what should I get

what new car

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2002_lincolnLS

2002_lincolnLS

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So looking at getting a vehicle and not sure what to get.

I have been thinking: honda civic, 240sx and things like that. I frankly do not care about the "downgrade" I just need something cheap to buy, own, maintain and so on. I may keep the LS and park it for a while as it needs more work right now than I want to spend on it right now.

if anyone has any experience with a car they have owned that is cheap to own and reliable let me know. Again, I don't care about your opinion of a down grade or what ever, its a daily driver that I need for now.

let me know.
 
I've had great luck with Maxima's in the past... 92 then a 95... both ran and drove great, should be able to find one cheap
 
We also had a 1992 maxima. Great reliable car, but allergic to being rear ended at 60mph by a ford explorer. we had a 2005 altima that was a great reliable cheap car. I also recommend older tacomas. 93-98 jeep grand cherokees with awd and 4.0 engines are really good, but not so much on gas.
 
I had a great experience with a 2002.5 MKIV Jetta vr6 200hp (if I could do it again tho, I'd prob go with the GTI, same engine)

Bought it with 133k and owned it for almost 2 years. Only expenses I had with it were 2 front shocks and oil changes. Small, quick, 4 door, and 30+ mpg highway. And you can't beat the exhaust note from that Vr6.

[video=youtube;Pd9P7vh0NFs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pd9P7vh0NFs[/video]


Only problem= FWD
 
2002_lincolnLS said:
I was thinking Subaru, but my understanding is they can be pricey to maintain. I could be wrong as I have never owned one.
Click to expand...

I've never owed one either, but I do know that they are a pain to keep going. They like to blow head gaskets and crack heads. You have to keep all four tires exactly the same diameter, or you will tear up parts of the drive train. I know of people who had to throw away two or three half used tires, or shave down one or two new ones until they were half gone.
 
My sister-in-law swears by Subies and has had a few. She drives a LOT and runs them well over 150K miles. One thing to consider, boxer engines tend to use oil as when sitting oil will tend to pool on the lower half of the cylinder.
 
Just don't get a civic... I like Subaru's a lot... I've never heard of any complaints from the people I know that have them about maintenance or reliability. Trucks are awesome and it's on my list to get a truck - however it is TOUGH finding a good truck that is 4x4 and hasn't been beaten to the ground. Also they get bad gas mileage. NJ doesn't always get friendly winters and a 2wd truck would be absolutely useless in the winter here. I'm sure the same can be said for Ohio.

So my priority list (If I were you would look like this):

4x4 truck (if u can find a good one cheap in good condition jump on it)
Subaru
240
other
civic
 
Toyota Corolla. They're little go-carts that run forever, and they stand up to an accident pretty well. And, unlike other Jap cars they have timing chains so there's no required belt change every 60K miles. At least, the older ones did. Decent mileage, and beyond oil changes they usually don't need anything so long as you take proper care of them. My kids both had them and they did well. I wouldn't think twice about buying another one, if I needed something cheap to operate. If you are considering a Civic, a Corolla is pretty much the same size class.

I'd also love to have a 240Z, but that's not going to be a cheap car to maintain because there are hardly any of them left so you'll have to make or adapt repair parts for them.
 
anyone have any experience with vw, I know they can be pricey to fix but have heard they are reliable so that shouldnt be an issue
 
I have owned a handful of 3800 cars (Grand Prix, Buicks, etc) all easy to work on, cheap, and reliable. Subaru and VW can be expensive to keep up or repair as can be the parts even if you do it yourself. At least that has been the expirence of some close friends that have owned both. But they are also pretty reliable from what I gathered. I had a 95 ford escort that was a champ. very low cost maintenance and great gas milage. Just not cool.

My family has always been American Car people so I will stick with it since we have had good luck with them.
 
00-05 models of SUVs are fairly cheap right now. I was finding 04 Tahoe 4x4's with 130k-180k on the 5.3 for $4,500-$7,000 on average.
 
Absolutely stay away from small VWs with gasoline engines. I know 5-6 people who had them, and every single one of them have had problems with losing oil. I'm talking a quart within a 20 mile drive. No puddling, no smoke, just here today, gone 20 minutes later. The dealer did oil consumption tests on all of them, and last I heard nothing was ever found as to where the oil was going. The diesels, on the other hand, have no problems that I've ever heard of.
 
I voted Civic, Subaru and other. Most Subarus feel like you're getting a lot more than you paid for (kind of like the LS). Civics are generally reliable and inexpensive, but I'd try to find one that's already had the timing belt replaced. This can be a pretty expensive job because of the labor involved (mostly removing interferences).

The 3800 V6's that L_King mentioned above are great engines, but you have to be careful about the transmissions. Mine (2002 Grand Prix GT) was starting to slip after about 125,000 mi with mild mods and occasional spirited driving. If you decide to go for one of these, look for one that hasn't been modified. Especially stay away from cars with big rims, as these put a lot of stress on the differential.

You might also consider the newer Impala with the 3.9. They're great highway cruisers for long drives, and can be bought used for pretty cheap. They get good mileage if you drive gently. Parts for any of the W bodies (Grand Prix, Impala, Monte Carlo, Regal, etc) are cheap and easy to find, and they're easy cars to work on yourself.
 
We had a Civic; once. My non-Amazon wife tried to close the hood with the prop-rod still engaged. She buckled the hood into a Teepee shape where the rod engaged the hood. I got home from work and saw the damage and got a little peeved. I was able to just push the hood flat with a little crinkling left. Prior to this I leaned my 160# against the door and it dented! Honda must use recycled aluminum cans for their panels! We were in South Dakota when a hail storm blew through. There was a brand new Lancer in the parking lot (paper plates and all) that had severe damage to EVERY panel on the car; even to the point that the back glass had exploded into the back seat and the windshield was shattered!! Our LS suffered no damage at all! Not a scratch, ding or dent!

After the hood incident I was determined to get a more "substantially" made car!
 
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