So What's A Bargain Car Now?

[MrCritical]

We all know used car values of vehicles that get 30+ mpg have gone through the roof.

My guestion is, what vehicle in the next tier down can be had for a bargain now? Grand Marquis? Malibu?

 

[ZZman]

Well Ford Taurus' have always been a bargain as their depreciation is so bad and there are so many out there. I don't know why. I have a 2001 Taurus and love it. It is a nice size, rides good, is quiet, has decent power and gets decent gas mileage.

 

[MysticGold04]

My guess is that prices of compact and sub compacts will continue to rise.. thats a given. If I were looking I'd definately consider a midsize or smaller SUV. Malibu or Impala, etc. I'm happy with my recent purchase of the Highlander. Gets the same in town/highway mileage as the Suzuki Forenza I traded it for.

 

[saaber1]

Geo prism (rebadged corolla) is still a sleeper (32-40mpg) and inexpensive and even the 92-95 Honda civic VX is still unknown by many people and cost $2500-$3500. It gets 50 mpg on the highway (56 mpg when it was new). In terms of maintenance, fuel costs, and non-existent depreciation, that VX is the cheapest thing to run IMO. But many of them are very high miles or worn out now or turned into ricers. You mentioned Malibu, etc. Are you looking for a larger car?

 

[bretfraz]

I'd say a bargain is anything you can get from a repo sale. Like a construction guy who needs to unload his quad cab V8 4WD truck. Or the power yuppie who is buried in his Lexus and needs to bail out.

Luxury cars, big SUVs and trucks are languishing on dealer lots and are no-sale's at auctions. Find a deal that way and you can really score.

 

[MrCritical]

It's hard to find any but the latest Civics that haven't been riced, or lambo doored. Prizm was a great car, I owned a '92, but hard to find.

I'll stick with me '97 200SX right now. 35+ mpg at 60mpg.

If gas gets over $5, I may do some drastic things to the Nissan such as low rolling resistance tires, remove a/c, all the interior trim but the driver seat. Since I drive with the windows down I won't hear the interior noise increase anyway.

 

[lovcom]

Brand new 2008 Toyota Yaris Hatch Back, for $10,941 in southern California. It gets the best MPG of any gasser sold new in the USA, and it gets the highest marks for reliability, and for a cheap car it has great fit, finish, and at 6,000 RPMs, the engie is smooth as silk. It has more then enough pep to get you on the freeway or around slow traffic, and if you drive it with the help of a ScanGaugeII, you will get 47-48 MPG highway. Also, the cost of 5 year ownership of this car is the lowest in it's class, even lower then Honda's Fit.

 

[JTK]

I find it hard to believe a stock Yaris hatch back gets 47-48mpg avg per tank. They'd be back ordered for 6mo if that was the case.

Joel

 

[Anduril]

I got 42 mpg just cruising at 75 in a Corolla. 47-48 doesn't seem unlikely in a smaller vehicle with a smaller engine.

 

[meep]

Gen 1 Chrysler LHS. In-laws routinely get ~30mpg hwy for this large V6. Steering linkage is a weak spot, but with dual intakes, 0 torque steer (engine is longitudinal), dual exh into the muffler, its a really neat car if commute is not all city.

M

 

[ekpolk]

Originally Posted By: lovcom
...if you drive it with the help of a ScanGaugeII, you will get 47-48 MPG highway. ...


Not a snowball's chance in you-know-where of averaging 47-48 highway with a Yaris, unless MAYBE you're crawling along at 45-50 mph, and even then, I doubt it. New EPA on this car is 29 city, 35 highway.

{forgot I wasn't in the Hybrid thread...

} But the first part still applies. That said, for an ultra-low, up-front cost car, the Yaris is hard to beat, so long as you can live with its tiny size.

 

[BrianWC]

Originally Posted By: ekpolk
Originally Posted By: lovcom
...if you drive it with the help of a ScanGaugeII, you will get 47-48 MPG highway. ...


Not a snowball's chance in you-know-where of averaging 47-48 highway with a Yaris, unless MAYBE you're crawling along at 45-50 mph, and even then, I doubt it. New EPA on this car is 29 city, 35 highway.

{forgot I wasn't in the Hybrid thread...

} But the first part still applies. That said, for an ultra-low, up-front cost car, the Yaris is hard to beat, so long as you can live with its tiny size.


I dunno, Im getting a COMBINED mileage 8 mpg over the highway mileage of my 9-5 with one. Watching the scangaugeII along with SAABs boost/vac gauge makes a big difference. Granted, I have slowed down to 65/68 on the interstate when I can....

I wish I still had my 900 and could do the same tricks as well as utilize the 5 speed manual and SAAB's dorky (but now sensible-seeming) shift-up light.

 

[BrianWC]

Accords might be the best sleeper bargains (if you can ever call a used accord a bargain) as they get decent EPA and probably better if driven right.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: Anduril
I got 42 mpg just cruising at 75 in a Corolla. 47-48 doesn't seem unlikely in a smaller vehicle with a smaller engine.


Right. I can see getting bursts of ~42mpg, I can do that in my Cobalt, but your MPG average over a tank of gas is probably at best in the low-mid 30mpg range.

Joel

 

[BrianWC]

I'm telling ya. It's all in how you drive and what your highway mix is. My 9-5, with a revised epa highway of 26, got 34.2 mpg off my last tank and is sitting on 35.4 right now.

 

[javacontour]

Not that it's a bargain, but my mileage in a Pontiac G8 V6 was 28.7 on about 600 miles of 93% highway driving.

So driving on the highway, especially at sub-65 MPH speeds can net excellent fuel economy, even in a two ton sedan.

 

[javacontour]

Final tally, including 4 days of around town driving:

1279 total miles
46.443 gallons of fuel

Avg MPG = 27.54

Total spent $179

 

[MrCritical]

What other fees are added to the Yaris price at delivery besides taxes and tag? Is shipping included?

 

[javacontour]

The Yaris just doesn't seem popular. I see few if any on the roads, and my local Toyota dealer seems to have ample stock. He doesn't have Corollas or Hybrids. However, that could be due to rolling out the 2009 Corollas and Corolla Matrix models.

 

[JTK]

Originally Posted By: MrCritical
..My guestion is, what vehicle in the next tier down can be had for a bargain now? Grand Marquis? Malibu?


How new do you want? If you want 1-2yrs old, its the same as it's been forever:

1) Impala
2) Malibu 3) Taurus/500


Would be your top three domestics capable of 30mpg avg per tank.

Joel