r2i forum

I am planning to R2A next month and will be in Bay Area. I am planning to go for a used car and most likely for a Honda Accord or Toyota Camry in the budget range of $14000 to $16000. The requirement is for a family of four. Wanted to get some suggestions on members if these choices make sense or are there better ones that I need to consider.

If you'll be LIA for a long time, I would suggest getting a new car or a used one with not more than 10k miles on it. Consider fuel efficient cars like Prius, Altima hybrid or Honda fit. I have heard smaller cars (like Nissan Versa) are not that good for long drives, but I'm not sure how accurate it is. I have also seen a lot of people driving Hyundai these days and they seem to be happy with it. I think Hyundai's warranty coverage is also very good.

You can try Hertz car sale and read the discussions here.

Toyota and Honda are boring. Go for Subaru Outback wagon and you can use it for trips to Tahoe. Or Mazda3 to get some sporty feel in a sedan. Try used cars that are 3-5 years old and it should fit inside 16K.

You can consider the Hyundai Elantra touring/wagon. 100k mi warranty, great mileage, lots of space. Fits your price range,you should be able to get a new one. You cannot go wrong with an Accord, Camry, or Altima. I would stay away from Hybrids. They have puny engines, high initial cost, and the added cost of replacing batteries. The hybrid tech also changes fast - depreciating older cars with old tech much fast.

I would recommend staying away from the rental car sales. They are generally horribly driven and maintained. You'll have trouble when you sell it again.