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I need a car on the cheap - thoughts on these options?

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Originally posted by: EyeMWing
I forgot, this is ATOT, everybody drives a Ferrari and thus has no clue about cheap cars 😛
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Actually, all I drive is cheap cars.

But they've always been half the price of what you're looking at, or less. You can get good, reliable used cars for $2k, or functional, semi-reliable for $1k if you look around. Toyota and Honda are usually good bets, but SHOP AROUND, and drive LOTS of cars before you decide. If you don't like the car, don't feel pressured to buy it, even if the price is good, the guy really wants to sell, and you had to drive a long ways to their house for the test-drive.

But please, for the sake of humanity, buy stick! Harder to find, true, but worth it. I've never owned an auto.
 
the SL2 is an awesome car. you should be able to drop it down to 2500 or so for that car. its not even funny. its a very reliable bullet proof car.

 
Originally posted by: thedarkwolf
I'd probably just spend $200-$300 on a junkyard engine for the van and put new rings and bearings in it while I was at it but then I love my turbo caravan.
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I love that thing, too - tuned it to death, but this is engine #2 as it is. I don't have the patience for that motor anymore... Nor can I do any major work on it during the winter because it's just TOO DAMN COLD.

And as far as miles/week... Usually in the range of 300-400. Sometimes a hell of a lot more.
 
Originally posted by: nourdmrolNMT1
the SL2 is an awesome car. you should be able to drop it down to 2500 or so for that car. its not even funny. its a very reliable bullet proof car.
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I'm actually leaning towards it... Saturns... Made completely by the lowest bidder out of inexpensive materials. Therefore, they are light, making them relatively efficient. Since all the parts are made by the lowest bidder, they're inexpensive.
 
Originally posted by: EyeMWing
Originally posted by: nourdmrolNMT1
the SL2 is an awesome car. you should be able to drop it down to 2500 or so for that car. its not even funny. its a very reliable bullet proof car.
Click to expand...

I'm actually leaning towards it... Saturns... Made completely by the lowest bidder out of inexpensive materials. Therefore, they are light, making them relatively efficient. Since all the parts are made by the lowest bidder, they're inexpensive.
Click to expand...

The SL2 is definitely a good bet... we had four Saturns in my family, and none of them had less than 120K when we got rid of them. Our remaining Saturn (my sister's) has been to hell and back and at ~180K I'm shocked it still runs, but it does. 🙂 On the car, make sure the alternator is good, and that it's not burning oil (SL2's had more oil-burning issues than SL1's). Other than those issues the cars we had were very reliable.

Dave
 
Originally posted by: EyeMWing
Originally posted by: nourdmrolNMT1
the SL2 is an awesome car. you should be able to drop it down to 2500 or so for that car. its not even funny. its a very reliable bullet proof car.
Click to expand...

I'm actually leaning towards it... Saturns... Made completely by the lowest bidder out of inexpensive materials. Therefore, they are light, making them relatively efficient. Since all the parts are made by the lowest bidder, they're inexpensive.
Click to expand...
OK, I'm willing to go with the Saturn, too - the 98's have no glaring problems in reported reliablity. 90K, no doubt the best gas mileage of the group by far, plastic panels you can repeatedly kick in spastic rage.

I never paid all that much attention to Saturns, so I don't know if the OHC sports a belt or a chain, and what the recommended serivice interval is. Someone here can probably pop up and say. Ask the guy if and when it was changed. You'll be wanting to look at a receipt. Take it to a mechanic you trust first. Good luck.

 
Originally posted by: Perknose
Originally posted by: EyeMWing
Originally posted by: nourdmrolNMT1
the SL2 is an awesome car. you should be able to drop it down to 2500 or so for that car. its not even funny. its a very reliable bullet proof car.
Click to expand...

I'm actually leaning towards it... Saturns... Made completely by the lowest bidder out of inexpensive materials. Therefore, they are light, making them relatively efficient. Since all the parts are made by the lowest bidder, they're inexpensive.
Click to expand...
OK, I'm willing to go with the Saturn, too - the 98's have no glaring problems in reported reliablity. 90K, no doubt the best gas mileage of the group by far, plastic panels you can repeatedly kick in spastic rage.

I never paid all that much attention to Saturns, so I don't know if the OHC sports a belt or a chain, and what the recommended serivice interval is. Someone here can probably pop up and say. Ask the guy if and when it was changed. You'll be wanting to look at a receipt. Take it to a mechanic you trust first. Good luck.
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All of the SLx series have timing chains. IIRC I think they recommend service on those at 100K, but they should last the life of the car. Dad had his replaced at 170K but he drove the car hard so I'm not surprised... 🙂

Dave
 
Originally posted by: desy
Hmmm must be broken only 4 complaints ?98 Saturn
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Consumer Reports' owners' database gave it acceptable or above in all categories except electrical, which was one notch down. Not bad, really.

 
subaru FTW. it is very practical. I can fold down the back seats and pretty much put anything in it.

I bought my 96 wagon for $3500. it has 130k mileages on it when I bought it. that was 1.5 year ago. that subie shouldn't have over 130k mileage on it.
 
Originally posted by: DaWhim
subaru FTW. it is very practical. I can fold down the back seats and pretty much put anything in it.

I bought my 96 wagon for $3500. it has 130k mileages on it when I bought it. that was 1.5 year ago. that subie shouldn't have over 130k mileage on it.
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When I need to move stuff, it's WAY more stuff than you can fit in a subaru wagon, anyway.
 
Originally posted by: DaWhim
subaru FTW. it is very practical. I can fold down the back seats and pretty much put anything in it.

I bought my 96 wagon for $3500. it has 130k mileages on it when I bought it. that was 1.5 year ago. that subie shouldn't have over 130k mileage on it.
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Not listing the mileage in an ad is not a encouraging sign, compadre.

 
Originally posted by: SuperFreaky
you can usually get a 98-99 Ford Taurus w/ 90K for under $3,000 on ebay...
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And on the bright side, it probably has a freshly replaced transaxle. 😛


 
Run a carfax on the Avalon. It's a larger vehicle & has airbags.

The Benz is out (but has a high karma factor) no airbags.
Imprezza pfffttt
Buick pass, I nodded off just thinking about it
Saturn's engine is too buzzy.
Accord-no airbags.
 
saturns aren't bad vehicles. a couple friends have saturns with well over 155k on them, still run great. you can NEVER go wrong with hondas, well you could, if you put a huge ricer wing and paint it neon orange. subarus are excellent for winter conditions and also perform very nice! i don't like buicks. and mercedes have always been known for their reliability... but if it breaks make sure you know where a good shop is that can work on it.
 
Just to get you started, you may have already seen these...

'97 TOYOTA CAMRY LE: 4 cyl. Pewter, AC, PW, PL, 50K motor, AT, perf cond. Inspd. Must see! $3,850. 410-227-6485

'97 NISSAN MAXIMA lthr, 118K, good cond, $4000/bo Call 410-254-0870/410-752-7826

'94 HONDA ACCORD EX, 106K mi, 4DR, auto, MD insp, loaded, $3990 OBO 410-905-5804

'95 TOYOTA CAMRY am/fm/CD, AC, 91k, MD insp $3750. 410-361-1502 or 301-674-8035

'94 TOYOTA CAMRY: Blue 4 Dr, AT. CD Plyr. 57,500 mi. $3500. Call 410-375-5765 WEB ID 22780
 
Originally posted by: Metron
The 2xx or 7xx or 9xx series Volvo wagon... good for several hundred thousand miles. Incredibly Reliable. Decent milage. Very safe. I drove a '92 740 wagon for years... put 180,000 miles on it, and then got $2,000 trade-in for it on my current car. I got about 24 MPG with a 4 cylinder, the 6 cylinder averages around 21.

Something like this... '96 Volvo 960 Wagon

or this '91 240 with a manual transmission in MD

'94 940 Volvo... much like my old car, 142k miles, $2,635
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Yeah, those Volvos are rather indestructible.
 
Originally posted by: Pliablemoose
Run a carfax on the Avalon. It's a larger vehicle & has airbags.

The Benz is out (but has a high karma factor) no airbags.
Imprezza pfffttt
Buick pass, I nodded off just thinking about it
Saturn's engine is too buzzy.
Accord-no airbags.
Click to expand...

Airbags aren't required 😛
 
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