quote:

Originally posted by celticwolf:
Crown Vic.

Even better, a Mercury Gran Marquis. Bought one (2008) for my daughter. Everything works. Leather interior. Been driven to church, the grocery store and the quilting circle it’s whole life.

quote:

Originally posted by LS1 GTO:
1964 Dodge Dart.

When the OP first posted that exact thought ran through my head as that's what I bought for my eldest (he's 43 now). This before he had his driver's license. Learned the car front to rear so he was "invested" in taking good care of it. Add the durability and reliability of the slant 6 engine and you have one solid car. His was a low mileage number a widow had stored in her garage for over 15 years. Not many like that around any more.


More to the point of the OP's question, I'd look at a sound, well maintained Toyota Corolla or Subaru.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: bald1,

Used Crown Vic, maybe police or you may find one for sale from an individual. They are great cars, lots of room and decent mileage.

quote:

Originally posted by LS1 GTO:
1964 Dodge Dart.

Buddy of mine drove his Mother's '73 or '74 Dodge Dart in high school. It had the V8... good times.

Be patient, and wait for a single owner, well maintained used Buick or Pontiac with the 3.8L V-6.

Want to have more fun? look for an Ultra, Regal, Bonneville or Gran Prix with the supercharger, but remember these use premium if you want the pistons to last.

Both the Hondas and Toyotas are great cars and will run forever. The killer in our part of the world, yours and mine, is salt and rust, particularly on the rear brake lines. The Toyotas are usually more forgiving concerning lack of maintenance.

Camry with the 4 cyl. No belt,timing chain..Fairly easy to work on and got 136k miles out of it before I sold it to a friend for 2k.. Great car,not exciting but it does the job.

You can skip to the 1:50 mark if you want





Link to original video: https://youtu.be/BrMnkbkzvik

Shop for an old truck. Should be more fun than most.

A Volvo 850 GLT wagon should also do the trick.

Toyota or Honda.

We had a 1997 RAV4 auto.

Great heater, visibility.
A sunroof too for the nicer days.
Roof racks.
Rear seats fold flat.

Constant 4wd, meant we got maybe 250 miles out of a tank.

With M&S tires, it was pretty darn good in the snow, when everyone else was stuck.
In Seattle/Kirkland, we don't get much snow on the ground.

Upgraded the factory stereo, 30 mins using aerpro ISO connectors.

Nudge bar up front.

Aside from the gas mileage, very versatile.
Serviced once a year, timing belt changed.

Sold it with 250k on the clock.

Get a Toyota.

A nice 2006 Buick LaCrosse CXS. Like mine. It is for sale as I purchased a motorcycle. Too bad you are way up there.

Don’t laugh but you can get a lowish mile Scion (Toyota) IQ for that. It’s very small and slow but probably reliable.

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/...22#listing=270797644

Some more options (civic, Corolla, etc...) I found near RI.

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/...50#listing=273053301

Shit I would buy this manual forester if it were closer

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/...50#listing=267842392

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/...50#listing=272249427

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/...50#listing=272841825

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/...50#listing=268246180

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Dusty78,

Find a car mentioned often in this thread for $1k, then put $2k into it.
Chances are it will start and stop as needed until you just get sick of its stupid face.

I've had my 2010 Toyota Camry since my wife bought it new. I took it over, 5 years ago, it has been a great, trouble free car. I sometimes feel like I want something different, but at only 69K on the odometer, I'm keeping it for awhile longer. It still has its original battery, and exhaust, so I fully expect to have to put a little money into it sometime in the future.

I will have to throw my hat in the ring for the Toyota Corolla as well. I bought my 1997 Corolla DX 1.8L used in early 2000. It was my daily driver until 2011, at which time I bought a Venza. The Corolla is now my "airport" car and is driven less than 50 miles a week round trip to Bush Intercontinental. It currently has just over 189,000 miles and aside from tires and oil changes, it's been fairly maintenance free.

The timing belt and water pump gets changed each 70,000 miles. Over time, I had most gaskets and seals replaced, as it did leak oil eventually. I replaced the front struts myself, and that was easy. A/C still works GREAT! Yes...it's taken some TLC money to keep it running in tip-top shape, but if you were to apply a cost/mile over its entire life (excluding gas), I'd bet that cost would be less than $0.05 per mile.

As others have stated, the key will be finding one that has been PROPERLY maintained. Unfortunately mine isn't for sale...otherwise you'd get a GREAT car and a binder that includes EVERY receipt for maintenance it's ever had since I've owned it. I'm hoping to repaint it with the original factory color this fall...Champagne Beige Metallic.

Side note...the 1.8L engine in this Corolla is a "non-destruct" engine. So if you snap a timing belt while driving, it won't ruin the lifters, head, and other vital engine parts. I'm sure our resident mechanics can provide further details on that, or a Google search will inform further.

Man, $300 would be a "beater".
$3000 would be "my good car".

quote:

Originally posted by hudr:

quote:

Originally posted by celticwolf:
Crown Vic.

Even better, a Mercury Gran Marquis. Bought one (2008) for my daughter. Everything works. Leather interior. Been driven to church, the grocery store and the quilting circle it’s whole life.

I bought a used Crown Vic with 80k on it, owned by a retired dentist who obviously had trouble seeing in his old age. Lots of dents and rings but a great car. Comfortable seats, roomy interior, massive trunk, plenty of power and a proven and reliable drivetrain. Water pump went out and didn’t even have to remove fan or drain radiator, removed the belt, removed a few bolts and swapped it out. My mechanic friend told me not to sell because it would last for years but I did. The guy is still driving it three years later and takes road trips in it.

quote:

Originally posted by rburg:
I hope the OP is still around in 3 or 4 years to tell us how the $3K purchase price works out. ...

Here's an example: In 2016, I helped my daughter find a 2005 Corolla with 108K on it - granted it was closer to $4,000. Since that time we've performed the following maintenance and repairs:

• Oil changes - every 7,500 miles w/ synthetic oil
  
• Front brake pads and one front brake caliper
  
• Rear brake pads
  
• Spark Plugs and valve cover gasket
  
• Serpentine belt
  
• Tires
  

Other than the tires and a couple of oil changes, she helped with all other maintenance. It's been pretty economical to own overall. Not counting oil changes or tires, I would guestimate that she has less than $300 in to date - that's a lot better than a car payment for the last 4 years.

ETA: Her car has a timing chain, that was on the must have list of cars that we were looking for.

I’d go with Honda or Toyota.

I’d spend a bit more up front to get a better car, rather than risk inheriting some one else’s “ridden hard and put away wet” poorly maintained car.

To be honest, our beater car is a 1997 Jeep TJ with 200k+ on it. Bought in 2008 with less than 100k for $6800. Going strong, just now replacing the blower but nothing critical has ever gone wrong with it.... but admittedly that’s kind of a purple unicorn in jeeps.