Replacing our Hyundai Elantra and unsure what to get

[Skywalker3]

Not sure where to put this thread, but it's about car prices/recommendations and the economics of car shopping, so trying this subforum.
DS was in a car accident this past week. He's fine, physically, but found out Friday, car is totaled. It was an Elantra. So, we're now looking for another vehicle.
DH has no interest in Hyundai again. We've been pretty put out with them, after buying, then finding out about all the theft issues. We even bought a steering wheel lock, until they finally just updated the software to fix the bug.
So, now we're looking again. DS mostly just uses it for going to school, friends' houses, and hopefully work soon. Probably won't take it to college his first semester. This accident has thrown us for a loop.
In the past, we've generally looked at Hondas/Toyotas, considering a used Corolla or Civic, due to their reliability, but what other models/brands might be good? Car prices, even used , around here are crazy and/or if not crazy, have like 80K miles on them. But we've not looked at American cars in a long time, and they are much cheaper. Any recommendation on them? or other brands?
I'm so glad DS is ok, physically, although I do think he's still shaken up about it mentally, thankful that the other person/car is ok, and insurance has really come through w/ no issues yet. Thanks for any recommendations.

 

[scrappinginontario]

My last / cars have been Mazda’s and I’ve been extremely happy with them!

 

[kitkat4622]

I was sh I could help. I just currently bought my 4th Hyundai and always had really good luck with them. Our other vehicle was a Toyota Corolla and my grandson has a used Nissan Sentra. We personally would not buy another Nissan

 

[AgentMama]

Do you need 4 wheel drive or is that not necessary? The Ford Escape tends to be an affordable and decent vehicle. Hyundai really does seem to be a good bang for your buck and if they have fixed the theft issues, might be worth it to reconsider.

 

[DodgerGirl]

One car I don't recommend is a Ford Thunderbird because my aunt had one and from the time she had bought it all throughout the time she owned it her Ford Thunderbird had problems first was with brakes and then when she got her oil change they ruined her engine and then my aunt had to get new car batteries because her car battery would go dead from time to time and she had spent lots of money for her Ford Thunderbird's car problems. Another option your husband could try is getting a Chevy truck like the Silverado or a GMC truck like the Sierra or try a Chevy Tahoe
Best of luck finding a new vehicle Skywalker
Dodger

 

[GZanta77]

Do you need 4 wheel drive or is that not necessary? The Ford Escape tends to be an affordable and decent vehicle. Hyundai really does seem to be a good bang for your buck and if they have fixed the theft issues, might be worth it to reconsider.

I think the Ford Escape is a good vehicle - I bought one for our kids to use. However, Ford made some strange design choices with the 2013-2015 model. Cheaped out on some stuff, and made other stuff difficult to access resulting in higher service/repair bills.

My last / cars have been Mazda’s and I’ve been extremely happy with them!

DW has had Mazda's for her last two cars and has been very happy.

 

[MICKIMINI]

We've been Subaru owners (8 total) and we've not had any major (or minor if you don't count a few tires that go low) issues with any of them. We typically buy new and keep for 50K miles so we don't have to replace any major parts. We service them regularly (oil changes and tire rotations 5-7K miles).

Even the lower end categories have many upgrades and the cars are safe. I was hit by a wild animal last week while doing 55 and it really only caused minor damage (2K mostly for electronics to take doors apart). If you looked at my car, you might not even see the damage.

We had two Outback's which are really big if you need cargo space and now have a Crosstrek and Legacy Limited. Both get about 33-35 mpg. Prices are way lower than Toyota. I would highly recommend Subaru.

 

[robinb]

My DD25 also just had a car accident. Like your son, she was thankfully OK. We are waiting for her to have to chance to take her car to get a repair estimate but her 2015 Subaru Outback has 175,000 miles on it. I think that they will total it.

We will be replacing her car with another new Subaru, either an Outback or a Forester. We expect our DD25 to go to grad school this year (fingers crossed, send positive vibes for her to be accepted), so we will be happy to be able to help her in purchasing a car for her. Between Subaru's reliability, safety and AWD it's a no-brainer for us. I think that we put less than $2,000 into the car since we purchased it used in 2018 (other than regular oil changes).

 

[barkley]

Do you need 4 wheel drive or is that not necessary? The Ford Escape tends to be an affordable and decent vehicle

we've had 2 and recently had to replace one (lasted a GOOD LONG TIME-2006 w/loads of miles/the one we retained is 2013 and is just fine). we looked at new one and they were fine but a bronco caught our eye and we just liked the rear storage set up (although technically a bit smaller than the escape's it's shaped better and with the back seats down is the bomb for schlepping stuff).

 

[bdrex28]

Not sure where to put this thread, but it's about car prices/recommendations and the economics of car shopping, so trying this subforum.
DS was in a car accident this past week. He's fine, physically, but found out Friday, car is totaled. It was an Elantra. So, we're now looking for another vehicle.
DH has no interest in Hyundai again. We've been pretty put out with them, after buying, then finding out about all the theft issues. We even bought a steering wheel lock, until they finally just updated the software to fix the bug.
So, now we're looking again. DS mostly just uses it for going to school, friends' houses, and hopefully work soon. Probably won't take it to college his first semester. This accident has thrown us for a loop.
In the past, we've generally looked at Hondas/Toyotas, considering a used Corolla or Civic, due to their reliability, but what other models/brands might be good? Car prices, even used , around here are crazy and/or if not crazy, have like 80K miles on them. But we've not looked at American cars in a long time, and they are much cheaper. Any recommendation on them? or other brands?
I'm so glad DS is ok, physically, although I do think he's still shaken up about it mentally, thankful that the other person/car is ok, and insurance has really come through w/ no issues yet. Thanks for any recommendations.

Toyota Camry
Subaru vehicles

All good.

 

[bluezy]

We've had numerous Hyundai vehicles over the years. Every time we look for a new (used) car, we look at numerous different brands/models and still usually end up with a Hyundai. Their reliability, safety, and warranty are great. We haven't really had any major issues with any of them that we've owned over the last 20 years. Every vehicle brand has a recall or issue with specific models over the years, so no brand is truly safe from potential problems. At least with the Hyundai theft issue, it was very specific models, not brand-wide. So simply don't buy those models. I'm sure it was frustrating to own one of those models and I do think Hyundai could have handled it better. However, we currently own a GMC Acadia that has a recall on the airbags. It was issued almost 2 years ago and they *still* don't have the parts available for the repairs. So....it's not just Hyundai who is slow to take care of recalls/issues. I'm sure there are dozens of other recalls out there with owners waiting for repairs/replacements. We were looking for a good used car for our daughter 2 years ago before she was heading off to college. We wanted a Hyundai and this was in the middle of the whole theft fiasco. We simply avoided the models that were affected. It wasn't difficult. I think there were 2 specific cars (not models...just 2 cars on the lots we went to) that we didn't test drive because of that...but still had dozens to choose from. We bought a Hyundai Tucson for her and it's perfect. All-wheel drive, big enough for her to pack all of her stuff for college, but not so big that she's uncomfortable driving it.

 

[tvguy]

One car I don't recommend is a Ford Thunderbird because my aunt had one and from the time she had bought it all throughout the time she owned it her Ford Thunderbird had problems first was with brakes and then when she got her oil change they ruined her engine and then my aunt had to get new car batteries because her car battery would go dead from time to time and she had spent lots of money for her Ford Thunderbird's car problems. Another option your husband could try is getting a Chevy truck like the Silverado or a GMC truck like the Sierra or try a Chevy Tahoe
Best of luck finding a new vehicle Skywalker
Dodger

They haven't made the Thunderbird since 2005 so in most cases under normal use they are going to have a lot more miles on them than the 80,000 miles the OP has defined as more than she wants on a car they are looking to buy. They ARE, however, gaining popularity as a collector car.

 

[tvguy]

Used car prices are crazy. My mechanic does a lot of pre-purchase inspections for customers and he says he has never seen so many worn out cars with crazy high prices in his career. Corolla, Camry, Civic Accord, Fusion, Escape certainly are worth a look. My daughter bought a used 2017 Fusion Hybrid with 16,000 miles on it from Hertz for $16,250 in 2018 and drove it for 6 years and 70,000 miles without a single repair, just oil changes and tires. When she moved over seas she sold it for $10,000 to Carmax who put it on their lot for $16,000 !!!! So yes, used car prices are nuts.

 

[Cadiewampus]

We've been Subaru owners (8 total) and we've not had any major (or minor if you don't count a few tires that go low) issues with any of them. We typically buy new and keep for 50K miles so we don't have to replace any major parts. We service them regularly (oil changes and tire rotations 5-7K miles).

Even the lower end categories have many upgrades and the cars are safe. I was hit by a wild animal last week while doing 55 and it really only caused minor damage (2K mostly for electronics to take doors apart). If you looked at my car, you might not even see the damage.

We had two Outback's which are really big if you need cargo space and now have a Crosstrek and Legacy Limited. Both get about 33-35 mpg. Prices are way lower than Toyota. I would highly recommend Subaru.

Well with just 50k miles most car would not have any major problems

 

[MICKIMINI]

Well with just 50k miles most car would not have any major problems

Most. We had 4 Volvos and 1 BMW and lots of issues prior to 50K!! Expensive sensors and other issues. Moving on to Subaru. Thanks for making your point.

 

[DaviVascaino]

Not sure where to put this thread, but it's about car prices/recommendations and the economics of car shopping, so trying this subforum.
DS was in a car accident this past week. He's fine, physically, but found out Friday, car is totaled. It was an Elantra. So, we're now looking for another vehicle.
DH has no interest in Hyundai again. We've been pretty put out with them, after buying, then finding out about all the theft issues. We even bought a steering wheel lock, until they finally just updated the software to fix the bug.
So, now we're looking again. DS mostly just uses it for going to school, friends' houses, and hopefully work soon. Probably won't take it to college his first semester. This accident has thrown us for a loop.
In the past, we've generally looked at Hondas/Toyotas, considering a used Corolla or Civic, due to their reliability, but what other models/brands might be good? Car prices, even used , around here are crazy and/or if not crazy, have like 80K miles on them. But we've not looked at American cars in a long time, and they are much cheaper. Any recommendation on them? or other brands?
I'm so glad DS is ok, physically, although I do think he's still shaken up about it mentally, thankful that the other person/car is ok, and insurance has really come through w/ no issues yet. Thanks for any recommendations.

you can't beat reliability of toyota/honda/nissan cars. if you are planning to keep the car for several years, stick with those brands specially if you don't plan to break the bank.

I will probably buy a corolla or civic to my son when he is old enough for college

 

[_19disnA]

A lot of what you decide to buy relates to your budget, personal preference, how long you intend to keep it as well as how you plan to use the vehicle. How many people do you typically have in the vehicle, how many large/bulky items do you often carry around? Availability of service/repair parts can also be an issue with some brands that don't have a large presence in the US.

A feature like 4wd/AWD can be of benefit if you live/drive in certain parts of the country where snow/ice are an issue in the winter. Even if you often get a lot of rain, that feature can provide additional traction in bad weather.

 

[cvjw]

We have had great luck with Honda, Toyota and Subaru cars. Would not recommend Nissan.

 

[tvguy]

you can't beat reliability of toyota/honda/nissan cars. if you are planning to keep the car for several years, stick with those brands specially if you don't plan to break the bank.

I will probably buy a corolla or civic to my son when he is old enough for college

While Nissan CVTs have been a nightmare, right now, my concern is whether Nissan will still be in business 18 months from now. Poor quality being linked to rumors of Nissans demise.

 

[DaviVascaino]

While Nissan CVTs have been a nightmare, right now, my concern is whether Nissan will still be in business 18 months from now. Poor quality being linked to rumors of Nissans demise.

Nissan is merging with honda.

While I like Nissan, I really like infiniti more. I have been an infiniti driver for 10 plus years ( I have two cars from them)