I'm starting to think about buying a new-ish car for my driving needs. If I do I'm aiming for 30mpg or more and reliable.
My vehicle history -
1987 dodge k-car $500, lasted two years, threw a rod. junkyard, got less thank $50 back
1972 VW Beetle $2500 - Still have, one engine died, bought a used one for a few hundred $ and installed. Still going, but needs a new paint job after the crap one on it started flaking and a porsche cayenne sped up a hill and hit me making a left turn buckling the fender. Mostly reliable, but has some complaints and is only getting 20mpg ish.
1997 Volvo 960 - $450. Seller drove it in NYC, it had been sideswiped twice but was just horrible cosmetic damage. under 100k miles, he drove it down to Ky and picked up a new car his sister was giving him and needed to sell it in 7 days before he returned. Nice to have modern amenities, but it lasted 6 months. I started to do some routine maint and get it cleaned up when the timing belt went. Sold it to a individual to scavenge for parts for nearly as much as I paid for it.
Went back to driving the VW, picked up some motorycles(1975 CB550k1 and a 1978 CB750K8). Winter came around and it got cold again, and the VW stopped charging it's battery.
Found an 88 tercel, picked it up for $220 + a drill press. It has issues, drove it for 6 months. It's started to flood after I drive it to work and let it sit for 8 hours. Tired of dealing with it and it's nice to drive around in the VW. I don't feel like trying to rebuild the carb so I through it up for sale, asking $700 and have some nibbles, will probably walk away with $500.
At this point I'm looking at either putting a chunk of change into new carburetion into the VW to get it above 30mpg, but I probably need to go through the entire thing and start checking the joints and getting the bodywork and paint done right will be $$$. I don't think I'd be out a whole lot just to get it more reliable and better mpg, but the bodywork is what I'm afraid of.
My father continues to insist that it would be a good idea to get something newer and more reliable and keep the VW as my play car. He's using the same line with my brother and his Jeep that he loves to break differentials in.
So I'm keeping my pulse on craiglist. There's the 01 kia rio with 110k miles that I can pay cash for and get for around $2500. I can spring for an Aveo( I think they are ugly though, and my future wife already has a scion xa) with 25k miles asking $7k, and would need to get a loan, which is a waste of money but it might not be a bad idea to get one on my credit history. There are some late 90's chevy prizms for under $2k.
There just seem to be too many options in this range. I'm obviously a fan of the cheap car, and still odly nostalgic for my K-car. But I'm thinking about dipping my toes into the airbag packing world. Where to shop, where to go for market values?
My vehicle history -
1987 dodge k-car $500, lasted two years, threw a rod. junkyard, got less thank $50 back
1972 VW Beetle $2500 - Still have, one engine died, bought a used one for a few hundred $ and installed. Still going, but needs a new paint job after the crap one on it started flaking and a porsche cayenne sped up a hill and hit me making a left turn buckling the fender. Mostly reliable, but has some complaints and is only getting 20mpg ish.
1997 Volvo 960 - $450. Seller drove it in NYC, it had been sideswiped twice but was just horrible cosmetic damage. under 100k miles, he drove it down to Ky and picked up a new car his sister was giving him and needed to sell it in 7 days before he returned. Nice to have modern amenities, but it lasted 6 months. I started to do some routine maint and get it cleaned up when the timing belt went. Sold it to a individual to scavenge for parts for nearly as much as I paid for it.
Went back to driving the VW, picked up some motorycles(1975 CB550k1 and a 1978 CB750K8). Winter came around and it got cold again, and the VW stopped charging it's battery.
Found an 88 tercel, picked it up for $220 + a drill press. It has issues, drove it for 6 months. It's started to flood after I drive it to work and let it sit for 8 hours. Tired of dealing with it and it's nice to drive around in the VW. I don't feel like trying to rebuild the carb so I through it up for sale, asking $700 and have some nibbles, will probably walk away with $500.
At this point I'm looking at either putting a chunk of change into new carburetion into the VW to get it above 30mpg, but I probably need to go through the entire thing and start checking the joints and getting the bodywork and paint done right will be $$$. I don't think I'd be out a whole lot just to get it more reliable and better mpg, but the bodywork is what I'm afraid of.
My father continues to insist that it would be a good idea to get something newer and more reliable and keep the VW as my play car. He's using the same line with my brother and his Jeep that he loves to break differentials in.
So I'm keeping my pulse on craiglist. There's the 01 kia rio with 110k miles that I can pay cash for and get for around $2500. I can spring for an Aveo( I think they are ugly though, and my future wife already has a scion xa) with 25k miles asking $7k, and would need to get a loan, which is a waste of money but it might not be a bad idea to get one on my credit history. There are some late 90's chevy prizms for under $2k.
There just seem to be too many options in this range. I'm obviously a fan of the cheap car, and still odly nostalgic for my K-car. But I'm thinking about dipping my toes into the airbag packing world. Where to shop, where to go for market values?
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