What are some reliable, practical 2nd vehicle options?

[9zero1790]

4th gen ford ranger. they have basic maintenance and consumables to replace. Other than that they just keep going. You can find decent ones in the budget you mentioned. shoot id sell you mine for 7500 lol. but then id be looking for a reliable ride myself.

Sponsored

 

[CP0861]

Great idea on checking the insurance costs. I got a wild hair a few years ago and decided I wanted a Honda Civic EX 4door for a commuter car. Luckily I checked on the insurance as it was ridiculous. The yearly premium on the new Civic was almost double what a new ZR1 Corvette would have been. I only checked as there was another wild hair at play too. ?

They suggested the number of claims on the Civic were higher and generally resulted in large payouts. Higher premiums is equivalent to spreading the love I guess.

My ex wife and I just had to dig into our insurance to add our daughter. I assumed it would be cheaper for my ex to add her to her policy. She has a 2014 Acura MDX with nearly 300k miles. I have a 22 Ranger with 35k miles and a used Pilot with high miles. Same insurance company, we both have perfect records and she literally lives 9 minutes away. They quoted her $110/month to add my daughter. They quoted me $57/month to add her to my policy. Turns out my ex is paying more to insure her 10 year old MDX with 300k miles than I am for my Ranger. They gave a similar explanation....the Acura had higher risks or some such nonsense. I think Honda/Acura are always among the most commonly stolen cars.....

 

[LaBalbe]

My ex wife and I just had to dig into our insurance to add our daughter. I assumed it would be cheaper for my ex to add her to her policy. She has a 2014 Acura MDX with nearly 300k miles. I have a 22 Ranger with 35k miles and a used Pilot with high miles. Same insurance company, we both have perfect records and she literally lives 9 minutes away. They quoted her $110/month to add my daughter. They quoted me $57/month to add her to my policy. Turns out my ex is paying more to insure her 10 year old MDX with 300k miles than I am for my Ranger. They gave a similar explanation....the Acura had higher risks or some such nonsense. I think Honda/Acura are always among the most commonly stolen cars.....

It can also have to do with location, though. If you live near a major intersection or road, your insurance is probably higher because there's a higher likelihood of a fender bender in a denser traffic area. Another "location" factor is how the rest of the people in that area drive. In the greater metropolitan area where I'm in (which covers a few cities and smaller towns), the highest rates aren't even in the big cities; they're in one of the surrounding towns which is notorious for terrible drivers.

 

[WingShot]

This is what I’m looking at…Royal Enfield INT650, $6400, 60 mpg.

 

[ccasanova22]

Older Civic, 4.6L Panther Car, Maxima with 3.0L VQ engine, or manual Echo, Corolla, Versa, Focus, etc. Those all seem to last a while without much maintenance.

Personally I would pick a 5 speed Echo as they can take some heavy use and neglected maintenance and still keep running.

If looks are a thing the Civic would be top on my list. Too bad a < $10k one means usually older, manual, and may have some rust.

 

[UnregistredHypercam2]

May not necessarily fit your budget, but I recently sold my Ranger to go the 2 car route. My new daily is a 2013 VW Golf TDI which is notorious for its reliability and gas mileage. I've been getting mid-high 30's MPG combined and low-mid 40's highway.

 

[TJC]

I like the Mazda CX-5 The mid teens up to 2017 are very good. I love my 2023! My Father-in-law has been driving a 2016 that he purchased with 40K miles on it for about 4 years now. No trouble at all with 160K on the clock.

 

[CP0861]

This is what I’m looking at…Royal Enfield INT650, $6400, 60 mpg.

When my kids are both 18 and/or when I retire, I'll get one. With my other toys, I can't quite justify it yet!

 

[MountainGoat]

This is what I’m looking at…Royal Enfield INT650, $6400, 60 mpg.

That Scram 411 looks cool too. $5K, better on the fireroads around here and actually in stock around. How is Royal Enfield's reliability?

 

[CP0861]

Older Civic, 4.6L Panther Car, Maxima with 3.0L VQ engine, or manual Echo, Corolla, Versa, Focus, etc. Those all seem to last a while without much maintenance.

Personally I would pick a 5 speed Echo as they can take some heavy use and neglected maintenance and still keep running.

If looks are a thing the Civic would be top on my list. Too bad a < $10k one means usually older, manual, and may have some rust.

I've owned enough Hondas, I'd be ok with an older one if the price was right. I recently saw a MINT, pampered, garaged 2000 Civic with like 50K miles for $5-$6K. I also saw a 99 Accord with 55K miles for $7K. A little older....but if the timing belts were done, they still probably run like new and have all the modern stuff (power locks, windows and cc) that I care about.

 

[Blmpkn]

 

[ccasanova22]

Another option is an older enthusiast car like Civic Si, Mazdaspeed 3, GTI, etc. Although many were driven hard, there are quite a few that have been obsessively maintained and pampered out there. Usually an older gearhead with a 3rd car as a toy. Believe it or not, seen quite a few Subarus like that also - not every WRX or STi is trashed out. Some actually are in better shape than the average commuter!

 

[Motorpsychology]

I think I've decided to buy a 2nd vehicle. It's nice to spread the miles out and I keep cars until they aren't worth fixing.

I've always had 2 vehicles. I owned a Honda Accord and an F150 together for about 15 years, and when the Honda hit 300K miles in 2016 it needed over $1k in miscellaneous work, so I got rid of it and bought a used 2005 Honda Pilot that had 50K miles on it. I've had the Pilot for 7 years and 125K miles now and just gave it to my daughter for her 1st car. It currently has about 180K miles and runs perfectly. It has been perfectly maintained its entire life and I'm fully expecting 300K+ miles out of that car.

Also, now that my oldest is driving herself (and all her softball gear) everywhere, I'm quickly realizing I don't need a truck most of the time now. I also have 35k miles on my Ranger after 17 months, so it would be nice to have something else to put miles on. My daughter is also busy with school, clubs, sports and work - she's on the go more than I am now (which is a nice change), so I can't really count on using the Pilot anymore. She genuinely needs it almost all 7 days of the week.

So with that in mind....what are your favorite PRACTICAL 2nd vehicles?

I want a vehicle that can realistically reach 300K miles, reliable, cheap to maintain, fuel efficient, and here's the kicker....under $10K. With still having my Ranger, I don't need or want 4wd or AWD...I don't really need 4 doors either....so there are lots of options.

Obviously, you can't go wrong with a Honda. I've owned 5 over the years, so I know they're basically invincible. But beyond that, I'm curious what everyone suggests for a nice daily driver.

I've been looking online for the last 2 days....mostly looking at Civics and Toyotas. I've found some surprisingly nice 2nd and 3rd gen Toyota Avalons in the $5-$9K price range....but when searching older cars with low mileage, there's a lot of neat stuff out there. I've also had the thought of just buying another 1st gen Pilot since I loved it so much.....

So what's your favorite, practical pick for a daily driver?

I have a 2009 Mercury Mariner, the sister to the Ford Escape. It has been a gas 'n' oil only car since we bought it new. I recently put new shocks and struts on it to replace the originals. the 2009-12's are the best of the series, different transmissions and engines. Best vehicle we've ever owned out of 23 of them.
Within Ford, there are hit and miss periods, and the '09-12 Ford Escape & Mercury Mariner are hits, IMO. Either would be good choices for an economical SUV, and clean examples can be had for well under $10G

 

[Arly]

We are looking at a bronco and B sport right now. We get many months of snow here will will only use 4wd or awd's.

 

[GhostStrykre]

This is what I’m looking at…Royal Enfield INT650, $6400, 60 mpg.

That Scram 411 looks cool too. $5K, better on the fireroads around here and actually in stock around. How is Royal Enfield's reliability?

Off topic:
Royal Enfield's reliability is actually pretty decent! I think their machines are just a lot simpler than the complicated gadgetry put forth by other manufacturers. That being said, the service intervals of some of the Royal Enfield's kinda suck. More frequent valve checks than most. They're screw type adjusters IIRC, so it is easily done at home. RE is updating its engines slowly, however, and intervals and such are improving! I'm definitely rooting for them as a brand.

Something new and about to release: the Triumph Speed 400 and Triumph Scrambler 400X. They're cheaper than even Royal Enfield, have better maintenance intervals, and seem to have a tad more modern equipment. Check 'em out!

On Topic:
How about a Toyota 4Runner? The vehicles, if taken care of, can run a very veeery long time with little fuss. I'd say to avoid the V8 4Runner's though. Toyota service guys have told me the cylinder walls are a little too thin with those and occasionally had issues. I ran a nationwide search on cars.com and got this:
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/7746aab8-e25a-4be2-a948-6137968796b5/

Disclaimer, my second vehicle that my wife uses is a 4Runner, so I'm quite biased.

Sponsored