Advice for a buying a used car $5k to last 3 years

[silveram]

Hi Car Guys,

I am trying my best to help my beloved girlfriend find her first car to make her through graduate school in Florida. Our budget is around $5000 and we are looking for a no-frills base model that is reliable and relatively safe…she needs it to last around 30,000 – 40,000 miles. We are looking also for decent fuel economy, on the order of 18-20 mpg city EPA.

We were shocked to see that $5000 seriously doesn’t buy much these days..old beaters (actually worse than that), really. Nearly 15 year old cars with 150 – 200k on them. We are really leaning toward $3500 cars knowing full well to drop $1500 in preventive maintenance, timing belts, serpentine belts, spark plugs, water pump, fuel filter, brakes…etc. We can do some of the work ourselves.

We have been discussing cars back and forth and we have considered the following examples:

a.) 1998-2003 Honda CRVs, $5000,
b.) 2000-2003 Toyota Avalon, 150-170k miles, $3500
c.) 1997 Toyota Camry (4 cyl.), 150k miles, $3500
d.) 1998 Honda Accord, 150k miles, $3800
d.) 2002 Honda Civic, >200k miles, $4000 (seriously?)
e.) 2003-2007 Ford Taurus (worried about their trans. failing)
f.) Ford Crown Victoria (hesitant because of the gas economy, otherwise great, indestructible car)
g.) 2001-2003 Volvo Sxx (S40), 120k miles, $3500
h.) 2001-2003 Mercedes C230, 110-130k miles, $3500

Any recommendations are greatly appreciated. Her family friend (who claims to be a mechanic) highly recommends a Volvo/Mercedes over a Honda/Toyota because they are “Japanese Plastic”. Common sense tells us a 10-15 year old Euro car will cost an arm and a leg to operate when it falls apart, though this gentleman assures us when they break they are cheap to fix and parts are abundant. But! I don’t know much about Volvos…I am somewhat convinced that the market is rigged to overpricing Toyota/Honda. I was shocked to see even Avalons are cheaper than base model Camrys!

At the same time, other family members are warning her of buying a old car with over 100k. I think in this used auto market, this is a pipe dream for ~$5k.

Thanks so much!

Topic

[Lorrin Barth]

I have to agree with family members, if you want reliable, less then 100K miles.

Other than that I’d look for what is out of style. Right now cheap cars are out of style. So, have a look at this………….

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Nissan-Versa-s-trim-2010-nissan-versa-4-dr-sdn-i-4-auto-1-8-s-/291155224777?forcerrptr=true&hash=item43ca3428c9&item=291155224777&pt=US_Cars_Trucks

[Its me]

I would not touch any European car that is out of warranty, especially that old… They can be a money pit of epic proportion…

Being partial to Toyotas I would recommend the Avalon… The 2000-2003 had the 3.0 VVT and the Oil Gelling problem fixed. These engines if taken care of will easily go 250-300k miles.

The 1997 Camry must be in good shape, the 2.2 is a good engine, but did have some issues. For $3500 this car must be immaculate inside and out….

I like Hondas but am wary of the transmissions in those model years…

JMHO

-Karl

[Andy]

Two of my kids have I4 Camrys (97& 99). These are great cars and I highly recommend. Yes, the interiors are cheap plastic but the engines and transmissions are very reliable, parts are cheap and the cars are easy to work on.

We brought the 99 for $2600 this year and have put about a $1000 into it (all round struts, new steering wheel, brake pads, all new fluids, new steering wheel, tie rods and alignments) & resprayed a stone chipped hood. The cars drives superbly and I would drive it across country tomorrow. Unless my daughter has an accident I am sure this will see her through college.

Avalon are great, I just wanted my kids restricted to I4s for a few years.

[Lorrin Barth]

I hope you noticed that Versa selling for $6500 had 25K miles on it.

[Joe]

generally when I’m looking at a car with over 100k on it I’m looking to see if it’s a timing chain motor. Otherwise you should plan to change the timing belt soon after purchase.

Personally I’d lean toward the crown vic first if you want something that’s going to last you with minimal maintenance. If you’re that worried about gas mileage then the civic, accord, and camry would be the next best bet.

The one thing I would be wary about with the crown vic is the intake manifold. Ford had the bright idea to make these out of plastic and they tend to warp and leak. Take a look around the intake manifold if you go to look at it and if you see a bunch of oil and such around the base of the plastic part then you should factor that repair into the cost. There’s also a chance it’s been changed to an aluminum piece which would be the most ideal scenario.

[silveram]

Thanks for your input guys. I really appreciate your time. It definitely helps to hear from car enthusiasts, I have been pushing her towards the Avalon and the Crown Vic, but I admit I’m biased…
I love my beater ’97 Mercury Cougar that I wrench on occasionally.

Thank you barneyb for the Versa’s suggestion but it’s a little bit fishy: first of all $6.5k is already out of our budget and “reserve not yet met” so I have no clue what the actual price they want for it is.

Also the ad is somewhat disingenuous its Autocheck comes back as:
“REGISTRATION EVENT/RENEWAL (Leased Vehicle)
TITLED OR REGISTERED AS A RENTAL VEHICLE, OR PART OF A RENTAL FLEET.”

The ad says “I ORIGINALLY BOUGHT THIS CAR FOR MY SON AS HIS FIRST CAR.UNFORTUNATELY THINGS HAVE CHANGED…THIS WAS A LEASED VEHICLE ONE OWNER HISTORY.”

Red flags are popping up everywhere. Also, she is a bit skeptical of “great deal” cars from NY after the major flooding.

Thanks again!

[Lorrin Barth]

Well, interesting that you looked into the Versa. Actually, I’d be hesitant to purchase a vehicle off of ebay. I just posted the ad in an effort to make my point. My point being: if you want inexpensive first figure out what isn’t selling and then look for that. If it is popular it will have lots of miles and a big price.

[Author]

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