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Help me out and suggest a car? I'm in a bind, and it sucks

D

djheater

Lifer
In this thread, I detailed how I totalled my 98 Neon, it had lots of issues but it was paid off and would have lasted 3 more years if I had been gentle with it, unfortunately it didn't work out that way.

I don't know a whole lot about cars and would appreciate any suggestions for a car at about $2500 that will last three more years, my wife will be out of school and working and we'll actually be able to afford to live. We were in the hole a little already and this is just going to push us down in a bit deeper.

I'm not scared to do a little work, on the 98 I replaced the radiator and did my own brakes, but I don't have the equipment or knowledge to do anything major, not to mention I can't afford to be without it while I'm working on it....

Anyway, help a brother out and give me some good suggestions, my dream would be that my father-in-law would let me buy his 2000 Neon (manual, 62k, A/C) for $3000), but I think even at that price, which I can't really afford, he'd be shooting himself in the foot...
Who knows, maybe he'll consider it charity...

TIA

 
I'm sure you can find a nissan that will make it that long. If there's one car company I'd turn to in a bind like that, it would be the Nissan and the Sentra IMHO.
 
Originally posted by: acemcmac
I'm sure you can find a nissan that will make it that long. If there's one car company I'd turn to in a bind like that, it would be the Nissan and the Sentra IMHO.
Click to expand...

True; you could get a Civic or Corolla, but it would have to be REALLY old at that price point.
 
Two words for you. Chevy Prizim. Toyota Corolla with a chevy badge slapped on it.
An older Sentra/200sx probably wouldnt be bad.

 
Originally posted by: jagec
Originally posted by: acemcmac
I'm sure you can find a nissan that will make it that long. If there's one car company I'd turn to in a bind like that, it would be the Nissan and the Sentra IMHO.
Click to expand...

True; you could get a Civic or Corolla, but it would have to be REALLY old at that price point.
Click to expand...

not really; our 1996 corolla would sell for around $2k, but it's still good to go for at least another 3 years - granted, we only have around 85k miles on it, but corollas are known to last much longer than that anyway. and the only real difference between the 1996 corolla and new corollas that i can tell is that it's not *nearly* as comfortable, and there's no CD player.
 
early 90's Volvo 240
Mid 90's Taurus not the 3.8 l
late 90's lumina or Ford Escort 'same as protege'
 
once again to the Geo/Chevy Prizm idea. they cost less because they don't say "Toyota" on them, but that's what they are. they will definetely hold their own for a few years.
 
Originally posted by: desy
early 90's Volvo 240
Mid 90's Taurus not the 3.8 l
late 90's lumina or Ford Escort 'same as protege'
Click to expand...

wow, i can't imagine a worse set of recommendations. volvo's, while great and reliable cars, are EXTREMELY expensive to work on, and MUST have their scheduled services done or they will run poorly (they're basically porsche station wagons when it comes to your wallet). and i wouldn't chance a mid 90's american-made sedan if he needs it to hold together for another few years.
 
Whatever import fanboy
those are the known best bang for buck cars of the 90's in his price range
Hugely depreciated but known for their undervalued quality.

Heres a thread from Edmunds, this get brought up all the time those are the cars most often picked

1991-92 Volvo 240GLE sedan
Why? The only European that qualifies as cheap transport in this price range when it was the last of a simple and amazingly long-lived series. Any increases in running costs are more than offset by the big margin in safety. Because it has its origins in the mid-1960s, many of its parts systems can be dismantled and repaired.
 
Originally posted by: CrackRabbit
Two words for you. Chevy Prizim. Toyota Corolla with a chevy badge slapped on it.
An older Sentra/200sx probably wouldnt be bad.
Click to expand...

Prizm is a good suggestion, personally i'd go for anything toyota.....we have three at my house and all run like freaking animals(beasts) my 4runner is on 265k miles and still rips it up
 
For the $2500 range that limits your choice, not the name of the car.

A car after so many years and miles will have a reliability based on how well it was taken care of. So look for a good car that is easy and cheap to repair.
Try and stay 96 or newwer that will help. GM cars, esp. witht eh 3.8L v6, come down in price but hold up well.
 
Take it from a guy who kept his teenage daughter in running vehicles while she saved for a good one.
The absolute best (used) vehicles she ever owned were:

'97 Chevrolet Corsica, ($700) had 170K on it when I bought it, almost 270K on it when I sold it. Never had to do anything major to it in almost 100K mi.! (Sold for the original $700, the other girl is STILL driving it over 5 years later!)

The first was an '88 Chevrolet Berretta (Sp?): ($700) 180 K when purchased, made it to around 250K when her BF knocked a hole in the oil pan and continued to drive until it quit. I don't even remember ever raising the hood on this car!

Both these cars were a bit rough around the edges and obviously had not been at all pampered.

Of course, she changes her own oil and is very anal about doing so every 3,000 miles!
 
I have a 94 Corsica with 200k on it my mechanic told me many make to 300 no problem
I was goinjg to get rid of it but based on that I'll keep it a couple more yrs
 
Well my father-in-law decided not to be an idiot and sell me his car for under what it was worth, so I'll probably be hitting the lots this weekend 🙁

What's the best resource for finding deals?

Cars.com
Autotrader.com
Craigslist

Thoughts?

(I've listed all the suggestions you guys have given and will go to the 3 sources I listed and come up with a list I'm interested in..)
 
Old V.W. FTW?

I've owned mine for close to 20 years and it's still gets me around just fine.

Of course It's had 3 engines in that time, but the one in there now will LAST!

Also, many of them will be worth more when you sell them than what YOU paid for them it you don't mind doing some work on them and tinkering.

(They may not ALL be sexy and get you LAID, but it seems you already have THAT covered) 🙂
 
Your best bet on this forum is to do a search for car threads like this one. There are so many good suggestions that are repeated constantly, and you'll get instant results.

You can go with the small older imports with generally higher mileage for that value range.
Then you have the newer domestic compacts with lower mileage for that same value range.
 
I had a 91 honda accord that was a great car. I had 230k on it when I sold it, and all I ever did was the timing belt, maintenance like brakes, the clutch, and the tranny. Once the tranny was replaced it ran damn near like new. Those are good cars. A little old, but still good.
 
Originally posted by: Aflac
Originally posted by: jagec
Originally posted by: acemcmac
I'm sure you can find a nissan that will make it that long. If there's one car company I'd turn to in a bind like that, it would be the Nissan and the Sentra IMHO.
Click to expand...

True; you could get a Civic or Corolla, but it would have to be REALLY old at that price point.
Click to expand...

not really; our 1996 corolla would sell for around $2k, but it's still good to go for at least another 3 years - granted, we only have around 85k miles on it, but corollas are known to last much longer than that anyway. and the only real difference between the 1996 corolla and new corollas that i can tell is that it's not *nearly* as comfortable, and there's no CD player.
Click to expand...

85k?

:laugh:

We have well over 180k on a '98.. 😛
 
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