What car would you buy with a $13,000 budget?

[drei4runner]

honda has gone a looooooong way since 2010 and below. just saying. OP is likely to be buying 2012 to 2014 The cars feel completely different from the older ones and have different issues.
Most buick trunks are hard to get loud in unless you do some kind of crazy wall with vehicle mods and cutting. My buddy has a whole journey getting his buick loud and its not pretty. Fairly reliable and easy to work on though and cheap parts.

That's good to hear about Hondas, but unfortunately my sister is still having some problems w/ her A/C and some other things in her Pilot and her model year is a '12 or '13. Hopefully it's just a fluke.

As for Buicks, I was pleasantly surprised at the fit and finish of the vehicle. The new designs on the cars look nice. Can't really say the same for the SUV of theirs though. OP can probably get a decent deal on a used 2012 Buick. I was looking up the resale value on a 2012 Buick and it was around his price range, maybe just a tad bit more than what he was looking for but maybe where he's from, it might be cheaper since everything out here in Cali seems to be more expensive than everywhere else in the US minus New York.

 

[the727kid 10+ year member]

Here is an example: https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/701654766/overview/ Won't touch the tech with the 8.4" screen from any other car either.

 

[Ridinhi 5,000+ posts]

Ideally a 2012 with the Pentastar and 8 speed transmission. 30+ MPG and 300+ HP.

nice! ill check them out

 

[Symon_say 10+ year member]

Ford taurus

 

[youdoofus]

i have NEVER seen a pontiac last. my entire life. i had a good friend they had them 3 times and they where all JUNK. not to mention if you look them up they rank low in reliability..

i am an avid GM hater, but anything they made with the 3.8 v6 would make it over 200K EASILY. I worked for an insurance vehicle valuation company for several years, and it was quite normal to see total loss claims come in with anything that had the 3.8 with a ton of miles on the clock and the owners usually wanted them to be repaired, not replaced. The old pushrod 5.7 v8s were long lived as well. Not that the drivetrain wouldnt break down, because they would, but the parts were super cheap and easy to replace generally. GM used both aforementioned powerplants in so many vehicles that the parts were plentiful. Again, i HATE gm's, but i cant even begin to argue with the longevity of the 3.8. Just change the oil regularly and theyre hard to kill

 

[Hertz Mafia]

I hate fords 6speed transmissions that they have in most their cars. Shift points are all over the place. When u take your foot of the gas u don't coast, u can feel it down shifting and slowing itself down instead of coasting to a red light... my wife's 2012 Ford Edge sport is like that. My moms 2013 escape is like that, I had acouple rental cars before a Ford Fusion and Ford festia and they had that stupid 6speed...

Now my buddy has a 2011 tahoe with a 6speed and it shirts smooth and u can coast when u take your foot off the gas. It's a great truck.. Chevy all the way, I know your looking at cars but just an example

 

[Ridinhi 5,000+ posts]

I hate fords 6speed transmissions that they have in most their cars. Shift points are all over the place. When u take your foot of the gas u don't coast, u can feel it down shifting and slowing itself down instead of coasting to a red light... my wife's 2012 Ford Edge sport is like that. My moms 2013 escape is like that, I had acouple rental cars before a Ford Fusion and Ford festia and they had that stupid 6speed...
Now my buddy has a 2011 tahoe with a 6speed and it shirts smooth and u can coast when u take your foot off the gas. It's a great truck.. Chevy all the way, I know your looking at cars but just an example

Ive looked at Tahoe's as well but trying to get away from the thirsty suv trucks for now

 

[youdoofus]

Ideally a 2012 with the Pentastar and 8 speed transmission. 30+ MPG and 300+ HP.

8 speeds... constant mentions about the trans never knowing what gear to be in. Constant shifting and it starts annoying some folks even tho its an auto. When accelerating, the trans will drop a couple cogs depending on throttle position and try to select the gear appropriate for the request from the throttle input, when you only have 5 gears, its far easier for it to get it right, but when you have 8, it might drop down to 5th, and if it isnt enough for your situation, you put your foot down harder and it had already been in 5th for a few seconds, so when it drops to 4th, its revving the nuts off of itself. There are perks to 8 gears too, but i constantly see complaints. Mercedes even started shying away from them for a while until their ECUs and torque figures could catch up

 

[youdoofus]

Ive looked at Tahoe's as well but trying to get away from the thirsty suv trucks for now

cylendar deactivation and stop/start engines help that a ton

i havent checked long term reviews of the start/stop engines and how the starters have held up since it starts the car at every red light that it sits at a standstill for more than a couple seconds at

 

[tymoto21 10+ year member]

Why not a small SUV

Escape

RAV4

Crv

Cx5/7

Still decent gas mileage with either 4cyl or 6

Slightly more room

Not a trunk

 

[Hertz Mafia]

cylendar deactivation and stop/start engines help that a ton

Idk everyone on the tahoeyukonforum gets a tune to shut that 4cyc mode off. People can average around 18mph in a 2007-2013 tahoe.

Now my buddy has a hybrid Yukon and he gets like 28mpg. He likes it a lot and had it for acouple years now... idk if u can find one for 13k or not

 

[youdoofus]

I hate fords 6speed transmissions that they have in most their cars. Shift points are all over the place. When u take your foot of the gas u don't coast, u can feel it down shifting and slowing itself down instead of coasting to a red light... my wife's 2012 Ford Edge sport is like that. My moms 2013 escape is like that, I had acouple rental cars before a Ford Fusion and Ford festia and they had that stupid 6speed...
Now my buddy has a 2011 tahoe with a 6speed and it shirts smooth and u can coast when u take your foot off the gas. It's a great truck.. Chevy all the way, I know your looking at cars but just an example

gawd, my honda does the same thing and the '03 maxima i had just before this car would coast with accelerator lift off... Ticks me off about this car and it KILLS the gas mileage. I used to get over 35 mpg in the Max and barely muster 19 in the honda and i had a FAR heavier foot in the Max

 

---------- Post added at 01:06 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:05 PM ----------

 

Idk everyone on the tahoeyukonforum gets a tune to shut that 4cyc mode off. People can average around 18mph in a 2007-2013 tahoe. Now my buddy has a hybrid Yukon and he gets like 28mpg. He likes it a lot and had it for acouple years now... idk if u can find one for 13k or not

not without a bajillion miles on it, and bajillion is a fictitious number, so yeah //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[youdoofus]

here, its only barely out of your price range, but youll never see one pull up next to you at a red light tho

https://www.rightdriveusa.com/vehicle/1991-mazda-cosmo-white/

 

[youdoofus]

this one is just under $14k

Nissan SKYLINE GTR, 1992, used for sale

 

[the727kid 10+ year member]

8 speeds... constant mentions about the trans never knowing what gear to be in. Constant shifting and it starts annoying some folks even tho its an auto. When accelerating, the trans will drop a couple cogs depending on throttle position and try to select the gear appropriate for the request from the throttle input, when you only have 5 gears, its far easier for it to get it right, but when you have 8, it might drop down to 5th, and if it isnt enough for your situation, you put your foot down harder and it had already been in 5th for a few seconds, so when it drops to 4th, its revving the nuts off of itself. There are perks to 8 gears too, but i constantly see complaints. Mercedes even started shying away from them for a while until their ECUs and torque figures could catch up

Not sure where you get this information... the 8 speed in the Chrysler products is extremely well reviewed. The older trans (5/6 spd) struggle to figure out where to be, especially in the trucks. Coming from an owner of 2 8 spds I can say it is super smooth and you have to really pay attention to notice it shifting. This is coming from a Ram 1500 Hemi and a Charger R/T Road & Track. You are over thinking the transmission - it is extremely smart and responsive. It also helps the car get 30+ MPG and run about 1 second quicker 0-60. Only a fool would get the lesser transmission when you have the option for both. Again I have not seen any complaints from the Charger or Ram forums... in fact everyone LOVES it and recommend upgrading solely just for the transmission. I encourage you to go test drive one if you have spare time to burn.