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Smart Shopper Good, Cheap Beater Cars & Inexpensive Commuter Cars - how to find one?
345 messages, Last post on Nov 25, 2009 at 9:00 AM
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| ...that's why I mentioned the strange fact that it had a roof but no alloys (photo shows standard Mazda hubcaps). No biggie. I've always liked this design, and the fact that it's one of the only (if not THE only) midsize hatchbacks out there. | |
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Saturn SL/SCs are definitely NOT my first choice for a car, but lately I've noticed they're super cheap used. I've checked epinions.com, Edmunds and other sites, and consumers seem quite polarized about these cars, either love them or hate them. I know their seats and interior quality in general aren't the best, they're likely a lot more rattly than your average Honda or Toyota, but they also cost half to a quarter what those cost once they're at a certain age. I've seen plenty for under $2k, and they're not the fifteen to twenty year-old rust buckets that Hondas are at that price. From what I've heard from friends and family, they're at least reliable. Any opinions? In terms of reliability, is the SL/SC1 engine or the twin-cam SL2/SC2 engine better? Recently, I've seen a decent looking '97 SL1 manual with 122k for $1500, a presentable '93 SC2 automatic with 167k for $1000 and a nice looking '97 SC2 manual with 91k for $2500. Hard to ignore those prices. Again, I don't care about prestige, aesthetics, performance or creature comforts much, I just want a cheap car to get to work and the store (3 miles) and occasionally out to visit relatives, without a payment. Anyone know anything about repair prices versus other domestics or imports?
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I test-drove a 97 SW1 last year... the lady wasn't thrilled when I offered her low $2's, but the car was -- kinda -- fun to drive in a whole-grain sort of way. A bunch of GM, but also a bunch of character. You sit on the floor, which is fine if you're tall, and everything is a little goofy, like someone is doing a Civic from memory, but all the basics are OK. AC should be Delco, you could do worse. Reliability is decent. Take a flashlight and peek in to oil filler opening... if it looks clean there and the car is fine otherwise, go for it. And don't forget, until you start walking, you don't know what they'll take.... -Mathias |
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If you like manual shift, then you can really make out buying the quasi-beaters.. the $4500-$6000 stuff.. The dealers basically will throw $2000 at a trade that they would put $5000 in, if it were automatic... You can usually move up two model years for the same money by buying 5-speed Proteges, Prizms, Saturns, Corollas, and Civics (to a lesser degree). Something else that is relatively new and cheap: Ford Ranger 2WD pickups.. My uncle bought a '99 Ranger in January of '03 for $5700. Automatic, air and V-6. Not much else, but only 41K miles. If it had been a manual shift, you could probably have knocked $2K off the price. regards, kyfdx |
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...here in Chicago, there's not much market or availability for them. Almost the only pickups I see here are used commercially. Between their bad traction in snow, the fact that they (and all trucks) are illegal to drive on Lake Shore Drive, and I guess just the general lack of necessity for one, it just wouldn't work for me. Now, if I had a house or a yard, sure. The only way I could see it being useful is for my friends to borrow it when they need to move! I'd almost rather have an Escort at half the price! I see your point about manual transmissions. I like to drive them, they cost less to buy and maintain, and at least half my friends can't even drive one. Perfect. |
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Replying to: ghulet (Aug 28, 2004 4:01 pm)
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Replying to: asafonov (Sep 17, 2004 9:29 am) I think that I would also pass on the Cavalier, though. |
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Well I normally stick with Hon-yotas but my sister recently needed a cheap car fast. I found her a 1998 Saturn SL2 with 90,000 miles. Power package, cruise, alloys, automatic and cold AC. Paid $1700 for it. Overall it is a much nicer car than a comparable Honda would've been for that price. I would've preferred to buy her a Honda but the supply of clean low-mileage late-90's Hondas for $1500-$1700 is almost (if not completely) non-existant. So far the car has been good for her. Got her back to Wilmington, NC and now back to GA and is on it's way back to NC. |
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When I got laid off from my airline job I sold my wife's 3 year old Contour SVT. Our second car became our good car, a 1991 eagle talon with 200K on it., When I got recalled in Jan 02 I bought a 1991 Acura Integra from ebay for 3,500$. It had 89K on it and was really nice. no paint work, or ripped interior. air blew cold and everything worked. Soon after I got it home I put in motor mounts, and changed the timing belt. total cost for this was 300$. In the 3+ years I have owned it I put on tires and brakes plus an oil pan gasket. So for a 2,000$ car it has been great, we still drive it daily, in fact. 25 city and 31 Hwy. it does use a quart of oil every 1000 miles though. I'd recommend one of these for a cheap dependable car that will get on the freeway without drama. they can be had on ebay and autotrader for around 1500-2000 dollars. |
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| here in WV (lots of snow, cinders, and salt) so I bought a 1997 Geo Tracker (in 2001), 4wd, 5 spd with 60K miles, new tires, super clean vehicle, ran as well as a Tracker can, paid $5000 for it. Drove it 3 winters, took good care of it, and sold it for $4500. The only downside to it was the insurance was almost as much as my 2001 Eclipse Spyder. Still, it was worth it to keep my car off the nasty winter roads and it saved mileage on it!! I just bought an rx8 and hope to do a similar thing for the upcoming winter. | |
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