My 2000 Ford Taurus has been in the shop more times than I can count in the past 2 years. It is becoming a real money pit, and I'm done with it. I am in the market for a newer used car. I don't have a full time job otherwise I would buy my first new car and pay it off in installments, but I do have a decent amount of money to spend (given to me as a present for completing my Masters, and specifically for a car).

The problem is I don't even know where to begin. I would like it to be pretty safe and reliable as I hope to have it for a long time and eventually tote a family around in it. I've always had sedans but I'm not against a crossover or small SUV, but I also don't want to be spending an arm and a leg on gas.

Does anyone have a car out there from around 2009 or newer that they absolutely love and have not had any problems with? I don't want to run into the same problems I did with my current car. I bought it used when it was about 6 years old, got 3 good years out of it, but the last 2-3 have been awful(it's not even at 100,000 miles yet). I want a vehicle with a lot of life left in it.