Best car for commuting

[cynthia1848]

Need to replace 13-year-old car used for commuting.  As an aside, biking, public transport, and moving are not options: time is money.  Commute is 10 miles one way.  What would you get?

[huadpe]

Assuming that this is the United States, I think the best value used car is probably an 04-09ish hyundai elantra.  They're common, but not as ubiquitous as corollas or civics, but the depreciation on them has been brutal.  I've seen perfectly driveable elantras for like $3500 in my area.  For whatever reason, hyundais (unlike hondas) do not keep their value at all.  But since you're buying used, that's good for you as it means a bargain price.

KBB says a 2006 elantra with 60k miles and standard trim is $5535 in my area.  Same year Civic with same miles and standard trim is $8600.

[Rebecca Stapler]

I love my 2006 Prius! I regularly get 40 MPGs and it has retained its value pretty well. I have yet to need any maintenance on it aside from a new headlight (knock on wood) and I bought it in 2009. It's a smooth ride, but one downside is the road noise on the highway; I wish it were a little quieter at higher speeds. Instead, it's really quiet at low speeds and I have to honk to startle squirrels in my way while I'm rolling into the driveway at 5 MPH.

[nawhite]

Depends on what those 10 miles are like. If it is 10 miles of stop and go, a prius is an excellent option. If it is 9.5 miles of 60mph highway which is never congested, then a prius is going to lose to a civic or an elantra, especially if you don't need AC.

We have a 2001 2-door civic which gets 40-45 mpg since we bypassed the AC pulley completely. Big fan of the Civic personally, at the 120k mile checkup the only thing they had to do was change the wiper blades. In 5 years and 40k miles I've spent $450 in addition to normal maintenance. Compared to the $4000 I've spent repairing a Subaru Outback its a much better deal.

[Rebecca Stapler]

Depends on what those 10 miles are like. If it is 10 miles of stop and go, a prius is an excellent option. If it is 9.5 miles of 60mph highway which is never congested, then a prius is going to lose to a civic or an elantra, especially if you don't need AC.

IDK what mileage a civic or elantra gets, but I was getting 40 MPGs doing 72 MPH on a non-congested highway for 95% of my commute.

[RadicalPersonalFinance]

Well, if you can wait a little bit, you will be able to get this 84mpg car new for $6,800: http://www.eliomotors.com/my-strengths/

[oldtoyota]

Based on my screen name, you know what I'll recommend. Toyotas run forever.

[Paul der Krake]

Assuming that this is the United States, I think the best value used car is probably an 04-09ish hyundai elantra.  They're common, but not as ubiquitous as corollas or civics, but the depreciation on them has been brutal.  I've seen perfectly driveable elantras for like $3500 in my area.  For whatever reason, hyundais (unlike hondas) do not keep their value at all.  But since you're buying used, that's good for you as it means a bargain price.

KBB says a 2006 elantra with 60k miles and standard trim is $5535 in my area.  Same year Civic with same miles and standard trim is $8600.

Wow, that really is a bargain. I wonder if there is a reason behind this, or whether it's just consumers not wanting to buy used Hyundais because they don't have quite the mainstream reliability reputation of Toyota/Honda yet.

[MgoSam]

Honestly, that Elio looked too good to be true. I am not a techie or someone that follows autos but it seems interesting enough. Being made in the US is also a bonus!

[Matte]

2007-2011 cobalt, 5 speed xfe (extra fuel efficiency)  40mpg, dirt cheap in my area, an 08 with options is worth about 4k. Really well built cars, has been trouble free for me, and depreciated like crazy, I guess people assume its crap cuz its domestic.  It's a super easy car to do brakes and oil changes on, my 08 has 180 xxx km on it and it's held up very well with very minor issues. It has never been to a mechanic since new at 5 years old