Hey guys, newbie here!

I'm in the market to buy a new car. Has owned a 01 Accord sedan, 170k miles on it. With my new job, I have to commute 45 miles each way, so I'm looking for a car that is good on gas and extremely reliable (want to own for at least 10 years), and looks good

Not in a hurry to buy, but I've been researching a bit and here are what I narrow down to these 2: (listed in order of preference

1) 2012 Accord coupe: I've always wanted a coupe (I'm still in my mid-20s), and this car is a beauty in my opinion for its price range. It's very spacious for a coupe, pretty good MPG (around 26-28mpg mixed. But with my commute 85% highway, it could be higher (although I'm nowhere near a conservative driver).
Price will be extremely negotiable since it is in its last year before the redesign next year. I'm able to get 2500k off before any negotiation. And Accord is known for its reliability

2) 2012 Camry: Reliable, and comfortable ride. New design, and new techs. Great gas among its competition, and prices were lowered this year. But the new design is meh, and I can see my father driving this car, not me haha.

Any suggestions. I'm highly leaning towards the Accord, but since this is my first true car purchase with my own money, advice would be helpful. Suggestions for other cars that I should consider would be great also!

 

I recently bought a 2011 Prius. I have a similar highway commute (rarely stop-and-go) and average about 50 MPG. The car is quite roomy and comfortable, even in the back seat. Cargo space with the rear seat up is OK and quite generous with the rear seat folded. The car won't win many drag races, except against my previous Subaru Outback wagon and a Smart car, but is acceptable for commuting. Prices and availability are improving now that Toyota has full product flow going. There will be some minor updates coming for 2012 including artificial engine noise when running in EV mode, standard backup camera (IIRC), and updated front/rear fascia. (I like the EV stealth mode in the 2011. I can arrive home and the dog doesn't even hear me.) For me, it's a nice alternative to my LS430.

 

If you are in no hurry to buy, then my best recommendation is to go to as many dealers as possible and sit and test drive as many cars as possible.

Of course, do your homework first and see what the reviews state and what the reliability ratings are, but narrowing it down to two cars that honestly are quite boring-but-safe choices right off the bat kind of defeats the purpose of the fun of shopping for a new car

 

After reading your post I'd say buy the Accord Coupe. Like you said, you always wanted a coupe. The Accord is a good choice. You are young. Buy the car you want to buy, not the car you have to buy. As long as the car does chat you need it to do. Buying a car should be all about passion for as long as life allows it. When you get older you can settle and buy the practical car, or if you have enough money buy both the practical car and the car you are passionate about. I'd also take a look at the Hyundai Genisis Coupe too.

 

True, and I would love to do that but I work 5 days a week (and the commute makes it seem longer haha). On my days off, I wanna catch up with family and friends haha.

But you're right, I should allocate some time to test driving some cars to make sure.

Personally for me, reliability is the most important factor right now, so I don't mind settling for "boring but safe" choices as long as the car lasts for another 10 years. My current Accord has been bullet-proof as I have just have had to basically do regular maintenances on it. I hope my next car will have the same reliability. And I know those 2 cars are known for its reliability.

I admit I'm not a huge car guy, so I'm here for advice

 

I'm sorry but Honda quality has gone down the drain as of late. I used to be a Honda fanboy, loved the **** out of my 98 Honda Prelude but we got my brother a brand new civic back in 2008 and its had nothing but issues that Honda isn't really correcting.

Issues off the top of my head:

Sun Visors - Been through a few of these. They have faulty hinges, they simply break and the sun visor doesn't stay up. Either your driving, hit a bump and it falls down into your vision, or it just completely breaks after a while and it always down. You have to tape it up to keep it out of your face. I think my brother's Civic is on his 4th now? Their fix is to replace the visor if your under warranty, otherwise your out of luck. Problem is, even the fix doesn't last long.

Brakes - Don't last more than 20k. First pads had to be replaced before 20k, second didn't last long either, and now the car has 55k miles and is on its 3RD! set of brakes. And no its not my brothers driving...pads used to last at least 50k on his old car. Talked to a couple other Civic owners at the dealership that have the same damn problem too.

Engine - Luckily we haven't had this issue...and i hope we don't. The metal used on the block is apparently thin and cracks over time on many of them. Leaking out coolant and requiring a new block. Happened to my girlfriends best friend right before warranty was up and there's countless complaints on the internet. I was hoping it was an issue just confined to her car, but after doing some internet research..i was shocked at how many people have the issue.
http://www.carcomplaints.com/Honda/C...ed_block.shtml

All in all, my brothers Civic will be lucky if it sticks around past the end of this year. My brother is tired of it and i'm tired of spending weekends when i go home at the Honda dealership to service my brothers car for every little thing. We got the extended warranty, so we are covered, but i don't think we are gonna hang onto his car. My coworker has an 07 i believe with the same brake wear and sun visor issues.

Not saying all of Honda's cars are crap, but just be careful when buying one of these newer ones. The old ones used to be TANKS. But these new ones made me switch to a Lexus. I really wanted an Accord V6 Coupe too...but not after my brothers issues.

 

Welcome to CL and CAR CHAT.

Hard to go wrong with a new Accord coupe, if that's what you want. Although there is some increasing cheapness in the interiors of new Hondas, and more hard-plastic inside, I disagree withat least some of the comments about Honda quality going down the drain. The Accord has had a long record of above-average reliability, according to Consumer Reports, though, as KillaIS250 pointed out, 2008 models had some brake-issues. Older ones, such as the 1999-2003 models, also had automatic-transmission issues, but those are long gone.

If you want a Camry, it is all new-this year. I just reviewed the top-line XLE V6 version myself, and another CL member (RX 3300) did an excellent write-up on the 4-cylinder XE.

Here you are:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...ry-xle-v6.html

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/car...012-camry.html

 

Ahem, this being CLUB LEXUS, well-maintained used ES, HS, or LS units would also be good choices.

 

True, but they don't call this forum CAR CHAT for nothing. Maybe he (or she) simply prefers a brand-new car (as I usually do) and doesn't want to spend the kind of money a new Lexus would run. Entry-level Lexus products typically run 30-40K, but, for that price, one can often get a top-line Honda/Toyota.......and still keep some money in the bank.

 

keep the 170K accord for commuting!!!!

 

If ur looking to buy a nice reliable car y not look into Lexus as well.. Not to say that hondas and toyota are not, but if ur looking to buy and keep the car for that long, why not look at the Lexus ct200.. It's gets good Milage, GREAT LOOKING CAR.. I'm pretty sure it's is reliable too

 

I think you should go for the accord. Looks pretty good and it fits what you need.

 

Since you are not in a hurry to buy, why not wait for the upcoming new cars. If coupe is what you want, how about the new Scion FT86 production car? And if you could accept wagon type of car, I would suggest a 2012 Mazda 3 hatchback. It doesn't have new look but new engine which is more fuel economical than the 2011. I don't think either of them would look like you are driving your father's car. Among the ones you provided us, I would choose Accord coupe, simply because it suits your age more, although the new Camry has a nice interior design imo.

 

I'd pick one of those over the Accord coupe too. 10 year warranty plus a much better vehicle all around and actually has quite a bit of room inside for cargo if need be.

 

Go used, you can get yourself some nice luxury cars for the same coin. For example a 3 series coupe would be a lot nicer than an Accord coupe.