additional info......

1. My work commute is 16 miles round trip each day (Mon-Fri)....80 miles per week. Plus weekly running around errands

2. My wife has a 2004 Sequioa and it is her around town SUV, as well as taking/dropping of my 10 yr old at school. Her weekly commutes to take son to school is 20 miles round trip daily...100 miles per week, plus weekly running around errands.

Other than the Scion, we have NO gas saver

A little gun shy on the used 4 cyl car from CL ......CL can be a pond full of unknowns, with truths, lies, fibs, etc.!

Foreign or domestic? Which are great on gas, reliable, and least expensive to repair?
What about these loss leaders from Chevy (Spark w/manual trans) for $9990 and $12K for auto trans, and the Kia Rio LX (manual trans) for $10,900 and $12K (for auto trans). These seem to be reasonable considering they are new and great on gas.

Thanks

 

You have 3 spectrums to pick from.

1. NEW. Costly but you get a long bumper to bumper warranty

2. slightly used. Remainder of factory warranty at a significant cost savings from new

3. the beater. Very cheap(if purchased right), but NO WARRANTY

Personally I stick with American cars. But I was raised that way and I am also a union worker

 

Union worker huh, that explains a lot about you Brad, lol.

I agree though, I'd never buy a new jap or german car, I don't care if it's the best car ever made and only costs 5 bucks. I see used a little differently, some other traitor already bought it from the enemy, I'm buying it from them.

That said I think almost all german vehicles are junk anyway, overpriced with very poor longevity and HUGE repair bills. jap not so bad, but these days your still getting a better car for the money with many domestics.

Course the OP owns a sequoia, in my mind one of the worst jap vehicles an American can buy short of it's lexus cousin or a ridgeline, so I hold little hope for the OP.

 

Brute....The Sequoia has been an awesome vehicle! They regularly go 300K with simple maintenance. I purchased used and it serves its purpose well. Not sure why you consider it one of the worst Japanese vehicle an American can buy???

 

Caution, opinion....

There's nothing a sequoia can do that a domestic equivalent SUV can't do better for less while supporting America. That the only reason one might choose a sequoia over a domestic version is image, the false image that they last longer, in some circles a form of vanity, or you don't love your country.

I can sympathize with someone buying something like a Subaru, the domestic market doesn't fill that niche well. But we do full size SUVs and pickups very well, all "reasons" to choose an import over a domestic for a full size SUV or pickup are either false or vanity.

 

and also, opinion.....

Purchasing the Sequoia had nothing to do with the opinions you mentioned above. Price, condition, and options were the reasons for choosing.

 

That's fair, if you got a screaming deal then sure, like I said before I see used a little differently. I'm not innocent on this, we own a 2001 Maxima we got used for about half what it was worth while I was working at a Ford dealership. And at the time(2001) there wasn't much for mid sized sedans on the domestic market that I could put my faith in. It's been a great car, no regrets.

But I've rarely seen a sequoia that wasn't overpriced on the used market. That you couldn't get an equivalent, Expedition, Tahoe, Navigator, Escalade, etc. for less or similar money. Also you mention the 300K thing, that tells me you bought into that longevity misconception.

 

I vote for a used beater but you need to do your homework on one weither it be a Honda ford or a friggin car with some name no living being can pronounce. I only say that because I got a Nissan sentra that was really more of a 400 car for about 750 and have put at least 500 in parts in her so far, however another 100 more and assuming I don't put the thing in a lake it should serve me well for at least another 50,000 or more miles with nothing but oil changes from here out. Best part is, should it ever quit I can yank all my good stuff from tires to cv axles, scrap it and use said parts on another car of similar year tranny and engine.
Good luck my friend I wish you the best.

 

I guess my attention to detail and quality work shines thru in all I do

 

Buy a motorcycle. They're cheap, good on gas, easy to maintain. What more could you want?

 

that's no easy feat these days.options are becoming more and more limited.
https://www.cars.com/articles/the-20...1420680649381/

both my trucks are made in Canada but my Honda civic here at home in Ohio.
Honda of American Mfg. Inc.East Liberty, Ohio

 

couple more wheels and roof to keep out the rain and snow probably wouldn't hurt my feelings.

 

yes but the profit $$ goes back to japan on ALL foreign cars

Out of the 11 Fords I own 9 are made in the US. The 2010 Fusion and the one 97 were made in Mexico

 

"...I agree though, I'd never buy a new jap or german car, I don't care if it's the best car ever made and only costs 5 bucks. I see used a little differently, some other traitor already bought it from the enemy, I'm buying it from them..."

not to turn things political BUT ... the enemy ? really ??? check your calendar, it's 2015 and that war ended 70 years ago.

i do agree that it makes sense to buy something (new) home-grown, but when i want a cheap, reliable, fuel-efficient older car i go straight to the "jap".

 

If his name is anything to go by, he lives in southern California, so no snow. And, there is this wonderful thing called riding gear. Some of it is even water proof.