<p>I hit a deer the other day (a very scary experience!) My car doesn’t look as bad as you think it would, but it is a 2002 Subaru Forester and I suspect its value (according to the insurance company) is low enough that the repairs might put it in the “totalled” category.</p>
<p>I’m going to find out the estimate tomorrow … but I haven’t looked for a car in a long time and would appreciate any advice about reliable, reasonably priced newer used cars.</p>
<p>I’m hoping to keep the price under $18,000 - if it was closer to $15,000 that would be great (if it’s realistic.) I’m looking for a sedan (Honda Accord, Nissan, Toyota, etc.) with under 50,000 miles. I wouldn’t mind a small SUV (CRV for example) but it seems they are more expensive. After the experience of hitting a deer, I don’t want to go for the smaller cars such as a Civic or a Corolla. Those front hoods are tiny and I shudder to think what the deer would have done to that kind of car (and me.) I keep cars until they die (or get totalled …) so I’m looking for something that has a history of being reliable for a very long time.</p>
<p>I hope you didn’t have any injuries SansSerif! That’s such a frightening thing, and you’re right a deer can obliterate small cars. We have a lot in our area. Our experience with used cars recently do not fit your criteria (higher mileage and lower budget for the kids). I did want to say, the only car in 25 years that we have ever bought new is a Toyota Camry (hybrid). It’s over six years old, has well over 100k miles (hwy commute, thus the desire for hybrid). It has been an excellent car, just regular maintenance, change tires, etc. lerkin is right, you can’t go wrong with a Toyota.</p>
<p>My Toyota has been very reliable. My brother sticks with Honda Accords and has few problems with them. You may wish to consider if you’re interested in buying a car from a rental agency. Several family members have done this and been very happy. For our local Hertz, you leave them with your ID and can go and test drive it and/or take it to your mechanic. S almost bought a new car because it was cheaper than the used ones he was interested in. He ended up inheriting a car instead.</p>
<p>Blueiguana - I was on the highway on the way to work. This deer seemingly appeared out of nowhere. I swerved a little, slowed down a little (had about 1 second to react and I didn’t want to hit another car) and I think that made the difference between the deer going over my hood and into my windshield vs what did happen - it bounced along the passenger side of my car. I’m very lucky - I wasn’t hurt and my car is still usable (lost the right side front turn signal and can’t fully open the passenger side front door, but considering what could have been, not so bad.) I still feel bad that I killed a deer, but there was nothing I could do to avoid it.</p>
<p>Remember that cars have been getting bigger over time, so Civics, Corollas, and their competitors (Focus, Cruze, Elantra, etc.) are bigger than they used to be, if that is a concern. Some of them are available new within your price limit (see [Hassle-free</a> car-buying experience from a nationwide network of certified dealers. - TrueCar](<a href=“http://www.truecar.com%5DHassle-free”>http://www.truecar.com) ).</p>
<p>Do you mean the unintended acceleration from 2009 or so? The floor mats and/or accelerator pedal assemblies in affected cars have been recalled. (Obviously, aftermarket floor mats and random junk in the driver’s footwell can be an issue here.)</p>
<p>But unintended acceleration can be stopped by pressing the clutch pedal or shifting the transmission into neutral. While the brakes should be able to stop the car even with the accelerator floored and the transmission engaged in a forward gear, it will take a lot longer to do so than if declutched or in neutral. (They used to teach in driver’s education how to handle the then-common problem of the accelerator sticking due to cable corrosion or return spring failure – do they still do that now?)</p>
<p>Yes, I meant the unintended acceleration. All I remember is that they couldn’t seem to figure out why it was happening. There were recalls, Toyota would declare it fixed, and then the problem kept happening. I know I would put the car in neutral if that ever happened, but I don’t want a car where that’s a known issue.</p>
<p>Toyota did a recall for the unintended acceleration. This included fussing with the floor mats and changing how the accelerator pedal pivots on some models. I don’t think there are any outstanding issues that haven’t been addressed by the recalls.</p>
<p>I agree with the point above about the sizes of cars. If you check the size of a Corolla of the past few years you’ll find they’re not tiny cars - they’re actually pretty good sized and even have a reasonable back seat. They’re actually pretty long bumper to bumper.</p>
<p>I’m not up to speed on the sludge issues but some manufacturers have addressed this by decreasing the intervals for the recommended oil changes. I think some of them maybe pushed the intervals out too much. Of course, people can change the oil more frequently than the recommended oil changes (I do).</p>
<p>There are too many cars that would be fine as a good used car. ‘Most’ modern cars are pretty reliable and this includes domestics. If you can swing it, look for a used car that still has time left on the factory warranty. With the longer warranties nowadays this means you can typically buy a 2-3 y/o car and still end up with a year or more on the warranty. If you do this then you know if there’s a major issue it’ll be covered under warranty for some period of time and by then you’ll know more about the behavior of the car. You could even consider a manufacturer ‘certified’ used car that carries a longer warranty and was supposedly checked out by them quite a bit. These will cost a bit more but you’re essentially paying for the warranty. You could go to a place with a lot of different used cars, like Carmax, and wander around and see what strikes your fancy. Of course, you can do that part online as well even if the Carmax isn’t in your area - it’ll give you an idea of what’s available and what the cost is.</p>
<p>About small cars being bigger than they used to be – I’ve looked at the newer Civics and it seems like there is hardly any front to it - I’ve never seen an engine compartment/hood that short. I used to own a Mazda Protege and the hood seemed longer. I’ll have to look at the Corollas, too. I think because of hitting the deer, I’m feeling a bit paranoid about the size of my car. My Forester really did hold up well, considering what hit it. </p>
<p>I’m kind of bummed about the possibility of it being considered totalled. I’ve had the car since late 2001, I’m kind of attached to it. I intended to keep it for at least a few more years. Sigh …</p>
<p>It’s always tough having to replace a car sooner than expected. That said, several of the newer cars have wireless Bluetooth so you can operate your phone in speaker mode while driving. Some also will operate by you just having the key somewhere in purse or jacket and you don’t have to fish out the actual key. My sister loves this feature. You just push a button
to operate. Some use combination to open door, which can be a nice feature to those interested. </p>
<p>My friends and relatives who bought cars from rental agencies got extended warranties from the seller, I believe. It seems like a good idea to have good mechanic look over any used car prior to purchase. Our mechanic looked cover three cars that he urged us NOT to by. We followed his advice and are very glad because we really don’t like hazardous cars like those were.</p>
<p>I love my Accord. A girlfriend has had nothing but problems with her Camry.</p>
<p>But I’m curious to hear if you would consider another Subaru? My older D drives a 2004 Forester and the reason I bought it is because it seems like a reliable tank. I guess that remains to be seen, as she has only had it one year.</p>
<p>The theory behind ‘totalling a car’ by the insurance company is that they pay you the value of the car and then you could use that money to go out and buy the equivalent car - i.e. same year, same model, same condition. If you really like your Forester have you thought of doing that? Of course, you could also throw more money at it and get a new version of the same model or whatever else you want (that fits the budget).</p>
<p>If you’re paranoid about a deer now, I’m not sure what would be the best vehicle for you but it’d probably be something like a large SUV with a brush guard on the front (I think they call them a ‘roo bar’ or something in Australia). Any vehicle with a lower sloping hood, which includes not just smaller vehicles, seem like when they hit the deer would funnel the deer onto the hood and into the windshield. I’m not sure it’d make any difference at all if the hood happened to be a foot or so longer. I think it’s the height and shape (blunt vs low, pointed, and sloping) that’d be the most important attributes. I’m sure you can probably find studies of this on the internet since there are lots of deer strikes and I think they’re escalating.</p>
<p>Two known problems with the cars were found:</p>
<ol>
<li> Floor mats trapping the accelerator pedal.</li>
<li> Accelerator pedal assemblies from one supplier that got sticky.</li>
</ol>
<p>Of course, there were also people hyping the speculation of electronics problems which were never found. What clouded the issue even more is that there is always a background level of unintended acceleration incidents that are purely driver error (pressing the accelerator instead of the brake when parking).</p>
<p>College4k - i love my Subaru, but the one problem I had was the head gaskets going at 70,000 miles. And now there’s a problem with the oil - it’s not leaking, but it uses oil too fast, and I have to top off the oil every few weeks. Apparently, gaskets were a big problem with Subarus, but they did cover 100% of that repair, so I do have to give them credit for great customer service.</p>
<p>Gladgraddad - That’s a good point about the hood being higher. Something else to consider.</p>
<p>Why not get another Subaru? We have had civics, accords, subarus, Mazda, Volvo, all used and no problems. Right now, I would not buy a used civic. Any of the others would be fine. We also had two new toyotas that served us very well. Honestly, I think you would be able to get a decent Camry or corolla for the price you hope for.</p>
<p>I think you could get a new Corolla for that price.</p>
<p>If you do go the new car route and are a Costco member, look up the dealerships that give you the Costco price. It’s no haggling and a very good price.</p>