(I put this under The Catholic Bunker, in that it at least remotely touches on disaster and urban preparedness. You always want a reliable car that doesn't spend half its time in the shop, a fortiori for if/when the SHTF.)
Those who read CI regularly may have heard of my car woes. It is back in the shop for the umpteenth time, and the mechanic tells me that they can't keep replacing the rack and pinion with remanufactured units, which is what the warranty covers. He told me that a new R&P would be about $800, and would have to be specially made (2009 Buick Lacrosse, piece of s*** car, lemon from day one, 126K miles). Purchasing and installing a new R&P would not come under warranty. If this is the case, I'm just going to park it in the short run --- I can drive my father's car, he no longer drives --- and get a good used car in the longer term. I'll probably just give it to Goodwill or a similar charity, as I don't want to sell it to an individual and have them on my doorstep when yet another thing goes wrong with it. I couldn't get pocket change out of a trade-in, no use even to think about it. The tax deduction would be more advantageous than that.
I am looking at Toyota Camrys, which are supposed to be an excellent car if you just maintain them as you should. I could get a 2018 Camry from Carmax for just shy of $20K. I am not in a position to spend any more than that on a car. Is the 2018 good? Any problems anyone knows of with that year of Camrys? Is there a preferred year (2016+) when the Camrys were especially good? Any years where the Camry had issues? (2009 was such a year for Buicks.)
Any ideas, I'd appreciate it. Either here on CI or PM is fine. Thanks in advance.