What are some VALID reasons why my next new car (most likely a compact) shouldn't be a Toyota or Honda?

A Hyundai is better than both... Looks better than both... And the warrantee is waaaay better than both.

Also, I should point out that, from what I've told, if I buy a Toyota a fair amount of my money goes to Japan, whether or not the car was actually built in the U.S. That doesn't concern me.

Sp!kes wrote:

A Hyundai is better than both... Looks better than both... And the warrantee is waaaay better than both.

Lol. Made my day.

Can't think of any.

If you enjoy the ride & response of a fun car or if you want to enjoy the looks of a car, then you should grow a pair and get a BMW.

If you buy a BMW you must buy 2 BMWs since one is always at the shop being repaired

My Mazda3 is way more fun to drive than a toyota or honda.

Thank you. I can honestly say that I'm not looking for a "fun to drive" car. I want a bulletproof car that will get me from A to B with no frills. But I want it to last for 10-15 years.

Sp!kes wrote:

A Hyundai is better than both... Looks better than both... And the warrantee is waaaay better than both.

This is true. Hyundai is like Honda & Toyota in the 80's. Look at consumer reports rating small cars. Elantra got 2nd overall.

The consumer reports list goes in order from best to worst

1. impreza, 2. elantra, 3. mazda3 tour, 4. focus, 5. sentra, 6. cruze eco, 7. focus again, 8. corolla, 9 kia forte, 10. mazda 3 sport, 11. cruze lt, 12. cruze ls, 13. jetta tdi, 14. civic hybrid.

Japanese cars are radioactive

my family currently has 4 hondas. one just got retired, (blown transmission, wasnt worth repair) at 298,000 miles (honda odyssey), 2 honda accords ('04 and '07, with 237,000 and 160,000) and a honda pilot (128,000). the things last forever. we had another accord years ago that lasted until like 350,000 miles. the accord is my favorite, absolutely amazing ride, deceptive amount of power. the accord v6 has roughly 245 horsepower, which is pretty damn good. they are super fun to drive. we also own a mazda6, which is decently fun to drive, but not as much as the accord, and is not nearly as dependable. we've put as much money into the mazda at 70,000 as we did into the accords at 150,000 in terms of repairs. i recently just bought a subaru impreza to branch out and try something new, its a great little car, fun to drive and super dependable (does much better off-roads), but still not as fun as the accord honestly, and has required somewhat more work as well.

so the answer to your question is: no, there is no reason to look at something besides a honda.

Buy a passat or beetle diesel. Great mileage and the engines last for about a million freaking miles. The new beetle actually looks cool, and if you want a small vehicle you're set. Will last forever and the beetle will never go out of style.

smart consumer wrote:

If you enjoy the ride & response of a fun car or if you want to enjoy the looks of a car, then you should grow a pair and get a BMW.

Since when is a BMW a good looking car? It looks just like a Toyota and worse than a Honda. The only good looking thing on a BMW unless its an M series is the badge. You must mean Merc or Audi for good looks.

The Hondas are not what they used to be. The newest Civic, for example, is not being recommended by Consumer Reports...

"Hopefully Honda can address the Civic’s shortcomings in a mid-cycle refresh. But for now, the Civic remains a considerable fumble in a newly competitive market segment."

http://news.consumerreports.org/cars/2011/10/2012-honda-civic-ex-testedbut-not-recommended.html

And Toyota has had some well publicized problems in recent years. It does appear that reliability is shifting towards Hyundai.

Not a single person I know with a VW has been happy with its reliability. As said about the BMWs above, "German engineering" is a myth.

I believe Toyotas in general will trump a Honda in reliabilty. Something not publicised much is that the 03-07 V6 Accords (and a few other models with shared drive train) are suceptible to sudden transmission failure. Some trannys failed below 50K. The four cylinder models didn't experience the issue nearly as much and are considered bulletproof.

Hyundais are now good cars with great warranty but horrible resale value. Not that OP would care... if he's planning to keep it for over a decade.

OP, if you want realiability with good power, get a Nissan. A maxima will blow the doors off pretty much any honda or toyota. Reliabilty is lower by a negligible margin.

Sorry, you did say compact. Is this because of gas mileage?

the general rule is never buy a car manufactured in a factory managed by an american, european, or korean company.

The Civic and Corolla are two horrendously cheap, boring, unattractive and uncomfortable cars - unbelievably worse every year.

The Mazda3 provides decent Japanese reliability in a MUCH more attractive package.

My mechanic doesn't like the Kia/Hyundai, but I'd still buy one of those before a Civic/Corolla.