Looking for an economical car, engine in van full of water

[MaSonZ]

I have a 2000 Mazda Protege with a 1.8 litre engine in it. gettin about 30 around town, give or take 2 or 3. 35ish on the highway..until 70 then God only knows.

[bmwgs]

Price range for what we are looking for is around 15k, + or - a couple up to 18k max.  We just dont need a new one, but want something that will run nice and inexpensive a few years.  This is a travel to work car for my wife who works in a school lunch room, and an ocasional out of town road trip.

When I retired a couple of years ago, the wife and I were looking for a car with good fuel economy and fairly comfortable for the traveling we planned to do.  I looked at everything from the Civics to the Sentra's.

We ended up going with the KIA Forte.  It has plenty of room for my big arse, the trunk is huge for luggage, and with the added 10 year 100,000 bumper to bumper warranty it lessens my worries.  I get on average 32 to 35 miles per gallon on the road, and upper 20's in the city.  In nearly two years, and 20 plus thousand of miles we have not had any problems.  

The down side is KIA's do not hold their value well, but that doesn't matter to me since I drive the wheels off a vehicle before I get rid of it.  The best part was I got the 2010 model with leather package including extended warranty, taxes and other crap for $21,000 drive out.

Might be a vehicle you want to take a look at.  If you do take a look at them, do not go with the Fuel Economy Model, I understand they have had some issues.

http://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars-trucks/Kia_Forte/
My Opinion

Fred

[dedalos]

Price range for what we are looking for is around 15k, + or - a couple up to 18k max.  We just dont need a new one, but want something that will run nice and inexpensive a few years.  This is a travel to work car for my wife who works in a school lunch room, and an ocasional out of town road trip.

Heh, at that price range you can pretty much have any used car you want.  A C230 with 70K milles will give you close to 30mpg.  A VW passat T2.0 will give you over 30mpg etc.  Really way to many choices but that is what I would go for given mpg, power, safety, etc.

[Killer91]

I have a 2004 Honda CRV and I love it.

My dad had a 1990 honda accord and had it for 20 years.  Nothing serious ever broke on it until it was ran into on the side of the road while it was parked.  So he had to get a new car so he got another Honda Accord.

Hondas are extremely reliable.(<---period)

Quoted for truth. I drive a 2000 Honda Accord with the 2.0L V6. The people who owned it the first 9 years had NO problems with it. I've only had one minor problem with it since I've had it and it was a quick fix that I did myself (Throttle Position Sensor went bad and it wouldn't shift). It's got 128,000 miles on it to which is nothing for a Honda. I like to joke and say it's just now completely broke in 

Anyways my point is you CAN'T go wrong with a Honda.

[CAP1]

Head gaskets went out this last weekend on wife's van.  It is a 1999 Olds Silohette van.  I have been putting in antifreeze and stopleak stuff for the last year or so, she only drives it to work, which is 5 miles one way.  So it finally gave way and now has about 6" of water/oil above the full mark on the oil dipstick.  Its parked and probably will be scrapped for junk, as it has 200k miles on it.  It will need tires by summer if it would have lasted that long, and we got it from her parents years ago, and they used it to put their boat in salavacadoer all winter long down at the gulf of Mexico.  So it seemed we always had rusty brake problems also amongst other problems.   So I assume it probably is not worth doing head gaskets, as the water in crankcase might make us do a complete overhaul now.  We farm, and were hoping to make it last until this summer after wheat harvest, alas it didnt make it as hoped.

So now, we are looking to buy a 2007 and up smaller car that will get good/great gas mileage and might have a good repair record.  What cars do you guys recommend for a good car and also what cars/engines to stay away from?  We dont need a BMW, or Cadillac, as it will be a work vehicle, and also we would like to be able to take it on road trips too.  She likes the looks of Chevy Malibu, Chrysler Sebring, Ford Fusion kinda. Are these good cars or should we be looking at something else?

honda, or toyota.

hondas are a little expensive to fix though, as they've had a good rep for awhile.

 toyota corolla, or camry.....you almost can't go wrong with these.

 i forgot about subaru. if you want her to have a little performance with her car, go with a subaru outback....i think you can get them with a turbo, and awd. good mileage, great bad weather cars....and reliable as all get out......

[CAP1]

Heh, at that price range you can pretty much have any used car you want.  A C230 with 70K milles will give you close to 30mpg.  A VW passat T2.0 will give you over 30mpg etc.  Really way to many choices but that is what I would go for given mpg, power, safety, etc.

a passat will also give him serious fits......and he will then understand why people like me constantly berate vw.

[gyrene81]

whatever you decide on, do a little parts shopping on the side to see what replacement parts would cost in the event something does go wrong...like an alternator, struts, brake calipers/cylinders, steering pump, ac compressor...some parts people take for granted as "rarely fail" end up being one of the most expensive repairs, even if they do it themselves.

i found that out the hard way...$300 for a belt tensioner arm assembly, dealer item only...and the funny thing is if i had bought the more expensive high performance version of the car i owned, the same component would have cost $85 at a retail parts shop.

[CAP1]

whatever you decide on, do a little parts shopping on the side to see what replacement parts would cost in the event something does go wrong...like an alternator, struts, brake calipers/cylinders, steering pump, ac compressor...some parts people take for granted as "rarely fail" end up being one of the most expensive repairs, even if they do it themselves.

i found that out the hard way...$300 for a belt tensioner arm assembly, dealer item only...and the funny thing is if i had bought the more expensive high performance version of the car i owned, the same component would have cost $85 at a retail parts shop.

07 and newer, figure in the ballpark of $200+ labor for an alternator, don't worry about calipers unless you drive with the brakes grinding for a long enough period to over-extend the piston. struts figure anywhere from $120 or so for cheapos to about $190 for decent ones......plus labor.

 a front brake job on most things in the price range you mentioned should only run around $150 tops....unless you need rotors. the a/c compressor....that's a biggie. should it go bad, most shops will have you replace the reciever/drier with it....it's the only way they can guarantee it......you're generally in the ballpark of $1100 for that, including labor.

 the thing is.......most unexpected expenses on cars that look big, aren't actually that big......but they're a very big inconvenience.

excellent advice gyrene......

[Rondar]

I looked at what I first posted.. lol and I certainly dont know what "  and they used it to put their boat in salavacadoer all winter long down at the gulf of Mexico" means or how it got there.  I typed in Salavacadoer.    Jeez  Salt   Water   

Ok seems like the Japanese cars are getting the nod here.  If it matters, there is not a Toyota dealer any closer to me than 150 miles.   Are European cars reliable nowdays?  I like the looks of Volvo's  and BMW's but honestly, If a person drives one of them to work how do you complain about wages too low lmao?  I had a 300E Mercedes I bought off of ebay a few years ago, it didnt just nickel and dime me, it dollared and ten dollared me to death til I got rid of it.  Might have just been a crappy ebay car tho.

[CAP1]

I looked at what I first posted.. lol and I certainly dont know what "  and they used it to put their boat in salavacadoer all winter long down at the gulf of Mexico" means or how it got there.  I typed in Salavacadoer.    Jeez  Salt   Water   

Ok seems like the Japanese cars are getting the nod here.  If it matters, there is not a Toyota dealer any closer to me than 150 miles.   Are European cars reliable nowdays?  I like the looks of Volvo's  and BMW's but honestly, If a person drives one of them to work how do you complain about wages too low lmao?  I had a 300E Mercedes I bought off of ebay a few years ago, it didnt just nickel and dime me, it dollared and ten dollared me to death til I got rid of it.  Might have just been a crappy ebay car tho.

 I LIKE BMW'S, but i've had a couple of customers that got nickel and dimed big time with them at around 100k miles.

 avoid audis. they suck. you'll hate them from day 1.

 volvos are good reliable cars.

[Belial]

Do yourself a favor and drive 150 miles for a corolla...you will thank me later.


I just got a 11' tacoma and I'm lovin it

[gyrene81]

not sure if that is good advice belial...considering toyota's warranty requirements...pretty strict about time lines, with a 300 mile round trip day just to keep it in warranty...not worth it....and i absolutely would not use toyota finance if you plan on financing.

[Shuffler]

Cap works on cars for a living and most always gives sound advice concerning them. Use caution if he gives advice on flying in Ah though. 

I can't make any suggestion on those small cars though..... I have never had any use for one.

[dedalos]

a passat will also give him serious fits......and he will then understand why people like me constantly berate vw.

Yes, I know, everyone knows about those cars except the people that owned them    Although, I do admit, I did hear some whining from the oil changing place about needing a special wrench.  But other than that, I have no clue what you are talking about.  I did say the the 2.0T so I don;t know if the other engines are having problems.

[CAP1]

not sure if that is good advice belial...considering toyota's warranty requirements...pretty strict about time lines, with a 300 mile round trip day just to keep it in warranty...not worth it....and i absolutely would not use toyota finance if you plan on financing.

maintenance can be done anywhere, and keep the warranty in effect. the only time he'd really have to go to the dealer would be if he needed warranty work done.