Shop for a Beater Car -- Help Whippersnapper Find a not-so-New Vehicle

[rommelrommel]

I would be all over that LS400 if it is decent in person.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

http://stcloud.craigslist.org/cto/4845827531.html

^^^ bullet proof.. one of the most reliable engines of all time.. rear wheel drive though so not the best in the snow.

One of those local Subarus might be worth a look along with a manual Honda Civic that someone else posted. That Lexus in St. Cloud is interesting, but man, a 200 mile drive would be required to go look at it. I'm not sure when I would have time to go do that.

 

[soulcougher73]

http://stcloud.craigslist.org/cto/4831458515.html

That one looks nice.

 

[AmdEmAll]

Annnnnddd its gone ^^^

 

[WhipperSnapper]

Annnnnddd its gone ^^^

Hot damn! That didn't last very long. It probably got scarfed up by an Anandtecher who lives in the Twin Cities.

 

[debian0001]

I'd buy that Lexus in a heartbeat. They go for so much more in the Chicagoland area.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

It's gonna take more research on my part before I'm ready to buy anything and it might take another week or so to get the issues with my dead car resolved. Until then it's probably all just mental...exercise. I'm probably not going to want to travel outside of a 100 mile radius of Fargo to look at cars unless there's a really good reason for it.

I find the Acura MDX, the Mazda 5, and the Alero to be the most exciting prospects in this post. Here are some more potential candidates:

2003 Nissan Maxima, $2700, 197k miles -- Were the older Maximas of good build quality and reliability? It's not exactly a Honda or Toyota nameplate and it has a ton of miles on it.

2002 Mercury Cougar, $4950, 86,000 miles. Probably more than I'd want to spend if I were gambling on a 13 year old vehicle, but the mileage isn't bad. I'm guessing it has normal 2002 Ford build quality?

2001 Acura MDX, $4250, 219k miles. That seems like a lot of money for a 14 year old vehicle with so many miles on it, but it is a luxury SUV with presumably higher grade components that probably sold new for $45,000+ at one time. It would probably be worth putting some money into fixing it if it needed a repair. Private Craig's List seller here, so tougher to complete the transaction.

2004 Pontiac Grand Am, $4300, 114k miles. What's the difference between the Grand Am's and the Grand Prix's? I assume that Grand Prix's are sportier? It looks like it had a little booboo on the front driver's side.

Here's it's brother: 2003 Pontiac Grand Am, $4200, 125k miles.

2000 Olds Alero, $3000, 120k miles. Mileage isn't bad, but damn, it's 15 years old now and not as exciting as an Acura MDX, but it has half the mileage.

2006 Mazda 5 Sport, $5450, 114k miles. I'd hate to spend that much for a vehicle with over 100,000 miles on it, but I like the hatchback-wagon form factor and the vehicle was born in the past decade.

 

[bamx2]

oops delete

 

[soulcougher73]

I always liked that model year of Maxima's. Sexy. Not bad price for milage. Might be worth a looksy.

 

[SearchMaster]

I had an '00 Maxima, the previous generation. It had about 220K on it when it was totaled about 4 or 5 years ago, and was still running perfectly. I got it with 30K miles so I drove it a LOT, and put a new O2 sensor (maybe two of them) and I think that's about all other than routine stuff. It was a great car...my kids even mention occasionally that they miss it though there was really nothing special about it.

If it's still available and checks out by a mechanic, I wouldn't hesitate to snatch it up at that price. It would give you a couple grand versus the others to handle a lot of maintenance and repairs.

[edit]Heh - I see that one is having the O2 sensor issue also. It is very common for the previous gen that I had and might be for this one too. I would be a bit suspicious that they wouldn't invest the $70 for a sensor and 30 minutes to install it if that's truly all it is. If you have a code reader, it's going to be a P0420. FWIW, mine ran with absolutely no issues other than the CEL with the O2 sensor issue, my mechanic even said there's nothing actually wrong with the sensor but the computer often reported the P0420 unnecessarily.[/edit]

 

[thedarkwolf]

I believe the early 3.5l had some timing chain or guide issues in the Maximas. I've thought about one myself in the past since they are still fairly easy to find with a manual and are nice cars.

 

[nerp]

Crown Vic

 

[Belegost]

On the crown vic line:

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-...s=100&maxPrice=6000&listingId=389660403&Log=0

2005 Vic with 80K miles for 4788.

 

[desy]

Wow
Used cars are expensive where you live

 

[waffleironhead]

Wipe those grand am/alero's from your list if they have the gm 3.4l. Known lower intake manifold issues.

 

[xaeniac]

that mazda 5 is cool!

 

[pauldun170]

It's gonna take more research on my part before I'm ready to buy anything and it might take another week or so to get the issues with my dead car resolved. Until then it's probably all just mental...exercise. I'm probably not going to want to travel outside of a 100 mile radius of Fargo to look at cars unless there's a really good reason for it.

I find the Acura MDX, the Mazda 5, and the Alero to be the most exciting prospects in this post. Here are some more potential candidates:

2003 Nissan Maxima, $2700, 197k miles -- Were the older Maximas of good build quality and reliability? It's not exactly a Honda or Toyota nameplate and it has a ton of miles on it.

2002 Mercury Cougar, $4950, 86,000 miles. Probably more than I'd want to spend if I were gambling on a 13 year old vehicle, but the mileage isn't bad. I'm guessing it has normal 2002 Ford build quality?

2001 Acura MDX, $4250, 219k miles. That seems like a lot of money for a 14 year old vehicle with so many miles on it, but it is a luxury SUV with presumably higher grade components that probably sold new for $45,000+ at one time. It would probably be worth putting some money into fixing it if it needed a repair. Private Craig's List seller here, so tougher to complete the transaction.

2004 Pontiac Grand Am, $4300, 114k miles. What's the difference between the Grand Am's and the Grand Prix's? I assume that Grand Prix's are sportier? It looks like it had a little booboo on the front driver's side.

Here's it's brother: 2003 Pontiac Grand Am, $4200, 125k miles.

2000 Olds Alero, $3000, 120k miles. Mileage isn't bad, but damn, it's 15 years old now and not as exciting as an Acura MDX, but it has half the mileage.

2006 Mazda 5 Sport, $5450, 114k miles. I'd hate to spend that much for a vehicle with over 100,000 miles on it, but I like the hatchback-wagon form factor and the vehicle was born in the past decade.

2003 Nissan Maxima, $2700, 197k miles - Great cars up until 10 years old. you will hear a lot of fanbois and former owners root for these cars. Inder normal circumstances I would say a 2003 in good condition is might make a good beater. The car in the picture is someone else's former beater. I expect it to run and annoy the crap out of you with quibbles.

2002 Mercury Cougar, $4950, 86,000 miles. - No, no no no no. Just no. The mileage may tempt you but don't fall for it.

2001 Acura MDX, $4250, 219k miles. - You will buy it. You will love it. You will find oil stain. you will replace the transmission. you will hate it until it snows. then you will kinda grumble at it.


2004 Pontiac Grand Am, $4300, 114k miles. - Absolutely no. Unless you are a meth head who plans on getting arrested immediately after blowing your cash on it. Cash you raised by selling stolen lawn mowers.

2003 Pontiac Grand Am, $4200, 125k miles. - Same as above if you are a high functioning meth head.

2000 Olds Alero, $3000, 120k miles. - I want to say avoid, but I can't.

2006 Mazda 5 Sport, $5450, 114k miles. - Expect nuisance issues.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

It looks like my parents are going to give me their 2nd car, a 1998 Nissan Altima with about 65,000 miles on it that used to belong to my Grandma. Apparently they had been planning to sell or get rid of the second car anyway a couple months from now. That's that, I guess. Now I can kick the car can down the road for a couple more years until that Nissan dies.