Looking for a car. Maybe one of these?
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Originally Posted By: fdcg27
The Crown Vics all had valve guide seal problems after 150K or so, and the oldest was a '97.
Minor things like the AC and the radiators required replacement, along with age items like brake lines, transmission cooler lines and so on.
We have a very savvy full time tech, along with a not our own money budget, so fixing things isn't a big issue for us.
It would be for you.
Between the two in typical, non abusive use, I'd probably pick the Crown Vic for its safety and power advanatges alone.
The Taurus is a very durable car, though.
Fuel economy in typical use is close to a wash, since the Vulcan in the Taurus doesn't make great MPG numbers to go along with its lack of power.
Drive a 4.6 Crown Vic for a while, though, and you'll wonder how the cops caught the average 4 cyl Accord, much less a really fast car.
And yeah, I've drive a couple of CVPIs, which left me really unimpressed.
No way you'd keep up with a V-6 Accord, but then the radio is always faster than any car, and it'll cost you to get out of an eluding charge.
The valve seals were fixed long ago (10+ years), and even if they DO go, a Vic will run 200,000 miles with bad seals. If you get tired of the morning smoke-puff, I recall guide seals are a 3-hour job. Any Panther is a 300,000-miler with even half-baked maintenance. I have driven several over 500K.
The Crown Vics all had valve guide seal problems after 150K or so, and the oldest was a '97.
Minor things like the AC and the radiators required replacement, along with age items like brake lines, transmission cooler lines and so on.
We have a very savvy full time tech, along with a not our own money budget, so fixing things isn't a big issue for us.
It would be for you.
Between the two in typical, non abusive use, I'd probably pick the Crown Vic for its safety and power advanatges alone.
The Taurus is a very durable car, though.
Fuel economy in typical use is close to a wash, since the Vulcan in the Taurus doesn't make great MPG numbers to go along with its lack of power.
Drive a 4.6 Crown Vic for a while, though, and you'll wonder how the cops caught the average 4 cyl Accord, much less a really fast car.
And yeah, I've drive a couple of CVPIs, which left me really unimpressed.
No way you'd keep up with a V-6 Accord, but then the radio is always faster than any car, and it'll cost you to get out of an eluding charge.
The valve seals were fixed long ago (10+ years), and even if they DO go, a Vic will run 200,000 miles with bad seals. If you get tired of the morning smoke-puff, I recall guide seals are a 3-hour job. Any Panther is a 300,000-miler with even half-baked maintenance. I have driven several over 500K.
I picked up a used MANUAL Transmission CAMRY at a dealer...they do exist and with a 4-banger it can be gotten cheap...
unlike most sticks they will likely NOT be driven by enthusiasts (meaning that they will not be driven as if a sports car)...more likely "only to church on Sundays" type of diving...just the kind of used car I wanted and one you might like too...
...the salesman who sold mine tells me dealers will take them in trade (for trade-in value or less), and unload them as quickly as possible (for trade-in value or a bit more) since they are so much harder sell, at least here in south Florida.
...just don't fall for the "I can get it for you for maybe a few hundred off because it's so rare" sales pitch and think you got a great deal
...go for at least $1500 less than the lowest price they have on it (OR ANY CAR YOU LOOK AT)...when I got my 99 Altima (again at a dealer) back in 02 I offered and got it for $3500 less than the window price...the higher the dealer price the more you can get off...
...mine had 3 sale prices: ebay/cars.com/window sticker...cars.com was the lowest...and I offered $1500 less than that and settled for $1000 less than cars.com price (contingent on them replacing the scratched windshield for that price, which they did)
I got a newer model than what you can get for $3500, but a search on the web might "net" you one in your ballpark. 2002 was a model change-over year (through 2006) so 2001 should be a lot cheaper.
...just do a KBB.com and edmunds.com look-see for what that car's "good/very good" trade-in value is and you'll know what to offer the dealer to "take it off its hands and off the lot"...I got mine for the "very good" trade-in value that I had confirmed by an indie mechanic and another body shop...just to make sure I wasn't getting suckered by "love at first sight" ...
Good luck...
unlike most sticks they will likely NOT be driven by enthusiasts (meaning that they will not be driven as if a sports car)...more likely "only to church on Sundays" type of diving...just the kind of used car I wanted and one you might like too...
...the salesman who sold mine tells me dealers will take them in trade (for trade-in value or less), and unload them as quickly as possible (for trade-in value or a bit more) since they are so much harder sell, at least here in south Florida.
...just don't fall for the "I can get it for you for maybe a few hundred off because it's so rare" sales pitch and think you got a great deal
...go for at least $1500 less than the lowest price they have on it (OR ANY CAR YOU LOOK AT)...when I got my 99 Altima (again at a dealer) back in 02 I offered and got it for $3500 less than the window price...the higher the dealer price the more you can get off...
...mine had 3 sale prices: ebay/cars.com/window sticker...cars.com was the lowest...and I offered $1500 less than that and settled for $1000 less than cars.com price (contingent on them replacing the scratched windshield for that price, which they did)
I got a newer model than what you can get for $3500, but a search on the web might "net" you one in your ballpark. 2002 was a model change-over year (through 2006) so 2001 should be a lot cheaper.
...just do a KBB.com and edmunds.com look-see for what that car's "good/very good" trade-in value is and you'll know what to offer the dealer to "take it off its hands and off the lot"...I got mine for the "very good" trade-in value that I had confirmed by an indie mechanic and another body shop...just to make sure I wasn't getting suckered by "love at first sight" ...
Good luck...
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Cheap? What about a mid 90's Ford Escort wagon? Oh, wait a minute, I saw one last week all rusted out and the dealer still wanted $2500 for it.
Had a contour automatic briefly. Get the stick!!! Auto would get confused and start off in 3rd gear if I rolled through a stop sign at 3 mph. Then after 2 seconds of my pedal on the floor it would find 1st and scoot away.
There is a bunch of rear seat room in this car, though. Surprising. Also the cloth seats were very nicely done, not cheap at all. Drove/ handled well too.
As said above the problem with the contour was its position in the lineup so by the end of the run they had cheapy headlights that always fog up, 14 inch steel wheels with hertz special hubcaps, and was basically the Tempo II.
There is a bunch of rear seat room in this car, though. Surprising. Also the cloth seats were very nicely done, not cheap at all. Drove/ handled well too.
As said above the problem with the contour was its position in the lineup so by the end of the run they had cheapy headlights that always fog up, 14 inch steel wheels with hertz special hubcaps, and was basically the Tempo II.
Originally Posted By: chevyboy14
i do not know to much about Nissans. how are they ? weak points? also do contours have timing belts or chains?
The Contour's V6 used a timing chain, but the I4 used a belt. The good thing is, Ford doesn't do interference engines. If the belt does break, you just put a new one on. I think they actually required that Nissan make the VG30E non-interference for the Quest/Villager.
Nissan was at their best in the 1990s and early 2000s IMO. When they redesigned the Altima in 2001 or so is when quality problems began showing up in their vehicles. Prior to that they were building very solid cars. One of my friends in college had a 1995 Maxima with a manual and that car was pretty quick. It was definitely the sportiest of the mainstream Japanese sedans available at that time.
i do not know to much about Nissans. how are they ? weak points? also do contours have timing belts or chains?
The Contour's V6 used a timing chain, but the I4 used a belt. The good thing is, Ford doesn't do interference engines. If the belt does break, you just put a new one on. I think they actually required that Nissan make the VG30E non-interference for the Quest/Villager.
Nissan was at their best in the 1990s and early 2000s IMO. When they redesigned the Altima in 2001 or so is when quality problems began showing up in their vehicles. Prior to that they were building very solid cars. One of my friends in college had a 1995 Maxima with a manual and that car was pretty quick. It was definitely the sportiest of the mainstream Japanese sedans available at that time.
Originally Posted By: chevyboy14
http://stlouis.craigslist.org/cto/3426341568.html
i know its a little older but darn its clean.
That one looks nice, but I'd go over it with a fine tooth comb. It's almost too good to be true. A 100K mile Camry in clean condition for just over $3K that didn't sell 10 minutes after being posted on CL almost has to have some catch. Could just be the used car market in your area though. That car could probably sell for $1000-$1500 more than what the seller is asking in a lot of places.
http://stlouis.craigslist.org/cto/3426341568.html
i know its a little older but darn its clean.
That one looks nice, but I'd go over it with a fine tooth comb. It's almost too good to be true. A 100K mile Camry in clean condition for just over $3K that didn't sell 10 minutes after being posted on CL almost has to have some catch. Could just be the used car market in your area though. That car could probably sell for $1000-$1500 more than what the seller is asking in a lot of places.
Cars in my area do tend to be cheaper than other places. Which is kind of nice when your buying. My biggest problem is I don't know what I want. Taurus fits the bill of decent easy and cheap but the transmission scares me. Autos in general scare me especially problematic one's
The V6 is chain driven. The Zetec 4 has a timing belt.
Originally Posted By: chevyboy14
i do not know to much about Nissans. how are they ? weak points? also do contours have timing belts or chains?
Originally Posted By: chevyboy14
i do not know to much about Nissans. how are they ? weak points? also do contours have timing belts or chains?
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