What car would be good in my situation

[enz660hp]

I'm about to bite the bullet and pickup tons of hours & another job in order to save money and get a new car. I commute 5 times a week 30min to college, and in general, spend a lot of time driving. I want to spend around 5k, i MIGHT take a loan, but considering i'm 18, it might not work out. I want a DECENT looking car, no minivan that I would be embarrassed to drive, just something that will last me for around 3 years until I get a better car. Anyone have any suggestions on something that looks ok, reliable, and has cheap parts available? Thanks.

 

[overst33r]

Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, etc

 

[steppinthrax]

You can get a very good Toyota Corolla with low mileage (60 to 70) for around 5K. If you choose a manual transmission even lower mileage for that price. It will last you will into your 20's if properly maintained. You can put around 200K on a toyota corolla. A lot of people get rid of their toyotas because they just get sick of driving them.

If money is a concern get a kia..... But don't expect reliability.

 

[nakedfrog]

Mercury Grand Marquis.

 

[illusion88]

Don't forget about Nissans. An 8-10 year old Altima with under 100k is right around that price range.

 

[Blackjack200]

Some will probably disagree with me; but I reccomend a VW Jetta or Gulf. I got a '98 Jetta two years ago for $4,000 with 80,000 miles on it. Comparable Hondas and Toyotas go for twice as much.

In the two years I've had the car I've replaced the A/C (already broken when I bought it) put a new set of tires on it, and replaced the exhaust. ~ $2,000

 

[steppinthrax]

Originally posted by: Blackjack200
Some will probably disagree with me; but I reccomend a VW Jetta or Gulf. I got a '98 Jetta two years ago for $4,000 with 80,000 miles on it. Comparable Hondas and Toyotas go for twice as much.

In the two years I've had the car I've replaced the A/C (already broken when I bought it) put a new set of tires on it, and replaced the exhaust. ~ $2,000

Only thing that gets me going about the VWs is the fact that some of them are still diesel. You could easily convert them to run SVO (Straight Vegitable Oil). And nowadays that is pretty good. At my work there is always two huge tanks filled with veg oil. A company comes a dumps them from time to time.

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Volvo 240. You can probaly get one for less than that and have it serviced.

The nice thing I've found as a Volvo owner is the ease of finding good independent Volvo mechanics.

 

[CrackRabbit]

All good suggestions so far, though personally I would shy away from the VWs.
Only things I have to add are old Chrysler K-based cars are dirt cheap, easy to work on and plentiful. Just be wary of the 4-speed automatics that came in some of the later ones.
Also don't be afraid to look for 3.8 ltr v6 based GM vehicles a 6-7 year old Buick Regal should fall right into your price range, have great power and good highway gas milage.

 

[enz660hp]

How bout a 93-95 celica, ingegra? What about some American car? Or is it pretty much a rule of thumb to veer away from those if they are used?

 

[desy]

late 90's Chev lumina, if you want big
Late 90's Escort, Mazda protege with American depreciation
Early 90's Volvo 240, tank with easily interchanged and available parts

 

[ViviTheMage]

doubt you would find a god TDI for the MK3s....those things either have really high miles or they just dont sell them, if you find one, pick it up, GREAT cars!

I would just get a VR6 MK3 (96-98ish) Sweet little cars, 180ish horse stock, so you will have some oompf to go with it.

 

[enz660hp]

I made a small list of cars that fell into my price range & milage (under 100k) on autotrader... most of these are between 1995 and 2000

Acura Integra

Honda Prelude
Honda Accord
Honda Civic EX Coupe

Mazda Millenia
Mazda 626

Nissan Maxima
Nissan Ultima

Mitsubishi Galant

Toyota Celica



Do you guys know anything bad about these cars? Maybe I can shorten the list a bit. Thanks.

 

[TekDemon]

Late model year Prizm, it's the same car as the Corolla anyway but it tends to depreciate an extra 1-2K since it's branded a Chevy. So yes I'm basically recommending the Corolla but cheaperer.

That said, the downside is that it uses some Chevy specific design stuff so if you crash it up some of the panels might not be as easy to find as the corolla. But then again the Prizm isn't that rare either so I wouldn't worry too much. Plus seriously the car will be so cheap it hardly matters since the labor costs of repair alone would probably make it not worthwhile.

 

[Tyrant222]

if you can find one,

00/01 Nissan Sentra SE 2.0

Has the sr20de. rock solid engine. We have one in the family rolling up on 120k. only thing done was replace an ac line when it started leaking.

 

[Arkaign]

Originally posted by: enz660hp
I made a small list of cars that fell into my price range & milage (under 100k) on autotrader... most of these are between 1995 and 2000

1. Acura Integra
   
   Honda Prelude
   Honda Accord
   Honda Civic EX Coupe

Mazda Millenia
Mazda 626

Nissan Maxima
Nissan Ultima

Mitsubishi Galant

Toyota Celica



Do you guys know anything bad about these cars? Maybe I can shorten the list a bit. Thanks.

All of those are excellent, provided you find one preferably with 120k miles or less. All of those cars will last easily to 200-250k with proper maintenance.

Mitsubishi and Mazda reliability is much worse than Honda/Toyota/Nissan, and they are typically more complicated to work on / find parts for as well. You don't see a lot of Galants/Eclipses with 200k+ miles, but you sure see loads of 200k+ Accords/Civics/Preludes.

I think the 'nicest' cars on that list are probably the Prelude/Maxima. Best interiors, and much more rare than the typical Altima/Civic/Accord, though there's certainly nothing wrong with any of these.

 

[TekDemon]

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: enz660hp
I made a small list of cars that fell into my price range & milage (under 100k) on autotrader... most of these are between 1995 and 2000

Acura Integra

Honda Prelude
Honda Accord
Honda Civic EX Coupe

Mazda Millenia
Mazda 626

Nissan Maxima
Nissan Ultima

Mitsubishi Galant

Toyota Celica



Do you guys know anything bad about these cars? Maybe I can shorten the list a bit. Thanks.</end quote></div>

You misspelled Altima (I had no idea what an Ultima was until I realized it was a typo).

But anyway, I'd stick to the Honda/Acura's and the Nissan and Toyota's, since they'd likely be the most trouble-free.

That said, it's probably really hard to find a Prelude that hasn't been rice rocketed and been driven too hard by some wannabe racer, and the same goes for the Integra =( So be really careful when looking at those cars. I was looking through used Prelude listings a while ago for fun and I could only find ONE unmodified Prelude and it was fetching quite the premium.

To be honest I'd rather get a 2001 or 2002 Prizm with lower miles. It's not a super handsome car but in this price range you're really just looking for something that'll be reliable and comfortable.

But if you want to stay on this list I suggest the larger cars in your list, the Accord or the Maxima (since older Altimas are much smaller than the current ones). Supposedly larger cars hold up a little bit better when getting on in years, and even if this is complete nonsense the truth is that small cars from the 90's aren't nearly as safe as new small cars, so the slightly larger cars on that list will give you a little more protection if you get into an accident with another vehicle.

 

[ProfessorFate]

I'd go 90-97 Accord. No better driver ever made I think for the current dollar. Year doesn't matter, all depends on condition, ie has it been serviced and has it been in any accidents. U can probably even get a nice one for less than 5K if you shop. Just have it ckd out by a knowledgable tech before you buy it. Best way to know what you're getting.