Any car enthusiasts? Here's the scenario - what would you buy?
 

Ok so, I have $35k and need to purchase 2 used cars when I arrive in LA next week.

Looking to buy one 7 seater and 1 standard SUV.

What would you buy with that budget?

Am thinking about the Kia Sorento for the 7 seater and then perhaps a Ford Escape/Edge, Honda CRV, Lincoln MKC etc. as another but very open to other suggestions.

Thanks in advance

Re: Any car enthusiasts? Here's the scenario - what would you buy?
 

My personal approach would be to ask/shop/google review around to find a decent dealer.

Then see what they have in stock/ deal they would do for two cars.

I'd go for an explorer/ edge combination if I could but that probably would push the budget

Re: Any car enthusiasts? Here's the scenario - what would you buy?
 

Sheila and I had a Honda CR-V for 10 years and loved it. We eventually traded up to a Subaru Forester. We've had the Subaru for 3 years now and still love it. In both features and road experience it's at least a magnitude better than the Honda. That said, both Hondas and Subarus hold their resell value.

Ian

Re: Any car enthusiasts? Here's the scenario - what would you buy?
 

Kia's depreciate like a rock, so on the plus side you should be able to find one for a good price, on the other hand when you come to sell/ trade it several years later you may find it pretty worthless. Other dealers don't Iike them, so if you can find one at another dealer you may be able to get it for a good price.

That said, personally I wouldn't buy one, and if I needed a seven seater I would sooner buyer a slightly older Ford, Chevy, Honda, or Toyota than a Kia.

Unless you have a family of seven, i.e. need seven seats very often, a better strategy may be to buy vehicles for the number of people you need to carry on a day to day basis and then rent a larger vehicle when you have visitors.

Re: Any car enthusiasts? Here's the scenario - what would you buy?
 

I used to own a minivan and hated it. Now, we rent when necessary. However, rates for a 7 seat minivan are 2-3 times that of something like a Camry. Not very attractive if you need to rent frequently.

Re: Any car enthusiasts? Here's the scenario - what would you buy?
 

We have a Forester. I find it quite restrictive in size, even for a family of 4, and they cost a shed load when they go wrong. 35 grand should easily be enough to buy a decent used minivan and SUV though.

Re: Any car enthusiasts? Here's the scenario - what would you buy?
 

I think you are out of date. The modern Kia Sorrento is an excellent vehicle and reliable.

Re: Any car enthusiasts? Here's the scenario - what would you buy?
 

To be fair, he didn't say they weren't reliable, or a good car, just that they depreciate like a stone. Every Kia I've driven, and I've driven a few now, seems to be a decent car, if that's the sort of thing you're looking for.

Re: Any car enthusiasts? Here's the scenario - what would you buy?
 

Subaru, Toyota or Honda are your best bets. Steer clear of US brands.

Re: Any car enthusiasts? Here's the scenario - what would you buy?
 

Why ?

Re: Any car enthusiasts? Here's the scenario - what would you buy?
 

What nonsense! Your advice would have been good around 30-35 years ago.

Re: Any car enthusiasts? Here's the scenario - what would you buy?
 

I think it's still a reasonable generalization, if you are looking for reliability. I would modify it to say, 'steer clear of US and German brands', or simplify it to 'buy Japanese'. Look at this simple, recent list ...
The Most and Least Reliable Cars by Class - Consumer Reports
Just eyeball all the cars on the left (reliable) and all the cars on the right (unreliable) and form a conclusion. 12 Japanese cars on the left; 1 US; 1 German. On the right, we have 12 US cars, 1 German; 1 Japanese.

Edit to add: another CR list: http://www.consumerreports.org/car-r...they-stack-up/

Interesting to see Buick and Audi in the top 8; and Honda/Acura missing from top 8. But overall, as a generalization, one can still say, 6 of top 8 are Asian (Japanese/Korean) and not one Asian car in the bottom 11 (almost all are US makes).

Re: Any car enthusiasts? Here's the scenario - what would you buy?
 

:lol:

Re: Any car enthusiasts? Here's the scenario - what would you buy?
 

Like most things American, they are very nice and sleek and shiny on the outside but a bunch of junk under the surface... Seriously though, look at the top performing/most reliable cars and also look at mpg efficiency and you'll rarely find a US brand there (notable exception in this list of 2016 most reliable cars is Buick):
The 8 most reliable car brands according to Consumer Reports - Business Insider

Also, the OP is buying outright secondhand and will probably want to sell them on at a certain point so will need to consider resale value.

Re: Any car enthusiasts? Here's the scenario - what would you buy?
 

Try factoring in recalls instead of only "reliability", and that would likely change the picture significantly. In recent years Toyota have had recalls out the wazoo, Honda has had recall after recall, though mostly focused on allegedly faulty airbags.

Granted Chevrolet doesn't have much to brag about either on the recall front, with IIRC, the average Chevy built between 2006 and around 2014 having had more than one recall.

I have two Fords myself, with an aggregate of pushing 200,000 miles. In that time there has been one breakdown, which quite frankly was due to poor inspections (of worn steering parts) than an unexpected mechanical failure. I would have absolutely no reservations about recommending Ford vehicles. :)