OT: Corolla/Civic/Sentra/Impreza | Page 3 | The Boneyard

OT: Corolla/Civic/Sentra/Impreza

Stainmaster said:
I'm not sure if this is the best place to ask given the amount of Beemers and Audis mentioned in the other thread, but...

I'll be purchasing a used car sometime over the next month or two, and it's looking like it'll come down to one of these four options. If folks have experience with any of those models (specifically from model years 2006-2010), any insight you can share would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much.
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I love my legacy. But I'm 6'3 so an impreza wasn't an option.

But I test drove both and found they drove very similar.
 
Stainmaster said:
I initially didn't think to consider a Subaru. My family's been Nissan/Toyota my whole life, and Honda's reputation for reliability speaks for itself. My old man suggested the Impreza on a whim, and the more I've read the more impressed I become. I will indeed be in CT, so the AWD is a huge plus.
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Stain - consider the Subaru
You are going to pay more but they hold value and they are reliable as hell
I've had 3 Legacy's and first two had over 260K miles and my current '11 Legacy has 162K and sounds brand new - no major repairs on the new one
The two old ones did have the head gasket issue Subaru was known for but all models after 2010 seem to have no issue
Nissans are ok but the AWD makes all the difference - my family all have Honda's and they trade them in before 100K so I can't speak the longevity of Honda
Good Luck
 
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JMick said:
Shoes, mattress, tires. The three things I will never bargain hunt for.
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Wise advice. Honestly, swapping good all-season tires with Blizzaks in the winter buys you more than AWD in most situations. One notable exception would be if you live on a steep hill or have a steep driveway made of gravel.

Personally, I only buy AWD cars and I still swap in Blizzaks in the winter but I live in upstate NY. We were strictly Subaru for a while but the headgasket issues soured me. Yes, they eventually went with copper based gaskets and, supposedly, the new engines have a separate coolant feed but, still. Also, there have been engine problems due to shortened piston skirts to try and improve gas mileage. Toyota and Honda quality has slipped too but that is where we turned after Subaru as they are still better. Last year I bought a 2005 Acura RL in great condition with the timing belt and water pump already done on it. The year before that I bought a 2009 Toyota Venza with stupid low mileage in it. Both cars were owned by old guys. Both cars have been great. Both have plusses and minuses. Right now, I would give the nod to Toyota. The only major quality issue they had, to my knowledge, was sludge build up on the first generation of direct injection engines. But that is better than the slush box issues Honda had in the early and mid 2000s.
 
Paesano said:
Wise advice. Honestly, swapping good all-season tires with Blizzaks in the winter buys you more than AWD in most situations. One notable exception would be if you live on a steep hill or have a steep driveway made of gravel.

Personally, I only buy AWD cars and I still swap in Blizzaks in the winter but I live in upstate NY. We were strictly Subaru for a while but the headgasket issues soured me. Yes, they eventually went with copper based gaskets and, supposedly, the new engines have a separate coolant feed but, still. Also, there have been engine problems due to shortened piston skirts to try and improve gas mileage. Toyota and Honda quality has slipped too but that is where we turned after Subaru as they are still better. Last year I bought a 2005 Acura RL in great condition with the timing belt and water pump already done on it. The year before that I bought a 2009 Toyota Venza with stupid low mileage in it. Both cars were owned by old guys. Both cars have been great. Both have plusses and minuses. Right now, I would give the nod to Toyota. The only major quality issue they had, to my knowledge, was sludge build up on the first generation of direct injection engines. But that is better than the slush box issues Honda had in the early and mid 2000s.
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Winter tires are so much more of an advantage than a lot of people realize
 
JMick said:
Winter tires are so much more of an advantage than a lot of people realize
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We had quite a long streak of mild winters that made people complacent. It is hard to justify the hassle when you barely get snow. But, the last few years? Yeah, I love my Blizzaks.
 
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Stainmaster said:
Thanks again to everyone who gave me great advice here. I ended up going outside of my anticipated price range and splurged on an '09 Camry.
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Solid choice. Now, start shopping for a spare set of rims and look for online deals for Blizzaks. Mount and balance them and put them in your garage until October or November. You will not be sorry.
 
CTMike said:
Tires are the only thing connecting you to the road... don’t cheap out on them if at all possible.
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I used to run 4 studded snows. Don’t like to get caught on icy roads.
 
If you decide to go 2002 and earlier, Infiniti G20s do not disappoint. I had 2 in a row. Second was lost in a car accident and got an HHR.
 
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uconnfan68 said:
Just remember AWD doesn’t really help you stop.
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Respectfully, I believe that this is an untrue statement. On my 4wd and AWD vehicles, traction control includes rear wheel control. The vehicles can cut or increase torque to the back tires through the 4wd or AWD as needed, thereby helping you stop. That torque control is very helpful in keeping the car straight. It is extremely difficult to get my Santa Fe to slip sideways on snow/ice.
Agree 100% to buy the best tires you can afford, and don't let the tread get low.
Ultimately, however, 99% or more of road hazards can be avoided by simply driving a safe speed and maintaining a proper following distance. Throw in basic defensive driving, and assume that people around you will make bad choices, and it becomes darn difficult to get seriously injured in a car wreck. Sure, you'll get your occasional deer or whatnot that pops in front of you, but for everything else, safe driving will keep you out of wrecks better than any tire, braking, or traction control.
Teaching kids to be safe drivers right off the bat is important. I taught each of my kids how to drive. The day I knew that they were ready to go out on their own was when they came to me to complain about how mom tailgated and was generally an unsafe driver who scared them. I'm being completely serious - all of them came to me with that, never having noticed it until I taught them basic safe driving techniques.
Drive like you don't need to rely on ABS and traction control.
And stay off the handset.
Be safe.
 
MadDogRevival said:
Respectfully, I believe that this is an untrue statement. On my 4wd and AWD vehicles, traction control includes rear wheel control. The vehicles can cut or increase torque to the back tires through the 4wd or AWD as needed, thereby helping you stop. That torque control is very helpful in keeping the car straight. It is extremely difficult to get my Santa Fe to slip sideways on snow/ice.
Agree 100% to buy the best tires you can afford, and don't let the tread get low.
Ultimately, however, 99% or more of road hazards can be avoided by simply driving a safe speed and maintaining a proper following distance. Throw in basic defensive driving, and assume that people around you will make bad choices, and it becomes darn difficult to get seriously injured in a car wreck. Sure, you'll get your occasional deer or whatnot that pops in front of you, but for everything else, safe driving will keep you out of wrecks better than any tire, braking, or traction control.
Teaching kids to be safe drivers right off the bat is important. I taught each of my kids how to drive. The day I knew that they were ready to go out on their own was when they came to me to complain about how mom tailgated and was generally an unsafe driver who scared them. I'm being completely serious - all of them came to me with that, never having noticed it until I taught them basic safe driving techniques.
Drive like you don't need to rely on ABS and traction control.
And stay off the handset.
Be safe.
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Sorry but you are mostly wrong here. First of all, traction control is to help you go, not stop. Stopping is controlled by the ABS and vehicle stability control systems, for the most part. AWD helps you stop without slipping when primarily using engine braking. As an aside note, this is one thing Honda does better than Toyota. In the cases that matter, engine braking is not sufficient and the actual brakes have to do the work. At that point, it really becomes a friction problem and Blizzaks and studded snows are so far superior, in ice and snow, to all-seasons it isn't even close. FWD and RWD drive cars with Blizzaks will stop faster and have better stability compared to AWD cars on even the best all-season tires (Michelin in my opinion) when stopping on ice or snow. Getting going is a different situation. AWD on all-seasons is superior to one wheel drive cars on Blizzaks and FWD is better than RWD. Even if you have posi-traction (limited slip 2 wheel drive) the situation is the same. But consider the following. If the driver is bad or inexperienced, it may actually be bad to be able to "get going" easy. It masks the traction issues and lulls the driver into a false sense of security. On a FWD drive car where the wheel slips, the driver is more likely to go, "whoa, I better slow down". That will save them from sliding off a corner or coming to a stop too fast. So, let's say you have a FWD car and, say, you have a winter, what should you do? GET BLIZZAKS!!! The driver will still be made aware of slippery conditions on their starts, which is good, but they will have far superior handling and braking on the Blizzaks. That is the best of both worlds for a bad or young driver. It gets them to slow down AND it gives them extra margin for error. For good and experienced drivers, AWD AND Blizzaks FTW!!!
 
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