Good choices for used car?

[cheesehead]

A friend of mine is pondering a new car, and some suggestions I came up with are as follows:

1. Subaru Outback station wagon. You can get a 2000-2001 with ~85,000 miles and low-end trim for under $5k. AWD, cargo capacity, and safety are good; performance and fuel economy not so much.
2. Mazda 626. You can get one for a few hundred dollars less than a Subaru of equivalent trim, age, and miles. It lacks 4WD, but the fuel economy is better.

Any other suggestions? Anyone owned either of these and have useful info on reliability, service costs, and the like?

 

[Mide]

So his price range is $5k?

 

[joesmoke]

ill sell him my 04 civic sedan for 6500 :laugh:

 

[cheesehead]

Originally posted by: Mide
So his price range is $5k?

He'd like to spend less, I'd like him to spend more.

I might be buying a car in a few months myself, so it's useful information.

Originally posted by: joesmoke
ill sell him my 04 civic sedan for 6500 :laugh:

That's suspiciously cheap.

 

[angry hampster]

Look at Buick Regals. They're great cruisers, very safe, good fuel mileage (~30highway) and the 3.8 V6 will probably outlast you. Since its a Buick, the resale isn't very good. You should be able to get an '01 model with decent options for that kinda money and reasonable mileage.

 

[cheesehead]

Originally posted by: angry hampster
Look at Buick Regals. They're great cruisers, very safe, good fuel mileage (~30highway) and the 3.8 V6 will probably outlast you. Since its a Buick, the resale isn't very good. You should be able to get an '01 model with decent options for that kinda money and reasonable mileage.

A fellow I know who had one said to avoid it like the plague - the engine and transmission were okay, but the interior fell to bits.

EDIT: Getting one below 100,000 miles means spending $6k+. I'd rather have the Subaru.

 

[theeedude]

Maxima

 

[cheesehead]

I've mostly been looking on Autotrader - can anyone recommend some alternatives? CarSoup seems totally useless, and digging through every Craigslist listing within 100 miles of here is impossible.

Originally posted by: senseamp
Maxima

Nice car, but it seems a little bit too expensive - with a few suspiciously cheap examples, most with <100k miles are over $6k.

Are the Altimas best avoided?

 

[mwmorph]

Originally posted by: Cheesehead
I've mostly been looking on Autotrader - can anyone recommend some alternatives? CarSoup seems totally useless, and digging through every Craigslist listing within 100 miles of here is impossible.

Originally posted by: senseamp
Maxima

Nice car, but it seems a little bit too expensive - with a few suspiciously cheap examples, most with <100k miles are over $6k.

Are the Altimas best avoided?

Nissans have never had stellar reliability, they've always been mediocre/middling/meh in that respect.

You could get a really newish Geo/Chevy Prizm. It's a GM badged corolla, going as far as sharing all the drivetrain and most electronics. The biggest differences between a Prizim and Corolla of the same year is the radio.

They are assembled side by side in the joint venture GM/Toyota NUMMI plant in California and just about all mechanical parts are interchangeable.

The resale values of Geo Prizms are usually decently high for a GM but low for a Toyota which is a good deal for what you get.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Prizm

Like this:
http://www.cars.com/go/search/...cnum=5&leadExists=true

 

[angry hampster]

Originally posted by: Cheesehead

A fellow I know who had one said to avoid it like the plague - the engine and transmission were okay, but the interior fell to bits.

EDIT: Getting one below 100,000 miles means spending $6k+. I'd rather have the Subaru.

You not bother searching?

Text

 

[theeedude]

Try Ford Focus too. They drive great and are pretty reliable and cheap.

 

[cheesehead]

Originally posted by: angry hampster

You not bother searching?

Text

None like that within 100 miles of my house. And it's still more than I wanted to spend, for a car I don't particularly like. I'm also a little leery of anything more than ten years old - especially domestics.

Originally posted by: mwmorph

You could get a really newish Geo/Chevy Prizm. It's a GM badged corolla, going as far as sharing all the drivetrain and most electronics. The biggest differences between a Prizim and Corolla of the same year is the radio.

That's an extremely good deal, but a little bit too small. Shame they didn't Geo-ize the Camry.

Originally posted by: senseamp
Try Ford Focus too. They drive great and are pretty reliable and cheap.

And, around here, weirdly expensive - it was my first choice.

 

[Black88GTA]

What type / class of car is desired? What are his priorities? What does he need to do with it? Does he want fun to drive, good fuel mileage, luxury cruiser, commuter, lots of cargo room? How old / high mileage is he willing to go? Can he turn a wrench himself, or will this be serviced exclusively at a dealership? Brand bias? etc...

You're providing no direction here. There are thousands of different makes / models of all different ages and mileage within the generic "$5k give or take" category. You will get no useful suggestions unless you provide more details.

Oh, and I have a Subaru that I picked up recently with a little over 100k on it as a project. IT'S A MONEY PIT. Contrary to popular ATOT belief, just because it's Japanese doesn't make it magically able to run forever without repairs. At this point - based on my own experiences with both GM and Subaru - I'd trust a used Regal with 100K on it more than a used Subaru with 100K on it.

Just my .02.

 

[cheesehead]

Originally posted by: Black88GTA
What type / class of car is desired? What are his priorities? What does he need to do with it? Does he want fun to drive, good fuel mileage, luxury cruiser, commuter, lots of cargo room? How old / high mileage is he willing to go? Can he turn a wrench himself, or will this be serviced exclusively at a dealership? Brand bias? etc...

Delivery guy ATM - hatchback/wagon or large trunk a major plus. Fuel economy and rear legroom would be nice, while speed and luxury aren't very important. Dislikes Subarus and domestics (though I could probably badger him into buying one of either.) No more than ten years old (2000 model year) or 100,000 miles. Lives in an apartment and can't do any work himself.

Originally posted by: Black88GTA

Oh, and I have a Subaru that I picked up recently with a little over 100k on it as a project. IT'S A MONEY PIT. Contrary to popular ATOT belief, just because it's Japanese doesn't make it magically able to run forever without repairs. At this point - based on my own experiences with both GM and Subaru - I'd trust a used Regal with 100K on it more than a used Subaru with 100K on it.

Year/model/ specific issues? I see Subarus with 150,000 miles on a regular basis, so I'd figure they held up okay.

 

[Black88GTA]

Originally posted by: Cheesehead

Originally posted by: Black88GTA
What type / class of car is desired? What are his priorities? What does he need to do with it? Does he want fun to drive, good fuel mileage, luxury cruiser, commuter, lots of cargo room? How old / high mileage is he willing to go? Can he turn a wrench himself, or will this be serviced exclusively at a dealership? Brand bias? etc...

Delivery guy ATM - hatchback/wagon or large trunk a major plus. Fuel economy and rear legroom would be nice, while speed and luxury aren't very important. Dislikes Subarus and domestics (though I could probably badger him into buying one of either.) No more than ten years old (2000 model year) or 100,000 miles. Lives in an apartment and can't do any work himself.

Sounds like he needs a minivan or something. I'll be honest, if you exclude all domestics and anything older than 2000 and over 100k, you won't really find much at the $5k price point. I was going to say Mazda5, but those are well out of his price range.

He could probably get into a Golf or Passat wagon for that, but those would be the years where they had coil pack issues, IIRC. Plus, an out of warranty euro car maybe isn't the best choice for someone who isn't able to work on it themselves and doesn't have heaps of disposable cash for service.

Drop the "no domestics" requirement, and you have all sorts of options. A 3-door Focus would probably fit the bill nicely.

Originally posted by: Black88GTA

Oh, and I have a Subaru that I picked up recently with a little over 100k on it as a project. IT'S A MONEY PIT. Contrary to popular ATOT belief, just because it's Japanese doesn't make it magically able to run forever without repairs. At this point - based on my own experiences with both GM and Subaru - I'd trust a used Regal with 100K on it more than a used Subaru with 100K on it.

Year/model/ specific issues? I see Subarus with 150,000 miles on a regular basis, so I'd figure they held up okay.

1994 Subaru SVX. Granted, not the most common Subaru on the planet. The engines regularly run into 200k and beyond with no problems, but the maintenance must be kept up on. Admittedly, mine was neglected before I got it.

My car needed a new transmission (the biggest issue with the SVX in general), a complete brake overhaul, all new cam / crank seals, all new exhaust, new oxygen sensors, new MAF sensor, valve cover gaskets, spark plugs, every bit of the sound system was shot...etc. Based on the condition of the car when I got it, all of these things (aside from the trans) have evidently been necessary for some time, but the previous owner just ignored them. :roll:

My point is that once a car gets some mileage on it, it's reliability / condition is more a function of the owner and how it was driven and maintained, rather than the car itself. A 100k mile anything has the potential to be a money pit, or a great car. Buick is right up near the top for reliability as well, and has been for years. It's public perception of GM as a whole that is the problem.

 

[theeedude]

Originally posted by: Cheesehead

Originally posted by: senseamp
Try Ford Focus too. They drive great and are pretty reliable and cheap.

And, around here, weirdly expensive - it was my first choice.

Expensive in terms of asking price? Have you tried bargaining?
Usually people ask for a lot more than they will accept, because everyone low balls from the asking price.
I listed my old car for what I wanted for it, and everyone kept low balling me. Then I changed the asking price to 30% above what I would take, and voila, got what I wanted.

 

[StageLeft]

Agree, honda and toyota are generally a bad pick used. People overvalue them and thus the amount of money to get, say, a Nissan, you'll end up with a much older/more used Honda.

 

[cheesehead]

Originally posted by: senseamp

Originally posted by: Cheesehead

Originally posted by: senseamp
Try Ford Focus too. They drive great and are pretty reliable and cheap.

And, around here, weirdly expensive - it was my first choice.

Expensive in terms of asking price? Have you tried bargaining?
Usually people ask for a lot more than they will accept, because everyone low balls from the asking price.
I listed my old car for what I wanted for it, and everyone kept low balling me. Then I changed the asking price to 30% above what I would take, and voila, got what I wanted.

The fellow in question is currently driving a Focus wagon with 150,000 miles. It's 11 years old and falling apart. He'd actually quite like a 3-door focus (esp. wit the 2.3L engine) but everyone around here seems to be asking $7k for one under 100,000 miles.

Originally posted by: Black88GTA
[
Sounds like he needs a minivan or something. I'll be honest, if you exclude all domestics and anything older than 2000 and over 100k, you won't really find much at the $5k price point. I was going to say Mazda5, but those are well out of his price range.

He could probably get into a Golf or Passat wagon for that, but those would be the years where they had coil pack issues, IIRC. Plus, an out of warranty euro car maybe isn't the best choice for someone who isn't able to work on it themselves and doesn't have heaps of disposable cash for service.

Drop the "no domestics" requirement, and you have all sorts of options. A 3-door Focus would probably fit the bill nicely.

The problem with domestics is that many of them were pretty awful. The drivetrains in older GM products are very reliable, but the build quality on almost everything else is pathetic - especially the interior. And I'm not even going to think about an old Escort or Windstar.

The mechanic around the corner (who is something of a specialist in Volkswagens - he drives an ancient Golf GTI) says to avoid Audi/VW whenever possible. He's been fixing cars for a good four decades, so I'd be inclined to believe him.

Originally posted by: Black88GTA
My point is that once a car gets some mileage on it, it's reliability / condition is more a function of the owner and how it was driven and maintained, rather than the car itself. A 100k mile anything has the potential to be a money pit, or a great car.

The issue is that you bought a sports car with (at the time) high-performance components. These were generally driven quite hard. I'm looking for an underpowered station wagon of the sort driven almost exclusively by soccer moms and other wearers of sensible shoes.

Originally posted by: Black88GTA
Buick is right up near the top for reliability as well, and has been for years. It's public perception of GM as a whole that is the problem.

There's still the issue of price - you can't get a good Buick for $5k around here. And no hatchbacks/wagons.

 

[cheesehead]

Double-post.