What's the most dependable used car on the market?
I hear that question often from friends, relatives, co-workers and readers. And I try to answer carefully, because people who take someone's advice on a car purchase, and then have a bad experience, always seem to remember who steered them in that direction.I don't always agree with Consumer Reports, particularly when that magazine applies sports-car road-handling standards to sport-utility vehicles and then complains that they have a tendency to tip over.
But I have to acknowledge that Consumer Reports and I are on the same page with our recommendations about used cars, based the 1997 car-buyers' issue (April).
A co-worker asked me recently about a particular compact car she was thinking about buying. I warned her away from it and recommended, among a few others, that she look at a used Honda Civic. She bought the Civic.
Now, the Consumer Reports' buyers' guide lists the 1989 Civic as the best entry-level used car and also puts the Civic on its list of 18 best used cars from '89 through 1995.
In case you missed the list, the others include some of my favorites, such as the Toyota Corolla and its clone, the Geo Prizm; the Honda Accord midsize sedan; the Toyota Previa minivan; the Toyota Camry midsize sedan; the excellent Subaru Legacy (sedan and station wagon); the adorable Mazda Miata two-seater; the Lexus ES300 and LS400 sedans; the Acura Integra (a spiced-up Civic); the Acura Legend sedan; and the Infiniti G20 sedan.
As for 1997 cars, Consumer Reports put some of my favorites at the top of its lists: the new Toyota Camry as the best family sedan (move over, Accord and Ford Taurus); the Mazda Protea as the best small sedan; and the redesigned Ford F-150 as the best pickup.
And calling the short-wheelbase versions of the '97 Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager "reasonably reliable," the magazine lists them as the best minivan buys. A lot of that decision apparently stemmed from the low prices offered on those vans compared with the competition's prices.
You can still buy a comfortably equipped Caravan or Voyager for under $20,000, which is way below most of the competition's mid-$20,000s and up. Based on price, I would have to agree with Consumer Reports. But based on quality and dependability, the Previa and the Nissan Quest/Mercury Vil-lager are perhaps better choices.
Just like Consumer Reports, I am impressed with the Mercedes-Benz E320 sedan, although I wouldn't call it the best overall vehicle regardless of price. The Lexus LS400 is my choice there, but it does cost $8,000 more than the $45,000 E320. For the money, the E320 is a better buy, even though you're just getting a six-cylinder engine instead of the V-8 power the Lexus offers. Of course, for $50,000, you can get the Mercedes E420, which is essentially the E320 with a V-8 engine.