xcusemi

Hello Rennlister:

I am facing the situation that I will need to get myself an additional car. The beater car I used now is W126 Mercedes 1991, which is a gas guzzler. I would like to get your guys suggestion and recomendation of which car should I be looking for. Here are the requirement I will need for my beater:

1) avg around 27-30 MPG
2) have to be dead reliable
3) no more than $8K
4) need to be very safe.

The car I have in mind now is:

Toyota Camary 2003-2004 I4
Honda Accord
Scion XA - too small


What other car would you suggest?...I would like to stay away from VW, Audi etc.. I prefer Japanese car since the repair cost will be substantially less and I personally believe Jap car is much more reliable

THanks

timothymoffat

Accord or Camry. Almost perpetual motion machines.

porschemikeandnancy

Okay, let the flames begin. I'd suggest a used Mustang with 6 cyl engine and stick shift. Dead reliable, you can get a set of 4 mounted (and studded) snow tires/wheels for maybe $600. And best of all, it handles almost as well as your 993.

timothymoffat

Please, not this again.

AOW162435

Andreas

chris walrod

Scion xB !! I am selling mine for less than $8k, gets 30-32mpg -- tons of room and you can drive it at its limit and nobody notices

mongrelcat

Bump the budget $2K and go w/ Honda Civic Si 2002-2005 EP3

xcusemi

LOL on the mustang =)

I need to get automatic so my wife can also use the car. The car will also need to be 4 doors and I would prefer to get the car local since it doesnt make logic sense to have the car ship back to NJ which will cost me more than 10% value of the car.

Christ, if you are in the east coast, I would be interested. Thanks again!

goofballdeluxe

Is this a prayer? Or does the Almighty's son own a Scion?

In any event, I too think the 1st gen Scion would be a good call.

bart1

My 968 fits most of those criteria and thats what I drive daily.

Cactus

Accord

vincer77

Camry and Accord are great choices. Maybe consider a SAAB 9-3. Not quite as reliable, but alot cooler! If you wrench yourself, it would be a great choice.

aj986s

The earlier Ford Focus' can be had now for little money. We've had 2 in our family, and they are stalwarts. Our '02 ZX5 (4-door hatch) was the car our 2 oldest boys learned to drive in. Some autox'ing, too. Been in several accidents; one insurance incident was nicely repaired, but the rest were junkyard parts not always pretty. But the thing still runs. Over 150K of beat to hell miles with basically nothing more than routine maintenance. Roomy, handle well, available with lots of nice features, and mileage in the upper 20's. IMHO, they are very well engineered.

We also have an '04 SVT ZX5. Roomy, a hoot to drive; peppy motor and 6-speed. Heated leather seats, sunroof, power everything.

For a daily beater car, I think the Focus is a lot of car for the money.

95 NC 993

I knew you would get nailed for posting that but you are right. Extremely reliable and cheap to run. Can't agree on the handling part but it sure isn't bad. certainly better than some Jap crap being mentioned. The 2003-2004 model years are tight. Back in '04 I took one on a 2 week trip and was extremely impressed and no issues.
OP, unless you hate Mustangs , think about it for a cheap DD.

randytrish

I'll throw one in. Volvo S70 sedan or C70 coupe, '98-2000 MY. I own a 98 S70 and a 00 C70 convertible. These have been the best cars I've ever owned. I've had the S70 for close to 10 years and it just turned 200k. I average 27mpg with the inline 5cly turbo. You can pick up a well kept used one for around 5k or less. Loaded and very safe. These make great first cars for the teen driver also.
Randy