Vehicle for 6 grand

[Stinger63]

The Suzuki Kizashi should suit your needs

I think Mitsubishi was still making Galants in 2009

Since you like the Sonata, there's the Optima, which is just a rebadged Sonata

I’ve search Optima
I don’t see the 3.3 engine

 

[Stinger63]

$6,000 will get you a pretty good deal on a Ford Fusion/Lincoln MKZ/Mercury Milan

Other sedan options are Camrys, Avalons, Accords, Altimas, Chargers, GS300s, Optimas, Jettas, Mercedes C300's, G6's, Taurus, and 328i's

$6k will also get you a pretty premium Crown Vic/Towncar/Grand Marquis

You can also get a good deal on a Ford Escape or Trailblazer

The biggest thing would be to look at private party sales (Craigslist & similar) and not dealerships, you're probably going to end up giving a dealership more for less so they can pay for their overhead. Just make sure to get a pre-purchase inspection so you're not getting ripped off.

Searched many of those exceptions being Nissan cause of cvt
Many of our “owners” on Craigslist are dealers.
But I’m looking
BTW 328 water pumps are 1200 bucks. Hard to take for me
And if you lose the head gasket (or buy one with head gasket sealant) it can run 2500.
I assume that’s why they bring nothing at the auction from dealers

 

[earthbound]

deleted

 

[FordMan59]

Some of the better deals I've seen on used cars in recent years have been on Crown Vic's and Grand Marquis. They're solid built cars and have a long life expectancy. My mom has a Grand Marquis with the 4.6 V8. It will get 24-25 MPG in local driving and about 28 MPG highway

 

[slacktide_bitog]

I’ve search Optima
I don’t see the 3.3 engine

Why do you need the 3.3?

A transverse V6 is impossible to work on and gets worse gas mileage than an I4

 

[Stinger63]

Why do you need the 3.3?

A transverse V6 is impossible to work on and gets worse gas mileage than an I4

I had asked originally about these Self detonating Optima engines.
That’s my fear

 

[AutoMechanic]

Stay away from the Impala or Malibu. I’d go with a Ford Fusion or something like that. Or if you can find an affordable Toyota that too or some type of Mazda.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

I had asked originally about these Self detonating Optima engines.
That’s my fear

they switched to GDI earlier than I thought, sorry

 

[tasch72]

Searched many of those exceptions being Nissan cause of cvt
Many of our “owners” on Craigslist are dealers.
But I’m looking
BTW 328 water pumps are 1200 bucks. Hard to take for me
And if you lose the head gasket (or buy one with head gasket sealant) it can run 2500.
I assume that’s why they bring nothing at the auction from dealers

Well on the plus side with current geopolitical landscape, flights are dirt cheap and I'm sure you could get in contact with a BITOG'er that would be willing to help with pre-purchase arrangements for a nominal fee so you aren't going in blind.

You can line up 5-10 cars in any given city, fly in and Uber around to look at them, and fly back out two days later if you don't find anything or make a vacation out of it.

Autotempest.com is another really good option, it's a search conglomerate that looks at a bunch of sites at once

 

[Stinger63]

they switched to GDI earlier than I thought, sorry

Idk
I don’t know if I get a warrantee is being a second or third owner
I don’t know if I bought one with a new engine whether those are holding up and whether that warrantee would transfer it to me
I do know that this site has more brains than anyone else on the Internet.

 

[Stinger63]

Stay away from the Impala or Malibu. I’d go with a Ford Fusion or something like that. Or if you can find an affordable Toyota that too or some type of Mazda.

Any specific reason on the Malibu and impala?

 

[javacontour]

View attachment 47903

Edited - maybe they do allow that now...

 

[Stinger63]

Vw passat tdi?

 

[AutoMechanic]

Any specific reason on the Malibu and impala?

They have a lot of power steering issues from my experience. Also the Malibu is bad for ECM problems and camshaft sensors. The Caprice maybe something to consider though especially the ones with the interceptor package one of our customers has one and hasn’t had an issue with it yet amazing he keeps up all the maintenance and it runs like a top.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Some of the better deals I've seen on used cars in recent years have been on Crown Vic's and Grand Marquis. They're solid built cars and have a long life expectancy. My mom has a Grand Marquis with the 4.6 V8. It will get 24-25 MPG in local driving and about 28 MPG highway

The Ford 4.6 V8 will literally last forever.

 

[aquariuscsm]

What about the older Fusions with the V6? I’ve always liked the looks of those with the rear spoiler and dual exhaust.

 

[AutoMechanic]

The Ford 4.6 V8 will literally last forever.

And blow spark plugs out too. Just like 5.4.

 

[aquariuscsm]

And blow spark plugs out too. Just like 5.4.

Oh lord I never knew that!!

 

[AutoMechanic]

Oh lord I never knew that!!

Yeah they blew out of my friends 4.6 on his way to school one day I had to go get him the truck was running so bad lol. I never knew those were bad for it either till then and some further research.

 

[aquariuscsm]

I will say though,my favorite engines of all time are the series 1 GM 3800 V6 and the Nissan VG30DE V6.