What's nuts about it is the crazy resale value (perceived or not) they have on them....even if they have over 200,000 miles.
Cheap used car advice
- Thread starter greenjp
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Ok so I reran the search with a 150k, $6k price limit and included 6 cylinder engines. I'd forgotten that I'd limited the first searches to 4 cylinders only. Still inclined in that direction but V6 does bring up the Tauruses, Regals, etc.
Regarding the 3.0 in the Taurus, is the 155 hp "Vulcan" or 200 hp "Duratec" preferred in terms of reliability?
Any thoughts about the Mazda 626 and Protege?
Regarding the 3.0 in the Taurus, is the 155 hp "Vulcan" or 200 hp "Duratec" preferred in terms of reliability?
Any thoughts about the Mazda 626 and Protege?
vulcan is perferred IMO. worlds easier to work on. Duratecs aren't bad, just much more complex and expensive to repair.
Originally Posted By: dishdude
Where is down here?
Orlando - Daytona area
Where is down here?
Orlando - Daytona area
I use these sites sometimes to look for used tires..
https://www.lemonfree.com/cars/vehicle_condition-Used
http://carfinder.com/inventory.php
sometimes turns up cars not found on autotrader etc.
https://www.lemonfree.com/cars/vehicle_condition-Used
http://carfinder.com/inventory.php
sometimes turns up cars not found on autotrader etc.
Originally Posted By: greenjp
Ok so I reran the search with a 150k, $6k price limit and included 6 cylinder engines. I'd forgotten that I'd limited the first searches to 4 cylinders only. Still inclined in that direction but V6 does bring up the Tauruses, Regals, etc.
Regarding the 3.0 in the Taurus, is the 155 hp "Vulcan" or 200 hp "Duratec" preferred in terms of reliability?
Any thoughts about the Mazda 626 and Protege?
The Vulcan is a better engine to have, IMO. They are under powered (with most 4 cylinders making more horespower today) , but good little workhorses. The coolant systems can crud up quickly - if you get one, change and flush the cooling system IMMEDIATELY.
Ok so I reran the search with a 150k, $6k price limit and included 6 cylinder engines. I'd forgotten that I'd limited the first searches to 4 cylinders only. Still inclined in that direction but V6 does bring up the Tauruses, Regals, etc.
Regarding the 3.0 in the Taurus, is the 155 hp "Vulcan" or 200 hp "Duratec" preferred in terms of reliability?
Any thoughts about the Mazda 626 and Protege?
The Vulcan is a better engine to have, IMO. They are under powered (with most 4 cylinders making more horespower today) , but good little workhorses. The coolant systems can crud up quickly - if you get one, change and flush the cooling system IMMEDIATELY.
I don't know about recommending a Taurus or Escort / early Focus due to the transmission reliability and the dropped valve seat. For something in this price range a Cavalier or Cobalt may be more reliable.
Civic and Corolla are more reliable than Ford in the plastic quality and hoses. I hate all those rotting rubber hoses on Ford that should have been metal, and those plastic clip that break apart and fading interiors on many of the early domestics. To be fair, the Japanese dropped their quality after the late 90s for these parts to match the domestic, so you got to be careful as well.
I'd also stay away from early low cost Koreans (Aveo is a Daewoo, worst of the Korean) too, I'd take a chance on domestic over that too.
Still on original alternator on all my 90s Japanese cars in 240k miles or more, they should last a lifetime these days.
Civic and Corolla are more reliable than Ford in the plastic quality and hoses. I hate all those rotting rubber hoses on Ford that should have been metal, and those plastic clip that break apart and fading interiors on many of the early domestics. To be fair, the Japanese dropped their quality after the late 90s for these parts to match the domestic, so you got to be careful as well.
I'd also stay away from early low cost Koreans (Aveo is a Daewoo, worst of the Korean) too, I'd take a chance on domestic over that too.
Still on original alternator on all my 90s Japanese cars in 240k miles or more, they should last a lifetime these days.
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Originally Posted By: PandaBear
I don't know about recommending a early Focus due to the transmission reliability and the dropped valve seat.
That was only an issue on the old SPI motors from 2000-2002ish. Since then the Focus powertrain has become far more reliable
Even the Taurus trans after 2004ish got much better and more reliable
I don't know about recommending a early Focus due to the transmission reliability and the dropped valve seat.
That was only an issue on the old SPI motors from 2000-2002ish. Since then the Focus powertrain has become far more reliable
Even the Taurus trans after 2004ish got much better and more reliable
Cobalts have too many steering shafts and steering columns needing replacing IMO, I'd look for a 2003-2005 Cavalier/Sunfire, the ecotec is a pretty stout little motor and with a manual trans the car should not have any drive train problems, things like brakes and tires are cheap and plentiful and the only real problems are the front abs harness', strut mounts and control arm bushings.
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