Used car for College

[MrLemonade]

I'm from the midwest, so he definitely wants at least a front wheel drive for winter driving. AWB and 4x4 may be overkill, and they come with a big premium and repair bills. Focus on low mileage late 90s early 2000s. You can get something for $10k.

I'd suggest a low mileage late 90s Honda Accord Wagon. They had some known transmission issues but even replacing a transmission, you'd be into it for less than $10k. I just missed getting one here by 1 day and I am still bummed - it was only $2300 with 130k miles and in pristine condition...

Alternately, I'd recommend something in the Toyota 4x4 family, like a Rav4 or 4Runner. I hold the 4Runner in high esteem, and believe it to maybe be among the best vehicles ever made!

Possibly the Suburu's you mentioned, but I don't have much experience with them. So do your homework. Nothing else on your list, avoid them all. The Murano was a turd, as are probably the rest on your list.

Also understand that whatever you buy, check for rust. Rust in the midwest occurs largely due to salts on the roads in winter, and it is cancerous. The vehicles must be washed routinely on the underbody if they have any hope of lasting. Expect a life expectancy of 5-10 years for a regularly driven winter vehicle, less if not washed religiously.

 

[atikovi]

Saturn is a dead brand, getting parts is a difficult task if not impossible.

Obviously posted by someone who has never owned a Saturn or even understands how parts distribution functions. There are thousands of Model T Fords on the road nearly 100 years after THEY died. Not to mention Saab, Oldsmobile, Mercury, etc.

 

[Hall]

I'd suggest a low mileage late 90s Honda Accord Wagon

You won't find one of those in the midwest that hasn't rusted away to nothing, besides that they weren't that common to begin with. I just got rid of my '99 Accord that lived in the midwest it's whole life. The body was actually not bad as far as rust goes but the underside/underbody was bad. The brakes lines rotted/rusted out on me and not long after, the fuel lines went.

 

[Hall]

Saturn is a dead brand, getting parts is a difficult task if not impossible.

2009 SATURN VUE 2.4L L4 Parts | RockAuto

RockAuto ships auto parts and body parts from over 300 manufacturers to customers' doors worldwide, all at warehouse prices. Easy to use parts catalog.

www.rockauto.com

"Saturn" was just a name in the GM family. The same models normally existed as a Buick, Chevrolet, etc.

 

[supton]

Saturn Vue. You could get all your instruments in there. The Honda powertrain and rustproof body is a bonus.

View attachment 56055

Timing belt motor?

Also, why do people always care about rust-free bodies? Shouldn't they care more about rust-free chassis? I'd rather have a hole in a fender than a hole through a brake line.

 

[atikovi]

Timing belt motor?

Your point being? Timing CHAINS don't last forever either plus add another layer of difficulty. Ask any owner of a GM 3.6L which has 3 chains, 3 tensioners and handful of guides. Or owners of Ford modular V8's and VW owners who's engines grenaded from tensioner or chain issues. I've DIY'd the belt on the Vue 3.5 V6 a few times and there's nothing difficult about it. $160 for the kit with water pump. Maybe $300 in labor if you know someone.

Also, why do people always care about rust-free bodies? Shouldn't they care more about rust-free chassis? I'd rather have a hole in a fender than a hole through a brake line.

I'd rather have a hole through a brake line that's fixed for $20 than a $500 rust repair for a fender. Probably just me.

 

[supton]

Your point being? Timing CHAINS don't last forever either plus add another layer of difficulty. Ask any owner of a GM 3.6L which has 3 chains, 3 tensioners and handful of guides. Or owners of Ford modular V8's and VW owners who's engines grenaded from tensioner or chain issues. I've DIY'd the belt on the Vue 3.5 V6 a few times and there's nothing difficult about it. $160 for the kit with water pump. Maybe $300 in labor if you know someone.

No doubt, but many dislike for that reason.

Last TB I did was $200 in parts. Add a few hours of labor and "many" call it an expensive bit of work.

I'd rather have a hole through a brake line that's fixed for $20 than a $500 rust repair for a fender. Probably just me.

Certainly not me. I daily drive a car w/o clearcoat, and have sent cars off with "good" paint jobs but rusty underbits as I wanted nothing to do with that.

I had a brake pad fall off a backing plate once. I decided I'd never deal with that again. No brakes is a bit too scary for me.

 

[Hall]

Timing belt motor?

Right or wrong, the average buyer doesn't consider timing belt engines vs non-timing belt engines. The Vue looks like it has either a 2.4L or 3.5L engine. Are both of them Honda engines ? If so, only the 3.5L has a TB.

Also, why do people always care about rust-free bodies? Shouldn't they care more about rust-free chassis?

If the body is rusted, you can be pretty certain the underbody (chassis) is many times worse.

 

[bcossa2020]

Is the son in the marching band or orchestra? Playing an instrument is one of the things that are magic to me.

Grad school orchestra.....

 

[bcossa2020]

Why aren’t vans in consideration? Realistically, all of those crossovers are too small to carry two tubas at once.

Thanks everyone for your interest and suggestions........
We dry-fitted the tuba cases in each of the models I listed with the rear seats down. One salesman said he was going to start using it as a sales pitch “...this model here will fit 2 tubas comfortably”.....
Sousaphones are often mistaken for tubas. Sousaphones are the huge wrap around low brass instruments in marching bands.....what they dot the “I” with at Ohio State.Vans are a little large for what we need.....
He‘ll be a grad student and will hopefully be traveling to auditions for a permanent job, thus the necessity for the vehicle...

 

[odie]

Used Prius V ?

 

[SatinSilver]

Right or wrong, the average buyer doesn't consider timing belt engines vs non-timing belt engines. The Vue looks like it has either a 2.4L or 3.5L engine. Are both of them Honda engines ? If so, only the 3.5L has a TB.


If the body is rusted, you can be pretty certain the underbody (chassis) is many times worse.

Just the v6 is a honda engine.

 

[dadto2]

I don't know about a hatchback. He should probably have the tubas in the middle of the vehicle. I think it was Sonny Rollins who put his beloved Selmer Mark IV in the trunk of a taxi (against his better judgement, but had no choice at the time) and it was destroyed when the taxi was rear-ended.

 

[aquariuscsm]

What about his current van? Are there any issues with it? Apologies if I missed that information in the original post.

 

[01rangerxl]

What about his current van? Are there any issues with it? Apologies if I missed that information in the original post.

I'm guessing he is not enthusiastic about the van, and at 154k miles it's probably going to need some repairs done sooner rather than later. While not a bad choice if it has been reliable so far, there's nothing wrong with upgrading if it's in the budget for whoever is paying. My guess is the new vehicle will be a longer term real car instead of the hand me down minivan. Most people in their 20s don't want a high mileage minivan.

 

[aquariuscsm]

I'm guessing he is not enthusiastic about the van, and at 154k miles it's probably going to need some repairs done sooner rather than later. While not a bad choice if it has been reliable so far, there's nothing wrong with upgrading if it's in the budget for whoever is paying. My guess is the new vehicle will be a longer term real car instead of the hand me down minivan. Most people in their 20s don't want a high mileage minivan.

Yeah I was wondering about that. A beater type mini van is the perfect car for a 20 something college student who will probably be hauling stuff around. Sounds like it's been a rock solid vehicle.

 

[92saturnsl2]

The Saturn Vues also come with the 3.0L 54-degree (Opel designed) V6 in the earlier years (also timing belt), but I don't see any Saturn Vue costing anywhere near $20k. So I'm guessing a Vue doesn't check the "fancy enough and expensive enough" box for a 20 year old that presumably isn't paying the note every month.

I actually prefer belt driven cams given the complexity of the cam drive on modern DOHC designs, and often the lack of available space to work on them. The assumption with chain driven cams is that the chain & related components will last the life of the engine, but there are way too many examples where that just isn't true.

 

[Oillover]

I was going to say the same thing. Aren't tubas in their cases pretty big? Get him one of those 70's vans with shag carpeting and velour seats, he can call it the Shaggin Wagon!

Being in college means he'll have plenty of use for the additional space

 

[KenshinHimura]

Who wants to not have a car? Aside from extremely urban areas it's almost always a benefit.

When I was in college I managed to get banned from driving or parking on campus for one year. Bought a different vehicle they didn't have any record of and parked it in guest spots.

Not having a car sucks. I wouldn't do that if I had the means to have one.

Yep. That was even a big factor deciding on where i was going to college. My mom stated that she would like me to try going to a local big University and stay on campus for a year at least to try it out. However the catch was that i would not be able to have a car. Needless to say between NE Ohio winters and Downton Akron being not what you would call Safe after sunset, i decided to go to a local community college that was more inline with what i was more specifically interested in but still needed a car to get to.

 

[ripcord]

At that age, a disposable rig like the minivan he already has is just what's called for. If he's in college, he shouldn't be racking up the miles on it so chances are it will last him a good long while. If it dies, just have it hauled off. I'd put a new battery and send him off.