Best car for ~$6kish

[r0tor]

I predict anything in that price range will be a money pit before 3 years is out

[CJ]

Not mine, but same color and trim level as mine.

[Payman]

I predict anything in that price range will be a money pit before 3 years is out

Not with due diligence. I bought a 6 year old Cadillac STS for $6000, drove it for 3 trouble free years and sold it for $5500. Get a thorough inspection done, and with regular maintenance many cars can last 20+ years.

[Eye of the Tiger]

How about a nice Accord?
http://raleigh.craigslist.org/ctd/3582031122.html

[Rupert]

I predict anything in that price range will be a money pit before 3 years is out

That's bollocks. My anecdata shows very clearly that if you take care to buy a good car and you take care of it, you can get a reliable car for much cheaper than $5000. I've never spent more than $4500 for a car, and the ones that were not piles of shit when I bought them remained not piles of shit. I've never had a car that didn't start as a money pit become a money pit. I paid $2800 for my old Ranger, and I know that it's still in good shape six years after I bought it.

[2o6]

Fuck the Eclipse, its trash.

Focus is hit or miss, and repairs on it are not easy.

Mazdas may be ok, but most will have corrosion issues and associated repairs on that suck

Escape isnt bad, but RAV4 is a more reliable car.

Wouldn't trust any Nissan, either. Altima is rife with quality issues.

Consider the Scion xA; odd looking but frugal and cheap. And repairs are easyand cheap.

Many Subarus are also pretty reliable, too.

[2o6]

Also, fuck anything Korean, too. Any Hyundai that isn't current generation is an unrefined mess.


Fuck anything British, too. Freelander I is pure shit.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Also, fuck anything Korean, too. Any Hyundai that isn't current generation is an unrefined mess.

Fuck you 

[850CSi]

Not with due diligence. I bought a 6 year old Cadillac STS for $6000, drove it for 3 trouble free years and sold it for $5500. Get a thorough inspection done, and with regular maintenance many cars can last 20+ years.

Speaking of which, is an SLS a bad idea?

How about a nice Accord?
http://raleigh.craigslist.org/ctd/3582031122.html

Apparently the transmission on these things is bound to asplode

Fuck the Eclipse, its trash.

Focus is hit or miss, and repairs on it are not easy.

Mazdas may be ok, but most will have corrosion issues and associated repairs on that suck

Escape isnt bad, but RAV4 is a more reliable car.

Wouldn't trust any Nissan, either. Altima is rife with quality issues.

Consider the Scion xA; odd looking but frugal and cheap. And repairs are easyand cheap.

Many Subarus are also pretty reliable, too.

re: Focus - not easy to fix, or expensive to fix? I probably wouldn't be doing much of anything myself. No garage, no time.

Should I be wary of Mazda corrosion issues even this far south? There's no such thing as salt here.

Some cursory searching makes me think RAV4s are more expensive than Escapes.

I was wondering about Nissan, but I've never really been a fan.

Anything Scion is automatically out.

I love Subarus but they appear to hold their value a little too well.





This car will likely stick around for somewhere between 2 and 3 years.

[Eye of the Tiger]

An asploding transmission is no reason to toss the Acura out. If you are so confident the transmission will asplode, buy a powertrain warranty. It will only cost about the same as replacing the transmission.

[850CSi]

[850CSi]

Just to make sure - S60 would be a reliability nightmare, right? Is there anything not American or Japanese I should be considering?

[Eye of the Tiger]

You can't go wrong with an Audi V8
http://raleigh.craigslist.org/ctd/3584131680.html
trust me

[Rupert]

I might as well try to sell him my Fiat...

[Raza]

Is there anything I'm missing that makes something like this a bad idea?

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?zip=27516&endYear=2006&listingType=used&listingTypes=used&sellerTypes=b&maxPrice=6500&mmt=%5BACURA%5B%5D%5BCL_MODELS%5B%5DRL_MODELS%5B%5DTL_MODELS%5B%5D%5D%5D&modelCode1=CL_MODELS&makeCode2=ACURA&modelCode2=RL_MODELS&showcaseOwnerId=0&startYear=1998&makeCode1=ACURA&modelCode3=TL_MODELS&makeCode3=ACURA&searchRadius=100&minPrice=2000&listingId=332486178&listingIndex=2&Log=0


or

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?zip=27516&endYear=2006&listingType=used&listingTypes=used&sellerTypes=b&maxPrice=6500&mmt=%5BACURA%5B%5D%5BCL_MODELS%5B%5DRL_MODELS%5B%5DTL_MODELS%5B%5D%5D%5D&modelCode1=CL_MODELS&sortBy=derivedpriceASC&makeCode2=ACURA&modelCode2=RL_MODELS&showcaseOwnerId=0&startYear=1998&makeCode1=ACURA&modelCode3=TL_MODELS&firstRecord=26&searchRadius=100&makeCode3=ACURA&minPrice=2000&listingId=333961530&Log=0

(obviously a Civic with the same year/mileage would be somewhat cheaper)

The 3.2TLs had transmission nightmares.  I don't know about the RLs.

My friend had a gorgeous E34 525i that he was selling for $2,000.  It was fixed up by a BMW expert and running like a champ. 

I'd look at something like that as a possibility.  Get it under budget so if there are any issues, you have cash left over. 

I've also seen some Volvo V70s in that range.  Ford Focus is an easy buy in that price range as well. 

[Raza]

Just to make sure - S60 would be a reliability nightmare, right? Is there anything not American or Japanese I should be considering?

My friend's S60 T5 was very reliable...until it had a major repair.  Can't remember what it was.  But it did run for years hassle free. 

If I were you, I'd pick up a 1980s Mercedes, like my family's old 300SD Turbodiesel.  The only issue that car ever had was the AC. 

[Raza]

Hmm I'll have to talk to her and see if she likes the idea of a small SUV enough that it's worth sacrificing 7 or 8 mpg. But I showed her the Escape and she actually liked it a lot.

My impression that something like a 1st or 2nd gen Range Rover would be an unmitigated maintenance disaster is well-founded, correct? i.e., there's a reason why this is so cheap: http://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/3534550266.html

No heater, no air?  That could be an expensive fix. 

[Raza]

This is my favorite thing that I just pulled off an ad for a Range Rover for sale near me:

- Runs well, apart from transmission shift problem (most likely faulty XY switch)
- Won't start - available for towing from Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey

If it runs well, but doesn't start, how does it run well?

[MX793]

Fuck the Eclipse, its trash.

Focus is hit or miss, and repairs on it are not easy.

Mazdas may be ok, but most will have corrosion issues and associated repairs on that suck

Escape isnt bad, but RAV4 is a more reliable car.

Wouldn't trust any Nissan, either. Altima is rife with quality issues.

Consider the Scion xA; odd looking but frugal and cheap. And repairs are easyand cheap.

Many Subarus are also pretty reliable, too.

As long as it's a southern car, corrosion won't really be an issue.  Mazdas really only rust in states where they throw tons of salt on the roads during the winter.

I wouldn't bother with Subaru if I lived someplace without meaningful snowfall (unless it's a WRX/STi).  The AWD just saps fuel mileage and if the worst you drive in are wet roads, not worth the trade off.  They're also a bitch to work on (timing belt is not cheap, and even changing spark plugs is difficult).

[TBR]

The question for me is this: just how reliable is an almost-decade old Civic/[insert Japanese econobox here]? I mean can I literally expect to pick one up with like 120k miles, put another 40k miles on it over 3 years, and not run into any major repairs?

I'm also wondering if there's anything I should watch out for re: cars that have particularly high insurance rates.

Depends on what you call major. You'll might run into one or two $400-500 repairs a year, but I wouldn't expect anything huge like replacing the transmission or rebuilding the engine.

I would rather go non-Civic and get something with lower miles though.

[TBR]

As long as it's a southern car, corrosion won't really be an issue.  Mazdas really only rust in states where they throw tons of salt on the roads during the winter.

I wouldn't bother with Subaru if I lived someplace without meaningful snowfall (unless it's a WRX/STi).  The AWD just saps fuel mileage and if the worst you drive in are wet roads, not worth the trade off.  They're also a bitch to work on (timing belt is not cheap, and even changing spark plugs is difficult).

You've also got to worry about the head gaskets.

[SVT666]

You can get SVT Focuses in that price range quite easily.

[Northlands]

The five speed auto in the TL will explode.  Will explode.

+1.

A $6k RL would also be asking for trouble. The only ones around here listing for that much have a billion kilometres on them.

[Northlands]

As the owner of two ten year old cars, being a Civic and Accent, I can say with my experiences that they've both been fairly problem free. So long as reg. maintenance was done.

[FoMoJo]

http://www.autotrader.ca/a/Ford/Escape/AURORA/Ontario/5_16109904_ON20070704162427947/?ursrc=hl&showcpo=ShowCPO

I was gonna say...make sure you get the V6.

[68_427]

My Subaru is incredibly easy to work on, and the timing belt/wp/gaskets only cost $400.  I can replace my spark plugs in about 15minutes.

[Payman]

Fuck the Eclipse, its trash. It's an economy car in sporty clothes and is very reliable.

Focus is hit or miss, and repairs on it are not easy. Reliable and economical car, parts are cheap and I assume they won't be doing any repairs required.

Mazdas may be ok, but most will have corrosion issues and associated repairs on that suck. Honda Civics are every bit as bad in the corrosion department. Proteges and 3's are the most trouble-free cars out there.

Escape isnt bad, but RAV4 is a more reliable car. That's an outright myth. "Toyota" doesn't automatically mean reliable.

Wouldn't trust any Nissan, either. Altima is rife with quality issues. Agree... I know some owners who curse their Nissans.

Consider the Scion xA; odd looking but frugal and cheap. And repairs are easyand cheap. This is your suggestion? Lol.

Many Subarus are also pretty reliable, too. Agree, but they're pricey used and parts are expensive.

[Cookie Monster]

I feel like for some reason Proteges and 3's are more susceptible to rust issues than other cars in the same class...

[Payman]

I feel like for some reason Proteges and 3's are more susceptible to rust issues than other cars in the same class...

They are, but I was pointing out that Civics are also bad, especially around the rear wheel wells.

[MX793]

They are, but I was pointing out that Civics are also bad, especially around the rear wheel wells.

Civics of the same vintage as my 3 seem to be holding up better than my car.