$3000 for an '00-ish car. Go! (Page 3/3)
thesameguy DEC 02, 07:46 PM
I actually got her a Saturn a few years ago - the car she had before this one - but she's a tall woman (5'10" or more) and getting up there in years. The Saturn was small and low, and increasingly difficult for her to get into and out of. A newer econobox would probably be fine as modern cars tend to taller, but older econoboxes make for rough entry and exit. That's the appeal of a full(er) size car, even if there's a mileage hit that comes with it. Also, I'm a little particular when it comes to vehicular safety - I would not want to put someone into a car that might subsequently lead to their injury... that goes double for an older person who might not bounce back like a younger one. That has nothing to do with Saturns as they were reasonably safe cars, just a side note.

The immediate crisis is past - a crap shop diagnosis lead to panic. I was able to fix the car over the weekend (nothing but a failed ignition coil), so it's good for now. Still, having driven it I'm not sure how long for the world it is. It actually goes quite well, but the transmission has a gnarly cold 3->2 downshift. It's only when freezing cold - once warmed up it's fine - but still a point of concern. I'm going to keep looking, and maybe find something I can drop off in a few months. A little time to find just the right thing is helpful.
xquaid DEC 10, 11:04 PM

quote
Originally posted by thesameguy:
The immediate crisis is past - a crap shop diagnosis lead to panic. I was able to fix the car over the weekend (nothing but a failed ignition coil), so it's good for now. Still, having driven it I'm not sure how long for the world it is. It actually goes quite well, but the transmission has a gnarly cold 3->2 downshift. It's only when freezing cold - once warmed up it's fine - but still a point of concern. I'm going to keep looking, and maybe find something I can drop off in a few months. A little time to find just the right thing is helpful.



If you are still in the market I am dumping one of my 2 cars.

Details

I put more money into this car than what I spent on it. I have a folder with about half an inch of documentation/records for every maintenance work performed. Owned it for 15 months/10,000 miles and repaired everything that it needed!
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Teaching exercise for 13+ years!
Founder/President - www.FitnessPatterns.com

[This message has been edited by xquaid (edited 12-10-2013).]

fastblack DEC 18, 07:34 PM

quote
Originally posted by pontiackid86:

Caviler, Neon, Sunfire, any early 00's Hyundai, Eclipse, Aveo,



Cavalier/Sunfire - Only if it's a 2.2, no 2.4's...the water pump WILL go out on the 2.4 and you WILL NOT want to mess with it
Neon = Never Ending Ongoing Nightmare
Hyundai - ehhh, maybe
Eclipse - Hells no
Aveo - Waste of money, may as well buy a cavalier/sunfire

I would steer away from Alero's and Grand Am's of that age, I love those cars but reliability seems to be hit or miss with them. I would keep looking for a Grand Prix but shy away from the GTP's. It's been my experience that GTP's seem to get beat on worse than Civic's. If you want 3.8 SC look for a Regal GS, pretty much the same thing as a GTP but old ladies seem to be nicer to cars Can't really go wrong with any Buick for that matter, danged good cars. While you are looking at W-Bodies you may as well look for Impala's with the 3.8.
CoFieroGt DEC 24, 09:37 PM

quote
Originally posted by thesameguy:

Two days before Thanksgiving is a terrible time to buy a car.

Found a nice looking '97 GTP coupe I am going to try to check out tomorrow. Anyone have any advice on problem spots or things to avoid?



I was going to say GTP! For 3 grand or less its a great choice.

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Black 1986.5 Fiero GT, L67, 5 Speed, Firebird dash and door panels.
2006 GMC Sierra 2500HD LBZ Duramax
2006 Infinity G35 4 door (Wife's car)

Dburger DEC 24, 10:30 PM
VW Golf/Jetta mk4 2.0

[This message has been edited by Dburger (edited 12-24-2013).]

2.5 JAN 14, 01:28 PM

quote
Originally posted by Blacktree:

My thoughts exactly. A couple years ago, I was able to find an '01 Saturn SL1 for $1400. Not sure about your area, but around here the '02 and older Saturns go for around $1500-2000. The fuel economy is good. They're easy to work on. Parts are cheap and plentiful in the salvage yards. And they're pretty reliable. They're also not very popular with ricers. So you have a better chance of finding one that hasn't been hacked up by a previous owner.



We paid about 3k for a 2000 Saturn SL 5 speed, because it has only 80k miles on it, and gets almost 40 mpgs.
weaselbeak JAN 21, 01:31 AM
Get a Sunfire or cavalier, or the last year or so of the Escort. Immediately swap in a new timing set and water pump, and sleep good not worrying about it. You might check the banks for repos and estate cars. I bought my 97 Grand Marquis, looking and smelling brand new, from an estate. It was a little old lady's car, had leather interior, brand new rubber and 88K on the odometer. Licensed, titled and taxed for 1700. It just turned 218K and I could still get a grand out of it.
mmeyer86gt/gtp JAN 26, 10:50 AM
97-02 4cyl camry dont get the v6. Little maintenance lots of leg room and easy to work on and buy parts for. I have had mine since 2000 and i now have 210k miles and no major problems a couple small oil leaks that took about 2 hours to fix but the cost of the seals were under $15 each. Cant get much cheaper when it comes to reliability.