Ask ATOT: Which car should I buy?

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Pciber

Senior member
Feb 17, 2004
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Looking for a mid-sized car, $3-5K. Looked around online, in local car traders, and at dealerships, and found a few that fitted my needs...

98' Chevy Malibu - 115K miles, $4300. White, no dings/dents. Could probably talk the dealer lower due to the one below... 6cyl, 4dr.

97' Chevy Malibu - 66K miles, $4500. Grey, no dings/dents. In a city 150 miles away. 6cyl, 4dr.

'99 Olds Intrigue - 105K miles, $3900. Red, haven't seen the car in person yet. 6cyl 4-door

2000 Pontiac Grand Am - 66k mi, $4300. In a city 300 miles away. 4cyl 2-door


Another model I considered but couldn't find any for a good price around here is ~97 VW jetta.

btw I am in Kennewick, WA (zip 99338) if you are wanting to look.
 
BurnItDwn

BurnItDwn

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
26,349
1,860
126
hmm ...
I'd go with the intrigue (my Mom has one, it's a pretty decent little car). It's got a decent amount of power, it handles OK.

I hate the malibu (had one as a loaner when my car was in the shop. IMO it's a total POS and I vow to NEVER be inside one ever again)
The 4cyl grand am has very little power, however, will still function OK. (my best buddy drives one of these.)

They are all GM, so I would expect reliabillity to be similar across the board.
 
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Pciber

Senior member
Feb 17, 2004
977
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Originally posted by: sniperruff
all of the above aren't really known for their reliability. look for a camry/accord/altima.
Click to expand...

price and space are big issues - i am not the smallest guy in the world, at 6'6" and 300lbs. I had to learn yoga to fit into and drive my brother's 96' accord. I hear the newer accords and camrys (98 and above) are bigger, but they are out of my price range. Altimas i dont think i fit into comfortably.
 
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tfinch2

Lifer
Feb 3, 2004
22,114
1
0
I would save a little more and get something nicer. If you are going to spend 3000 dollars on a car you could get one that lasts another 100k miles, or one that is going to give you headaches from day 1 and you will be out 3000 dollars.
 
Don Vito Corleone

Don Vito Corleone

Elite
Feb 10, 2000
30,029
67
91
My vote is for anything that isn't made by GM.

You'll fit fine into a Maxima - my father and I are both very tall, and he is so long-waisted that he doesn't fit into many cars. We both drive Maximas. They are great cars with crappy resale, which makes them killer deals on the used market.
 
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sniperruff

Lifer
Apr 17, 2002
11,644
2
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Originally posted by: Pciber
Originally posted by: sniperruff
all of the above aren't really known for their reliability. look for a camry/accord/altima.
Click to expand...

price and space are big issues - i am not the smallest guy in the world, at 6'6" and 300lbs. I had to learn yoga to fit into and drive my brother's 96' accord. I hear the newer accords and camrys (98 and above) are bigger, but they are out of my price range. Altimas i dont think i fit into comfortably.
Click to expand...

the malibu/grand am/intrigue is not any bigger than the accord. they are all entry mid-size's. for $5k you can get an impala under 100k miles if you try.

 
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freebee

Diamond Member
Dec 30, 2000
4,043
0
0
Olds Intrique. Not sure if that was the year they migrated from the 3.8 to the shortstar, but the 3.8 is very reliable. The mileage is reasonable, and as new, this was one of the top sedans in the category, matching camrys and accords.

The other cars that are listed are much worse and not competitve in performance or price.
 
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Pciber

Senior member
Feb 17, 2004
977
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Originally posted by: sniperruff
Originally posted by: Pciber
Originally posted by: sniperruff
all of the above aren't really known for their reliability. look for a camry/accord/altima.
Click to expand...

price and space are big issues - i am not the smallest guy in the world, at 6'6" and 300lbs. I had to learn yoga to fit into and drive my brother's 96' accord. I hear the newer accords and camrys (98 and above) are bigger, but they are out of my price range. Altimas i dont think i fit into comfortably.
Click to expand...

the malibu/grand am/intrigue is not any bigger than the accord. they are all entry mid-size's. for $5k you can get an impala under 100k miles if you try.
Click to expand...


i'de like an impala, but I can't find one in that price range around here.
 
F

flot

Diamond Member
Feb 24, 2000
3,197
0
0
Those all sound like pretty iffy choices in terms of what you're paying for what you get. Of course you weren't too specific about what you actually wanted out of a car.

If you are looking for a basic car, the best thing I've seen for $5000 would be a 2001-2002 Neon. You can pick one up in good/vg condition for $5k with reasonable (30,000-60,000 miles).

For any car in your price range BE SURE to get a carfax (www.carfax.com) account and run the vin # of anything you are seriously considering. Autotrader.com is probably the best place to search - if there is nothing in your area, keep expanding your area. Driving 200 miles to get the right car is better than driving 5 miles to get the wrong one.

Edit: Ok, you might be a little large for a neon... is there any particular reason you're looking at sedans? For the price you might be better looking at a used compact/mid size truck?
 
CrackRabbit

CrackRabbit

Lifer
Mar 30, 2001
16,642
62
91
OF the ones you have listed the Olds is by far the best. The Malibus are known to have horrible problems with thier brakes and transmissions and the Grand Am is a step and a half away from a Rolling Turd...
If you want to get a GM car look for a Buick Regal or Century (or Riviera, MMMMM supercharger) with a 3.8 ltr V6. The engine is solid and the transmission should get you to 150k+ easily.

 
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sniperruff

Lifer
Apr 17, 2002
11,644
2
0
i'd also keep an eye out for a ford focus. surely they are not known for their reliability, but i have huge amounts of headroom in that car (5'10), and the backseats ain't so bad either.
 
CrackRabbit

CrackRabbit

Lifer
Mar 30, 2001
16,642
62
91
Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Get this Malibu: http://www.vehiclemart.com/en_US/Kompact/unitDetail.asp?Unit=58900

Even if it is a bit out of the price range you want. :p

ZV
Click to expand...


I like the way you think :thumbsup::D

Originally posted by: sniperruff
i'd also keep an eye out for a ford focus. surely they are not known for their reliability, but i have huge amounts of headroom in that car (5'10), and the backseats ain't so bad either.
Click to expand...

Ford fixed alot of the Focus's quality problems after the '01 year model, the '02 on up are decent little cars.
 
ElFenix

ElFenix

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Mar 20, 2000
102,398
8,567
126
Originally posted by: sniperruff
i'd also keep an eye out for a ford focus. surely they are not known for their reliability, but i have huge amounts of headroom in that car (5'10), and the backseats ain't so bad either.
Click to expand...

carpoint thinks they're pretty reliable.
 
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