R2A: Which car to buy?

[trt987]

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.

[suba]

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.

[Old-Spice2]

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.

[GutsyGibbon]

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.

[nyc2ncr]

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.