---
title: '5 Used Cars You Should Buy'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=FN30KqBl6HA'
video_id: 'FN30KqBl6HA'
date: 2026-06-30
duration_sec: 699
---

# 5 Used Cars You Should Buy

> Source: [5 Used Cars You Should Buy](https://youtube.com/watch?v=FN30KqBl6HA)

## Summary

A mechanic with 51 years of experience shares his top five picks for reliable used cars, warning against common internet advice that often recommends unreliable models like Chrysler products. He emphasizes that a mechanic's real-world experience is more trustworthy than online lists. The video covers specific model years and explains why each car is a good investment.

### Key Points

- **Internet advice is often wrong** [0:22] — Scotty warns that online advice often recommends unreliable cars like Chrysler products, which mechanics know are poorly made.
- **2012 Honda Accord (4-cylinder) is a solid choice** [1:21] — The 2012 Honda Accord (four-cylinder) is reliable, with customers reaching 300,000–400,000 miles. Avoid 2005–2010 models with automatic transmission issues.
- **2012 Ford Fusion benefits from Volvo partnership** [2:42] — Built during Ford's partnership with Volvo, the 2012 Fusion is reliable and doesn't have the transmission problems of the Taurus. Since Ford stopped making cars, used prices are dropping.
- **2013 Honda Civic is dependable and fuel-efficient** [3:48] — The 2013 Civic is dependable, fuel-efficient, and holds its value. It appeals to both young enthusiasts and older drivers. Lower insurance costs add to savings.
- **2012 Toyota Corolla is virtually indestructible** [5:49] — The 2012 Corolla can run virtually forever with maintenance. Massive production means cheap aftermarket parts and plenty of used options.
- **2011 Toyota Camry is the top pick for reliability** [8:17] — The 2011 Camry is boring but reliable—starts every time, rarely breaks. Four-cylinder version recommended for longevity. In 2011, it outsold the Corolla in the US.
- **Always get a pre-purchase inspection** [10:38] — Always have a mechanic inspect any used car with diagnostic tools to check for hidden problems like flood or accident damage.

## Transcript

rev up your engines, today I'm gonna talk
about the five best used cars that you
can buy, now I know there's lots of people
out
there talking about what's good and
what's bad but really, if you want to
learn about what used cars to buy, ask a
mechanic like me, because just out of
curiosity I Googled, some of that advice
on the internet, whoa stay away from it,
I even saw some that had three of the
top five being chrysler products, which
every mechanic knows they're some of the
worst made vehicles out there, to say
they're good to buy used, you don't want
to listen to people's advice that don't know
what they're talking about, I hate
it when I buy something that doesn't
hold up over time, and over the last 51
years
I hate it when my customers buy cars
that don't hold up over time, hey I like
my customer I want them to tell their
friends about me to say hey he's a good
mechanic he knows how to fix your car
and it isn't always breaking down all
the time and he's making up stuff just
to make money, so of course
don't listen to used-car advice from
somebody say who only works on Jaguars,
he's gonna tell you to buy a Jaguar you
know, I work on all kinds of different
cars, I don't care what people drive but
if they want a good car
I'll give them advice and here's my
advice on the five used cars to buy, and
number five is a 2012 Honda Accord, and I
know some people are gonna say, hey
Scotty you warned us about Honda's with
weak automatic transmissions, and that is
true the 2005 to 2010 Honda Accords with
automatic transmissions have a recall
for their automatic transmission because
it had a design flaw, but not to 2012,
I've got customers with 2012 Honda
accords and they love the cars, from my
experience of my customers cars the four
cylinder ones seemed to the last absolute
longest, some guys want the v6 s because
they want more power and stuff, but they
do have a tendency of wearing out a
little bit faster and the 4's have
plenty of power and get quite a bit
better gas mileage, and a lot of family
guys love these Accords because they're
zippy sporty cars, you get a four-door yeah
you can fix a whole family in there
but it's not like you're driving around
in a minivan, and here you want to
realize another thing about buying a
used car, don't always go for the
cheapest price, because a lot of the reason
cars are cheap is because they aren't
very good cars, you're gonna pay a reasonable
amount
of money for a 2012 Honda Accord
that's in good shape, but hey I've seen
them with three four hundred thousand
miles on them,
so you're gonna get a lot of mileage out
of the things, as long as they don't
already have three or four hundred
thousand miles on them, now
number four on the lists of 2012 Ford
Fusion, used their often seen as an
inexpensive family saloon, one of the
reasons this those were made when Volvo
and Ford were having to get together
part way, the first time I ever had one I
rented it when I was on vacation at an
airport, and I was totally impressed by
how it rode, I was never really a fan of
the Ford Taurus myself, but when I rented
this
fusion I was impressed, they proved to
be very reliable cars too, and they
didn't have the transmission problems
that a lot of the Taurus hand, it was a
pretty good move, now I mean Ford's not
making cars anymore they said they're
only gonna be making one the Mustang and
then SUVs and trucks, but the Ford Fusion
is a really solid built car, and since
Ford isn't going to be making cars
anymore, you can generally pick up a used
car cheaper, because when a company stops
making cars the value of the old one
goes down, if they're still well made,
Ford still gonna make parts for them, hey
you might get a really good price on a
used fusion, now number three on the list
is a 2013 Honda Civic, those things were
reliable solid little cars
Honda sure went a long way from their
first Honda that they sold in
the United States to this Honda Civic,
you'd think they came from different
planets if you look at both cars, a lot
of young people like the civics because
they're zippy, a lot of guys soup them up
and put a lot of horsepower in there, Honda
engines they can take it, but at the same
time they're very dependable
transportation, I have many middle-aged
and older people, they bought civics
and they love them,
and they would say it always starts, it never
breaks
down, and it hardly uses any gas, and sure
they hold their value, which is the
reason I say don't go too cheap when
you're buying a used car
think about expense over time,
that's one reason my son who I was going
to get him I used Tacoma pickup
truck, he end up buying a new one because
he said, dad I'll probably keep this
thing for 30 years, it's gonna cost me
hardly any money per month if I keep
this thing for 30 years
so I'll just buy a brand new one, but if
you're buying a used car and you want to
save a lot of money,
hey that Civic is a great pick, yeah
you're gonna pay more for it certainly
then a used Chrysler or used GM smaller
car, but it's gonna outlast them
sometimes two, three, four times as long
with probably maybe 20% of the repair
bills that you're gonna spend on those
cars that aren't as well made, and of
course realized if you're buying used like
that, your insurance rates, because let's
face it you buy a brand new car, say
it's wrecked or stolen or flooded
whatever, the insurance company has to buy
you a new car, that's a lot of money, well
they used cars they have less value so
the insurance is less on them too, and
with the smaller four-cylinder engine
the insurance is less on that, because
it doesn't have the big power of a v6 or
a v8, you're saving all kinds of ways if
you get a you Civic, now number two on
the list of best five used cars to buy,
is a 2012 Toyota Corolla, Corollas can
run virtually forever if you take care
of them, I remember years ago a mechanic
friend of mine he was having a party, and
they said let's see if we can blow up a
Toyota Corolla engine, so he emptied out
most of the engine oil and that put a
brick on the accelerator and it was just
sitting there revving, and it ran
for quite some time and then finally one
of the cylinders blew and went bang and the
cylinder broke, but then it was still
running awhile and only three cylinders
I mean the things are really strongly
designed, Toyota used the Corolla
design on a lot of cars, that's a 07
matrix it's really a Toyota Corolla, my
Celica it's a 94 Celica,
it's really Toyota Corolla too
it has the same engine, transmission, just
a different body style and a little bit
different suspension is all, I gotta laugh
these days when I get some customers say
I just have to get an SUV for my family,
and I say my kids, two sons, me, my wife we
road around for years in an 81 Toyota
Corolla four-door, they fit in that
Corolla we went all over the country in
that thing, and did it ever leave us
stranded,
no it didn't, and one big advantage of
buying a car like a 2012 Toyota Corolla is,
they made tons of them, they sold tons of
them, so there are always going to be a
reasonable amount of them out there for
sale, if a company makes a really
good car but they don't sell all that many
of them their aren't gonna be that many used
ones for sale they're gonna be hard to
find, but there are Corollas all over the
place in all kinds of different shape, maybe
you're a fixer-upper, so you're gonna buy
one that maybe has 300 thousand miles
you get it cheap, fix it up and drive it
around, or maybe you don't really care
that much about body style, so if they
didn't take care of the paint and had a
few dents on it, you just drive it
around that way as a beater car and you don't
care to put any money into it, because
since they made so many of them, there is
an insane aftermarket for those things,
let's say you go and you need to get a
Fender, well you go to the Toyota dealer
and the fender who knows what they want
maybe five or six hundred bucks, you can get
one made in Taiwan for like $50, sheet
steel stamped on who cares you're just
gonna have it bolted on and painted, so
you can get parts that work perfectly
fine dirt cheap for those things, so take
advantage of mass production if you want
a really good car for getting you around
hey get to use Corolla, now number one
on the list is the 2011 Toyota Camry
which is no surprise to most people, and
I know some people are gonna say, Oh
Scotty what a boring pick 2011 Toyota Camry,
well yeah that's exactly why I
pick it as a good used car to buy, it's
boring, you buy it it's not gonna break
its gonna start every time, and their
still fun to drive they got more zip
than a Corolla does, but they're totally
dependable, here again though I say, I
advise people buy the four-cylinder
version, it's got plenty enough horsepower
to get you around, the 6's, hey they're gonna
get worse gas mileage
and they will wear out faster I
mean yeah okay
so it might wear out at 300,000 miles
instead of 500,000 miles, but still it's
gonna wear out fast, and as an
interesting fact generally the cheaper
models of manufacturers sell more cars
than the expensive ones, but in 2011
Toyota in the United States sold more
Camrys than they did Corollas, normally
it's cheaper models that sell more, but
the Camrys were so well made that they
actually sold more Camrys than they did
Corollas in the United States in 2011
you can easily fit a whole family in a
Camry they got tons of room inside I've
had customers that are real tall at six
six or six seven and they'd always say, I
can't
get a Toyota I'm too big I don't fit in,
I said get in a Camry and sit in it and see
what you think, and they did and they said,
whoa
hey comfy car enough room for me
you're gonna pay a reasonable price for
one of these cars, they hold their value
because they're so well made, but don't
do like one of my customers did who was
looking at a used Camry and then they
said, oh look I can get this Chrysler at
half the price and it's got a v6 engine
and leather seats and all this, and then
a couple years later they came in and
they said, we got to get rid of that
Chrysler what a pile of junk and what did
they do, then they went out and bought a
used camry, so my advice on that one
is, learn from other people's mistakes, if
you don't have to make the mistake
yourself
hey learn from somebody else's mistake,
make sure you get a decent used car
because there's the old saying, oh I
never buy a used car cuz you're buying
somebody else's problems, well if you're
gonna buy a camry, if it was taken care
of it's not gonna be anybody's problem,
but of course as I always tell people
when they're buying a used car,
have a mechanic check it out before
you buy it, because you can't trust
anybody when it comes to buying used
anything, cars can be wrecked, flooded,
stolen, started on fire there's all kinds
of things that can happen, so you want a
mechanic
to check it out and with this modern
technology on all these late model cars
hey when we mechanics plug our machines
in, we get more history make your head
spin, and within an hour any mechanic
can tell you, yeah that's a really good
car or no stay away from that one, so now
you know the five best cars that you can
buy used if you want peace of mind, and
have a nice solid reliable vehicle to
drive around in, so if you never want to
miss another one of my new car repair
videos, remember to ring that Bell!