Looking for a second car not necessarily a Subaru

[hiker74]

We are the proud owners of a 2013 Subaru Outback, but what I normaly drive is an aging 1997 Nissan Altima with over 150K miles. Currently it requires new half shafts, brakes, new windshield, and exhaust system. These repairs especialy the half shafts are more than the car is worth. It still runs and gets me to work and back, but I dnt know how long it will be alive. I have been looking at the following cars to replace it:
2007-2010 Mini Cooper hardtop
Toyota Corolla
Nissan Altima Coupe
Kia Soul
Honda Civic
Honda Fit
Pontiac G5 GT

I would like to find something reliable I wont need to mess with. I really like the Mini Cooper and have purposefully stayed away from Mini Coopers with automatics 2002-2005 as there were many cvt failures and this is why newer ones have conventional transmissions. They even have a building class action lawsuit brewing as many of these cars had failures between 70K and 80K like clockwork.

Do anyone know anything about Mini Coopers and how reliable they are?

Jo

[awd-gg]

Originally Posted by hiker74

I would like to find something reliable I wont need to mess with.

there only 1 word you need to know if you want reliable...
HONDA
The fit is bullet proof.... watch out for the current gen civic... 2011 or 2012 could be problematic... but older ones are good for 350K miles! 200K miles if you a ricer and Mod the heck out of it!
sorry it is NOT mini Cooper....

[dianer]

Our other car is a Toyota Corolla.

[rasterman]

Rasterwoman has a 2007 Hyundai accent hatch. I do all the maintenance, and occasionally drive it myself. I'm blown away by how little it costs to operate. Sure, it has few features beyond transportation but the value proposition is solid.

32-36 mpg, oil change at home costs about $11.50 all up. Lifetime repair costs (excluding wear items and programmed maintenance) are under $200 so far.

Not at all like my subie, but as far as cheap reliable transportation goes this thing is phenomenal.

Kia soul shares a lot with the Accent, I'd expect similar value.

[ScottyNorq]

Toyota or Honda

[jogosub]

Honda Civic - is OUR second car. 2009 with 78K on it now with no issues other than rear Weathertech deflectors flying off... LOL

[mcbrew]

Friends of mine with Minis have had LOTS of issues. Kind of like VW enthusiasts, Mini fans will pay to get them fixed and tell you how perfect they are. I have worked on them... And they are typical of German over engineering. Hard to work on... Expensive... And failure prone.

[Peaty]

My second car, to get back and forth to work, is a Miata. Super reliable and probably the most fun you can have driving a car. If you can get away with a two seat roadster you can find them pretty cheap. Just a thought.

[1 Lucky Texan]

yeah, I would probably own a Mazda before any Pontiac or Kia.

I drove an 81 Honda Civic wagon for 19 years.

but if you're talking about used cars - their previous care and present condition are more important than 'brand'. pay for a pre-purchase inspection.

[SeanU]

I had a Corolla (Japan built) from 1994 until 2012 when I got rear-ended. Besides Oil/Fluid changes, occasional brake and tire maintenance, the only problem it had was a bad alternator, and a power window failure. It was a NYC street parked car (and looked horrible) and drove through all kind of bad potholes without any issues but a bent steel wheel and lost hub caps. I would still be using it as a station car if it hadn't been totaled.