I have a 2010 Toyota Corolla. She’s been my trusty steed for the last 14 years and is in good working order. I recognize she won’t last forever, and if, god forbid (mostly for her) I get in an accident, I will need to get a new car. So what dumb cars do you drive, and what would you replace them with?
Get something similar but cheaper. Those things spend decades in the sands and humid cimates and they’re still rolling around. That Toyota will probably outlive you and your kids if you treat it well.
They’re like those Diesel powered Mercedes from the 90s but much cheaper and easier to fix.
And not as good
That’s personal preference tbh. I’d pick a shit box I can fix in an evening if it ever needs it to a finicky machine that requires years of antiquated experience to work on. I never wanna touch a mechanical fuel injector or have to take half the car apart to change a pulley.
Then again I own a modern Honda with a turbo snaked through the engine bay.
I’ve had far more joy driving a Merc than the shitbox Corolla that got to 100k and threw it’s piston rings. I went back to the dealer to ask them if it’s normal to top up the oil in between services. They looked me straight in the eye and said it normally consumes 1litre every 6k. It failed a short time later. This was after I spent weeks fixing a water leak into the cabin.
The reliability of Toyota and many Japanese brands is inflated by these type of shenanigans.