Pick an econobox for the misses..

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Yeah, I opened my 401(k) statement this weekend and I feel your pain
frown.gif


I made money, but only if you count my contributions, LOL. I guess one could say I only lost my employer's match this past quarter.

Not bad really, considering, only losing as much as my employer matched during the quarter.

But it only counts activity until 6/30...

Back to your regularly scheduled topic.
 
Back to square one here fellas.

Took a look at the 01 saturn with 45k miles.

Took a look under the hood, first thing I did was pull the dipstick.

Nice black oil with varnish all over the dipstick. The car was down 1.5-2 quarts of oil. The owner was a "mechanic".

He then told me that he just replaced the "intake manifold gasket" on the car.

His girlfriend was driving the car, and my guess was that she drove it down so low on oil that it overheated the motor, and popped the gasket.

No way would I buy a car like this.

Then he pulls out half a quart of saturn brand oil out of the trunk, and proceeds to add it to the crankcase.

I told him he would need at least another full quart, and he looked at me with a puzzled look.

Amazing how terrible a car with 45k miles on it can be.
 
The IM gasket was actually an issue on 00-02 sohcs.

It was thrown in by an uncaring robot, wrinkling on the cyl 1 hole. This eventually leads to a vacuum leak and cyl 1 misfire code.

No antifreeze is lost or mixed with anything else, usually: the sole coolant passage is on the cyl 4 side.

Don't judge the car on the nitwit owner. Another s-car might be nice.

"mechanic owned" could just mean non-vital repairs are delayed or blown off. Scaredy cat type owners that run to the dealer and get stuff like struts and ball joints when they first start making noise are sometimes better to buy from.
cheers3.gif
 
picture of pinched gasket

Now I completely understand if your position is that you shouldn't pay good money for something this sloppily done AND maintained.

I would go over there and wave $3000 cash in 100 dollar bills and see if he takes it. (but you already say he won't take $5k) Gas just slipped a dime here; he may think he's sitting on gold and afraid of competition when prices fall.

Plus few people have that much money sitting around for a used car; they would need bank financing which means a dealer. Not to mention they want some consumer protection on a used car that expensive.

Are you afraid of the front end work and timing belt because they exceed your skill level? I found ball joints to be a big stepping stone but once I puckered up and did one due to financial desperation I discovered they weren't the big deal I thought they could be. Plus that crossmember might be replaceable, is it a bolt-in deal?

I'll return to my saturn experience; the engine cradle/subframes tend to rust out where the lower control arms attach, but the same frame is used from 94-02. The rest of the car... floorpans etc are incredibly rust-resistant. So I'm stashing a subframe in my rafters on the assumption that

1) one of mine will rust out at some point and
2) replacement saturn cars will be hard to find with ever-increasing oil prices.

IDK how the Neon is.... Sorry I'm rambling...
 
Thanks for that info.

Honestly it was too much money for the car anyways.

The guy wanted 6 grand to start for the car.

The car booked high at 5600. 5200 was still high for that car, and for 5200 I would have paid it had it been a well kept car in near perfect condition.

It was far from good condition.

For 6 grand I can get an ecotech powered car, will have to keep looking.

Gas is going to come back down, but my girlfriend has always driven fwd econoboxes, so why change now?
 
There was a guy on here who bought a brand new cavalier with ecotec when the cobalt was just about to be introduced.

The dealer was blowing them out for $7999.

He had GM card rewards though and got the car for $3500ish out the door!

I bet you'll find what you're looking for. I stuffed a brother-in-law in a $300 cavalier and it was very similar in build quality to my beloved saturns. (This is where you say, uh-oh. :) ) But it took Maine salt/rust quite well. Cavaliers are STILL cheap and "nerdy" despite driving nicely and getting MPG and reliability and cheap parts.

Incidentally the newest cobalt XFEs have taller gear ratios; maybe in a couple years you can get a used transmission for cheap and bump your MPG.
 
I drive a saturn ion daily.

I've been pretty happy with it, but the parts for the car are somewhat scarce to find.

Most everything besides filters and brakes is only made by the dealer, and you pay huge bucks for it.

Try finding shocks, wheel bearings, or other common items. They cost a fortune.

Makes me want to steer towards a run of the mill chevy.

Did they not sell many of these ions?

Here in buffalo, every single family has a malibu, and their kids drive cobalts and ions.

Go to other cities, and you are hard pressed to find a new chevy on the roads.
 
Originally Posted By: JustinH
Back to square one here fellas.

Took a look at the 01 saturn with 45k miles.

Took a look under the hood, first thing I did was pull the dipstick.

Nice black oil with varnish all over the dipstick. The car was down 1.5-2 quarts of oil. The owner was a "mechanic".

He then told me that he just replaced the "intake manifold gasket" on the car.

His girlfriend was driving the car, and my guess was that she drove it down so low on oil that it overheated the motor, and popped the gasket.

No way would I buy a car like this.

Then he pulls out half a quart of saturn brand oil out of the trunk, and proceeds to add it to the crankcase.

I told him he would need at least another full quart, and he looked at me with a puzzled look.

Amazing how terrible a car with 45k miles on it can be.


wow! glad he didn't change the oil and put another dipstick in the engine. you may not have caught it!
 
I had an experience like that when I was looking at used cars. The (white-trash-looking) woman who owned the car was charging way too much for it, and when I got there she hadn't even bothered to fill up the front tires which were nearly flat. I figured what the [censored], I'm here, might as well have a look under the hood. The dipstick had literally broken off and fallen down the oil filler tube. Luckily I was driving my wife's car at the time (same engine), so I figured I might as well check the oil level using her dipstick. The stuff in there looked and had the consistency of tar, pretty much. Needless to say, I left without even giving the car a test drive.

Ended up finding a much better deal a couple months down the road. Same type of car, less than half the miles, and for a cheaper price. Bought it from some clueless asian type who probably didn't even know what KBB was, but figured a 7-year old Chevy wouldn't be worth much.
 
Having sold a couple "clunkers" I can report that people are incredibly price-conscious. I don't have any good road frontage so I can't leave the creampuff where people would see it and pull over. So I advertise on craiglist etc.

One dollar over "average" or KBB and there are no nibbles.

I put effort in, sometimes significant, to pass state inspection. While my cars sell, often to the first person to look, it is rarely for more than $1100-1200 for your average 10-12 year old american 4 cylinder with a new good-for-a-year sticker. (And it's not just my salesmanship talking; I take care of the little issues and get things all tuned up as well as vacuumed etc.) Last week though I just sold my unstickered, needs work F150 for $750. So condition is not important, and people will pay for junk if they picture themselves looking good behind the wheel. I honestly don't get it; people still have little common sense!

In short the marketplace makes so little sense it boggles your mind, so try not to think about it. We all know those overpriced cars that sit for months in peoples' yards, collecting leaves or snow, rusty brake rotors, dead batteries... either because they owe money on 'em or have read a blue book and decide that's what they want to get.

I suppose the good news is the neon is still running and you aren't under any immediate duress; if the marketplace knows it the lemons come out from hiding and the deals all disappear! good luck.
 
Originally Posted By: Anduril
The dipstick had literally broken off and fallen down the oil filler tube. Luckily I was driving my wife's car at the time (same engine), so I figured I might as well check the oil level using her dipstick. The stuff in there looked and had the consistency of tar, pretty much. Needless to say, I left without even giving the car a test drive.


wow, dipstick broke off in the engine? did you tell the lady to change her oil asap? her engine won't last much longer on the next guy who bought it.
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino


The dealer was blowing them out for $7999.

He had GM card rewards though and got the car for $3500ish out the door!



I seriously thought about buying a new cavalier for that price. I already have a 96 sunfire. so I passed on the deal.
 
I'm not flaming but for $4000 one can get a 4 yr old chevy with 50k miles or a 9 yr old toyota with 120k.

As the OP lives in the rust belt any powertrain will do until the car snaps in two.
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
I'm not flaming but for $4000 one can get a 4 yr old chevy with 50k miles or a 9 yr old toyota with 120k.

As the OP lives in the rust belt any powertrain will do until the car snaps in two.


And the Toyota will still last longer and cost less to operate than the 5-year newer Chebby
 
Originally Posted By: JustinH
I drive a saturn ion daily.

I've been pretty happy with it, but the parts for the car are somewhat scarce to find.

Most everything besides filters and brakes is only made by the dealer, and you pay huge bucks for it.

Try finding shocks, wheel bearings, or other common items. They cost a fortune.


Parts shouldn't be scarce at all. The Ion is just another GM Delta chassis like the Cobalt, HHR and Pontiac G5, of which there are countless #s on the road.

Joel
 
Originally Posted By: exranger06
Imports are way overrated. My Explorer has been a way more reliable and better vehicle than my Accord. Ford FTW.


Agreed. My fleet of Ford vehicles (albeit, none of them have been "econoboxes") have all been spectacularly reliable. Original lower balljoints on my Townie finally needed to be replaced at 330,000Km..... Yeah, they owe me lots
wink.gif


My old '97 Explorer is still going. My sister has it now.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Originally Posted By: DC_Stewart
Originally Posted By: eljefino
I'm not flaming but for $4000 one can get a 4 yr old chevy with 50k miles or a 9 yr old toyota with 120k.

As the OP lives in the rust belt any powertrain will do until the car snaps in two.


And the Toyota will still last longer and cost less to operate than the 5-year newer Chebby


I'd agree with you on a model to model basis, on a powerplant to powerplant basis.

For 5 grand you can get an 04 Cavi with the Ecotec and 4T40 automatic transaxle - a proven reliable drivetrain.

For 5 grand you could get about a 95-00 Corolla or Civic with well over 100,000 miles, likely in need of quite a bit of basic maintenance.
 
Originally Posted By: Cutehumor
wow, dipstick broke off in the engine? did you tell the lady to change her oil asap? her engine won't last much longer on the next guy who bought it.

It was still up on craigslist a couple months later when I finally bought something. I doubt anyone ever did buy it, with the condition it was in.
 
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