I’ve Had Terrible Luck With Cars! What Should I Buy?

Tim is from Chicago and has owned a variety of vehicles, but has had bad luck with all of them. He needs something comfortable for a family of four, but not too big and with stress-free ownership. With a budget up to $35,000, what car should he buy?

(Welcome back to What Car Should You Buy? Where we give real people real advice about buying cars. Do you want us to help you find a car? Submit your story on our form.)

Here is the scenario:

The time has come for a new car. I have a wife and two boys, 10 and 5. Most of the cars in my life have been used and eventually things go horribly wrong with them. I’ve owned, in order, a 1987 Plymouth Reliant K, a 1989 Honda Civic DX, a 1992 Nissan Sentra SE-R (my favorite car that I’ve owned), a 1996 Subaru Legacy, a 2003 Ford Focus hatchback SVT, a 2006 Scion Xa, a 2013 Chevy Volt, and now I drive a 2009 Mini Cooper Clubman S. Our other current family car is a 2016 Honda Odyssey EX-L. I don’t drive much for work (mostly commuter train), but our family lives over 4 hours away so we take long car trips often to visit. I need another car that can fit my family in comfortably on long trips and is safe. We have a medium size dog too, but we try to leave her behind on long trips. I love manuals but my wife doesn’t know how to drive them, and it’s made things difficult in the past, so I need a car with an automatic.

We don’t want another van and an SUV is not preferred. Aside from the Odyssey, the only new car that we’ve owned is the Volt and that was a lease. All of the other cars were used and most I had to get rid of because they had numerous, expensive repairs that were needed all at the same time, worth way more then the value of the car, or they had a catastrophic failure of some sort. The Volt was great but wasn’t worth buying out the lease. I’m not opposed to an electric car again. It just needs to have enough range to drive 300+ miles. I really want something stress free this time around, and have a budget up to $35,000

Quick Facts:

Budget: up to $35,000

Location: Chicago, IL

Daily Driver: Yes

Wants: Room for the family, reliable

Doesn’t want: Something too big or expensive to maintain

That is quite a selection of previous rides, and while I sense a theme of sport compacts, it seems that something bigger is needed this time around. I understand your desire to avoid an SUV, but you are going to want something spacious for those long trips, and I don’t think the boys are going to be jazzed about being crammed in the back of a small car. Keep in mind that most “crossovers” are essentially lifted hatchbacks that ride a little higher but will likely provide the comfort you need.

In terms of reliability, electric vehicles are proving to be more durable than their gas-powered counterparts. You liked your Volt, but need something with more range. The Honda Prologue offers a great combination of GM’s excellent EV platform, with Honda’s build quality on top. You can score a front-drive model in the lower trims for well under $30,000, and those will get you beyond 300 miles of range. Meanwhile, the fancier versions with their dual-motor layout trade some range for more power and traction. Here is a 2024 fully-loaded Elite model in an excellent color with only 1,000 miles and is retailing for just over $30,000. This was a $60,000 car, and you can buy it practically brand new for half off.

Tim, I think you deserve something nice, so I have found you the only BMW iX on Autotrader for under $35,000. (There are a ton of them under $40k, so if you can stretch the budget a little you can find one in a better spec.) This xDrive50 model has a range of 324 miles, and it can DC fast-charge at up to 195 kW, which is good enough to go from 10%-80% in under 40 minutes. 

The iX’s exterior design might be divisive, but there’s no denying it’s got one of the nicest interiors on sale, even in boring black like this car. This one does have the crystal controls, though, which are awesome. The iX is extremely quiet, great to drive, and it has the best ride quality this side of a Mercedes-Maybach, which I’m sure the kids and dog and wife will appreciate. I promise the tech is easier to understand and live with than you may expect, too.

Tim, my coworkers here are leading you astray. You want a reasonably-sized reliable vehicle for making road trips to see your family, and they’re throwing SUVs from BMW and GM (even if it’s wearing a Honda badge) at you. I’m sorry they’re so set in their ways, but don’t worry. I’m here to help.

I’d love to recommend you an EV, but as a former Rochester NY resident I’m all too aware of the temperatures of those lake effect winters. Chicago cold will cut an EV’s range, and your use case is entirely road-tripping. No, you’re the rare use case where a gas car still makes perfect sense, and I have the perfect one for you: The Mazda3 hatch.

The cargo area should be more than big enough for your dog, just in case you take them with you on a trip, with a rear hatch that’s vertical enough to leave actual standing room — a criterion that eliminates my usual go-tos of the Honda Civic or Acura Integra. Plus, the Mazda3’s upscale interior will be a nice place to spend those hours driving over the river and through the woods.

Mazdas are generally reliable cars, and parts are generally cheap. Plus, the Mazda3 is affordable enough that you can buy new, which gives you plenty of warranty to help out with any unlikely major repairs. Here’s one near you that’s within your budget, and comes in a truly neat color to boot. You don’t need a brand-new platform from an automaker collaboration, or a used luxury EV out of Bavaria. Just get yourself a Mazda3, and make those road trips in stress-free reliable comfort.

Well, Tim, I was all set to recommend an EV for you. You said you’re open to EVs, it really isn’t hard to find gently used EVs with at least 300 miles of range for less than $35,000, and the one I found wasn’t even a Tesla. No, it was this BMW i4 that I still think would be a great choice. It has plenty of range, should be perfectly quiet and comfortable for those four-hour drives to visit family, and offers plenty of power for those times you just want to feel something while driving those boring Midwest roads.

Since it’s nearby and in budget, it’s basically perfect for you. But then I saw it. For a mere $2,000 extra, you could buy this 2004 Bentley Arnage with less than 20,000 miles on the odometer. Is it as new as the BMW? Nope. Will refueling on those long drives cost you way more than the BMW? Absolutely. Are the maintenance and repair costs going to be scary? For sure.

On the other hand, you already admitted you rarely drive, since you mostly take the train. So it wouldn’t need to be a daily driver. Since you won’t be driving it much, the terrible gas mileage won’t be an issue. And did I mention it’s a Bentley? This thing was built to devour highway miles in ultimate comfort, meaning you’ll arrive refreshed and de-stressed, something I always recommend when visiting family.

Get the BMW if you want to be boring, but you currently own a Mini, so I know you’re not boring. So come on. Live a little. Roll the dice on the Bentley.