What car should I get next?

Question

I have owned two used cars previously. My first car was a 1985 Chevrolet Cavalier Z24 convertible, gorgeous, baby blue. It had a lot of problems, and cost me a lot on repaires but that's because it was 18 years old! It lasted until 2004, at 19 years old! A year later, and it would have been considered an antique (I think?). This was my baby, but I had to junk it because nobody would buy an '85 that was not working (the transmission finally died).

My current car is a '94 Nissan Sentra. I've only had minor problems with it so far that are maintenance, not engine problems (dashboard lightbulb died, battery was bad, exhaust leak due to a rusty part that needed to be replaced...). It's not a bad car, it's just getting old (has 145,000 miles on it), and I want to get something a little more reliable.

More details below on lifestyle and such.

My husband and I travel a lot, to D.C. (6 hours), to Hampton, Virginia (4 hours), to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (9 hours), and all throughout North Carolina on a regular basis. Besides the weekend traveling, I don't do a lot of drving right now (20 minute drive, 3 times a week at the most to a part-time job; 10 minute drive once a week for groceries; 10 minute drive to library once a week...stuff like that).

I have a bit of a problem remembering the preventive maintenance if my car doesn't remind me with a light or something (checking the oil, checking anti-freeze, etc.), so I'd prefer a car that is tough, can be all right without a lot of maintenance, or that would remind me.

Other than forgetting maintenance, I'm easy on cars. I don't rev them, I don't slam on the brakes excessively, and I am a very careful driver (clean record).

My husband would occassionally be driving this car, but not often.

We have a very low budget, and don't want to spend much. I only paid $1000 for others.

Answer 1

Finding a reliable car for $1000 or less is extremely difficult nowadays. You would have to limit yourself to vehicles at least ten years old and similar to the vehicles you've looked at recently. The problem is that, by the time a vehicle is ten years old, even the most reliable cars start experiencing problems of all kinds.

If you examine one of Consumer Reports' reliability charts going back ten years (sorry, no link - they have a paysite only, but you can find them at the back of their automotive issues in most libraries), the most reliable brands (Toyota and Honda) have more problems than a comparable less reliable brand (Volkswagen or Chevrolet) that's five years newer. In other words, unless it's a charity vehicle donated to you, you won't be able to find a reliable used vehicle likely for less than $2000.

However, if you're not willing to spend any more than $1000, consider these vehicles (I've marked the more reliable ones according to Consumer Reports with a "- reliable" tag, but still expect to put at least some parts on any vehicle this old and cheap):

Chevrolet Cavalier
Chevrolet Metro
Chevrolet Prizm - reliable
Dodge Neon
Dodge Shadow
Eagle Summit
Ford Aspire
Ford Festiva
Ford Escort - reliable
Geo Metro
Geo Prizm - reliable
Honda Civic - reliable
Honda Del Sol - reliable
Mazda 323
Mazda Protegé
Mitsubishi Mirage
Nissan 200SX - reliable
Nissan Sentra - reliable
Nissan Stanza
Plymouth Neon
Plymouth Sundance
Pontiac Sunbird
Pontiac Sunfire
Subaru Impreza - reliable
Suzuki Swift
Toyota Corolla - reliable
Toyota Paseo - reliable
Toyota Tercel - reliable

Also consider a compact, 2-Wheel Drive pickup truck:

Chevrolet S-10
Dodge Dakota
Ford Ranger - reliable
GMC Sonoma
Isuzu Pup - reliable
Mazda B2300 - reliable
Mitsubishi Mighty Max - reliable
Nissan Hardbody - reliable
Toyota Pickup - reliable

You can search for all of these vehicles on this website:

http://www.autotrader.com

You just have to limit the search engine to how far you're willing to go to look at a potential vehicle and the price range.

I did a search for cars $1000 and under within 200 miles of my area, and it return 114 results. I narrowed the search to within 100 miles, and the results dropped to 8 (all but one with over 150,000 miles on them), so you may have to plan on driving quite a ways.

I have a friend who got a "charity" vehicle, a fully-loaded 1996 Mitsubishi Montero LS with 90,000 miles on it, worth $5100 in fair condition, for $1000. It still needed another $500 worth of parts put into it to get it roadworthy (including new tires - the old ones were well worn), and still needs a new windshield, A-Pillars, rear door latch, radio, and antenna (all together, about another $1500).My own vehicle, a 1996 Geo Tracker, was $3200 and needed new tires, a new EGR Valve, and a major tune up.

I hope this has answered your question. If you have any more, please feel free to ask.

Answer 2

Go to a dealer and ask about the economy cars (Ford Escort, anything in Chevrolet, Buick. etc). These won't burn much gas and will help people that are on a budget.

Answer 3

if u want a cheap car get a used pontiac or honda but if u aint worried bout spendin money get then new pontiac g6 it is sweat

fo sho

Answer 4

07 civic under 20,000

And has best resale in it's class plus great gas mileage and the new design looks great by the way not a sales man i just own one.. ok bye...

Answer 5

i believe a nice car thats reliable and isnt too expensive would possibly be a pontiac bonneville or a toyota of any kind.

Answer 6

Get the new Honda Civic.. :)

Answer 7

the new honda civic is amazing!

Answer 8

get a supercharged saleen. fo real.

it might blow up though, sorry.