Good reliable small car?

[VaderSS]

quote:

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Anything with the 3.8 and 3.3l engine AND auto with OD. Usually mid-size, but will get you 30 mpg plus on the interstate.

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As long as it's a GM... Stay away from Fords with 3.8s and Dodges with 3.3s.

Getting back to the small car theme, I am planning to get a Ford Festiva. Resale on those is incredibly poor, but I've not heard much bad about them, and plenty of good. Get super mileage, and with a stick, they are fun to drive.

 

[XS650]

deleted my duplicate post

[ March 05, 2004, 12:10 PM: Message edited by: XS650 ]

 

[XS650]

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Originally posted by cryptokid:
how is this possible seeing as they are the same car?

i think the driver's habits have alot to do with it. the average person who buys a kia is probably going to beat on the thing.

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The dealer network also has a lot to do with customers perceptions of a cars quality.

I had a dark metallic blue 91 Honda Accord that the clear coat on the roof started to dull in early stages of failing when it was just over three years old. I took it to the dealer and the response was "We're terribly sorry sir, but we have been having some problems with that [paint, please make an appointment at your convenience and we will strip and repaint your car."

They did an excellent repaint that still looks good today.

My next door neighbor had a 91 GM product with the same problem except his paint was peeling. He took it to the GM dealer and got a run around the firstr several trips. He finally got the horizontal surfaces only repainted by GM and the paint looks like crap again now.

Same problem, same initial paint material quality for GM and Honda. Difference is, I think Honda has excellent service and the paint problem is a non-issue when I look for a new car.

My neighbor thinks GM service sucks and won't buy another GM product.

My wifes 2000 Acura 3.2TL with the problamatic 5 speed automatic developed a slight intermittant stutter in the TC lockup. Even though that wasn't the problem that causes Acura to extend the transmission warranty to 100,000 miles she got a new transmission on the extended warranty at over 80,000 miles. Acura turned a potentially customer losing problem into increased customer loyalty.

GM Prizms also had significantly lower customer satisfaction than Toyota Corrolas even though they once were identical cars built on the same production line. The difference is how the customers are treated by the dealers.

 

[Cutehumor]

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Originally posted by ekrampitzjr:
I vote for the 1991-2002 Escort sedan and 1991-1999 wagon plus the Mercury Tracer clones. I have a '97 Escort wagon with 241K miles, and it's been a trouper. Aside from normal maintenance and little items such as light bulbs, here's a list of what has been replaced that had to be replaced:

1 - water pump (just replaced the second one as it had more miles on it than the original did, but it turned out to be still good)
1 - front oil seal (comment above applies here too)
1 - clutch pack with seals including rear main engine oil seal
1 - extra throwout bearing (failed by itself and clutch pack replaced then too while car was apart)
2 - transaxle seals where halfshafts enter case
1 - evaporative emissions canister valve, which caused "Check Engine" light to come on at about 190K miles
1 - shield installed in 2003 recall of 1997 Escorts
all - inner and outer tie rod ends and ball joints; all gradually failed at about ~200K
1 - alternator
1 - windshield washer nozzle
set - front brake pads
all - wheel bearings (as precaution only at 156K)
both - halfshafts (as precaution at 200K when throwout bearing was replaced with clutch pack)

And that's really it.

Secrets: Red Line oil and transaxle fluid, Motorcraft (usually) oil filters, K & N air filter with aftermarket intake system, 30K coolant changes with Red Line Water Wetter, plus proactive maintenance including timing belt changes each 60K.

Radiator, fuel injectors, electronics, etc., are original. Only last month did I change the valve cover gasket for the first time.

A big advantage here is the ready availability and relatively low price of most parts. Hondas and other Japanese cars are great until you begin needing parts, then it's time to turn around and bend over--after you wait and wait and wait . . .

I should also note that this car has had two impacts with deer.

For financial reasons I must keep this Escort another 2-1/2 years. Knock on wood, I think it'll make it.

Unfortunately, I agree with the previous comment that the Focus doesn't seem to be as reliable a car. The upcoming diesel version should be interesting, though . . .

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wow! you went 240k miles on redline only? where were you a month ago?

there was a thread on here about this very topic from Spector. He wanted to talk to members who have used redline exclusively for the first 100k miles. Since the wear numbers with redline oil isn't that impressive in used oil analysis. I wish I knew how to link that topic.

 

[K-Man]

Cutehumor, sorry about any confusion I may have caused. I used dino (Citgo 10W30 typically) and changed every 3K miles until the car had 110K, then I switched to Red Line after doing a lot of homework. Have been on RL with 6K changes ever since and am pleased. Did respond to Spector's thread asking about people who had used RL for >100K miles, but I was just about the only one.

 

[Drew99GT]

I say get the Camry, sell it, take the profit and get a 1.8L (7AFE) Corolla or Prizm. I just bought a 94 Corolla with 74,000 miles for only $4,000 bucks. It has plenty of get up and go, and easily gets 34-35 mpg IN TOWN, with maybe a tad more on the highway, although I've usually got my foot buried in it at 80 mph on the highway, spinning 3500 rpms

! The Corollas easily hold their value more than the Prizm, so if you plan on selling in a few years, it may be best to find a Corolla, cause it willl easily still have about $1,000 more equity than a comparable Prism. Or, get the Prism cheaper, then run it till it dies, if at all!

 

[PandaBear]

Acura Integra. They are know to last forever, even last longer than Civic.

 

[darkdan]

Ford Aspire/Festiva! =)

$300 to $700 depending on condition.

35 to 50 mpg depending on condition.

Cheap maintaince, that mazda motor lasts forever.

Things I needed to replace on mine: tires, headgasket, fixed exhaust

Mine was in really bad condition.

Plus, if you ever get the need for speed there are several engines you can swap. 1.6L, 1.6L Turbo, 1.8L. You can have a high 14 second car that gets 40 mpg.

To give you an idea, by driving my aspire for 16k miles I saved roughly $1300 in gas compared to my other vehicles. Considering I've only put about $1000 into my car, that means in 16 months I saved $300! Anything after this means the car is MAKING me money.

Plus I used to to use it for pizza delivery when i lived in Iowa. I couldn't use the other cars (10 to 14 mpg) to delivery in. So all those tips and extra hours made me some profit too.

Sure, they're slow, ugly, small, and a bunch of other nasty words, but I love this little thing. Even gave it some style.

http://home.mchsi.com/~xetornnad/aspire04.jpg

 

[XS650]

quote:

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Originally posted by darkdan:
Ford Aspire/Festiva! =)

$300 to $700 depending on condition.

35 to 50 mpg depending on condition.

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Driving a Festiva is like wearing a dark suit and wetting your pants. It gives you a nice warm feeling and no one notices.

Just kidding, they have to be one of the most under rated fun cars around.

[ March 27, 2004, 03:58 PM: Message edited by: XS650 ]

 

[Jim Spahr]

With the gas prices climbing every week, a lot of people will be wanting to buy econo cars like the Suzuki 3 cyl and the Geo Metro 4 cyl. But I have always heard the parts for these cars are hard to find and very expensive to boot. I would think a Honda Civic or a Toy. Corolla would be more practical and parts easier to find, even though the parts are expensive.

 

[thrace]

Acura Integra and Honda Civic may be high theft items. Insurance cost and the inconvenience of getting a car stolen are things to think about. Maybe boring is better for good reliable small car.

 

[darkdan]

Jim, that's BS.

Parts for these cars are cheap and plentiful. Junk yards are full of festiva/aspires/escorts/metros/swifts/etc. They even have low mileage engines on ebay for $500. How many cars do you know of that you can buy a 30,000 mile engine for $300 - $500?

Heck, if you ever need something major buy a 2nd one for a parts car.

The geo 3 cylinders are nice. Nearly 50 mpg. Suzuki Swift is the same. They get about 45 stock.

The metros don't have an aftermarket following, but the festivas/aspires barely do. Like I've said before, if you get the need for speed there are a few different mazda engines you can put in them. For $2000 you've got a 1.6L Turboed car that runs high 14s in the 1/4 mile and gets 40 mpg! Or for $300 you can swap a 1.6 n/a engine into it, get 40 to 45 mpg, and have enough horsepower to actually pass someone.

Plus, with the exception of front wheel bearings (they have to be pressed in) all of the repair work can be done with about 5 sockets and an idiot (me) holding a racket. I mean heck, I did a headgasket change myself and 16k miles later it's still good (surprising).

The only thing is, if you must get into an accident try to avoid hitting an SUV!

 

[Scooby]

Well, I am still looking. Kinda leaning toward a Ford Aspire or Escort. Nearly everything I have looked at is automatic. I bet 90-95% of everything in my area is auto. Finding a four door Aspire is very rare as well.

The Camry situation is gonna be awhile. The guy told me he'll sell when it gets around 120-130k. I understood him to say he was getting to that mileage. Well...it is only around 65k. IF it comes available when he sells it, I still plan on buying it. Most likely will sell it since I'll hopefully have something by then.

Thanks for the ideas guys.

One more thing. These people selling these cars are smart. They know that people are looking for cars good on gas. They are asking high prices...and not budging.

[ March 29, 2004, 03:20 AM: Message edited by: Scooby ]

 

[Ken4]

Old cars are only reliable if you are able to source for spares easily. Just look around you & see what's the most common small car trodding your roads, that'll be the car to buy. No point buying a car, then having to place an order for every part you buy. All cars need spares no matter how reliable it may be. Over where I live, MB spares are so abundant and cheap. But when it came to my Toyota Camry, not only are the parts expensive, things like drivers seat height mechanism had to order from Japan, seat belt mechanism also had to order from Japan.

 

[VaderSS]

Just got my Festiva. Ended up getting a '90 LX. Engine sounds a bit rough but I'm hoping an AutoRX treatment will clear that up. The Festiva is every bit as fun to drive as I remember.

 

[Korean_redneck]

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Originally posted by totttalled:
another option is a 95-97 kia sephia. i know kias have a bad rap, but they are actually 100% mazda clones. every part on the car is mazda. and their resale value is so low that you can pick up a good low mileage used sephia for under 1000 dollars.


YOU LIE!!

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The older Kia Sephias ( 1994-2001) are built by kia, some parts are designed by Kia, some engienering were done by mazda but everything from Nuts, bolts, and engien assembly was done at the korean plant. the brand new kias are totally Hyundai and hyundai does everything by themselves.

\John

 

[RedWolf4000]

cousincletus, i think you have your japanese transmission failure mixed up with your Dodge/Chrysler failure. LoL. No one can argue with that one! But....im sure someone will.

 

[patel]

I did get Oldsmobile 98 yr 1986 for $2500 with 100,000 mile. I had over 110,000 in six years. I have driving that car from chicago to east coast and South side Charlotte, NC total i think 8 or 9 trip. Never had proble. Except transmittion gone at 165K mile.............

With $900 spent got new rebuilt transmittion, got another 50,000 mile...

long stosy Sort, Buy Big car. Easy to work and cheap too....

Simple example is Elephant lives longer that horse or dog.........

He He He Ha Ha Ha

 

[T-Keith]

I have sevarl friend who had terrible luck with cars. They had all been through many cars in a short period of time. Honda, GM toyota, Ford, it didn't matter, they all died. I told them all to get an "Iron Duke". That's a GM 2.5L produced until 93, available in all of GM's small lines except the J-body.

In all three cases(two were the same car) the vehicles have lasted longer than any vehicle they've owned.

So that would be my recomendation, although I doubt most here would agree, or even pay attention.

-T

 

[cousincletus]

quote:

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Originally posted by T-Keith:
I have sevarl friend who had terrible luck with cars. They had all been through many cars in a short period of time. Honda, GM toyota, Ford, it didn't matter, they all died. I told them all to get an "Iron Duke". That's a GM 2.5L produced until 93, available in all of GM's small lines except the J-body.

In all three cases(two were the same car) the vehicles have lasted longer than any vehicle they've owned.

So that would be my recomendation, although I doubt most here would agree, or even pay attention.

-T

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Agree with the 2.5 "4-tech" engine. Had one in an '88 S-10 and they run forever. Mine had about 250,000 miles on it when it was junked. The only reason it blew up was it was run until it locked up after breaking a radiator hose.