What's the perfect car for someone who doesn't care about cars?

How big does the car need to be?

Hyundai and/or Kia may be a good choice.

Elantra. Kona.  Sportage.  Soul.  Sorento. 

Then there is the the company Id never consider...Toyota.  A Corolla is a good car.   The Rav4. 

Honda Fit. Honda HRV.   Honda Civic.  A Civic looks like an enthusiast's car, but many non car people gravitate towards it.

A Chevrolet Cruze is a great car too.   Dare I say Trax?  I think that is a good litte CUV.

Nissan Sentra and Nissan Rogue and Quasqai all seem to be reliable. Cheap transportation. 

Edited May 22, 20196 yr by oldshurst442

it's an open ended question.

In general I would say Toyota.  Despite what people on this forum claim most Toyotas  are still very reliable, economical and they hold their value very well.

If the person truly does not care about auto's but does live an active life style, then CUVs and I would say follow consumer reports and get a cheap reliable CUV. 

If they are not living an active life style, then go car and again, be a CR lemming and just follow what they quote.

I a truck might be perfect for someone who cares less about the auto, but just needs to haul stuff and it does not matter if it gets wet or not.

Might be a bit too open ended until you know more about the person who will be driving the auto.

6 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

it's an open ended question.

You should at least specify budget or any particular needs, unless it is a hypothetical question.

Just now, ykX said:

You should at least specify budget or any particular needs, unless it is a hypothetical question.

It's a hypothetical question.  I'm going to be doing these a bit more often to spur some conversation around here.

2 hours ago, ykX said:

In general I would say Toyota.  Despite what people on this forum claim most Toyotas  are still very reliable, economical and they hold their value very well.

This times a thousand.

If buying new, a hyundai or kia so they get the 100k warranty.

If buying used, either a cruze (low cost of admission) or a corolla (good longevity)

Toyota lost their longevity advantage long ago. Now they’re on the same plane as everyone else, they just have to issue 1000% more recalls to simulate such.

On 5/22/2019 at 12:33 PM, Drew Dowdell said:

If buying new, a hyundai or kia so they get the 100k warranty.

If buying used, either a cruze (low cost of admission) or a corolla (good longevity)

Actually,  I would go as used for Hyundai and Kia.  They loose value  much more than Toyota or Honda but still have good reliability and warranty.

 

19 hours ago, balthazar said:

Toyota lost their longevity advantage long ago. Now they’re on the same plane as everyone else, they just have to issue 1000% more recalls to simulate such.

And yet they still are noted as the most reliable brand by CR, JD Powers etc (i know #biased). 

Most other manufacturers became much better but Toyotas in general still seem to be above average. 

Edited May 23, 20196 yr by ykX

Don't get the warranty with Hyundai or Kia if buying used I think.  Maybe CPO?

1 hour ago, Drew Dowdell said:

Don't get the warranty with Hyundai or Kia if buying used I think.  Maybe CPO?

According to Hyundai FAQ:

If you sell your vehicle while still under the 10-Year/100,000-Mile Powertrain Limited Warranty, the warranty will be reduced to 5-year/60,000-mile coverage. Other Hyundai warranty terms and coverage periods, including Roadside Assistance, remain unchanged for subsequent owner(s).

So still pretty good deal I guess but not as good as the original  owner.

Personally, I drive almost 30k a year, so even 100k  wouldn't do me much good, I would rather have a 2-3 year old vehicle that got the initial big hit of the depreciation.  But I am an exception to an average driver.

yeah, 30k a year is a lot. 

I would say any of Toyota's big sellers would be fine (Camry/Corolla/RAV4). They are on a new chassis, no turbochargers,  most safety equipment standard, good resale, mature hybrid system if that is desired.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 23, 20196 yr by frogger

2 hours ago, ykX said:

And yet they still are noted as the most reliable brand by CR, JD Powers etc (i know #biased). 

Most other manufacturers became much better but Toyotas in general still seem to be above average. 

So; it has good longevity but expect numerous trip to the dealer for all sorts of repairs. I guess some folk don’t mind those sorts of inconveniences, & maybe the rating pubs don’t feel those are negatives.

27 minutes ago, balthazar said:

So; it has good longevity but expect numerous trip to the dealer for all sorts of repairs. I guess some folk don’t mind those sorts of inconveniences, & maybe the rating pubs don’t feel those are negatives.

Not sure where you get your information.  Here is from 2018

Manufactures with Highest number of recalls:

NISSAN (1,038 PER 1,000)

JAGUAR LAND ROVER (1,067 PER 1,000)

MITSUBISHI (1,089 PER 1,000)

FORD: (1,139 PER 1,000)

VOLVO (1,156 PER 1,000)

BMW (1,196 PER 1,000)

HYUNDAI (1,266 PER 1,000)

HONDA (1,307 PER 1,000)

CHRYSLER (1,422 PER 1,000)

VW (1,805 PER 1,000)

Manufacturers with Lowest number Recalls:

TOYOTA (1,028 PER 1,000)

SUBARU (985 PER 1,000)

GM (958 PER 1,000)

MAZDA (955 PER 1,000)

TESLA (936 PER 1,000)

KIA (788 PER 1,000)

MERCEDES-BENZ (624 PER 1,000)

PORSCHE (531 PER 1,000)

 

Looks like 2018 was unusually goodyear for T. Maybe they’ve righted their listing ship... tho I would want a lot more data before recommending.

Edited May 23, 20196 yr by balthazar

My neighbor, who does not seem to care much about cars, drives a late-model KIA Soul.

My issue with KIA: depreciates too much (at trade-in time) AND very cheap hard interiors.  I have no idea why I keep seeing SO MANY KIAs (sedans AND CUVs) run around town.  Do they intend to keep their KIA for a decade or more?

21 hours ago, ykX said:

Not sure where you get your information.  Here is from 2018

Manufactures with Highest number of recalls:

NISSAN (1,038 PER 1,000)

JAGUAR LAND ROVER (1,067 PER 1,000)

MITSUBISHI (1,089 PER 1,000)

FORD: (1,139 PER 1,000)

VOLVO (1,156 PER 1,000)

BMW (1,196 PER 1,000)

HYUNDAI (1,266 PER 1,000)

HONDA (1,307 PER 1,000)

CHRYSLER (1,422 PER 1,000)

VW (1,805 PER 1,000)

Manufacturers with Lowest number Recalls:

TOYOTA (1,028 PER 1,000)

SUBARU (985 PER 1,000)

GM (958 PER 1,000)

MAZDA (955 PER 1,000)

TESLA (936 PER 1,000)

KIA (788 PER 1,000)

MERCEDES-BENZ (624 PER 1,000)

PORSCHE (531 PER 1,000)

 

There was a story we did a few years ago when Toyota was doing loads of recalls.  They avoided the "largest ever" recall headline by issuing a bunch of smaller recalls.  But I went on the NHTSA database, downloaded the data, tallied it up, and they had a lot more recalls in the time period than Ford (the current record holder). 

Unfortunately, the ravages of time and site software upgrades have damaged the original article, but you can read about it here:

 

Yea- they went into recall overdrive after that thread. Total is at least 55 million since about ‘05. Is Ford anywhere near that?

if it were Chevy or Ford, you could scarcely get away from that number, but because it’s Toyota, it goes unreported of course.

Edited May 24, 20196 yr by balthazar

Also.... the best answer for someone who doesn't care about cars and doesn't like to drive is a bus pass and an Uber account. 

On 5/23/2019 at 3:38 PM, ykX said:

Not sure where you get your information.  Here is from 2018

Manufactures with Highest number of recalls:

NISSAN (1,038 PER 1,000)

JAGUAR LAND ROVER (1,067 PER 1,000)

MITSUBISHI (1,089 PER 1,000)

FORD: (1,139 PER 1,000)

VOLVO (1,156 PER 1,000)

BMW (1,196 PER 1,000)

HYUNDAI (1,266 PER 1,000)

HONDA (1,307 PER 1,000)

CHRYSLER (1,422 PER 1,000)

VW (1,805 PER 1,000)

Manufacturers with Lowest number Recalls:

TOYOTA (1,028 PER 1,000)

SUBARU (985 PER 1,000)

GM (958 PER 1,000)

MAZDA (955 PER 1,000)

TESLA (936 PER 1,000)

KIA (788 PER 1,000)

MERCEDES-BENZ (624 PER 1,000)

PORSCHE (531 PER 1,000)

 

Not a mistake the the best 2 are from Stuttgart.  ?

 

And the answer to this question is Toyota Corolla.  Because if you don't care about cars you might as well get a cheap one and the Corolla will get you from point A to B in the most boring way possible.

 

Quote

 

Manufactures with Highest number of recalls:

NISSAN (1,038 PER 1,000)

JAGUAR LAND ROVER (1,067 PER 1,000)

MITSUBISHI (1,089 PER 1,000)

FORD: (1,139 PER 1,000)

VOLVO (1,156 PER 1,000)

BMW (1,196 PER 1,000)

HYUNDAI (1,266 PER 1,000)

HONDA (1,307 PER 1,000)

CHRYSLER (1,422 PER 1,000)

VW (1,805 PER 1,000)

Manufacturers with Lowest number Recalls:

TOYOTA (1,028 PER 1,000)

 

Toyota:

Only ten less than Nissan per 1000...if one does not want to go back into time to reveal that Toyota has recalled the most cars in history of all time...and those recalls happened in THIS generation in OUR lifetime just a short 10-15 years ago... GM is STILL paying the price for their shenanigans that happened close to half a phoquing century ago...

So...is Toyota really that reliable if we are gonna go with this 2018 recall data sheet?

Because all others in the lower section are all UNDER 1000 recalls per 1000 vehicles...and by a margin of 43 per 1000 where Subaru sits at 985. 

Toyota is closer to the highest number of recalls section than they are to the lowest side...

 

You cant accuse me of purely hating on Toyota...I "recommended" the Corolla and the RAV4...because those two are fairly cheap and reliable transportation perfect for folk that just dont give a shyte about cars but need one to get around...but I also know that Toyota cut some serious corners JUST to get to the number #1 spot of being the manufactuurer to sell the most cars 15-20 years ago when they made that decision to try to top GM...and STILL cut corners to this day actually when looking at that very same data sheet.

GM is at 958 recalls per 1000.  

That would be lower than Toyota, right?

Yet we STILL hesitate to give GM kudos...

At least that is how I interpret this...

Edited May 25, 20196 yr by oldshurst442

If that was around here-the choice would be easy- Nissan.

All the models lease cheap around here with not much down. 

Plus, they don’t nitpick as much at the end of the lease here like other companies around here.

The Sentra/Altima are popular for Uber/Lyft as well.

If I needed a throwaway lease for the wife, Nissan would be my choice.....

11 hours ago, daves87rs said:

If that was around here-the choice would be easy- Nissan.

All the models lease cheap around here with not much down. 

Plus, they don’t nitpick as much at the end of the lease here like other companies around here.

The Sentra/Altima are popular for Uber/Lyft as well.

If I needed a throwaway lease for the wife, Nissan would be my choice.....

Dave, one can say the same for a lot of KIAs and the Nissan Rogue.

doesn't CARE..... a yugo? if it's broke then they don't have to care. you have someone else take care of it

doesn't care.... tesla, minimum maint. limited range(mostly) and just plug it in so you can use it when you need to.

 

20 minutes ago, loki said:

doesn't CARE..... a yugo? if it's broke then they don't have to care. you have someone else take care of it

doesn't care.... tesla, minimum maint. limited range(mostly) and just plug it in so you can use it when you need to.

 

No Yugo cars since 1991.  As for Tesla, too expensive for somebody that does not CARE about cars.

2 hours ago, riviera74 said:

No Yugo cars since 1991.  As for Tesla, too expensive for somebody that does not CARE about cars.

Unless of course the dude or dudette has more money than brains, are vegans, buy "organic" foods, and want to save the planet and a big 'ole Charger Hellcat is the antithesis of what they believe in so therefore a Tesla is the new Prius for these kinds of people. 

 These people scour the internet for planet friendly clothes and furniture to buy...and they make sure to tell you how eco friendly they are...and they might, just might scold you how eco friendly YOU are not...

And Ive met some of them... they do exist these kinds of people.

Back in the 1980s and 1990s, these types of people drove Volvos and Lexus sedans.  Then they went on to Priuses and the Lexus version of the Prius.

The new generation of these types of people flock to Tesla...not because of the performance numbers, but because its a green vehicle...they dont care about cars...they care about "saving" the planet...

 

 

Edited May 25, 20196 yr by oldshurst442

6 hours ago, riviera74 said:

Dave, one can say the same for a lot of KIAs and the Nissan Rogue.

I think it depends on the area too...some automakers offer better deals in certain areas..

Kias here used to be the cheapest of the bunch. The Fotre and Sportages were the big push here. But now they rank right up with Ford and Honda.....

Kia soul or Toyota Corolla

On 5/22/2019 at 12:33 PM, Drew Dowdell said:

If buying new, a hyundai or kia so they get the 100k warranty.

If buying used, either a cruze (low cost of admission) or a corolla (good longevity)

This.  New is the operative word for Hyundai or Kia.  I see 10 year old Accents and Elantras (very different and less attractive than their current equivalents) and their owners have done okay with them.

To used, I would add the Malibu and the Camry, respectively, if they want to go up a little in price point and category.  The verdict is not yet out on how these newer Chevys hold up, but the Toyotas seem to last, at least in terms of their basic powertrain.  

My objection to the Malibu is a 1.5 L (~ 90 c.i., come on) engine and my objection to Toyota is how boring they are, not to mention how ungainly they look from some vantage points.

But these answers are for those buyers who don't scrutinize cars the way C&G members do.