The Most Reliable Used Cars You Need To Buy Before They Are ALL GONE

[00:00] With the complexity of a lot of these modern-day vehicles to sheer cost and definitely owning them outside of warranty makes them cost prohibitive. A lot of people ask me, Mark, you know been the operator of exotic car play place for many years, you surely must know some of the best used cars that a person should buy.

[00:14] I get those questions from you, the fans, I get these questions from family relatives, I'm going to break this down, give you some of the best vehicles that you have to think about shopping for if you're looking in the used car market, it's going to help you avoid some of these expensive pitfalls.

[00:28] Let's get into it now. Life's too short to drive boring cars. So if you want something that is sedan, you want something reliable, you have to go with one of the tried and true vehicles.

[00:40] The Toyota Camry's one of these vehicles. Now, the latest and greatest is purely hybrid, but if you're looking for a used vehicle, you know that you can get hybrid but you can also get a four-cylinder naturally aspirated. Again, two and a half liters, you can also get a three and a half liter V6 naturally aspirated, which is actually in the XSE model.

[00:57] In a version like this, you know, you get that front grill here, you can get in the LE, the SE looks a little sportier, but basically the Camry isn't ultimate reliability king. And obviously you get the four doors, the latest Camry has a lot of space, they always give you alloy wheels like that.

[01:12] And of course, all kinds of greatness right there. It's a good looking vehicle all the way around, loaded with technology, you can step up, get the extras, get nice alloys, get sunroof on top, and heated seats here at Steering Wheel.

[01:24] And you can do it all on a relatively modest budget. You're going to get hundreds of thousands of miles of a vehicle, and I would stand on just about every drivetrain of late model Camry. Anything within the last 10 or 15 years is guaranteed to be a reliability king.

[01:38] So shop for your budget, do whatever you can afford, you're always going to get yourself a great vehicle. Go too far back and there have been some spotty issues with some of the older Camry's, but most of these late model Camry's, any used car market are definitely ones that you have to consider.

[01:53] This one here being a hybrid gives you a 2.5 liter 4 cylinder tied up to the hybrid drive. It's a great drivetrain, my personal favorite is the V6 XSE, gives you a sporty look, great performance, and only a modicone less in terms of fuel economy.

[02:08] All great buyers. Another car that I often recommend is a car that's kind of fun to drive, and a coming of variety of different drivetrains, my personal favorite is getting it equipped with a manual gearbox. Like we're looking at right here, we have a new Honda Civic Si, as you'll see right down there, Si.

[02:22] This is a sporty vehicle, obviously comes with the manual gearbox, six-speed manual, you can also get the Type R, which also gives you a manual gearbox, and those are driven primarily through the front wheels. There's no all-wheel drive system in any of these Honda Civics, but they're all extremely affordable, they're all extremely reliable, and they're easy to own.

[02:41] Great engines, a variety of either turbocharged, naturally aspirated 4 cylinder engines, you can get the CVT transmission, which isn't necessarily the best, but it works, it's durable, it's reliable, and the Civic is always one of those vehicles that many people love to drive.

[02:55] They can get hundreds of thousands of miles out of them, you can also get some of those, you go old enough back to 2012, 2013, you can get a torque converter automatic transmission, or now the late model versions. I would suggest go with the manual gearbox, or one of the older torque converter autos, most of their engines are durable, reliable, you also have a 1.5 turbo in the touring, somewhat problematic in some instances, but most of these engines are very reliable.

[03:18] The naturally aspirated 1.8 liter 4 cylinder, you find in some of the older ones, or even the later model naturally aspirated 2 liter engines, under the hood are all great models, and you can't really go wrong with any Civics.

[03:30] So realistically they've been around a long time, and Civics have grown in proportion, they're fairly decent-sized, car now they're no longer that little clown car anymore, that a lot of people consider them being back in the 70s, the Honda Civic fun, reliable, economical, and cheap to run.

[03:45] Definitely one, I would recommend to anybody, I would drive them, I enjoy them, they're easy to own, easy to operate, and very affordable, the Honda Civic, definitely a used car you have to buy. Now unfortunately with a lot of luxury cars, poses a lot of extra technology, complexity, drivetrains that are unreliable, there can be a lot of problems, VAG group, Mercedes-Benz, they've had a lot of troubles, as has BMW.

[04:06] But if you're looking for luxury, you can also get a reliable vehicle, that one that I would promote, and I would suggest that you possibly look at, it can provide some fun driving experience, and high levels of reliability. If you're looking at a Lexus, for example, you're going to have a vehicle that is sporty looking, nice to drive, relaxing, great technology, you can also get a turbo 2-liter 4-cylinder and some models, 3.5 liter V6, and you can also get a fire breathing 5-liter V8 engine.

[04:34] The beauty is with Lexus products are essentially Toyota's, and a lot of the drivetrains are built on Toyota drivetrains, which we know Toyota is one of the most reliable manufacturers on the planet today. And that's why, in fact, buying a Lexus is going to guarantee you, you're going to have a reliable drivetrain, luxury motoring, and a whole lot of fun.

[04:52] One of those vehicles, the Lexus IS-300, in this case, I prefer the 350, but any Lexus IS model is fun, attractive, and very reliable. And here's another one that you just can't ignore, and it's the Toyota Corolla.

[05:05] You can either get a 1.8 liter or a spice here, 2 liter engine, you can get a CVT, which isn't the best, but Toyota knows how to make a CVT transmission. You can also get a 6-speed automatic transmission, and it's a lot of fun. They also have the GR Corolla's now with a turbo 3, but either way you can get into a Toyota Corolla, enjoy extreme fuel economy and extreme levels of reliability.

[05:25] I would have no issues in advising somebody buy a Corolla. They're absolutely amazing cars. Another one that's definitely a winner is the Mazda 3. Like we're looking at here, you can get this in a 2.5 liter naturally aspirated 4-cylinder or turbo in the GT, you can get a manual gearbox in the front-wheel drive and get all-wheel drive.

[05:42] You can get a lot of different configurations, but the Mazda 3 is a vehicle that's ultra reliable these days. Mazda's been doing great things with their durability overall, and they're Mazda 3, as well as their CX30, CX50, CX5. They're all great vehicles.

[05:57] For a young driver or somebody that's just looking for a reliable, economical vehicle to drive, the Mazda 3, like we're looking at here, is an absolute great choice. Of course you can get sunroof on top, naturally you get the hatchback style like this, but you can also get a sedan where you get a standard more of a conventional garden variety look, like you would with a car like this older Camry.

[06:16] These vehicles are absolutely very durable, reliable, and of course with that drivetrain related to the Sky-active G right there, the Mazda 3. This all-wheel drive is a vehicle I would definitely recommend to anybody looking for something cost-effective, affordable, and reliable.

[06:31] Now I know I know a lot of times people say, you know what, I need other vehicles for other reasons. Not everybody wants to drive a Honda or a Mazda, I mean sometimes you need the big towing power. Sometimes you want some of the luxury amenities you're going to find with some of the Audi products, you know whether it's SUVs or cars.

[06:47] Some people want jeeps, even though they're not the most reliable, everybody often chooses different vehicles for their own reasons. And that's why I often say look, as long as you know what you're getting into, you can buy whatever you want, buy a Lambo, buy a Ferrari, buy a BMW, buy an Audi.

[07:04] But do so, annoying of course that the maintenance costs are going to be through the roof, reliability isn't going to be what you ask for. So if you're just looking for a low-cost, cheap, affordable vehicle to get around, my list there hopefully has you covered.

[07:18] If you want something more exciting and more entertaining, just know that every single vehicle just goes down usually in terms of reliability, durability, and just means that costs rise. And with all of that said, if you're rolling, 2025's a great new year, and if you want to go shopping for something new right there, those are some of the worst vehicles you're going to want to avoid them like the plague, hope to see each and every one in the next one.

[07:39] See you in the next one, zero soon, bye bye.