cheap cars? suggestions?

[Jejunum]

a few questions:


What are some older cars that are reliable that have diesels?


i am looking for a CHEAP low maintenence (oil changes and gas!), manual transmission car (note any kinda engine as long as it wont break (i only need it for 1 year and aproximately 12k miles) )

thnx guys!

 

[Jejunum]

one self serving bump then i let it die

 

[geekender]

Volkswagen Rabbit. I had one that I bought for $800. Got 60mpg and was a daily driver for a year. Cheap to buy, parts are cheap (in relation to benz, volvo, etc.)

 

[amnesiac]

Old *diesel* cars? Try a benz. Those things never die and you can pick up an old one for cheap.

edit - only automatic, no manual trannys, sorry.

Why do you insist on manual?

 

[Jejunum]

Why do you insist on manual

i need to get good hehe

 

[KingNothing]

Originally posted by: Jejunum
a few questions: What are some older cars that are reliable that have diesels? i am looking for a CHEAP low maintenence (oil changes and gas!), manual transmission car (note any kinda engine as long as it wont break (i only need it for 1 year and aproximately 12k miles) ) thnx guys!

Why do you want a diesel? And why do you only need it for a year? What are you going to do with the car?

 

[RossMAN]

What do you define as cheap, give us a $?

 

[amnesiac]

Do they even MAKE any manual tranny diesels? I can't recall ever seeing one...I mean, I'm sure they exist but diesels in themselves are rare enough nowadays.

As far as cheapie manual cars go, try for a honda CRX. it's a great starter car and all my friends who had one to start with loved them

 

[geekender]

Why do you want a diesel? And why do you only need it for a year? What are you going to do with the car?

Gas mileage? Who cares. If the man wants a diesel for a cross country trip and he is a starving college student, so be it.

 

[Jejunum]

id like to spend no more than $1000

id also like it to be fuel efficeint (heh predicting gas crisis i am)

it doesnt need to be a diesel; i just think it would be super neat

i figure $1000 for a car that lasts a year (with no extra stuff breaking) is a good deal for me; if it lasts more than a year super! it would be a daily driver as well as a car for me to get good with a manual tranny on; i always have my subaru to fall back on if it breaks (heh after the one yr period of course )

 

[amnesiac]

Why would it be so "neat" to have a diesel? It's just noisy, hard to maintain, and hard to find gas for. If you have a compact 4-banger manual transmission car it'll be fairly fuel efficient anyway.

Also, for less than $1000 I seriously doubt you'll find a car that's "cheap low maintenance."
You can probably find some junker that needs a complete overhaul, but for pete's sake even a Pinto costs around $300-400.

 

[Jejunum]

Also, for less than $1000 I seriously doubt you'll find a car that's "cheap low maintenance."

yah wishful thinking damnit! hehe

 

[RalphTheCow]

Something like this 1989 Acura Integra, although you should look locally and try to find one with less miles.

I have driven one of these for 13 years and it has been an excellent car. You could also try a 1986-1989 Honda Accord, but I would only get a fuel injected one (LXi model).

I would stay away from diesel because of possible high maintenance cost. Manual trans is a good idea for an old car, I don't trust autos.

 

[vi edit]

Look for a 90'ish escort. Should be able to find one in that price range. 35-40 MPG on the highway if you baby it, very reliable, and cheap as hell to fix.

 

[thawolfman]

Originally posted by: amnesiac 2.0
Do they even MAKE any manual tranny diesels? I can't recall ever seeing one...I mean, I'm sure they exist but diesels in themselves are rare enough nowadays.

As far as cheapie manual cars go, try for a honda CRX. it's a great starter car and all my friends who had one to start with loved them

Yeah my buddies ex-gf has a Diesel 5-speed Jetta. It moves pretty good and gets some sweet gas mileage

 

[Dark4ng3l]

well uh my friend got a turbodiesel 86 jetta for 50$..... cant beat that value!

Edit
oh yean and it's manual too, maybe you should look for 90-92 diesel jetta's....

 

[Jejunum]

hmm acura integra eH?

anything i should avoid/look for in the integra series (certain years etc etc?)

 

[Jejunum]

well uh my friend got a turbodiesel 86 jetta for 50$..... cant beat that value! .

damn thats exactly what i want! but i can go higher in price too hehe

 

[RalphTheCow]

>>hmm acura integra eH?

>>anything i should avoid/look for in the integra series (certain years etc etc?)

Check for oil leaks at the head gasket, that's a common problem. Also rust on the rear wheel wells.