Used Car Input

[Deleted]

does anyone have any feedback on the following cars -

2008/2009 Nissan Sentra
2009/2010 Hyundai Accent and Sonata

for a Honda Civic (2008 and later), what max number of miles should I be willing to go up to so that I don't have repairs all the time. Also, when does the timing chain get changed in those?  my 2003 accord has a timing belt and that was at either 90K or 110K.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

I had a 2003 Sentra, and still would have it, other than it became difficult for me to get in and out of due to hip issues.  I have long legs and could not get the seat back and the steering wheel up high enough.  It was a good little car.

My dad has a 2010 Sonata.  After driving a Nissan Maxima for years, he was very disappointed in the Sonata.  Just a lot of little things that went wrong (trim, paint, etc.) but mechanically, it was ok.  My sister has a 2006 Sonata and the visors are dead and the handle to get into the car has fallen off.  Drives well though, with well over 130k on it and she hasn't mentioned any problems other than just maintenance.

[justme]

The Sonata is a lot bigger than the other cars you mentioned.

I have a 2008 Elantra at almost 50k with no problems, my boss has a 2010 one with probably close to 100k because he drives an hour to work and that's all distance no traffic and no big problems that I know of. He's never not come into work driving it meaning it's at the shop.

[Deleted]

You can expect to need to replace timing belt/water pump around 100K miles on any car. And struts, too. Both are pricey.

I'm happy with my Subaru Forester that we bought new. It's 10 years old and has 107K miles on it. It'll last me the rest of my life (I think).

Whatever you think seriously about getting, have it checked out by your mechanic, and once you buy, make sure you keep up with maintenance.

It wouldn't hurt to check out Consumer Reports Used Car Buying Guide for frequency-of-repair record of particular models that you're looking at.

[kent]

Jun 30, 2013 12:16:17 GMT -5 @missrigby said:

It wouldn't hurt to check out Consumer Reports Used Car Buying Guide for frequency-of-repair record of particular models that you're looking at.

Also, you can check out: www.carcomplaints.com/

[Deleted]

Jun 30, 2013 12:16:17 GMT -5 @missrigby said:

You can expect to need to replace timing belt/water pump around 100K miles on any car. And struts, too. Both are pricey.

I'm happy with my Subaru Forester that we bought new. It's 10 years old and has 107K miles on it. It'll last me the rest of my life (I think).

Whatever you think seriously about getting, have it checked out by your mechanic, and once you buy, make sure you keep up with maintenance.

It wouldn't hurt to check out Consumer Reports Used Car Buying Guide for frequency-of-repair record of particular models that you're looking at.

I've had this discussion before....I don't have a mechanic to check anything out and I'm not sure that Carmax lets you take a car for an hour or 2 to have a mechanic look at it. 

I'm just going to buy a 2009/2010 civic and be done with it.  It's for my 17 year old so he can drive himself to school and golf practice.  If it gets driven 5000 miles a year I'll be surprised.

[seriousthistime]

I'm no car expert, but my understanding is that a timing chain does not need to be replaced.  Timing belts do, however.

I think a late model Civic is an excellent choice.

[Deleted]

Jun 30, 2013 15:04:20 GMT -5 seriousthistime said:

I'm no car expert, but my understanding is that a timing chain does not need to be replaced.  Timing belts do, however.

I think a late model Civic is an excellent choice.

so I guess that's the advantage of timing chains over belts....I'm guessing at some point the chain goes but doesn't break other stuff in the engine?  I know I was told that starting in 2006 Honda went to chains over belts.

This is the exact reason I don't buy used cars but there's no way I'm buying brand new for my kid.

[seriousthistime]

I think that normally timing chains last for the life of the engine.  With timing belts that break, I think there are two possible outcomes depending on whether your engine is an interference engine or a non-interference engine.  In one case, the engine sustains a lot of damage.  In the other, the car stops and has to be towed, but the engine isn't damaged.

I have a 2004 Accord four cylinder.  It has a timing chain.  The six cylinder 2004 Accords have timing belts.  Is your 2003 Accord a six cylinder? 
 

[Deleted]

Timing chains break just like timing belts do. Probably an oversimplification, but think of a bicycle chain...like that. Used to be that you could expect a timing chain to last the life of the car. Why and when that changed, I have no idea. Some Hondas still use timing chains.

[Deleted]

Jun 30, 2013 16:36:49 GMT -5 seriousthistime said:

I think that normally timing chains last for the life of the engine.  With timing belts that break, I think there are two possible outcomes depending on whether your engine is an interference engine or a non-interference engine.  In one case, the engine sustains a lot of damage.  In the other, the car stops and has to be towed, but the engine isn't damaged.

I have a 2004 Accord four cylinder.  It has a timing chain.  The six cylinder 2004 Accords have timing belts.  Is your 2003 Accord a six cylinder? 
 

6 cylinder