yact- good car $1000-$2000

[trez2k3]

Are there any suggestions on a car that would fall in this price catagory? I have seen many in the paper for around this amount...also when looking at these cars are there specific things to ask or look ie. under the hood

 

[notfred]

At that price, whatever runs is a pretty decent car.

 

[manuelku]

go for older corolla, celica or accord..

 

[vi edit]

Pontiac Grand Prix w/ the 3.1 or maybe an old boat like a Crown Vic or Mercury Grand Marquis.

 

[StageLeft]

early 90';s sentra.

 

[BatmanNate]

It's perfectly possible if you're willing to do some in depth research and a lot of looking before deciding on a car. I ended up with my Supra for about $2500 all said and done, however there was a lot of haggling involved. It's been an excellent vehicle though, 110k miles when I got it with a relatively new motor, and I carfaxed it and had it mechanically inspected prior to purchase. The seller was kind enough even to let me borrow the car for several days. It's a very well built car, lots of power, handles better than anything I've ever driven, comfortable, looks nice, and has all of the extras imaginable.

 

[trez2k3]

Ive seen a few 85-89 maximas would this be as good as a camry or corrolla the same age reliability-wise? I have also seen some 95-97 dodge neons would these be worth looking at?

about the Supra mentioned I have a 86 cressida that the tranny's bad so maybe itd be possible to swap parts? On the cressida I just put a new alternator, starter, battery and some other things...

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: trez2k3
Ive seen a few 85-89 maximas would this be as good as a camry or corrolla the same age reliability-wise? I have also seen some 95-97 dodge neons would these be worth looking at?

Really just depends on what has been done, and what needs to be done to the cars. In this price range, the name on the hood means jack sh!t. It's all about how the owner took care of it. I'd take a meticulously maintained escort over not very well taken care of civic of the same year any day of the week. You can tell by looking at the car. Is the upholstry in good shape? Did they keep logs of all work? Is the car clean? Is the paint still good? Is the engine bay fairly clean? Do they have any idea what, if any routine maintanence has been done on the car?

If an owner can ramble off the top of his/her head what has been done to the car both routinely and unexpectedly, and has the paperwork to back it, then you are in a much better position than having an owner of a car stumble remembering when they even had the last oil change.

 

[BatmanNate]

Originally posted by: trez2k3
Ive seen a few 85-89 maximas would this be as good as a camry or corrolla the same age reliability-wise? I have also seen some 95-97 dodge neons would these be worth looking at?

about the Supra mentioned I have a 86 cressida that the tranny's bad so maybe itd be possible to swap parts? On the cressida I just put a new alternator, starter, battery and some other things...

The cressida used the same motor as the N/A Supra from 86.5 on (7mGE) so I would imagine the transmission is the same one, check a local yard.

 

[aircooled]

Most of the "real" mechanics that I know say about $3000 is the price range for a relible piece of used transportation (unless you are a mechanic yourself and plan on working on the car).
Obviously this can vary dramaticly from vehicle to vehicle.

Where's Roger???

 

[Ornery]

You're really taking your chances on one in that price range. Personally, I'd look for one that is:

• Easy to work on
• Cheap to buy parts for
• Owned by little old lady (no "sports cars" for sure!)
• Good track record
• Something worth repairing
• As few miles as possible

I came across a couple gems when searching for a car for myself. I only wanted to pay about $4,000, so I was looking at pretty old cars. Stumbled onto a fellow who sells police cruisers on Ebay. He's local to me, so I got to look over the cars in person. Great deals! He was selling this 1993 Crown Vic with about 80K on it for about $2,000. He says he gets them all the time and sells a lot of them all over the country.

• Action Auto Wholesale
  30521 Euclid Avenue
  Willowick, Ohio
  440-585-1300

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: vi_edit
Pontiac Grand Prix w/ the 3.1 or maybe an old boat like a Crown Vic or Mercury Grand Marquis.

Paid $350 for my 77 Grand Marquis just shy of a year ago. Only thing I've had to do is replace the battery, and it was COOOOOLD...

 

[rufruf44]

Originally posted by: Ornery
You're really taking your chances on one in that price range. Personally, I'd look for one that is:

• Easy to work on
• Cheap to buy parts for
• Owned by little old lady (no "sports cars" for sure!)
• Good track record
• Something worth repairing
• As few miles as possible

I came across a couple gems when searching for a car for myself. I only wanted to pay about $4,000, so I was looking at pretty old cars. Stumbled onto a fellow who sells police cruisers on Ebay. He's local to me, so I got to look over the cars in person. Great deals! He was selling this 1993 Crown Vic with about 80K on it for about $2,000. He says he gets them all the time and sells a lot of them all over the country.

• Action Auto Wholesale
  30521 Euclid Avenue
  Willowick, Ohio
  440-585-1300

What kind of mpg will you get with those older cruiser ?

 

[Thegonagle]

Generally, whatever you find that's in the best mechanical condition, i.e., had the best maintenance its whole life.

I'd personally stay away from European cars (unless you're a good home mechanic), domestic compacts (except Saturn), older Hyundais, and older Mitsubishis (unless it's particularly clean and well maintained).

EDIT: And SPORTS cars. Stay away from those!

P.S. Vi_Edit and Ornery both offer excellent advice in this thread.

 

[vi edit]

What kind of mpg will you get with those older cruiser ?

Actually, fairly respectable. For the early to mid 90's you'll pull around 24-26 MPG on the highway. Not really sure on in town. Vary's greatly by driving style.

 

[toant103]

Originally posted by: manuelku
go for older corolla, celica or accord..

 

[StageLeft]

Honestly you're gonna want an early 90's japanese import. Smaller the better because trying to get something large/powerful will compromise on the reliability because it's more likely to have extra miles on it or be in poorer condition.

Crown vic is large but it still can't hold a candle in longevity to a boring little corolla or civic.

 

[Ornery]

What kind of mpg will you get with those older cruiser ?

City 18 mpg / Highway 25 mpg

 

[Spac3d]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Honestly you're gonna want an early 90's japanese import. Smaller the better because trying to get something large/powerful will compromise on the reliability because it's more likely to have extra miles on it or be in poorer condition.

Crown vic is large but it still can't hold a candle in longevity to a boring little corolla or civic.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: Ornery
What kind of mpg will you get with those older cruiser ?

City 18 mpg / Highway 25 mpg

Add 10 to each number respectively for a little japanese import

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Honestly you're gonna want an early 90's japanese import. Smaller the better because trying to get something large/powerful will compromise on the reliability because it's more likely to have extra miles on it or be in poorer condition.

Crown vic is large but it still can't hold a candle in longevity to a boring little corolla or civic.

I'm gonna disagree with you there. Once you dip below the $3,000 range, all bets are off. The nameplate on the front means nothing. It's all about how the car was taken care of and what you can reasonably expect to have to put into it to run for another 3 years.

 

[Ornery]

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Honestly you're gonna want an early 90's japanese import. Smaller the better because trying to get something large/powerful will compromise on the reliability because it's more likely to have extra miles on it or be in poorer condition.

Crown vic is large but it still can't hold a candle in longevity to a boring little corolla or civic.

...more likely to have extra miles on it..."

WTF? Based on what?


...or be in poorer condition."

WTF? Based on what?

The asking price for an import will be the same or higher than the cruiser. The cost of parts and labor for the import will be higher. Want to talk about safety?

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: Ornery

Originally posted by: Skoorb
Honestly you're gonna want an early 90's japanese import. Smaller the better because trying to get something large/powerful will compromise on the reliability because it's more likely to have extra miles on it or be in poorer condition.

Crown vic is large but it still can't hold a candle in longevity to a boring little corolla or civic.

...more likely to have extra miles on it..."

WTF? Based on what?


...or be in poorer condition."

WTF? Based on what?

The asking price for an import will be the same or higher than the cruiser. The cost of parts and labor for the import will be higher. Want to talk about safety?

Based purely on the fact that a $15k car brand new will be in better condition when you pay $2k for it than a $24k car new will be when you pay $2k for it. The first may still have life in it, the second won't. That's why you see early 90's corollas for a couple of K and early 90's ferraris are nowhere near the price. That's simple depreciation. Although domestics depreciate like a sphere in a vacuum the more expensive a car is to start the worse shape it's likely to be in when the market says it's worth $2k. That's why a corolla/sentra is a better buy than a maxima/lexus.

I'd rather be in an accident in a cruiser yes, but unless I'm a mechanic I would never want to own an old one. Those parts are cheaper because they have tooled up manufacturing to crank out a zillion of them each year since the reliability is less.

I won't argue that domestics are catching up in reliability to imports, but when you're talking mid 90's and before imports were still decimating domestics in reliability. With an old cheap car reliability is surely your key interest in purchasing the vehicle.

 

[vi edit]

Based purely on the fact that a $15k car brand new will be in better condition when you pay $2k for it than a $24k car new will be when you pay $2k for it. The first may still have life in it, the second won't.

The reason that the $2,000 econobox is up for sale is because the car doesn't have much life left in it. The reason the cruiser is $2000 is because THE OWNER doesn't have much life left in them.

 

[Ornery]

"With an old cheap car reliability is surely your key interest in purchasing the vehicle."

I wouldn't buy an "old cheap car", I'd buy an old quality car. Does Consumer ratings at Edmunds matter? The 1996 is an Edmunds Used Car Best Bet. The '96 is virtually identical to the '94. Parts are cheap, because they're domestic and common, not because they break down all the time. The rugged starter motor in that thing is as big as the engine of an import!