Suggestions on a Reliable Car Between 5k-10k

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Josh48065

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As you can see in the title im looking to buy a used car maybe between 5k-10k? Yes, its a wide range, but my parents offered to help me.

If all possible I would like a car thats relatively quick and good on gas haha(Hard combination sometimes lol), but reliability is #1!
Ive been looking at cars like a Cobalt SS..BEAU-tiful haha.
Or the 3.5L Charger..

Im afraid of buying a Cobalt SS b/c its seems that people only buy them to beat on them...

Or like a regular Cobalt? Ive heard the 2.2 Ecotec are good engines..

Any other suggestions? Thanks
-Josh
 
Should be plenty of pre-owned Malibu's and Impalas in that price range. If reliablilty is your top convern, find a Pontiac or a Buick with the 3.8 engine. Good fuel economy (30+ mpg) and I've seen these engines go 200k plus miles and still keep ticking.
 
I don't think I would get either of those.

Maybe if the Cobalt SS was just the 2.4 variety
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The vast majority of the Supercharged SS-es are going to have been beaten on pretty hard in that price range and the turbos aren't at the $10K range in large numbers. (Being the owner of a vehicle with the same turbo, block, head, cams, pistons, crank, rods...etc.. as the Neon SRT/4 I might be a little biased.)

The Intrepid's 3.5 has been around for a long time and is pretty reliable now, but it is lugging around a very heavy car. I think I would look for a nice, clean, well maintained 300M before I went with a Charger.

If you can handle the styling, the New Beetle TurboS is essentially a rebodied GTi for usually at least $1000 less than a comparable GTi. Of course there is the possibility of some VW reliability issues.

That price range can get you into a decent EP3 Civic Si. But it looks like an Odyssey that got left in the dryer overnight, has a dash mounted shifter, and some have 3rd gear synchronizer issues.

Maybe a Monte Carlo? The 3.5 and 3.9 get fairly decent mpg. Lots of people get good fuel economy with the Series II 3.8 in the older LT/SS Monte Carlos.

You can get a Mazda6S 3.0 probably in the 05-06 range. Ford Duratec30 V6, Aisin transmission...mpg is not that great though. I'm averaging about 23mpg mixed right now.
 
5K-10K covers a huge spread of high and low mileage vehicles. A 3 door Accent starts at $995x, new, but maybe you don't want a 100K warranty....
 
That is too big of a price range to give a good suggestion. That range even encompasses some new cars (Hyundai and Kia). Also, what size car you want is of importance.

One thing I would suggest: look outside of MI. From what I've heard and observed used car prices are crazy high in MI. See what you can find in IN, OH, or WI (it is summer almost, you can take the ferry across Lake Michigan).
 
Get an 05 Buick LeSabre or 06-up Grand Prix. Or a later 3800 Series III powered Buick. The 3800/4T65 combination is proven, parts are cheap and available at most parts stores, and it'll knock down 28-30 mpg with 75% highway driving and a light foot, higher if it's used exclusively for highway traveling.

What's your usual drive like? Folks have suggested highway cruisers, but if you're hopping 5 miles to school and back they'll kill you on gas mileage since the cars suggested so far have big V6's and V8's.

A regular Cobalt is a solid choice. The 2.2 Ecotec is durable and fairly thrifty, and the interior can be beat up on a lot before it breaks. ABS isn't really common on the lower-end models, if that's a deal-breaker.
 
Originally Posted By: simple_gifts
A 3 door Accent starts at $995x, new, but maybe you don't want a 100K warranty....


+1 or a Nissan Versa if you want some French engineering mixed in.

The used car market is a little absurd, and you want something good on gas.
 
Originally Posted By: wallyuwl
That is too big of a price range to give a good suggestion. That range even encompasses some new cars (Hyundai and Kia). Also, what size car you want is of importance.

One thing I would suggest: look outside of MI. From what I've heard and observed used car prices are crazy high in MI. See what you can find in IN, OH, or WI (it is summer almost, you can take the ferry across Lake Michigan).

I guess I would say a coupe, something rather sporty...and what you said about MI..thats a good suggestion. Ive tried ebay motors..their selection seems pretty good.
I also like the 06 grand prix, those are very nice. Most of my driving is to my school. I commute to Oakland University, so its about a 45 minute drive. I almost want to say I want a v6...the past 2 cars ive had were 4 bangers with a 3 speed tranny. 3500rpm at 75mph was rather annoying to me...
 
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Originally Posted By: CROWNVIC4LIFE
If reliability is #1 then get a Crown Victoria,Grand Marquis or a Town Car..If you want something smaller get a Ford Taurus or a Fusion.


Crown Vic and Taurus are pretty far away from Cobalt SS on the "sporty" scale.
Reliable? No question about it. But pretty sedate from the driver's seat.

That's one of the reasons I did not recommend the 1st generation Fusion. The Mazda6 is a better driver's car than the Fusion in spite of being mechanically identical. The Aisin transmission has more sport oriented programming, you can actually select the gear you want in the 6 (instead of the Park, Reverse, Neutral, and Don't even think of selecting your own gear in the Fusion.)
And the handling....I got lulled into a sense of familiarity in a rented Fusion on a long road trip for work. Went to pitch it into a cloverleaf - my 6 wouldn't have flinched. Would have tracked right through. Almost put the Fusion into the embankment. Body rolling, tires howling....
And the 6 is made in the United States.
To be fair, the Fusion was quieter.
 
I noticed you are in the great state of MI. Snowy I imagine, why not a AWD- Subaru or a nice CR-V, with a standard both can be fun. Maybe a Sentra or Corolla if you don't need AWD- throw an intake on it should make you happy.
Don't get yourself a grandpa car -mid decade Caprice or LaSabre
 
Originally Posted By: CROWNVIC4LIFE
If reliability is #1 then get a Crown Victoria,Grand Marquis or a Town Car..


That's what I'd get.
 
I doubt the CV or GM fills the good on gas requirement. Of course the impact is highly dependent on miles traveled.

To me good on gas means > 35 mpg highway. YMMV, literally.
 
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