What are some reliable, practical 2nd vehicle options?

[Roscoe_t]

I may draw some catcalls for this suggestion, but a 2004-2009 Toyota Prius. My wife's car is an '07 that she has driven for 11 years. The Prius is in the top three of the most reliable cars Toyota has ever made. You can get 50 mpg driving around town. It's high roofline means entry and exit is easy for everybody, including my 90-year-old mother in law. It's a hatchback with fold-down rear seats, providing a surprising amount of cargo space.

We bought ours used with 35k miles. Non-DiY repairs since that time have been front wheel bearings, and the main traction battery about 5k miles ago. The cost of that battery, a factory Toyota part installed by an independent mechanic in our driveway, was $2800. It took about an hour. In retrospect I probably could have DiY'ed that, but the tech got me a good deal on the battery.
My wife loves the car, wants to drive it forever. It has 155k miles on it and uses no oil. Nothing leaks on the drivetrain or in the cabin.

Find a Gen 2 Prius in good overall shape with a bad battery, buy it at a discount, fix it, and drive for a decade or more.

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[CP0861]

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.

Too many miles on that one for me.

I like the 4 runners, but for $8,500, I can find a Toyota or a Honda with half (or probably less than half) of that mileage. I also don't need 4wd, and I'd like something that can get at least 25ish mpg.

Here's a one owner loaded Avalon with 76k miles for $6K. Unfortunately, it already sold.
https://www.autotrader.com/marketplace/buy/toyota/avalon/2000/4T1BF28B1YU086282?listingId=693367291

Also, I probably wouldn't buy from a fly by night "Johnny's Motors" type of dealer. They typically sell what they pick up at auctions....might be a decent car, or it might be a problematic POS. They're flipping whatever they think they can sell.

For used, I'd prefer private sales or buying from regular (new) dealers. Most dealers keep the decent trade ins to sell themselves. If they have any doubts on a trade in, they'll auction it, and then Johnny's Motors will buy the question marks to flip.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

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.

Brampton, ON

 

[LaBalbe]

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

Agreed. I had a 2010 Escape prior to the Ranger, and ran it as my only vehicle for over a decade. Like Chris said, it was just oil & gas, and it was a really reliable vehicle. I'd probably still be driving it now, if the salt hadn't started to eat away at the frame a little too much.

 

[CP0861]

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!

I've seen some Si's in my price range. I saw a decent looking hatchback with like 120K miles for $7500. I just tried to find it to post the link, and I can't find it....it probably sold. But they're out there. However, I gotta think they're more to insure.

I should probably call my insurance company and give them a handful of cars to quote me. That might steer me to something. If I do buy another vehicle, it'll be the 3rd one I'm paying insurance on with divorced dad single income. I don't want to spend any more than absolutely necessary.

 

[StarLord]

Honda FIT!

Vtec, manual, 4 doors, peppy off the line, great gas milage, and its a Honda!

 

[CP0861]

Agreed. I had a 2010 Escape prior to the Ranger, and ran it as my only vehicle for over a decade. Like Chris said, it was just oil & gas, and it was a really reliable vehicle. I'd probably still be driving it now, if the salt hadn't started to eat away at the frame a little too much.

I'm checking them out now....did you have the 4 cylinder or 6 cylinder?

Just found a 2012 XLT Escape. Clean, 1 owner, 111K miles, 4 cyl 4wd for $7K
Also found a 2009 XLT. 1 owner, 82K miles, 6cyl, 4wd for $7K

 

[mtbikernate]

I drove a Fit for many years. That's the sort of car I'd only consider in a manual transmission. Mine was an 07 when there weren't many options available (not really much variation in interior appointments besides the radio) and it felt pretty inexpensive inside.

I got rid of mine mostly because I had really irritating leaks for MANY years. When I traded it in, there was water pooled in the spare tire compartment. No idea how it got there - there was no damp carpet anywhere.

I beat the hell out of the interior of that car hauling stuff. That was the other reason I changed out to the Ranger. Now I have a bed I can beat on without destroying the interior. One day, I'll get another little hatchback for a daily driver. Hopefully something a little bit more fun. I have a soft spot for classic Minis, and one of those would definitely be fun to play with.

 

[Wes Siler]

First or second gen Ford Escape Hybrid. Arguably one of the longest lasting vehicles ever made.

 

[ranger 2020]

My son has a 2010 escape 2.5 engine frt wheel drive, still going strong. it has the same drivetrain that my 2012 Fusion had. My Fusion had 180K on it when I traded it. Biggest problem with the Escape is a tendancy to rust out over the rear wheels into the rear suspension mounts. It runs cheap and repair parts are easily available.

 

[kendive]

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?

We have a 23 Toy Rav4 Hybrid. I love that thing better than my ranger but gotta have a truck. LOL

You want a cheap one get a gas Rav4 LE can't go wrong. I wanted the hybrid for two reasons. I like the hybrid and I like the way they do the AWD in this system.

 

[Cabose-1]

ford bronco.

 

[mtbikernate]

We have a 23 Toy Rav4 Hybrid. I love that thing better than my ranger but gotta have a truck. LOL

You want a cheap one get a gas Rav4 LE can't go wrong. I wanted the hybrid for two reasons. I like the hybrid and I like the way they do the AWD in this system.

my wife just bought a 23 corolla cross. basically a slightly smaller (and less expensive) rav4 hybrid. we're both pretty happy with it so far. haven't really put the AWD to the test yet to compare to her former crosstrek, but our uses for the awd just amount to poor weather handling so we don't have heavy demands on the system.

 

[kendive]

my wife just bought a 23 corolla cross. basically a slightly smaller (and less expensive) rav4 hybrid. we're both pretty happy with it so far. haven't really put the AWD to the test yet to compare to her former crosstrek, but our uses for the awd just amount to poor weather handling so we don't have heavy demands on the system.

Those Toy Cross's are nice. Yea I like having 4wd or AWD. I really miss the 4A option I had with the F150. Can't believe ford did not add that to the ranger.

 

[dtech]

We have a 23 Toy Rav4 Hybrid. I love that thing better than my ranger but gotta have a truck. LOL

You want a cheap one get a gas Rav4 LE can't go wrong. I wanted the hybrid for two reasons. I like the hybrid and I like the way they do the AWD in this system.

Have a friend who has owned Yotas for decades - 4runners, the original supra, camry. He badly wants a hybrid RAV4 but says they are really hard to find.

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