Looking for a $1000-$2000 commuter car

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Drove the [censored] out of a '96 SL1. Was very reliable if you can get past the oil burning, and head cracking. I realize the cracked head syndrome does not happen to everyone; but it does happen (ours was bought with one, yay). Besides that, an alternator, and other wear items, it was pretty reliable. I believe we put about 90k miles on it before we sold it..misfiring on one cylinder and burning enough oil to make people ask if the car was on fire.

After driving our Malibu for 27k miles since; I'm not sure I could get past the oil burning again. Popping the hood every tank (or every other tank) of gas in the middle of winter, sucks. Of course in Texas you won't have that problem.


We didn't pay much more than $2k for the Malibu and it's a nicer ride than the Saturn (that we paid about the same for). It dosen't hit the same gas milage numbers though. Malibu does about 30 on the highway, SL1 did about 36-7.
 
Originally Posted By: Papa Bear
I couldn't trust my life and livelihood to a $1,000 vehicle.


Stuff is a little different in texas. The car doesn't turn to rust by the time they become cheap.
 
Originally Posted By: Papa Bear
I couldn't trust my life and livelihood to a $1,000 vehicle.

I'm pretty sure I can find a $1-2000 vehicle that's "safer" than your car and I don't even know what you drive.
No one should drive a car with a major safety issue but lots of people get lots of places in fully functional 8-10 year old cars.
 
Originally Posted By: occupant
I have SCOURED and SCRUBBED the local CL and AutoTrader listings and came up with around 30 vehicles that fit our parameters:

priced at $2000 or less
automatic transmission
better than 25mpg combined (from fueleconomy.gov, 80% hwy)
4-door sedan, 4-door hatchback, or 4-door wagon

I have this all set up in a spreadsheet and I sorted them by fuel mileage to come up with a top ten. This top ten includes:

93 Civic LX sedan, 107K, $1988
99 Saturn SL1, 113K, $1940
99 Saturn SL1, 144K, $1590
00 Escort sedan, 147K, $1595 (seller claims only M1 used)
98 Escort sedan, 131K, $1650
98 Escort sedan, 96K, $1200
01 Focus SE sedan, 122K, $1800
98 Prizm sedan, 148K, $1995
97 Saturn SL1, 135K, $1300
04 Elantra GLS sedan, miles unkn, $2000

It seems the automatic Escorts and Saturns do quite well on the EPA cycle. I'm also considering buying two vehicles, at which point the budget goes to $3000 and I'd get two of the same, either two Escorts or two Saturns I guess, and make one stick and one automatic.

With Saturn gone and known as oil burners and the Escort history of spotty reliability, where is the happy medium?


I suggest going with the Honda Civic. It should be reliable.
 
Originally Posted By: IndyIan
Originally Posted By: Papa Bear
I couldn't trust my life and livelihood to a $1,000 vehicle.

I'm pretty sure I can find a $1-2000 vehicle that's "safer" than your car and I don't even know what you drive.
No one should drive a car with a major safety issue but lots of people get lots of places in fully functional 8-10 year old cars.


That is true. My car will be 15 years old in 3 months and it works without a problem.
 
I have two pretty darn reliable airport cars. Not the prettiest but they steer and stop, go when I push on the go pedal, and the heater and AC work great as a bonus. The 98 Escort is more "solid" and has cheaper parts but the 94 Corolla is pretty good itself. I bought both for $800 each with about 150000 miles each on them. Both needed a clutch (and that is how most of them are sold for a good price, "need clutch"). I went through them both because in a year they will be my kids cars. I'd buy either one of them again.
 
If noone will buy a $1000 car its value will drop to zero.

If people shy away from $3000 cars until the price drops to $1k, well there's your $1000 car.

Even at 1/20 the new price, 99% of the parts will be in working order.
lol.gif
 
This is more money than I USUALLY spend on a car. Since my wife will be driving it as much as I will, it has to be better than the $300-$500 beaters I normally enjoy. I'll still buy POS cars here and there but this is something we'd like to keep as a sort of backup/commuter/wannagetbettermileagethanthedurango kind of car for the next 2-3 years. I don't think we'll put more than 10K a year on it. It could have 300K now, as long as it lasts to 330K without tearing it down to nuts and bolts every month, it's all good.
 
The most reliable and cheapest cars to maintain in the history of auto manufacturing are the 93-97 corolla. I have 2 . One has 197000 and the other has 278000. Both are daily drivers. The automatic 1.8 gets 28-34 mpg and the 1.6 stick gets 34-40 mpg. I had a 95 prizm too and it was not a good. The California nummi cars are not as solid as the Canadian or Japanese version. Still good but a tad lower in quality. The 98-2002 corolla/prizm's had more problems ,but not until the 2000 with vvi were they major (oil burning) issues.
 
Originally Posted By: IndyIan
Originally Posted By: Papa Bear
I couldn't trust my life and livelihood to a $1,000 vehicle.

I'm pretty sure I can find a $1-2000 vehicle that's "safer" than your car and I don't even know what you drive.
No one should drive a car with a major safety issue but lots of people get lots of places in fully functional 8-10 year old cars.




I think for many of us it's a hobby or ..hmmm..attribute of frugal pride.

I've been driving my son's parked 96 NEON for the past week. He got a company car/fuel/insurance ..so it's parked. The thing looks like an urban warfare victim, but has a clean interior and is mechanically sound. He commuted 80mpd in the thing. I just drove it for sustained highway driving and would have no issues with running it full time. Getting in and out was an effort, but it's an acquired skill for me in anything but an older minivan or my jeeps.

The great thing about it is that if it breaks, you get another one for under $1000 and it would probably be newer. You've gotta love how people get bored with perfectly good hardware.
 
Originally Posted By: Gary Allan
Originally Posted By: IndyIan
Originally Posted By: Papa Bear
I couldn't trust my life and livelihood to a $1,000 vehicle.

I'm pretty sure I can find a $1-2000 vehicle that's "safer" than your car and I don't even know what you drive.
No one should drive a car with a major safety issue but lots of people get lots of places in fully functional 8-10 year old cars.




I think for many of us it's a hobby or ..hmmm..attribute of frugal pride.

I've been driving my son's parked 96 NEON for the past week. He got a company car/fuel/insurance ..so it's parked. The thing looks like an urban warfare victim, but has a clean interior and is mechanically sound. He commuted 80mpd in the thing. I just drove it for sustained highway driving and would have no issues with running it full time. Getting in and out was an effort, but it's an acquired skill for me in anything but an older minivan or my jeeps.

The great thing about it is that if it breaks, you get another one for under $1000 and it would probably be newer. You've gotta love how people get bored with perfectly good hardware.

Frugal pride... I like that term. I think I'm driving the oldest car in the lot at work, why that really matters I don't know but its cheaper than owning the newest car! I envision that buying a new car is like burning a $20 bill everyday for a year... Maintaining my Neon requires burning a few 20's hopefully not more than once or twice a year.
 
Take your time if possible. Try to buy it privately and skip the dealer. You will never get your money's worth from one. Find a good car from someone who took care of it and get it checked out. You'll be glad you did.

Find it hard to believe there were no Corollas, Camrys, Sentras and Altimas around for that price. Unless you excluded them for a reason.
If you go with buying 2 cars for $3000 then cross your fingers and see if you can grab an Accord or Civic 5spd. You won't have to worry about transmission failure and they last forever and ever.

Good luck with the hunt and I hope you find something great!
 
Originally Posted By: Art_Vandelay


Find it hard to believe there were no Corollas, Camrys, Sentras and Altimas around for that price. Unless you excluded them for a reason.
If you go with buying 2 cars for $3000 then cross your fingers and see if you can grab an Accord or Civic 5spd. You won't have to worry about transmission failure and they last forever and ever.

Good luck with the hunt and I hope you find something great!


He's probably thinking any of those in the $1500 range will be so knackered it won't be worth it. Fine cars, sure, but they hold their value until they snap in two. Methinks OP is looking for a diamond-in-the-rough, something underappreciated yet reliable.
 
My Sis-in-law moved away, and could not bring her 2nd car to her new apartment complex (just one parking space), so long story short, I got a 1997 Chrysler LHS for $750. It has a dent in the door and the headliner is tattered, but otherwise mechanically sound, I think. 195K miles.

Its a 4 door, highway cruiser with an incredibly large "cab forward" interior. Drives like a dream. I get a solid 24 mpg, 26 if I take it easy. Look long enough, and stuff like this can be found.
 
My two cents as someone currently on my third year driving a $2000 Grand Marquis, I go for condition when looking for a car, and try not to focus too much on a particular model. Also, gas mileage is not as critical to me as total cost of ownership. That leads me to generally buy older American cars that are well proven, with parts readily available, and the ability to get it fixed anywhere. If you can't buy all the basics at WalMart, it will probably be too expensive. Just for example, a friend loves old diesel Mercedes, which seem to last forever, but when something does die he spends a fortune on parts. A car that saves you $500 per year in gas, but costs an extra $500 per year in parts and repairs is worse to me than a less fuel efficient car that doesn't require as many costly repairs. Shorter me, for $1000-$2000 I'd look for a low-mileage Crown Vic or a Grand Marquis driven by a little old man or lady. I get 26 mpg on the highway in mine, and average over 20.
 
Have you considered a Subaru? I picked up my Legacy wagon for not much more than that. Mine was $2900 but it had a new timing belt, clutch, water pump and front CV's. The 2.2L (EJ22 engine) has a great track record and they are very reliable. Even with my AWD, I get 26-29 mpg's.
 
Originally Posted By: AuthorEditor
gas mileage is not as critical to me as total cost of ownership....
for $1000-$2000 I'd look for a low-mileage Crown Vic or a Grand Marquis driven by a little old man or lady. I get 26 mpg on the highway in mine, and average over 20.


Last night I wrote almost the exact same thing recommending the Crown Vic/Marquis to the OP. I erased it because I didn't think he'd be receptive to it.

I'm with you 1000% with that advice.
Cost of ownership/acquisition of a CV or MM is moderate. OP if you are really doing 80% highway it's not too much of a dip in mileage believe it or not. It's also one of the safest cars on the road.
It's like a bigger Camry. Just as solid and only loses 3mpg to the 4cyl auto.
 
4 years ago my brother bought a $1000 c-1500 chevrolet with a 4.3L. 116,000 miles with no rust! it can be done! he is on his 4th year of driving it for almost free.
 
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