New/Used Car Help UPDATE: New (to me) Car tonight.

[Modeps]

alright fellas, my car has been good to me, but it's time is near... I've driven a 85' Ford Crown Victoria for the past 4 and a half years... very little problems through its life, but all the sudden everything seems to be dying. Transmission, Air Conditioner, Door Locks (as in, they dont lock), paint, rust, and more little things that are causing me to think about buying a new (to me, or really new) car.

I'm not a rich man, and I'll be getting married soon (probably a little over a year from now) so it cant be expensive, and it has to be reliable. I dont care if its american or foreign (heck, all cars have parts from all over the world) So, shoot me ideas. lemme have it! whats a good car, that'll last and wont cost me a whole lot.

(I'm 6'3", 240 so I dont wanna be seen driving around in a tiny car, like that guy on the simpsons "do you find something comical about my appearance?" )

 

[Bignate603]

I had the same car, same year too. The power steering started leaking like crazy last year so we decided it would die a noble death and sold it to a local fire department to drive in a demolition derby. Sadly, it got bumped early on and the gas line they put in (they use a armored five gallon job inside the car body instead of the normal tank) got jarred out of the fuel tank and the engine sputtered and died. Luckily the car only has one ding on it and will make a return next year. And we got 300 bucks out of the deal so it wasn't a total loss.

 

[Tominator]

I'd sell you my 1995 Mercury Grand Marquis, but I like it too much.....hint...hint...

 

[Modeps]

wow , this fell of the page fast...

what about something like a newer focus?

 

[vi edit]

Just about any GM with the 3.8 would be a good bet for a nice used car. Maybe even a Buick Regal GS....supercharged sleeper...hehehe.

 

[Modeps]

buick eh? i like the look of the regal. I found one on bargainnews LINK 67000 miles, $9000. not too bad. do these engines last?

 

[vi edit]

Wow. Looks good! You could probably get them down another grand or so and it'll be an excellent bargain.

IMHO, the GM 3800 is one of the best 6 cylinders ever built. Very quick for a pushrod N/A 6 cylinder, gets 30MPG on the highway, and is pretty dang reliable when maintained properly.

Out of all the GM cars built, Buick ranks the highest in quality and reliablity. Should give you plenty of room up front, and respectable room for back seat passengers.

Now watch, you'll buy the car, it'll turn out to be a hunk of crap and you'll hate me for it

 

[Modeps]

<< Wow. Looks good! You could probably get them down another grand or so and it'll be an excellent bargain.

IMHO, the GM 3800 is one of the best 6 cylinders ever built. Very quick for a pushrod N/A 6 cylinder, gets 30MPG on the highway, and is pretty dang reliable when maintained properly.

Out of all the GM cars built, Buick ranks the highest in quality and reliablity. Should give you plenty of room up front, and respectable room for back seat passengers.

Now watch, you'll buy the car, it'll turn out to be a hunk of crap and you'll hate me for it >>


well vi, i already hate you... so it wont be any change (just kidding)

im suprised though, that all these car nuts on here... they arnt willing to help anyone with a small budget.

 

[vi edit]

Well, to help move things along, what *is* your price range?

 

[Modeps]

i'm looking in the 8 - 10k range.

 

[Vette73]

I am a mechanic and the 3.8L Buick Motor is a very good motor. If you get a car that has a series 2 3.8L then they are bullet proof. If you get a older car late 80's early 90's then the only thing to check is the Timing chain.

These motors are strong and get good gas milage. Parts can be found anywhere and they are not to hard to work on, and unlike a lot of Jap. cars it has a timing chain, no major Bill every 60K for a timing belt. Just use 10W30 oil and keep up with maintaince and you should be good to go.

I worked on a Pontiac Boniville with over 330K still going strong. My Back-up car is a 87 Buick LeSabre and it has the 3.8 with over 130K still going strong.

GM cars get a lot of heat, but I work on a lot of cars and a GM car with a 3.8L is very safe and reliable.

 

[Modeps]

thanks a lot for the info Marlin!

 

[Thegonagle]

I agree about the 3.8 GM, they seem to be very good drivetrains. Just make sure the rest of the car is well cared for.

Honda Accords are great cars. Even fairly indifferently maintained Accords regularly hit 200,000 miles. Camrys are fine cars too (they're not my cup of tea though). Both of these are relatively expensive used, so you want to shop carefully for the best maintained examples you can find.

Of course, a brand new Accord LX (starts in the $18,000 range) is a pretty good value as far as new cars go. The LX has a 150 HP VTEC engine that gets great mileage and the basic comfort and convenience features like PW, PL, cruise, and AC. Keyless remote entry is a dealer installed option with a suggested price of $278 (so try to pay less than that). You can get the LX with side-airbags and ABS. An EX (the EX has all the toys) starts running into what I call "too much money for stuff you don't need" territory.

Former police cars can be an extremely good bargain. There are dealers dotting the entire US that deal in them. Many of them give the cars a good bit of restoration to make them more appealing for civilian duty, like filling holes where equipment has been removed, replacing the rear vinyl seat, and reconnecting rear door handles.

My neighbor just got one (between 95-97, I'm not sure, I didn't ask) for $3400 with 75,000 miles. It looks very nice. Not all of them will be in great shape, but if you look, you can find.

 

[vi edit]

Given your pricerange, and your size, then I still suggest looking at a 3-5 year old GM product with the 3.8.

Cars that had the 3.8 that *I* know of in that time span -

- Buick Regal
- Olds Intrigue
- Lumina LTZ (some only had the wimpy 3.1L yeck! Need to look under the hood)
- 98 or newer Monte Carlo Z34's
- Gran Prix GT

 

[Modeps]

alrighty fellas, the weekend has come and past, and I will be picking up my new vehicle very soon (well, in about 8 hours when I get off of work) The first thing I looked at was a 1999 Buick LeSabre (32k miles) at a GM dealer, it also has the 3.8L V6 in it.... I loved the way it drove, handled, sped up and braked... I wasnt all that impressed with its looks though, it was just plain. If the price was right, (which they wouldnt tell me until i said i was ready to do business) I'd like to own it. Next, I went up to the Saturn dealer, just to see if I could fit in their cars... nope. They had a few used cars on the lot so I took a look at them... 99 Jetta, 5-spd (which i couldnt even test drive because of the clutch placement... stupid bastards designed it for people with short legs), then a 99 Chevy Impala, which was a bit small in the drivers seat, and rode terribly. After that, it was off to a ford dealership, where we found a 98 Crown Vic LX with 31k miles on it. Price was 18 (plus an $5000 minimum trade in... yeah whatever, they really wanted 13) Test drove that one, and enjoyed it quite a bit.... they also had a 99 LeSabre (30k miles) but it ran like garbage, there was a shake in the front end, and nothing felt as nice as the previous.

So we went back to the GM dealer and tried to work something out for that 99 Lesabre... no good. They came in with 16, then lowered it to 14.5... but that was still far too high for my tastes... (i'd have considered 13)... so we left and shot over to the ford dealer...and thew at them an offer of 16.5 (minus of course, the $5000 trade in, making it 11.5.. my car isnt worth anything ) he came back with 16.8, and we met halfway at 16675 (or 11,675 for you math wizards)

Sooo thats what I'm getting. I loved my crown vic, I just hope this one will make me happy again.
heres a pic (I photoshopped it to the approximate color because all i could find was a red one)
intake's new ride