Car brand recommendations

[Anu Katariina]

I need to buy a car. Been a couple years without since me and my ex splitted and he took the car with.

 

I know many guys are loyal to their car brand. So what's your brand and what's good/bad. I am especially interested in knowing if Toyotas are as durable as Toyota lovers say and if Renault has these electricity faults many say they have.

 

Any good argumentations of any brand are appreciated

 

 

[recursion loop]

Me and my family have had several Kias, they are not exciting as "penis enlargers" but good at taking me from point A to point B and not causing any major problems. My current one has now some minor issues with the air conditioner but othar than that all good. They may have some problems with the battery at -30oC, but I'm not sure not many other cars don't

[Anu Katariina]

Me and my family have has several Kias, they are not exciting as "penis enlargers"

Hahaha LOL!

 

Thx for the advice. Kia is one of the brands I have been considering.

[psychedelic chipmunk]

A brand whose maintenance center is close by. Toyotas, for instance, very popular. Durability is subjective. Everything that moves requires maintenance.

[Anu Katariina]

Everything that moves requires maintenance.

Of course. But I mean Toyotas if maintained well last up to 400 000 kilometers was my point, so they say..

[psychedelic chipmunk]

Well, I don't know about 400k You know how the stories are

[Anu Katariina]

Well, I don't know about 400k You know how the stories are

That's why I am asking here if any Toyota owners..

[Komix]

I have now 3rd toyota

1st corolla - stolen after one year of usage.

2nd corolla I had 7 years, then I sold to my friend, he is using it 2 years - no major problems, only some tiny typical deffects

3rd toyota - avensis - 5 years in use in my family, no major issues. So as a Toyota user I can definetly recommend this car.

If You think about durable car & for example if You don't like toyota think about honda also.

[antic604]

Yeah, you can't go wrong with a Toyota - I drove 2 Corollas, my wife now has a Yaris.

 

However, I'd also recommend checking Volkswagen or Skoda - they're incredibly practical, reliable and a definition of a good car: not flashy or sexy thus won't win any beauty contests but are so well thought out, well made, well equipped, pleasant to drive, spacious. Right now I'm driving the new VW Passat 1.8 TSI DSG and it's a dream - very cultural & gentle in town, but outside the city it can show it's claw (180BHP/250Nm). I love it!

[Celaripo]

any honda civic is a safe bet

[Trunksan]

At my close family we have and had a lot of cars, both European and Asian... and my friends have/had a lot of cars (until the crisis hit Greece and now everyone is selling them), plus I drive various company cars, so I'll give you my opinions.
I don't know what kind of car you want, I assume something to go around in the city and probably not a family car.

 

I have a Fiat Panda Diesel (previous gen) and my GF has a Fiat Panda 4x4 (previous gen unleaded), I've also driven the new Fiat panda at recent business trips, both Diesel and Unleaded. I can honestly say that my Panda (previous gen), beats the shit out of the new panda,the Panda 4x4 and the Panda (previous gen) unleaded. Fiat had massive success with the Multijet Diesel engine and it's no coincidence that except for Toyota, VW and Renault almost all other small diesel cars used that engine: Peugeot/Citroen, Honda, Opel, Mitsubishi etc. It's strong (especially the Turbo version) and it's economic. So even if you buy and Opel Astra Diesel or a Mitsubishi Colt Diesel, underneath it probably has the Fiat Multijet Diesel Engine. A friend of mine has a Citroen C (something, can't remember which number) that has the Multijet engine (non Turbo though) and when I drove it, it found slow and a bit sluggish because it is a much heavier car. However, the Opel Astra Diesel with the Multijet is also very strong and agile just like the Panda.

I have no idea how the cars that I mentioned above behave with an unleaded engine, nowadays everyone drives Diesel here.

The Toyota yaris is a direct competitor for the cars above but it is about 5000 eur more expensive (NEW), it is a very good car though (I test drived it).
Also, I wouldn't got near VW. As much as people praise them, I've heard way too many horror stories for my liking. I drove a rented VW Golf (unleaded) around Spain for 2 weeks, it's OK but I wouldn't buy it.

 

At my company I drive a Fiat 500 (Unleaded).....It's slow, it's sluggish, it consumes a lot of fuel. Don't even go near it.

I also drive a Megane at work (Unleaded)... Don't like it all.

A lot of people drive pick-up cars here (agricultural area): My father and my uncle have a Toyota hilux, my other uncle a Navara and my cousin a Mitsubishi Safari (All diesel). They are all very good cars but I think the Toyota Hilux is the most value for money and it's very durable.

That's my limited hands-on knowledge on cars. A lot of it come from me reading and test driving cars around 2011, when I bought my Fiat Panda diesel and from the cars that I have driven.

 

[Anu Katariina]

Awesome ppl. Thank you from the bottom of my heart <3. It is difficult to choose. Many good options out there. But as for what I know from the past and also this thread now I think I will go out for Toyota. I need a reliable car, that's the most important thing as long as I don't have a car mechanic living in my closet

 

As for Volkswagens my dad has always had such, a new model every three years and I am familiar with it because I often borrow his VW. It is okay, but sometimes I find it clumsy: the manual gearstick especially: switching to gear 3 often goes to gear 5 for example. Also the blind spot is bad if a car is passing me; once I was so close to a crash.

 

@ Trunksan: What's wrong with Megane? I have heard only good of Renault Megane except the electricity breaks.

[Trunksan]

I like my car to be agile and responsive, traffic in Athens is a pain in the ass so I need it to have acceleration and maneuverability. The Corsa (Diesel), Panda (diesel), Hyundai i20 (Diesel) and Yaris (Diesel) all have that, the VW polo not so much and the Megane definetely not. They say the new Clio (Diesel) is good but I haven't driven it. However, I'm only talking about me being a single person and I want a car that's economic in purchase price, parts and fuel consumption (Diesel only) and below 1.4 liters for taxation purposes. If I had a family, I'd make different choices and if I didn't have the need to visit Athens often, I could settle for something else.
Also, I guess prices can be different in different countries but VW is known for having very expensive spares

When I bought my car I was between the Corsa (Diesel) and the Panda (Diesel) (as I mentioned above they both had the same engine) but the Panda was significantly cheaper (below 10.000 eur) than the Corsa. The Yaris was something like 15.000 eur for 1.4 Diesel.

 

Edit:My car is the Panda 1.3 Turbodiesel Multijet

 

Edit 2: The reason my car was so cheap at that time, was because Fiat was preparing to launch the Panda 3

[Anu Katariina]

So Megane does not accelerate well enough in hectic city driving? I don't have it as hectic in my current city compared to Athens so I think I will test drive one Megane I found with 1,6 gas engine + a few Toyotas

[Anu Katariina]

One more question: do you ppl change the timing belt more often than recommenended in the car manual? I have heard some ppl change it even in 50 000 kilometers intervals (normally it is recommended to change bw 90 000-150 000 km I suppose)

[Trunksan]

Obviously, different areas have different needs. In Greece, with taxation and fuel prices being very high, hardly anyone buys a car over 1.4 liters and most people buy diesel because it's 20% cheaper than unleaded at the pump. also Diesel engines burn less fuel.
In the countryside everyone buys diesel pick up trucks because they have very low taxation when registered for agricultural use, so the mountains and fields of Greece are filled with enormous Hilux, Navara, Safari and Amarok which people also use as their everyday car (obviously they don't have to go through the traffic of big city centres on a daily basis).

 

I don't know what's it like in Finland!

[Celaripo]

just follow the recommendations, changing it before it is not necessary

some funny story, i drove a 1997 toyota tercel in the past

the timing belt had not been changed for 12 years and it still looked like new - the car did not drive too many kilometers though during these 12 years (but still had a total of 240 000)

awesome car by the way and very cheap on fuel but obviously not powerful at all

[Anu Katariina]

some funny story, i drove a 1997 toyota tercel in the past

the timing belt had not been changed for 12 years and it still looked like new

That verifies from what I have heard of Toyotas Off the note. Sometimes my goa producer friends send me demos and want my opinion. I always tell them: don't listen to what I say unless it verifies what you have thought of yourself

 

Look at this past beauty. Cabriolet Megane, 72 00 kilometers, driven only in summers, cheap: I could buy it with cash. Lovely colour. Is my female

conceitedness taking over..haha, I want this cheap beauty against all the recommendations and brain

 

[Trunksan]

Look at this past beauty. Cabriolet Megane, 72 00 kilometers, driven only in summers, cheap: I could buy it with cash. Lovely colour. Is my female

conceitedness taking over..haha, I want this cheap beauty against all the recommendations and brain

It's not just a female thing

 

!!!!!ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!! Strange coincidence !!!!!!!!!!ALERT!!!!!

I was just talking to my boss and he started saying how there's a buyer that will come to check the Fiat 500 (the one that I hate) and he is willing to pay up to 5.000 eur.

I was glad, because I hate the car and was thinking that he would buy something practical for work like a small van (i.e caddy, doblo, berlingo, Kangoo etc).

So I ask him "So what you buying instead?" and he replies " A BMW X3 2.0 Diesel"....... I literally wanted to scream.....It's such a dumb, expensive, impractical choice AAAAANNND we won't be able to drive it to do chores and visit customers. We will be left with an old FIAT Punto that looks like it just came out of the demolition derby.

[Anu Katariina]

It's not just a female thing

 

!!!!!ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!! Strange coincidence !!!!!!!!!!ALERT!!!!!

I was just talking to my boss and he started saying how there's a buyer that will come to check the Fiat 500 (the one that I hate) and he is willing to pay up to 5.000 eur.

I was glad, because I hate the car and was thinking that he would buy something practical for work like a small van (i.e caddy, doblo, berlingo, Kangoo etc).

So I ask him "So what you buying instead?" and he replies " A BMW X3 2.0 Diesel"....... I literally wanted to scream.....It's such a dumb, expensive, impractical choice AAAAANNND we won't be able to drive it to do chores and visit customers. We will be left with an old FIAT Punto that looks like it just came out of the demolition derby.

Hahhahhaaa, uuhhh..this is what I need, cheers, bro!

[Richpa]

My theory about the cars in general, even I don't drive:

French cars - comfortable
German cars - durable
Italian cars - best design
Japanesse cars - hard to find replacable parts
American cars - always bring extra 2 gallons of gas

Okay, I will leave this topic now, bye.

[Starkraver]

You forgot, American cars - cheap plastic shit body & pathetic interiors!

 

Japanese are durable as well. We had had 2 Japanese cars.

1st - A peppy small Maruti-Suzuki : Zen Japanese manufactured engine. It's been running for 2 decades now. Still gives a decent mileage. Never gave any major problem. Just the normal wear & tear.

2nd - Honda - City. Comfortable sedan. Not as powerful as civic more like a family car to roam around the city and stuff.

 

Not sure about there but we have a good Japanese automobile presence here along with some Indian collabs. So no issue of finding spares.

[Imba]

Lada or Zastava, can't be wrong about them. Yes, they are ugly, they are shity and slow but they are like tanks so...

[Padmapani]

French cars - comfortable, looking nice but high-maintenance

German cars - durable, but expensive with boring, conservative design

Italian cars - break down at every chance they get (but they got better in the last few decades)

Japanesse cars - durable, functional, very low-mainenance

ftfy

 

i have experience with peugeot/citroën and honda. the former are better looking, more comfortable but had to be repaired every few months (especially the citroën had lots of software problems and would sometimes only go 30km/h for no reason at all because the software thought there was a fault in the motor when in reality everything was fine).

i have my honda for over 8 years now and it runs as if it was new. the only times when i go to the workshop is for the yearly checkup required by law. if it breaks down some time, i'll definitely get another honda. they are cheaper than toyotas and qualitatively equally good.

 

 

Lada or Zastava, can't be wrong about them. Yes, they are ugly, they are shity and slow but they are like tanks so...

at the festivals i am always surprised how many eastern bloc cars are still around. there are also quite a few ddr trabis still on the roads. if comfort/safety was no issue i would probably get one of those cars simply because of the durability .

[Anu Katariina]

 

there are also quite a few ddr trabis still on the roads

 

Looks like a happy car Or hippie car