What Car Should I Buy? - A Weekly Megathread
Posted by AutoModerator@reddit | cars | View on Reddit | 42 comments
Any posts pertaining to car buying suggestions or advice belong in this weekly megathread; do not post car-choosing questions in the main queue. A fresh thread will be posted every Monday and posts auto sorted by new. A few other subreddits worth checking out that will help your car buying experience are /r/WhatCarShouldIBuy, /r/UsedCars and /r/AskCarSales. www.everydaydriver.com may also be helpful.
Make/Model-specific questions should be asked on Make/Model-specific subreddits. Check the AutosNetwork for a complete list of those subreddits. Also check out our community-sourced Ultimate car buying wiki.
For those posting:
Please use the following template in your post.
Location: (Specify your country or region)
Price range: (Minimum-Maximum in your local currency)
Lease or Buy:
New or used:
Type of vehicle: (Truck, Car, Sports Car, Sedan, Crossover, SUV, Racecar, Luxury etc.)
Must haves: (4x4, AWD, Fuel efficient, Navigation, Turbo, V8, V6, Trunk space, Smooth ride, Leather etc.)
Desired transmission (auto/manual, etc):
Intended use: (Daily Driver, Family Car, Weekend Car, Track Toy, Project Car, Work Truck, Off-roading etc.)
Vehicles you've already considered:
Is this your 1st vehicle:
Do you need a Warranty:
Can you do Minor work on your own vehicle: (fluids, alternator, battery, brake pads etc)
Can you do Major work on your own vehicle: (engine and transmission, timing belt/chains, body work, suspension etc )
Additional Notes:
For those providing suggestions: Facts are ideal in this thread, especially when trying to help out a new car buyer. Please help out buyers with sources and reasoning for your suggestions.
For those asking for help, be sure to thank those who take the time to offer you advice (especially those who lead you to a purchase.) A follow up thank you and the knowledge that their advice led to a purchase is a very warm fuzzy feeling.
m19eu1@reddit
Location: USA, NC
Price range: $25k-$40k USD
Lease or Buy: Open to either
New or used: Open to both, but prefer new
Type of vehicle: I prefer sedans, but I'll consider crossovers.
Must haves: I need a smooth ride and lane keep assist for a long highway commutes.
Desired transmission (auto/manual, etc): Comfortable with both types. Prefer manual.
Intended use: Will be used to commute once a week to office, the commute is 200 miles total.
Vehicles you've already considered: The Camry and the Accord but I'm open to other suggestions.
Is this your 1st vehicle: No, current car is a 2005 Acura Tsx with 317k miles
Do you need a Warranty: No
Can you do Minor work on your own vehicle: Yes Can you do Major work on your own vehicle: Yes
CrankyCurmedgeon@reddit
If you liked the TSX, look for a newish TLX 2.0T
The German 3 sedans in the class are the most obvious choice otherwise if you're ok with more expensive maintenance and repairs out of warranty/
scycron@reddit
2025 Toyota Camry either XLE or XSE for the insulated windows. The Honda Accord is due for an update and isn't really competitive with the Camry right now until they update it. The Honda Civic hybrid is a better option than the Accord but it won't be as comfortable as the Camry.
cptngabozzo@reddit
Location: Upstate NY
Price range: $50,000
Lease or Buy: Buy
New or used: Either
Type of vehicle: SUV/Crossover
Must haves: AWD, 4+ Cylinder
Desired transmission: Automatic
Intended use: Daily driver/Occasional Road trip
Vehicles you've already considered: Cadillac Lyriq (EV resale scares me), Buick Envista (looks great but not AWD and 3 cylinder), X4 (BMW repairs scare me), RAV4 Hybrid
Is this your 1st vehicle: No
Do you need a Warranty: No
Can you do Minor work on your own vehicle: Yes
Can you do Major work on your own vehicle: No
Additional Notes: I like sedan life ('14 Camry) however due to an increasing family size with dogs and some troubles getting through snow I need to size/power up.
I love the looks of the Lyriq and Envista as far as SUV/Crossovers go and was wondering if someone can lead me to something similar looking that meets my requirements.
Ok_Bookkeeper_3784@reddit
Here are a few choices based on having driven and tested over 100 SUVs.
Fun - Used BMW X3M (500 HP AWD)
Family - New Kia Telluride (does everything well)
Luxury - Genesis GV SUV (these punch well above their weight class)
EV - Kia EV9 (7 passenger) or Hyundai Ioniq 5 AWD (its really a great all around SUV)
All Around - The RAV4 Hybrid does everything well.
If you want a Caddy man-up and get the Escalade or Yukon.
cptngabozzo@reddit
Escalade is a gorgeous car just way to big for what I'm feeling.
That Genesis GV looks pretty nice, how are they as far as reliability/longevity go?
BodSmith54321@reddit
Have you looked c at Lexus, Acura and Mazda?
cptngabozzo@reddit
Acuras fit the description I just don't love the aesthetics, I'll take a look at the Lexus'
dont_u_me@reddit
For that money you can get a new Toyota Crown Signia limited. Same durable hybrid AWD setup and Toyota reliability as in the 2026+ RAV4 but the material quality and feature set are much more in line with Lexus. It also has a lifted wagon profile (like a Subaru Outback or Volvo V90 Cross Country), so that - plus your current tie to Toyota - would make for an easy transition from your Camry. This would be my pick for you and, frankly, my personal pick if my Subaru Outback suddenly died.
On the used market, you could get a great used Lexus RX hybrid for that money. Feature set would be similar to the Crown Signia I mentioned above but it would be used and would feel a little higher/larger. The benefit here is access to the Lexus dealership experience, which might be worth the premium.
Budget option would be a new RAV4 hybrid or lightly used RAV4 hybrid. They are unloading the 2025s to make room for the redesigned 2026 model, so deals on a new one should be better now than they've been in a long time. I'm guessing you could time a loaded hybrid limited for low $40K range. A lot of car for the money and will drive forever.
WickedMagician@reddit
Location: Indiana, US
Price range: 15k or less preferable
Lease or Buy: buy
New or used: used
Type of vehicle: no pref outside of noted
Must haves: reliability and safety for my price range
Desired transmission (auto/manual, etc): no pref
Intended use: Daily driver
Vehicles you've already considered: I keep getting told to go with Honda, Toyota, or Mazda
Is this your 1st vehicle: No
Do you need a Warranty: preferable but not required
Can you do Minor work on your own vehicle: no
Can you do Major work on your own vehicle: no
Additional Notes: I really don't care about anything except reliability, safety, and value. I don't need extras or hype features. Current car that just gave up the ghost was a 2009 Hyundai Accent that didn't even have electric windows and locks; cars are tools to me and nothing more.
Ok_Bookkeeper_3784@reddit
The larger the car the safer it is. Japanese are always the best choice for a combination of all 3 stated above.
Peruse the IIHS Top Safety picks pages for options
https://www.iihs.org/ratings/top-safety-picks/2021
BodSmith54321@reddit
Mazda CX 5 if you want a small suv.
Unlucky-Reply-4660@reddit
Location: Southeast, US
Price range: Assuming no financing, $35k.
Lease or Buy: buy
New or used: used
Type of vehicle: SUV/Crossover
Must haves: AWD, heated driver and passenger seats, parking sensors or panoramic cameras, android auto/apple carplay, memory seats
Desired transmission (auto/manual, etc): Automatic
Intended use: Daily driver, road trips for outdoor sports
Vehicles you've already considered: Mazda CX-5, Chevrolet Equinox, Ford Escape, Subaro Crosstrek/Forester
Is this your 1st vehicle: No
Do you need a Warranty: No
Can you do Minor work on your own vehicle: yes
Can you do Major work on your own vehicle: nope
Additional Notes: We're debating heavily whether to go for the CX-5 or the Equinox. Longevity is probably the most important issue for us; we've had our current car (Forester) for over 10 years and plan to do so with this one as well. Open to hybrid but not a fully electric vehicle. Willing to spend more for a new vehicle with good financing, but that doesn't seem like a common option these days.
LeBanonJames69@reddit
Location: PNW
Price range: $25,000-$35,000
Lease or Buy: Buy
New or used: Used
Type of vehicle: SUV/Crossover
Must haves: AWD, Apple CarPlay, Leather
Desired transmission: Automatic
Intended use: Daily driver/light off-roading/camping
Vehicles you've already considered: Ford Bronco Sport Badlands, Subaru Outback Wilderness
Is this your 1st vehicle: No
Do you need a Warranty: No
Can you do Minor work on your own vehicle: Yes
Can you do Major work on your own vehicle: No
Additional Notes: Looking for something that’s somewhat off-road capable, without being too large, since I live in the city and park in a somewhat tight parking garage
scycron@reddit
2 door Ford bronco or wrangler, Ford Maverick with off-road packages
Anonymous_account975@reddit
Model Y. Performance if you intend to track it. It’s literally the best all around car I’ve ever been in. The only thing it would be terrible at, is off-roading.
GoldenState15@reddit
Gotta be a bot comment there's no way you're a real person
Anonymous_account975@reddit
lol typical bitch redfitor response
GoldenState15@reddit
You need to drive more cars if the model y is the best all around car you've been in
Anonymous_account975@reddit
https://x.com/niccruzpatane/status/1962943080337698879?s=46
Tell that to Edmunds. It was previously the best selling car in the world for a reason.
GoldenState15@reddit
Oh so you just go off of which car sells a lot to form your opinions instead of just driving more cars lol. Got it
Anonymous_account975@reddit
What? No. It’s my personal opinion that it’s the best all around car I’ve ever driven. I was just providing others opinions as well since you think I need to drive more cars. They drove 200+. Model Y was the best.
Keep being mad about change. Bigot
GoldenState15@reddit
Love that you result to insults when your boring car gets talked down lol. Enjoy driving your microwave worrying about charge all the time
Anonymous_account975@reddit
Oh I’m not insulting you. Just expressing how closed minded you are to something new even though it’s better in nearly every single way. (I know not every way- I’m not blind like you).
I don’t worry about charge at all. I drive as much as I need and plug in when I get home. I -never- drive > 330 miles in a day unplanned. You’re the one who has to worry about gas station runs every time you go out. You’re literally describing yourself lol.
While you have to go out of your way to hit the gas station every week, I’m doing something productive because my car was refueled at home while I slept. I know this is a hard thing for you to understand, but you spend infinitely more time refueling. Because I don’t do that. The car is just ready for me every morning. No waiting, no planning, no driving across town to the cheap gas station. No thinking about when to get gas before date night.
You literally don’t know what you don’t know.
GoldenState15@reddit
LMAO, good one bro. I hope you can drive more cars and form an actual opinion some day instead of just making your whole personality new=better and jerking off your model y every chance you get. Genuinely so sad to see people like this
Anonymous_account975@reddit
I’ve driven quite a few cars. Not looking for a gotcha here, genuinely, which vehicle would you recommend I test drive? Doesn’t have to be new. Just something you think is amazing
Metallica4life1995@reddit
No
Anonymous_account975@reddit
I’m 6,000 miles in to my ownership. It’s insane how much better it is than any other car. No gas station runs. No oil changes. No transmission clunking, no RPMs to build, no turbo lag, no toxic fumes constantly leaking out of it, no tune ups, almost never needing to replace brakes, etc.
Just instant power with insane acceleration and crazy good handling due to the low center of gravity, and a pure driving experience with none of the downsides. It’s truly the best thing I’ve ever driven.
OopsISed2Mch@reddit
Location: Midwest, USA
Price range: $20-50k
Lease or Buy: Open to either, but have never leased.
New or used: Typically choose used with less than 20k miles, but new would be fine.
Type of vehicle: Sedan
Must haves: AWD, Leather, Sunroof. Ideally it is fun to drive and I can toss it into "manual" mode, downshift, and easily pass people on the highway.
Desired transmission: Auto (but oh how I wish I could convince my wife on this one, I miss my six speed RX-8)
Intended use: Daily Driver/Family Car
Vehicles you've already considered:
Is this your 1st vehicle: No, it will replace a 2015 Mazda CX-5 w/ 95k miles.
Do you need a Warranty: ideally it comes with one.
Can you do Minor work on your own vehicle: yes
Can you do Major work on your own vehicle: no thanks
Additional Notes:
Replacing an awesome Mazda CX-5, that is just about to turn over 100k miles soon. While the CX-5 is great, I do feel like the tech is outdated and it's a bit slower than I'd like, plus our other vehicle is a 2020 Mazda CX-9, and we don't need two SUV's. It's crazy to me how many sedans are either no longer made or this is their last model year. My first stop was to look at a Mazda 6, only to find they stopped making them in 2021.
I'm currently very much on the fence on whether I should get an EV. I commute ~20 miles each way for work 4 days a week, and drive the kids around to activities nearly daily. I would enjoy an EV's fast acceleration off the line, but probably miss the sound of a sporty engine. I typically keep a vehicle for 8-12 years before selling it, which makes me very uncomfortable with the idea of leasing.
If EV's did not exist I'd be trying to convince my wife something like a used BMW M3 is perfect, and thinking we're finally getting back to driving fun cars! However, my wife has said that since technically this is her car we're swapping out it needs 4 doors, and an automatic transmission. Every time I look at something like Mazda 3 with a turbo I think to myself, if I want fast, just get an EV. What's the play here?
Venom1391@reddit
As a former mazda6 owner, I think the most analogous replacement could be K5 GT or Sonata N-line. Sportier FWD based sedan with good amount of room with large back seat, looks cool, and fairly priced new (mid 30s). Could do a G70 new, base model is 300 hp 4cyl, V6 is a lot fun too and it is fun to drive. It is def a bit more snug tho, but you have a large suv so maybe not a big deal. Good luck.
C00LV1BR4TION5@reddit
If you haven't already considered them, I would look at either a 22+ Subaru WRX or VW Golf R (if you are ok with a hatch).
Both are available with everything you want and have more than enough power for a quick highway pass.
WanderIntoTheWoods9@reddit
Location: USA, Maryland
Price range: $30,000-60,000
Lease or Buy: either
New or used: either
Type of vehicle: EV with room for 2 people and enough room for gear for a camping trip.
Must haves: EV, heated seats, good driving dynamics, and fun/unique.
Intended use: daily driver. My only car.
Vehicles you've already considered: Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV9, Mustang Mach-E, Tesla Model 3/Y, Lucid Air Pure, Rivian, GMC Sierra EV, Cadillac Lyriq, etc.
Is this your 1st vehicle: No. currently have a 2021 Tesla Model Y with 95,000 miles on it.
Do you need a Warranty: It’s an EV, so yeah probably b
Can you do Minor work on your own vehicle: Yes.
Can you do Major work on your own vehicle: No.
Additional Notes:
I’m trying to get out of my Tesla Model Y for a number of reasons. Mostly the suspension is horrendous and Elon Musk is an asshat. Otherwise I LOVE the technology and how easy it is to daily. I’ve taken it on a ton of road trips and it has been flawless and fault-free for five years now.
My #1 choice so far has been either the Ioniq 5 or Lucid Air Pure. The problem with both is pretty obvious: the Ioniq 5 ICCU issues are a huge problem and Hyundai is failing to actually fix them. On the other side, Lucid is a startup EV company that could announce they’re closing any day. I haven’t test driven either one yet because I’m worried that would convince me to go ahead and buy/lease then and there.
My head says “get the Ioniq 5 for a good lease deal, or keep driving the Tesla into the ground” my heart says “lease the Lucid and enjoy having the range and incredible driving experience.”
What does Reddit think?
scycron@reddit
Lease the Lucid? They are juicing the lease deals as nobody is buying them for full price.
Bourbon_Buckeye@reddit
Currently drive a BMW 430, but newly single and need something a bit more practical now that I don't have access to the ex's SUV. I'd love to find something better on insurance (I have my 16-year-old son on the insurance), can haul a coffee table, and still somewhat fun to drive. A lease is interesting, since I don't drive much anymore, and I will be an empty nester in a few years and will have different needs.
Location: Ohio (not afraid to drive 2WD in the snow though)
Price range: $25k purchase / $450mo lease (happy to pay less!)
Lease or Buy: Buy used or Lease new
Type of vehicle: small SUV/Crossover or wagon
Must haves: fun driving dynamics, rear-bias is a huge plus, no need for big power, comfortable for a bigger guy (6'2", 200lbs).
Desired transmission: preferably no CVTs
Intended use: daily— I drive about 10k miles/year, mostly in the Fall and Spring
Vehicles you've already considered: BMW X3 (2018+), Acura RDX, are there any wagons left?
Do you need a Warranty: not really
Can you do Minor work on your own vehicle: yes, I prefer to do fluids, brakes and stuff myself
Can you do Major work on your own vehicle: limited capabilities here
BordBocus@reddit
I would get one of those 2017-2018 330i wagons. Same powertrain as your 430i but with lots more space.
Bourbon_Buckeye@reddit
Those are cool, but few and far between. Maybe the hatchback too (Gran Turismo)— but same problem
BordBocus@reddit
The wagons are fairly common. Not everywhere, but I see enough of them to know I could reliably grab one if I needed to.
thisisBigToe@reddit
I got an new lease option, its choosing between an intermediate SUV and an intermediate Crossover category. They gave as example, a Suzuki Vitara (SUV) and Toyota CH-R (Crossover). However, I don't have a clue what the differences are in these segments, tried to look it up. But seems so similar. I was looking for a car with plenty of backspace, for three people able to sit 'normally'. Like not with that hump in the middle. If someone can help me the right way, would really appreciate it
Subject_Stand_7901@reddit
"intermediate SUV" says "Ford Explorer" to me. "Intermediate Crossover" says "Mazda CX5."
Explorer is slightly bigger, and has 3 rows.
But there is a fair bit of overlap in that Venn diagram.
Simple-Valuable-5635@reddit
Looking for a used suv Based on reliability what’s the best option Have a smaller budget so car will most likely have over 80k miles. Petrol and diesel are both suitable options Three options are HONDA CR-V 2016 petrol or diesel
MAZDA CX-5 2017/18 (post facelift) petrol or diesel
HYUNDAI SANTA FE 2017 petrol or diesel
TOYOTA RAV4 2017 petrol or diesel
Also open to other options I’m unaware of, thank you
bingojed@reddit
I believe the CX-5 facelift was 2018. Also check for oil leaks, as a timing cover oil leak is somewhat common and about $1200 to fix.
trivletrav@reddit
Don’t know much about the diesel options available to you, but having worked at Hyundai for 10+ years, don’t buy one of their petrol engines.