so the girlfriend is saving up to get another car, and I want to get a list together of some good reliable cars, preferably easy to work on too. She's looking to save $2000, something from the mid-late 90's.

2 or 4 door

4 or 6 cyl

Foreign or domestic

Honda.
Pick the model and age that fits your needs and price range.

Honda.
Pick the model and age that fits your needs and price range.

Ford escort is another good choice.

2 or 4 door

4 or 6 cyl

Foreign or domestic

she has a young neice and nephew so prob a 4 door

I'm gonna say a four banger for good gas

foreign and domestic

chryslers never kept their value, and are reliable. (stay away from the 2.7)
intrepid or sebring are almost a dime a dozen, easy to work on, and cheap.

+2 escort or focus
no frills but basic reliable transportation

I should get her to buy my neighbors Ford Focus SVT

i should get her to buy my neighbors ford focus svt

win

94 thru 97 4 door 4 cyl Honda Accord. Absolutely dead reliable. And, you can still buy all of the parts. Honda doesn't believe in "Not available" or "Discontinued". Plus, there are millions of them still on the road.

94 thru 97 4 door 4 cyl Honda Accord. Absolutely dead reliable. And, you can still buy all of the parts. Honda doesn't believe in "Not available" or "Discontinued". Plus, there are millions of them still on the road.

That's my thinking on the subject.
Buying a 5th gen Accord is like buying an F-150.
The parts will always be available. New and Used.

And they are fuel efficient, abundant, comfortable, and respectably fun to drive with the close ratio 5 speed.

And it's built in Ohio.

how much dose a Focus go for these days

I support the Focus vote. Had 2 so far and like them. There were 25 for sale on ebay with the search limited to between $1k-$3K.

here's another important question....what cars should I stay away from

Do NOT buy a 97-01 SOHC Escort,Focus,Tracer. Notorious for dropping valve guides and frying the engines...ask me how I know.

how do you know? :D

what about a taurus?

99 sable with the dohc 24v one of the best cars that my family has owned. fast fun and my sister managed to go 25k with out an oil change before hydro locking the engine..

Those Tauruses are dirt cheap, comfortable, efficient, and have decent straight line performance.
However- they aren't fun to drive at all.

Any Cavalier with the 2.2 cast iron block and head. My wife drives one and this thing just goes. 200K plus and no oil burning issues or anything. This car has been so reliable for her it will be sad to see it go. Our friend gave it to us 4 years ago as he had bought it for a winter car. Stay away from the 2.4 Z24 models, stupid engine design. Water pump fails to oil.

what do you think about a mid to late 90's Mercury Sable

town car it gets 24 on the hwy
except from the gas its the cheapest car to own

Any Cavalier with the 2.2 cast iron block and head. My wife drives one and this thing just goes. 200K plus and no oil burning issues or anything. This car has been so reliable for her it will be sad to see it go. Our friend gave it to us 4 years ago as he had bought it for a winter car. Stay away from the 2.4 Z24 models, stupid engine design. Water pump fails to oil.

x2..I got a 97 hand me down cav about 8 years ago with the 2.2. Got rid of it @147k..All i ever replaced was the alt and valve cover gasket.