what cars should i avoid?

what cars should i avoid?

without being biased and saying civics because they are slow or something.
i was looking through the paper and they had a selection of 3 suzuki small sized cars. all of them came with decent standard options (a/c, power windows, locks...)
they had some great prices, from like $10k to 13k.
how crappy are these cars? are they like comparble to saturns or something, because saturns aren't anything special. you don't see barely any suzukis on the road. although, i don't think i could see myself owning a suzuki 3 years from now.

what car should i avoid? (something that will last 5 years +)
so far i've found this out
-pontiacs and chevys that use the 3XXX series engine tend to die after 75000 miles. i have proof from the same head gasket problem on my friends 95 grand am and my other friends 2000 malibu.
-neons- we all know they aren't anything that will last forever without tons of repairs, besides, the engine is under the dashboard
-saturns- i heard they were crap, and with plastic body panels, no thanks
-kias- come on, it means "killed in action"
-deawoo- what is that anyways?
-mazda- i heard since they got bought out by ford, they have been declining in quality. my mom's 626 isn't anything special
-fords- i don't find any ford cars all that atractive and they stand for "fix or repair daily", although my 95 aspire lasted 115k then died, but engine was still good, just crappy clutch, exhaust, brakes...
-hyundia- my dad's sante fe has had way to many critical recalls on it
-volkswagen- my sisters jetta is a gas hog and the interior is cheap(rubber coating on inside door puller handles came off after a year) and they seem to have a weak clearcoat, scratches easily. also, i heard long termwise, they don't tend to hold up well.

i'm wondering about nissian, honda, scion, toyota, saab...(saab, i wish)
i'm car shopping for something reliable, but i'm sure i'll go back to my instincts and get the Xa...thanks!
(ps, i'm not trying to knock any car, but i've personally driven in these cars and this is what i got for a first impression)

pretty much any honda or toyota will last you to 200k miles if you treat them right (i.e. 3000 mile oil changes, regular maintenance, stuff like that). scion is toyota, and though they haven't been around a while, i would expect the same. nissan is japanese too, so it'll take a lot to kill it. i've heard that they don't last quite as long as toyota/honda, but not positive. not really sure on saab

i know some people with GMs that had the 3XXX series engine, some 3.1 some 3.4 some 3.8's, and they all had over 200 000kms on the odometer and no major engine problems... Saab is owned by GM now, the 9-3 has a turbocharged version of ecotec 4 cylinder found in, yep, cavaliers and sunfires now (and soon, the cobalt)... Nothing will beat a toyota for reliability if you treat it well,s o get a toyota or scion (the xA has ECHO mechanicals in it, as in, ECHO chassis, engine, transmission, so it should be quite reliable).

yea, a lot of people with 2nd gen Neons have no problem with them

a lot of people with jettas have no problem with them

a lot of people with new saturns have no problem with them

a lot of people with the new cavvy's and malibus have no problem with them

a lot of.....

the list goes on.... so many stereotypes... so little time.

buy a toyota or honda i guess.

just get a tC =D

suzuki should have gone under a couple of years ago, IRC their resale value is also crap. Certainly avoid Mitsubishi. Do your research, look at resale values, quality reports, recalls, etc. Do your research before you spend your hard-earned money.

As long as you treat the car right, itll last a long ass time unless its crap from factory.

hyundai elantra, and you can get a new one for under 15k easily.. <a href="http://www.hyundaiusa.com/Vehicles/Elantra/Main.asp" target="_blank">http://www.hyundaiusa.com/Vehicles/Elantra/Main.asp</a>