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Article Comments - The 10 Best Used Cars for Less Than $5,000

39 messages,  Last post on Apr 27, 2011 at 12:04 PM

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What is this discussion about? Acura Integra, Chevrolet Camaro, Chevrolet Corvette, Ford Mustang, Honda Prelude, Mitsubishi Eclipse, Mazda MX-5 Miata, Nissan 240SX, Subaru Impreza, Car Buying

The 10 Best Used Cars for Less Than $5,000 - A dealer lot is the wrong place to get a deal on a used car. Check out Autotrader.com, eBay.com, craigslist.org or a local paper. (more)

Messages Page 3 of 4

#20 of 39 Re: Top ten used cars [lokki] by torque1788

Feb 08, 2009 (7:49 pm)

Replying to: lokki (Feb 06, 2009 8:29 am)
The 89' sho used a cable shifter which wore out after a while and would kink up and cause shifts to be hard but in 90' ford switched to rods which held up good...they make a kit to put a rod shifter in the 89'...the engine is amazing and sounds good...mine had 150,000 miles on it and ran like the day it came out of the factory...you can get a low mile sho in really good shape for 2-3 grand...parts are a little expensive but no more than some imports...maintence is no more than any other car except for a 100,000 mile tune up that was kind of expensive

#21 of 39 Re: Article Comments - The 10 Best Used Cars for Less Than $5,000 [athakur999] by sloshman

Feb 09, 2009 (1:10 am)

Replying to: athakur999 (Feb 04, 2009 1:42 pm)
I also think the 5g prelude to be good looking so you're not alone . The article was talking about getting an SH and I wondering if you can tell by the VIN number if you can't tell from the owner and symbols and I'm guessing you couldn't get ATTS on base models right?

#22 of 39 Re: Article Comments - The 10 Best Used Cars for Less Than $5,000 [sloshman] by gearhead1977

Feb 10, 2009 (5:53 am)

Replying to: sloshman (Feb 09, 2009 1:10 am)
I thought that the Prelude SH was an actual model, like LS,SE,etc. I might not be remembering correctly, but I think the Prelude SH had it as maybe a sticker on the back.
 
I imagine you could learn from the VIN and I'm sure a Honda specific forum or website could help you. Not sure about ATTS, but again, I don't think that this gen Prelude ever came as a "stripper". Even the base car was pretty well loaded (for a Honda)

#23 of 39 Prelude? by kyfdx HOST

Feb 18, 2009 (10:07 am)

Compared to the other cars listed, finding one for $5K would seem to be a real stretch... Plus, any decent SH is probably going to be twice that...
 
For my money, the first one listed... the Acura GS-R would be my choice.. As they say, though... most have gotten the full "treatment" by now...

#24 of 39 99 Miata by chrisa222

Feb 25, 2009 (4:48 pm)

Replying to: gearhead1977 (Feb 05, 2009 1:55 pm)
Great article.
 
I picked up a 99 Miata last year in very very good condition...I definately reccomend one as a fun second car.
 
There is a ton of aftermarket support on this car too...this summer I am going to turbocharge my car. A reputable company that specializes in Miata upgrades offers a turbo kit for $1800 for a 99-2000 Miata. They claim a minimum of 160WHP which I would say is comparable to about 190HP at the crank. 190HP in a 2200lb convertible??? I can't wait. I won't lose to a minivan

#25 of 39 240SX by stephen987

Apr 14, 2009 (4:07 am)

I owned a '90 240SX for several years. It was an amazing car--absolute mountains of torque from the stock SOHC 2.4 ('91 and later had a DOHC version that's even better), with perfectly balanced handling. NO NEED for the SR20DET swap!!!! Even better: it was a superb road car, with fantastic seat comfort and 28-30 mpg at 75-80 mph.
 
Potential buyers should watch for the following problems:
--speedometer sensor in the tail end of the transmission will sometimes fail, leading to erroneous speedo/odo readings, or none at all.
--rattles, because the first-gen fastback has an awfully huge hatch opening. Mine also had the pop-up sunroof, so that's another source.
--fuel injector seals. A low-mileage car will have cracks here, leading to the omnipresent but hard to trace aroma of gasoline.
--body leaks. Mine leaked through, of all places, the rear window washer nozzle, staining the headliner badly.
--brake and clutch hydraulics, especially if the car is allowed to sit for any length of time.
 
I sold mine for $800 at about 130k six years ago, because it would've cost me another $1500 to fix everything that was wrong with it. I've mourned the loss ever since.

#26 of 39 94 mustang GT by iron_man

Apr 14, 2009 (7:34 am)

I owned a 94 mustang GT which I bought used in 96 for like $10K.
 
I installed a catback exhaust, 3.55 gears, underdrive pulleys, K&N.
 
I had that through college, first job, grad school, and a little while after I finished grad school.
 
When I got rid of it it had 120K+ miles and was 12 yrs old and was still going very strong.
 
I beat the heck out of the that car on a regular basis and it never gave me any problems.....that was one tough car. It had tons of torque...esp with the 3.55 gear. Also it sounded great with the exhaust...not too loud just a really good rumble. It was a great car for me at the time considering I was in school most of the time. It was fun to drive, maintenance was cheap, and I never had any costly repairs.

#27 of 39 '90-'91 Honda Civic Si and CRX Si by igozoomzoom

Apr 15, 2009 (8:52 am)

If you can find one that hasn't been modified and/or driven into the ground, both the Civic Si and CRX Si are still a blast to drive!

#29 of 39 SUBIE! by bmccormick_40

Apr 17, 2009 (4:29 pm)

I had a 98 2.5 RS coupe, black with gold wheels and trim. It was a blast to drive on road, off road, in the snow, rain, dry, blasting back and forth from Boston to New York, cross country, Montreal, ski trips...that car never let me down. I miss it immensely. I upgraded to a first gen WRX when they arrived here. That was a fun car, but it lacked the spirit and the spunk of the RS. I'll take the 165 hp boxer over the 2.0 turbo any day. I've looked for a replacement, but a low-mileage used is pretty hard to find.

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