars.

[Ladogaboy]

Originally Posted by cfguy2000

The Korean's have to offer such long warranties, otherwise no one would buy their cars. Honda has a very short warranty and still sells tons of cars.

That thinking was correct about 10 years ago. Recently, one could argue that the major Korean manufacturers have surpassed their Japanese counterparts in terms of power, efficiency, and overall value. Basically, people are still buying Japanese cars over others out of habit, not for any justifiable reason. It's similar to the way many Americans would only buy "domestic" vehicles, despite the foreign counterparts' obvious superiority. Funny enough, things seem to be coming full circle.

The trick is, when shopping for vehicles, one needs to assess each vehicle's overall specifications and values objectively. Otherwise, you'll get caught in the trap of popular thinking, and possibly get stuck with a car that has high public opinion but is of relatively little actual value in comparison to its counterparts.

[Dave's Civic Duty]

Originally Posted by F8L

Keep in mind that unless you buy a hybrid car that 40mpg is only for highway miles or hypermilers. The Cruze, Fiesta, Focus, etc. are all rated for 30-34mpg average. Not 40mpg.

Lisa's commute is mostly hyway.

[Dave's Civic Duty]

Originally Posted by cfguy2000

http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dl...111029935/1254

How much money do you want to spend? What do you need the vehicle to do?

Japanese cars are still consistently rated best in reliability and in resale value. The Korean's have to offer such long warranties, otherwise no one would buy their cars. Honda has a very short warranty and still sells tons of cars.

We are going to drive the Nissan Versa today. We just wanted the cheapest/least expensive best car deal. Her only real wants are A/C & a radio!

[Dave's Civic Duty]

Originally Posted by Ladogaboy

That thinking was correct about 10 years ago. Recently, one could argue that the major Korean manufacturers have surpassed their Japanese counterparts in terms of power, efficiency, and overall value. Basically, people are still buying Japanese cars over others out of habit, not for any justifiable reason. It's similar to the way many Americans would only buy "domestic" vehicles, despite the foreign counterparts' obvious superiority. Funny enough, things seem to be coming full circle.

The trick is, when shopping for vehicles, one needs to assess each vehicle's overall specifications and values objectively. Otherwise, you'll get caught in the trap of popular thinking, and possibly get stuck with a car that has high public opinion but is of relatively little actual value in comparison to its counterparts.

We intend to do that!

[Dave's Civic Duty]

Originally Posted by Patrick

My sister-in-law has a Versa and loves it.

You might also want to look at the Toyota Corolla. I believe Consumer Reports got 40 mpg highway in their test, even though it's not rated that high by the EPA.

Best & worst cars review, fuel-efficient vehicles

Thanks for putting up the link!

[Thymeclock]

Originally Posted by Dave's Civic Duty

Lisa's commute is mostly hyway.

Then consider buying a new or used Aveo. It's made in Korea and costs less than the Japanese comparable models. The American designed interior is much more 'user friendly' than a Fit or a Yaris.

On the highway, our 2009 with A/T gets 37 MPG @ 65 MPH with the A/C on. Our Scan gauge confirms this. That's hard to beat for a really inexpensive car.

However, we bought it for my wife's daily local commute, and the best we can manage is 22 MPG at speeds below 45 MPH, which unfortunately is 99% of our all local usage. Highway MPG is great; city MPG really sucks.

But if you do mostly highway driving, it may be the best car for you, especially for the money.

[Thymeclock]

Originally Posted by Dave's Civic Duty

Her only real wants are A/C & a radio!

That sounds just like my wife. I don't particularly like GM products, but I must (begrudgingly) admit that their upgraded radio (despite the on-star crap) sounds great. I bought the Aveo for her after comparing it with the Fit & the Yaris and decided it would suit her best. She had never ever set foot in one until it was delivered. But she LOVES it! I knew was the right car for her.

Hey - if she's happy with it, I'm happy!

[user removed]

Originally Posted by Ladogaboy

That thinking was correct about 10 years ago. Recently, one could argue that the major Korean manufacturers have surpassed their Japanese counterparts in terms of power, efficiency, and overall value. Basically, people are still buying Japanese cars over others out of habit, not for any justifiable reason. It's similar to the way many Americans would only buy "domestic" vehicles, despite the foreign counterparts' obvious superiority. Funny enough, things seem to be coming full circle.

The trick is, when shopping for vehicles, one needs to assess each vehicle's overall specifications and values objectively. Otherwise, you'll get caught in the trap of popular thinking, and possibly get stuck with a car that has high public opinion but is of relatively little actual value in comparison to its counterparts.

On my 2002 Honda Insight, in 30k miles of driving I had close to 7k in warranty repairs done at the dealer. Sold it at 62 k miles. I didn't want to wait and see what was going to go that was out of warranty.

My 92 VX was trouble free other than maintenance items normally replaced. At 62 k miles it still had 50% of the front brake pads. I bought it totalled with 27k miles and rebuilt it.

The Koreans seem to be the best buys for the money right now. They are innovative while Honda seems to be riding on their reputation. Also bought a 2006 Corolla brand new that had alignment problems. At close to 20 k miles they had to take the car to a frame shop and bend the mounts so the rear axle would align properly. The gave me a new set of tires as well. I drove the car exclusively and never did anything to damage the suspension.

The last two cars I rebuilt a 94 VX and an 08 Altima Coupe both never had the wheels aligned and both never had uneven tire wear after repairs. Kind of funny that I would have a problem with a brand new car with 6 miles on it, but no problem with two salvage rebuilt vehicles. I know other people who had similar problems with that model of Toyota and Matrix with serious tire wear and alignment.

The dealer I bought the Corolla from told me the uneven wear was because I did not rotate and balance the tires every 5k miles. I told them I drove the two previous Toyotas I bought there over 60 k miles combined without balancing the tires or rotation, because they did not need either. When they balanced the tires I later found they charged me for 4 wheel balance and did not balance two of the four wheels. When I checked the wheel balance myself at my old shop, I found the original wheel weights they had never removed on the rear tires and replacement (non Toyota) wheels weights on the front tires.

Never bought another Toyota or went back to that dealer after that fiasco.

regards
Mech