Purchasing a new midsize car

I need to purchase a new midsize car and need advice on the best car I can purchase for around $18, 000 - $20,000. Please provide details of why you are recommending a specific vehicle. I also need a vehicle that will last at the minimum 200,000 miles.


Mazda 6, Ford Fusion (or Mercury Milan). Got good deals going, stick to basic model to keep price down. For 200,000 miles follow mfg maintenance intervals as exactly as you can. To save money on maintenance use a quality private garage after warranty is expired.

Whatever you choose take it for more than a 5-10 minute test drive, take for a 30 min ride. The only model I would recommend avoiding a VW product and Chrysler/Dodge for midsizes. The balance will easily make the 200k miles with maintenance per owners manual (not dealer) with little issue likely. Realize after 7yrs/150k the likelyhood of more expensive repairs go up no matter what make you buy.

GM, Ford, Honda, Toyot,Nissan a all offer excellent products in this price range for a mid-size.It comes down to what appeals to you.

Get a copy of the recent Consumer Reports Annual Auto Issue.

Read it.

It contains some of the best car-buying advice available.

Nearly all cars will go 200,000 miles if properly maintained. Since many dealers are discounting cars to get them off the lots, you have a good choice. The ones you should test drive, in my opinion, would be:

  1. Honda Accord 4 cylinder
  2. Toyota Camry 4 cylinder
  3. Mazda 6 4 cylinder
  4. Hyundai Sonata 4 cylinder
  5. Ford Fusion 4 or 6 cylinder
  6. Chevy Malibu 6 cylinder

The above cars will all last a very long time with proper care, more than 200,000 miles and will be easy and relatively inexpensive to repair when they age.
Other vehicles in this price/size class are either short lived or unreliable (e.g. Chrysler products) or very costly to repair and maintain as they age (e.g.SAAB, Subaru, Volkswagen).

As others point out, buy the Consumer Reports April Car issue or Car Buying Guide and you will find detailed analyses of all these and repair histories up to 6 years. What you will not find is how Subarus and other cars behave when they get to be 8-10 years old.

Other models to consider are the Pontiac G6 and Saturn Aura. They are based on the Malibu. Given the tenuous nature of Pontiac and especially Saturn, you might find better-than-usual deals. Both are enough like the Malibu that parts and service will be available for a long time.

All the suggestions above are good - But keep in mind you don’t need to get anywhere near $18k.

Dealers here are selling brand new Fusion S models with automatic transmission for $14,900… Those aren’t just the teasers for bait-and-switch - they’re EASY to find.

The car market is most definitely a buyer’s market right now.

I agree with the Ford Fusion for around $14,00-$15,000. It gets great mileage and the reports on it are good for reliability. Stick with the 4-cylinder for mileage near 30/hwy. Good luck.

I notice that you did not refer to the 4 cylinder Malibu, only the 6 cylinder. Has the 4 cylinder Malibu had any problems? Are the Nissan Altima also good cars? I heard the some of the Altima have a noise issue with the engine. Is that true?
We own a 1996 Ford Windstar and is has been nothing but trouble, how much do you know about the Fusion’s quality over the long run?

Thank you so much from your time.

McP gave you good advice, as usual.

We’re all biased here. Consumer Reports New Car Buyers’ Guide (available at the local bookstore) will give you comprehensive and unbiased data on all the choices. They’re the best source available IMHO.

Fusion model has been out a few years and is doing well in initial build quality and reliability. One of Ford’s best made cars.

The 4 cylinder Malibu engine is rather crude compared to the very smooth 4 cylinder engines in other cars. It does not have any quality problems to my knowledge.

When Nissan got into financial trouble and was bought by Renault (one reason no one recommends a Renault) there was a drop in quality, but some Nissan models, like the Altima are now quite good cars. Nissan engines are very good. If the Altima automatic has the continuously variable transmision (CVT), I would stay away from it as well. These are very difficult to service at this time.

Any car you buy from those recommended will be light years better than your Ford Windstar. When Ford designed the Fusion, they aimed for a World Class car, and used a lot of Mazda’s engineering input. The Fusion is now a highly rated car.

Still trying to decide which car to buy ( basic models with Auto, 4 door, power lock and windows. In appears I can buy the following midsize cars for the following prices. Accord LX - 19000, Toyota Camry LE 18,000, Sonata 16000, Fusion under 14000, and Malibu 15000. I looking for a car that with last. Which one would you purchase and why? Your opinion is appreciated.

Thanks Jim

Of the cars you list, they will all reach 200,000 miles comfortably, and have good reliability. My personal choice would be the Toyota Camry because it is quiet, has the best reliability, and the longest projected life.

If noise does not bother you, I would buy the Accord which is more fun to drive and also has an impressive reliability and long life.

But we advise you to drive them all. In the final anaylsis this is a personal decision.

All of those are good cars that will last. It’s now down to your personal preferences and budget. Not a bad choice among them. But you must take a test drive - I found the Camry 4cyl I rented had a frustrating transmission, delayed downshifting. That may have changed. Drive them.

Today on MSN http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29962730 There’s an article about the US auto industry. According to this article…GM may NOT be building mid-size cars any longer (if they even survive). With the possible merger of Fiat and Chryco…Chryco may turn into a company that’s building small cars like Fiat for the US market. Ford may be the only US company left building mid size cars.

Test driving the cars is critical at this point, a good comprehensive test drive.

Ford Fusion- If it were me I’d give this one the first test drive and really go over it. It is my 1st choice. The other cars will have to “beat” the Fusion significantly in their test drives. Then test drive it again after all the others.

Since you plan to keep the car for 200K miles this negates resale value somewhat. If you were planning on trading the car in for another in 5 years or so you’d get back some of the higher initial price of the Accord and Camry when you traded them in. Cost of ownership of the Accord and Camry are better, but that is based on lower depreciation; not less repair and maintenance costs.

Fusion 1st, based on attractive price. Then the others based on your ranking after a test drive. In business I learned to “force rank” just about everything. This means you have to develop a criteria of what is most important to you. After the test drives of all cars you have to put them in order from 1st to worst. Don’t pay attention to price, at this point. Just rank the cars. It takes me a long time to go 200K miles now, so you may be living with your choice for a bunch of years.

And then again the probably will sell cars. Is this a self-fulfilling prophesy? It’s a bit like Lehman Bros. CNBC predicted their demise for several weeks before it actually happened. Did the other bankers refuse to provide short term loans because of the CNBC prognosis of impending death? There are anumber of financial pundits that think so.

Oh I agree it’s a big guessing game. But if you read the article…you’ll notice a few things that stand out. Like the fact that GM has only sold 37k vehicles so far this year…that’s pitiful. Their total hybrid for ALL their vehicles are far less then the Toyota’s Prius sales. Their brand new Hybrid pickup has only sold 7 (yes SEVEN). GM really has to make some DRASTIC changes to turn things around.

As for Chryco…Who knows. Rumor from my Nephew who works at New Process Gear is that Chryco is going to shut this plant down by the end of the year.

I’d go with the Accord. C&D rated the 4 cylinder with the manual the best midsize you can get.