What Make Of Car Is Most Repairable In The Sticks?

[jyl]

Still trying to pick a used car for the daughter.

To review: college kid, first car, new driver, car will mostly live in Eugene OR but during the summers will be driven to South Lake Tahoe CA where she works summers in a camp in the mountains. In future years that camp might be in Yosemite CA.

What I'm trying to figure out now is, suppose your car breaks down in a smallish city or town in the Sierras or between there and Oregon. Think Sonora, Groveland, Redding, Weed, South Lake Tahoe, Ashland, etc.

What make would be the best, for finding someone to fix it and getting parts?. Is it still best to stick with domestic? Or are the Japanese makes, like Toyota or Subaru, equally repairable in little towns?. I presume Europeans like Volvo, Audi, VW are to be avoided?

[pavulon]

Latest generation of Ford Focus would seem to check a fair number of the right boxes.

[look 171]

There are all sorts of Toyotas running around Tahoe or Yosemite. For summer, I say a Corolla for her. Folks might stock more parts for toyota pick ups. I am not sure if she would want to drive a truck.

[HardDrive]

I don't think the domestic/foreign considerations apply much if we're talking about Japanese cars. Toyota, Subaru, Ford, Chevy all would make good picks.

A Toyota Corolla, or pickup would work. A Ford Focus, Fusion,Taurus(500) would fit the bill. I think the Chevy Cruze is a great little car. Peppy turbo, good fit/finish.

[Don Ro]

In the sticks?
VW bug.

[Jeff Higgins]

Original air cooled VW Beetle. One of the simplest cars ever made, every small town still has some old codger who remembers what makes them tick. Lacking that old codger, any competent blacksmith or furrier can probably get one running again. You did say "the sticks", didn't you?

[Don Ro]

You stalking me?, Jeff.

[Tobra]

My buddy just got a CRV for his daughter, 2 wd $5K She is not going to need AWD, so it will be cheaper on insurance. Ford Focus is going to have parts at every FLAPS on 395 between The Lake and Eugene.

Smith Rock. just sayin' relatively close to Eugene

Also
Silver Creek Falls
Tell her to take her mountain bike with her

Actually with a bug, she can take everything with her in the spare tire well that is liable to go bad, and they are like working on a lawnmower. Would fit in well in Eugene too, maybe put some front disc brakes on it. Maybe throw Muir's book in there too with the spare cables.

[Don Ro]

"...maybe put some front disc brakes on it."
~~~~
Lots of bugs with nose dings...as I recall yrs. ago.
I had 3 of them in my days...best one - '67.
.
Bought a '61 w/80k on it...I put another 110k on her...never rebuilt.

[look 171]

Sticks? lake Tahoe is not really the sticks anymore. Towns are not all that far from each other and there are plenty people around to help if she has car trouble. Yosemite is not too bad neither, unless she's over the Mono lakes side where the towns are farther and fewer apart. Still, not too far. I forgotten to mention CRV until someone said it first. my father has the first gen. AWD. One tough little bugger and we never really needed any work but general maintenance. He has close to 180k on it now.

[stomachmonkey]

A carbed Cheby small block pick up with cap so you can sleep in it if need be.

Needed a new crankshaft for one of mine, dropped in at my local Dunkin Donuts and picked one up.

[VincentVega]

Civic, corolla, crv, focus... all are so popular most common parts are in just about every parts store or there by the next day.

Best bet is to just replace the coils, plugs, brakes, hoses, belts... before she leaves. Check the axels/joints and give it a once over every few months. If a fuel pump, window switch or something fails just about any decent shop can have it back on the road very quickly.

[Don Ro]

"...dropped in at my local Dunkin Donuts and picked one up."
~~~~~

.
Did they glaze it for you.

[wayne robson]

Agree with look 171,on both comments , Corolla hatch or sedan or pickup from
2003,is one of the most reliable cars made,and plenty of parts available,also i lived
up and in that area for 10 years. Good luck.

[John Rogers]

I agree with an air cooled VW as number 1, then any model Ford Pickup, any model Chevy pickup, both possibly a 4 wheel drive model.

[mattdavis11]

If your princess needs to have functional A/C, the CRV would be out. Failure rate is near 100% after 7 years. Parts can be had easily, but the labor is 7.5 hours.

My suggestion is for a V6 Toyota Camry, 1997-2001. Safe, reliable, 25mpg, plenty of power for hills, comfortable, and parts can be found anywhere. Only thing of concern, make sure the rear cam cover gasket has been replaced. No need to worry about the timing belt, they last forever, and it's not an interference engine.

[afterburn 549]

Air cooled VW or Maverick .
They are about as simple as it gets

[jhynesrockmtn]

I agree the VW is simple to repair but I would not put my daughter in one. They lack some very basic safety features. Modern seatbelts, seats that won't rip from the rusty floor, crumple zones, reinforced doors, airbags, brakes that work. Look up which did well in crash tests. I'd get into the 2000's and go Honda, Toyota or maybe Subaru. What's the budget?

[yetibone]

Corolla, Civic, or Focus. Three of the most popular small cars these days, so parts will be available, or obtainable most anywhere. They all are as about as reliable as sunrise, and very durable. They're not hard to work on, and very easy to find any kind of repair info for

Old Beetles are highly reputable for ease of use and repair in such conditions as the OP described, but I've personally found that the quality of a lot of new parts is absolutely terrible on ACVW stuff. NOS parts are getting hogged up by collectors, and restorers so they're price for purchase is astronomical, if even obtainable at all. Also, a majority of them are well over 40 years old now and would have trouble delivering expected returns in reliability, no matter what the mechanical condition of the car is.

[recycled sixtie]

Without a doubt a Corolla or Camry even older ones if $$$ are an issue. I could not imagine my daughter in an old VW Beetle, gas tank sitting in the front of the car, tepid heater or intermittent gas heater.

You need a Toyota so it is less likely to break down in the first place.
Cheers, Guy