Please help me choose a recent-year pre-owned car

February 6, 2018 4:03 PM

I need to replace my recently-totaled Lexus IS 250. I would like to stay close to the $15,500 my insurance company will give me. I know I won't get another luxury sedan, but please share your experiences buying a recent-year mid-size sedan (preferably Japanese, but will consider others) including possible hybrids. I know my new car won't be as fun to drive as my last one, but I'm on a different budget now. I'm in LA and don't drive too far (maybe 5-6000 miles a year). I'm also considering buying used from Enterprise or another rental company-if you have recent experiences with doing this, I would love to learn about them. Also, if you have experience adding Apple carplay aftermarket, please tell me how it went.
posted by parkerposey to Travel & Transportation (9 answers total)

I recently bought a 2016 Hyundai Sonata from Hertz and have had a great experience so far. They had a lot in stock to choose from and I ended up test driving 4 cars before deciding on the Sonata. I had my own financing so I can't comment on that aspect. I had the car looked over by a mechanic of my choosing (cost $110) and they found no issues. I was replacing a 2004 Sentra so this was a serious step up for me. They did have a few of the Sonata Hybrids in stock but they were out of my price range. A neighbor bought one (also from Hertz, I believe) and also had a good experience. Feel free to MeMail if you have other questions.
posted by sacrifix at 5:05 PM on February 6, 2018 [1 favorite]

You should be able to get a decent car at that price point. I bought a 2014 Corolla in 2016 for $12,500. You should be able to find an even newer Corolla, or a Camry of similar vintage. Both are, as far as I'm aware, pretty similar to the current model year.
posted by kevinbelt at 6:04 PM on February 6, 2018 [1 favorite]

Forgot to mention, the Sonata was about $13.5k
posted by sacrifix at 6:29 PM on February 6, 2018 [1 favorite]

Looks like you could get a 2014 or 2015 Mazda6 at Carmax for less than your settlement. I have a '15 touring edition and it's really fun to drive. Not a ton of horsepower, but the suspension is great, the ride is comfortable even for long distance, and I think it's a really attractive car.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 7:28 PM on February 6, 2018 [1 favorite]

I had a good experience buying from Hertz after my car was totaled in 2014. I bought a 2012 Chevy Malibu for around 10k I believe, and while it had MANY trips to the mechanic for recall work, none of those were the fault of Hertz or stemmed from it being a rental car. It just died this summer after 200somethingthousand miles, which is better than I expected. The purchase process is really easy as there's no negotiating and limited upselling. You can rent the car for a couple of days and drive it before making a decision, which I also really liked. I had the Malibu for three days before I bought it. I would say the only caveat is that your recent-model car might be fairly high mileage; I think mine had about 40,000 on it when I bought it.

When my Malibu died in June, I bought a certified used Honda Fit for $13k. A Fit is definitely not mid-sized, it in infinitesimal, but I've been really happy with the certified experience vs regular used car, my battery died and they replaced it for free since it's covered by the certified warrantee.
posted by assenav at 9:43 PM on February 6, 2018 [1 favorite]

You can still get a luxury sedan if you're willing to look at used cars. I bought a used Lexus ES350 a couple of years ago in LA for around $15K from Craigslist.

Make sure that the seller has the title in hand and in their name before you go to the appointment. Take it to a mechanic you trust before buying. Make the seller go with you to Triple A to transfer the title.
posted by vignettist at 8:30 AM on February 7, 2018 [1 favorite]

Is would look at a used Hyundai Genesis (Newer models are now just Genesis make). You can probably find one of the same year with a lot more of everything for the amount of your settlement.
posted by Short End Of A Wishbone at 11:18 AM on February 7, 2018

Just this week I bought a fully loaded 2015 Lincoln MKZ hybrid for ~$18000, and in my very limited experience I’m happy so far. I read a lot of reviews and the critics and owners seemed pleased with it. I’d also suggest looking into a Ford Fusion hybrid too, which the Lincoln MKZ is built off of. I’d think you could definitely get into one of those at your price point.
posted by jaksemas at 11:49 AM on February 7, 2018

If you want to stay with Lexus AND get great mileage consider a Lexus CT200 hybrid.
It's a comfortable car with four doors that hauls four adults. Smaller than a midsize but easier to park. A low mileage one should fit your budget. The fit & finish is a big step up from a Prius.
I'd prefer to buy from an individual and have a local repair shop check it out. I'd stay away from a rental car company or used car lot (the car will have no history/papers). Not saying you can't find a solid car at one of those places, though.
posted by artdrectr at 1:55 AM on February 8, 2018 [2 favorites]