I dont intend to dish out $2k and have a road worthy, well maintained car ready for plenty of miles.
I do my own work so I expect all sorts of wear and maintenence will be required to get it in top shape.
Best Used Commuter Car?
- Thread starter AdmiralYoda
- Start date
I do my own work so I expect all sorts of wear and maintenence will be required to get it in top shape.
Mazda 3 or 6. Actually fun to drive for what they are, later ones are very nice.
We’ve had lots of Toyotas and Mazdas.
I commend the Mazda, hands down.
We’ve had lots of Toyotas and Mazdas.
I commend the Mazda, hands down.
I like my 06 Toyota matrix as my “daily” to keep the miles lower on my Canyon. I paid under $5k for it when it had 155k miles on it. I put some work in it to make it safe, reliable and clean and with 228k miles on it now, I would absolutely drive it from coast to coast. It’s a southern CA car and would not sell it for under $5k even w the high mileage. It’s a keeper beater for me
A newer Accord or Camry and an older truck for the weekends is my suggestion. I’d rather have the nicer vehicle for daily commuting and the vehicle sitting more often being the beater.
We drive a lot and prefer newer vehicles. Like beds, we spend too of our lives there to cheap out and concede to being uncomfortable. My 2 cents.
We drive a lot and prefer newer vehicles. Like beds, we spend too of our lives there to cheap out and concede to being uncomfortable. My 2 cents.
not where OP is from
Mazdas are very prone to rust, especially ones in the stated price range! In Arizona, it's not a problem, but in New England, oh boy!
That’s something I hadn’t had to worry about in years. My rx7 with NY salt held up fantastically though. Good point.
edyvw
$50 site donor 2025
Something fun, with stick shift. That is a lot of time to waste in life on something boring.
OP here. Probably putting this idea on hold for a bit....but thanks everyone for your input! I'm leaning towards a 4cylinder and a manual transmission. The Honda K24 has always been a great motor so when I do go down this road it will probably be a 2003-2007 Honda Accord. Maybe a 2008-2012 but those are probably going to be out of my price range.
Didn't read all the posts. Apologies.
I'm going to be the dissenter here. After wrecking a couple of Camry's I find myself in a late model Corolla for commuting on my 100+ mile round trip for work. 95% highway which means cruising speeds of... yes.
You won't die because the NVH isn't in the Cadillac category. Yes I wish for my old Camry's back. I do miss the quiet. But I haven't died yet and it's been a couple of years.
I don't miss driving a stick when the traffic piles up, and just clicking through the gears a couple times in a day isn't that much fun. Also every so often one has a bum arm, or foot, or loans the car out, or should be home in bed but isn't because of lack of PTO/need to drive to the store for meds/you come up with an excuse, and just putting into drive allows the three remaining brain cells to focus on other driving stuff.
For a pure commuter it's all about reliability and minimizing time behind the wheel, and time spent at a garage (or in your garage while repairing). There's some sweet spot between saving money on purchase and saving money on repairs & fuel. If I ever find that perfect point, I'll let you know--I still haven't.
I'd avoid Camry's with the 2.4L. There are some still around and maybe they are ok... but the early ones pulled head bolts and the later ones drank oil. There may be a surviorship bias now, what is left is the good ones. That said... everything's a gamble. I liked my old 2.2L but it had a timing belt (which I found easy to replace) but that car lacked curtain airbags... so pick your safety requirements.
I think the really bad 1.8L Corolla's with their oil burning issues are now razor blades. But curtain airbags weren't standard until 2009 or so.
Can't speak for Honda as I have no love for them. I know many like but they are not my cup of tea.
Lastly, make sure the numbers work out. Back when I had a Tundra and was running the numbers, commuting in a 30mpg $1,500 Camry was break-even compared against my 17mpg Tundra. The additional cost of liability-only insurance and registration made it a wash as I kept the truck and drove it on the weekends. Having a newer car with full collision would have had me upside down. There would have been some upside in having spare wheels for when something broke down (and it was handy at times for that purpose) but in pure terms of money saved, it was break-even.
But it sure is nice to have a complete beater for commuting. My car is covered in sand and salt right now as it snowed last night. When I had my beater Camry I didn't care if someone door-dinged me, as I couldn't tell when it happened... life was good.
I'm going to be the dissenter here. After wrecking a couple of Camry's I find myself in a late model Corolla for commuting on my 100+ mile round trip for work. 95% highway which means cruising speeds of... yes.
You won't die because the NVH isn't in the Cadillac category. Yes I wish for my old Camry's back. I do miss the quiet. But I haven't died yet and it's been a couple of years.
I don't miss driving a stick when the traffic piles up, and just clicking through the gears a couple times in a day isn't that much fun. Also every so often one has a bum arm, or foot, or loans the car out, or should be home in bed but isn't because of lack of PTO/need to drive to the store for meds/you come up with an excuse, and just putting into drive allows the three remaining brain cells to focus on other driving stuff.
For a pure commuter it's all about reliability and minimizing time behind the wheel, and time spent at a garage (or in your garage while repairing). There's some sweet spot between saving money on purchase and saving money on repairs & fuel. If I ever find that perfect point, I'll let you know--I still haven't.
I'd avoid Camry's with the 2.4L. There are some still around and maybe they are ok... but the early ones pulled head bolts and the later ones drank oil. There may be a surviorship bias now, what is left is the good ones. That said... everything's a gamble. I liked my old 2.2L but it had a timing belt (which I found easy to replace) but that car lacked curtain airbags... so pick your safety requirements.
I think the really bad 1.8L Corolla's with their oil burning issues are now razor blades. But curtain airbags weren't standard until 2009 or so.
Can't speak for Honda as I have no love for them. I know many like but they are not my cup of tea.
Lastly, make sure the numbers work out. Back when I had a Tundra and was running the numbers, commuting in a 30mpg $1,500 Camry was break-even compared against my 17mpg Tundra. The additional cost of liability-only insurance and registration made it a wash as I kept the truck and drove it on the weekends. Having a newer car with full collision would have had me upside down. There would have been some upside in having spare wheels for when something broke down (and it was handy at times for that purpose) but in pure terms of money saved, it was break-even.
But it sure is nice to have a complete beater for commuting. My car is covered in sand and salt right now as it snowed last night. When I had my beater Camry I didn't care if someone door-dinged me, as I couldn't tell when it happened... life was good.
A couple of years ago there was a thread started by a "Bob" member who had just put 1,000,000 miles on a 2006 or 2007 Honda Accord V6 6MT Coupe. The last 40,000 miles or so were with a leaking exhaust valve, which on tear down was found to be too tight.
I have a 2007 Honda Accord V6 6MT 4 Door sedan. My friend who used to be in the used car business calls it "Honda's holy grail". It rides pretty well, handles pretty well, and accelerates pretty well. It also gets decent highway mileage and is pretty reliable. The manual transmission on mine was defective from new and was replaced within the first couple of weeks. It would jump out of both first and 2nd gear on the slightest deceleration. The (new) replacement transmission will jump out of first gear on deceleration on a steep down-slope so I just never leave it in first gear on steep down-slopes. The only disadvantage of the engine is the cost of replacing the timing belt periodically (every 100,000 miles or so). And I guess you should check the valve lash at least every 500,000 miles
.I have only 190,000 Km (120,000 miles) on mine so it's still a baby. I'd suggest you get a southern or western one too as they're rust resistant but not rust proof.
I would look for a 2003-2008 Corolla personally. Simple to work on and they just last.
Me personally I want something bigger and heavier on a long wheel base… Chrysler 300, available with AWD if you want/need it. V6 is decent despite what the haters say and the 8 speed is great. Could probably find a stripper model dirt cheap. Loved mine, just wish it was AWD as I moved to the snow belt.
Road like a dream on the highway at whatever speed you wanted up to allegedly 130mph where it’s governed (2020 was a wild time), even then it was smooth and stable
Road like a dream on the highway at whatever speed you wanted up to allegedly 130mph where it’s governed (2020 was a wild time), even then it was smooth and stable
i would go with a stick shift subaru justy.
make sure to watch for oil consumption on the 2AZ-FE ones since that's around the time they started doing that
Get a third generation Prius with a blown head gasket for $2000 or less (common failure) and you will have a thrifty commuter after you fix it.
90 mile round trip is likely sitting in 5th or 6th gear 97% of ride on highway . Not sure how a “fun” car is better here. When I go skiing at least 1hr away preferred vehicle is not friends Porsche Cayenne Turbo but his wife’s Honda Odyssey.
In that price range you’re going to have to sift through the junk on Marketplace. My thoughts if you’re looking to do this on a budget:
1. Gen 9 Corolla (2005-2008, skip the 2003-04). 1zz fe and auto will go to 299,999 on the dash and then some.
2. Gen 1 Vibe (skip the GT and again look at 2005-08. Same engine as above.
3. 2008-2011 Focus. The 4cyl is very reliable. The 4F27E are a bit goofy with gear slips being somewhat common at higher mileage. Mine has slipped since 70k miles from 2-3 - I just keep my foot off during the shift event. I have long commute like you and I’m currently at 125k miles. Outside of basic maintenance, it owes me nothing. I undercoat it every year to keep the rocker rot at bay.
My prior commuter that I still have is a 05 Corolla. Got it with about 98k miles from a family member and it’s currently at 201k miles.
Both of these have 15” rims - super cheap on tires and other consumables.
You might be able to find a 2011-12 Fusion. But the 6F35 back then didn’t seem quite as bulletproof at higher miles? These also have rocker rot challenges like the Mk2 Focus.
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Great suburban car, horrible highway cruiser, seats are too stiff, headrest is too far forward, and steering is too direct.
"90 mile round trip" doesn't really tell much about the commute. Is it droning along a straight freeway at 75 mph? Backroads? Are there frequent traffic jams? Does it begin and end with a lot of surface streets?
(FWIW, I don't think a commute should ever be measured as a round trip - just give the one-way figure.)
(FWIW, I don't think a commute should ever be measured as a round trip - just give the one-way figure.)
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