Best used car for $5K

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Most of the 5K used cars that have reasonable miles are either American or Korean.
I'm assuming you want something cheap to drive and to maintain, and with good, cheap parts availability.
An active base of websites is also helpful with diagnosing and repairing problems.
I'm also assuming you want the youngest 5K ride you can find.
Therefore, I would look at Cobalts, G5s, Focuses and Elantras.
All of these cars have fairly steep depreciation curves, all are common, and therefore easy to find parts and web advice for, as well as a pool of experienced indie techs for those jobs you can't tackle yourself.
Any should deliver 30mpg easily.
In particular, look for sticks.
No expensive automatic that might require replacement, better fuel economy, real world, as well as better performance.
Also usually cheaper, since so many folks can't even drive a stick these days, as well as being a whole lot more entertaining and involving to drive.
 
Corolla.

If it were my $5K, I'd pretty much only be looking for the newest, lowest mileage, cleanest Corolla (or Geo/Chevrolet Prizm) that was in my price range.

Crazy reliable and long lasting cars. Simple and parts are really plentiful and cheap. For your price target you're going to be looking at the E100 or E110 series.
 
2.2L Ecotec Chevy Cobalt with a 5 speed...although the autos are bulletproof too if you want an auto.
 
at $5k, it's more about the condition and service history than what nameplate is stuck on the decklid.
 
Manual transmission Mazda Protege' or Escort ZX2.

If you need more space, you can probably find a decent Suzuki Sidekick/Chevrolet Tracker or maybe the GM Theta chassis Suzuki Vitara 4cyl. I don't think the 6cyl Theta 'Zook or XL7 will meet your fuel economy goals but the 4 cyls should be close.

If you are real lucky you can find a Protege'5 wagon or SW2 wagon with a manual. (the GM TAAT isn't too bad but the Mazda's Ford auto has an unenviable record)
 
Originally Posted By: insomnia
Also, look at Geo/Chevrolet Prizm. They're basically corollas.

To be honest, it's very hard to find a civic or corolla for $5k with 70k miles or less. At that price range we're talking about a 10+yr old car which means they drove it less than 7k/year.

Personally, I'll rather see an used car drove 15k/yr (mostly highway miles) than a car that drove 7k/yr (lots of stop/go).


The problem is you can't assume a car with 15k/yr miles has mostly non-stop highway miles nor can you assume a 7k/year car is mostly stop and go. My primary car gets driven 6k miles per year with 75% gentle freeway miles. I know someone who puts 18k miles per year on his car and 50% are stop and go. Of the two, my car has the preferrable usage pattern by far
 
Thanks for all the feedback, I want a 5 spd because they are 1) more fun to drive 2) usually offer a better final drive ratio

The size doesn't matter all that much but I do want it to have a comfy drivers seat. I would almost prefer to have a smaller car since I will be driving in northern VA a lot and parking can be tough.

I have been searching for a couple of weeks and there are a ton of honda and toyos out there with 130K miles in my price range but with the recent shoot up in gas prices they want more than usual for them. I will eventually find a great one for a good price.

I value the maintenance history more than anything on these types of car. The 99 with 50K that grandma drove to church/salon/supermarket has little appeal to me.

Thanks for the ideas, and keep em coming.
 
Originally Posted By: Barkleymut

The size doesn't matter all that much but I do want it to have a comfy drivers seat.


Well, that kills the Escort ZX2. Mazda B platform? Good. Zetec 2.0? Good. Driver's seat? Uhhh....honestly an old Plymouth Sundance has a more comfortable driver's seat.
 
I like the idea of a Mazda Protege. They can be a little loud and boomy inside, but I rented one once and drove it from eastern North Carolina to Knoxville, TN. It didn't have cruise control, so that part sucked, but it was otherwise comfortable and capable. I rather liked it. It must have been a 2003 vintage or somewhere in there.
 
Originally Posted By: Spazdog
Manual transmission Mazda Protege' or Escort ZX2.

If you need more space, you can probably find a decent Suzuki Sidekick/Chevrolet Tracker or maybe the GM Theta chassis Suzuki Vitara 4cyl. I don't think the 6cyl Theta 'Zook or XL7 will meet your fuel economy goals but the 4 cyls should be close.

If you are real lucky you can find a Protege'5 wagon or SW2 wagon with a manual. (the GM TAAT isn't too bad but the Mazda's Ford auto has an unenviable record)

I'd only get a Tracker or any SUV if you need AWD. I can get 30mpg tanks out of ours but you have to keep the speeds down, 400 miles of 60mph would get you 35mpg but its not often I do that. 50/50 city/highway tanks can be 22-24 mpg...
I like the wagon idea though, and the elantra GT is a hatchback too. I've heard they are good cars.
 
A guy I work with has a '04 cavalier with 280k miles on it.

Original engine and auto trans. On minimal/jiffy lube maintenance.

Surprised me.
 
It shouldn't.

Of all the various cars my 3 children went through the Cavalier stands out (including Sunfire-its Pontiac twin) as one of the cheapest to run long distance and high miles.
 
Ok, gonna throw a curveball at everyone. Just found a 99 BMW 323i 5spd with 67K for $5K. Looks great in pics....just emailed to see if they have maintenance records and if anything needs to be fixed. Anyone have experience with these? Looks like they get 27-28 MPG. Are they really expensive to maintain? My idea is that I can drive it for a year and then sell it for about the same as I bought it for. KBB has it at 6,600
 
It will need a cooling system overhaul right away and that'll cost you about $400 in parts from ecstuning. The Lower Control Arms will also need to be done too, if they havent already been done and that's another $400. So it's definitely manageable, but you just have to do some preventive maintenance to address the weak points of that car.
 
I would think comfort is important with all that driving. Auto trans cars are often better on gas than the manual these days. It isn't the same as when the three speed non lockup was the automatic. I vote for an 02 and above Camry with 4cyls and side curtain airbags, not easy to find though except on se or xle. They will get 35 highway, normally driven, easy. Now with gas heading higher the smallest cars are going to be in demand.
 
94-2001 integra LS/RS/GS..
I get up to 40mpg driving 60mph
parts are cheap, car is super reliable, and really fun to drive
 
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