hey all. apparently my car is going to cost too much to fix, so my parents just want to sell it. kinda sad, i'm pretty attached to it. getting $5,500 for it, so i have to find a used car for around that price that will last a few years. any advice about what to look for? good gas mileage is at the top of the list of important features. not a fan of 2-door cars or big suvs. basically i'm looking for efficiency and reliability, and something that doesn't look too bad, either...

3/14/2006 9:30:47 PM

First of all, what the hell is your current car, and what's wrong with it?

3/14/2006 9:31:57 PM

what zxappeal said.

What do you consider good gas mileage?

A 90 something honda civic or accord, a toyota corolla, or something of that nature should be a good pick.

3/14/2006 9:35:13 PM

2000 pontiac grand am gt. only has 55,000 miles on it. i don't know all the details, as it's in charlotte and my dad is talking to all the mechanics. (also, sorry in advance for not knowing anything about cars and possibly spelling things wrong..)

--the head gasket is leaking antifreeze in the oil and vice versa. that's the main problem.
--a window doesn't roll down (not a biggie at all, but still. second time that has happend. then again, how long do power windows usually last before some maintenace is needed??)
--the power steering is a little squeeky
--something about the drive shaft (can't remember what it's actually called.. the brakes are a little rough and when i press on the brake pedal it's not smooth, but jerks very slightly)
--i think there was one other thing, but i can't remember..

3/14/2006 9:38:22 PM

my car gets about 22 mpg, in city and a little better on highway. something better than that would be good. haha there was this diesel jetta that got like 38/44 that was pretty sweet, but it sounded like a huge truck.. and it was a little expensive.. looked at corollas, they get good mileage.

3/14/2006 9:39:58 PM

older honda accord is what you want

3/14/2006 9:43:53 PM

Hondas seem to be what you want, but I do recommend taking a good like at a VW with a TDI engine.

3/14/2006 9:50:55 PM

later model hondas can be had for cheap, and are damn reliable, i wouldnt be afraid to pick up a 100k+ one. stay away from domestics, and yotas though. but seriously i dont see why you are selling your current car, all that can be fixed for less than $1000 at a shop, and i'm sure zxappeal could do it cheaper than that. a top end gasket set ~$200, $400 labor, cv axle ~$100, labor ~$50, window motor~$50 labor ~$50, brakes pads and turn rotors ~$100

3/14/2006 10:03:17 PM

^^^ yeah, they're nice. a good option.

^^ i freakin love VWs, except bugs. jettas, the newer golfs, GTIs. kinda expensive though. manual would interesting, like to relearn that since a lot of used VWs seem to be manual, but automatic is kinda more practical.

^ i really don't want to sell it, but is pretty much my parents' decision. i don't know if they got a second opinion or anything, i kinda doubt it though.

3/14/2006 10:16:49 PM

90s VWs aren't always the most reliable cars.

I don't think there's anything that wrong with domestics per say, but I wouldn't speak against switching to a Honda either. You could always go cheaper to something still descent like a Chrysler 300M.
Ahmet

3/15/2006 12:46:57 AM

buy my audi bitch!

[Edited on March 15, 2006 at 12:52 AM. Reason : ps ahmet is a pirate hooker]

3/15/2006 12:52:00 AM

Quote :

" stay away from domestics, and yotas though."

you know something bad about toyotas that i don't?

Quote :

" manual would interesting, like to relearn that since a lot of used VWs seem to be manual, but automatic is kinda more practical."

nah, once you own a car with a manual trans, it's just as practical. it's so second nature that it doesn't make any difference.

3/15/2006 1:00:55 AM

^^ what audi.. bitch?

^and yeah, i guess it would become reflex. who knows.


what about, say, a '97 VW jetta? or a '95 nissan altima? i was looking online, found a couple. i was mainly looking at prices, number of miles, and color (hah). there were a ton of manual ones that i didn't look at as options, but they could be i guess.

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp?tracktype=usedcc&searchType=21&paId=
132629355&pageNumber=1&numResultsPerPage=50&largeNumResultsPerPage=0&sortorder=
descending&sortfield=PRICE+descending&certifiedOnly=false&recnum=88&leadExists=
true&criteria=K-%7CE-%7CM-_48_%7CD-_447_%7CN-N%7CR-75%7CI-1%7CP-PRICE+
descending%7CQ-descending%7CZ-27607&aff=triangle

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp?tracktype=usedcc&searchType=
21&paId=132628723&pageNumber=0&numResultsPerPage=50&largeNumResultsPerPage=
0&sortorder=ascending&sortfield=PRICE+ascending&certifiedOnly=false&recnum=
29&leadExists=true&criteria=K-%7CE-%7CM-_36_%7CN-N%7CR-75%7CI-1%7CP-PRICE+
ascending%7CQ-ascending%7CZ-27607&aff=triangle



[Edited on March 18, 2006 at 7:39 PM. Reason : -]

3/15/2006 1:15:02 AM

My family is selling a '96 Jetta GLX for in the ~$4k range. The VR6 engine runs smooth, it's a manual transmission, new shocks on the rear, new window regulators on 3 of the 4 windows, the leather is rough in the interior though. It's the car in the pic named 'vr6' in my gallery.

3/15/2006 6:43:24 AM

it looks like to me you just aren't taking care of maintenance on it

if its a 2000 model with 55k and in that bad of shape then you must abuse the piss out of your car

[Edited on March 15, 2006 at 5:07 PM. Reason : ]

3/15/2006 5:06:09 PM

^ or it's a pontiac

3/15/2006 5:16:24 PM

Shit, even a Pontiac will go farther than that IF TAKEN CARE OF PROPERLY.

I've come to the conclusion that somebody drove this motherfucker a few miles or more before they noticed a pegged temp gauge or steam coming from under the hood.

Or the coolant leaked all out and shit.

Warped rotors happen every day to these cars.

3/15/2006 5:38:12 PM

^^^ i don't abuse it.

^ there was no steam coming from the engine, and the temp gauge stayed constant. the antifreeze light kept coming on, and that was the only (apparent) indication that something was wrong. like i said, i'm not a car expert, it seemed to be running fine except that, and i just thought it was a simple leak. didn't know it was leaking into the oil, because the oil seemed to be fine, too. at first i just refilled the antifreeze because i thought it was running low, didn't know something was up until the light started going off again a bit later. and even then i had to take it someplace to get it looked at because i didn't know that it was that serious.

3/15/2006 5:49:07 PM

the grand am is gone forever.
car max, bah.
still looking for used cars.

3/17/2006 7:18:02 PM

get a Miata! not the best selling roadster of all time for nothin'!

3/17/2006 9:07:00 PM