Buying a car soon in the $4-5k price range. Throw me some names please?

**DaGeek** · 06-12-2009, 02:36 PM

When I get back from some training in two weeks, it'll be time to buy a car. I want to buy a car for about four to five thousand dollars (preferably $4,500 or so), and here are my criterion:

1. Good gas mileage, as in at least or around 30 highway, as I'm going to be commuting a lot.
2. Reliable! Won't have a lot of money for maintenance in the next few years, so reliability is paramount.
3. Has to have room for my guitars and such plus a few people.
4. Definitely preferred to be around the year 2000. Don't want to go much older than that if at all possible. The cut-off would probably be 1998 at oldest unless there was a really good reason.
5. HAS TO BE A MANUAL (Caps added for emphasis

).

Alright, now that I've got the essentials out of the way, it would be nice if it had a little bit of oomph/pickup, as I hate driving a car that takes forever to reach Interstate speed (that's all I drive on, practically). But, again, not essential. I've been kinda looking at a few models of cars, like the obvious choices of the Honda Civic and Accord, and the Toyota Corolla and Camry. Also looked at a car like the Subaru Outback, which I liked, too.

Any suggestions (including any I've already listed or haven't listed, just with a "why")?

gtrdave · 06-12-2009, 05:03 PM

2000 or 2001 Dodge/Plymouth Neon. Maybe 2002.

Why? Because I own one.

Seriously, those two years were by far the BEST of the entire line. The locusts of Mercedes had not yet cheaped out the car quality as they did with the '03-'05 years and the reliability was WAY above the '94-'99 first generation cars.
ES (or LX for Plymouth) models get lots of nice options as standard (mine has 4 wheel disc, ABS, traction control, cruise control, 4 disc CD and cassette, power everything, light group, leather wheel and shift knob, front and rear anti-sways, rear adjustable headrests and more) and the 5 speed/2.0 sohc combo has plenty of power AND responds to basic mods quite well.
Seats 4 very comfortably, 5 in a pinch and has a trunk that can swallow a LOT of gear and/or luggage.
I get 27 to 30mpg around town and 38 to 40mpg on the highway.

I paid $5200 back in 2005 for my '01 ES w/ 52k miles on it.
It's now got 114k miles and I've replaced a shifter bushing (Boogers rawk!) and a power window switch. Several folks over on Allpar.com have close to or over 200k miles on their early 2nd gen Neons with no odd problems, only routine maintenance.

The '03 through '05 SXT was fairly popular and you can find them a dime a dozen, but they had thin paint, removal of some of the nice ES options, no rear anti-sway bar, cheesy interior fabric and a seemingly inherent piston slap issue when cold.
I owned an '03 for a while and it was ok, but it felt more like a true economy car. My '01 ES is MUCH different, hence my recommendation.

el cabong · 06-12-2009, 08:52 PM

I hate Neons with a passion.....but all of my experience has been with older ones.

Ford Focus?

**dogfood** · 06-12-2009, 09:07 PM

Lada

gtrdave · 06-12-2009, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by El Cabong

I hate Neons with a passion.....but all of my experience has been with older ones.

I had a '95 and '97. Both were ok. Actually, the '97 was great, but it was a no-option coupe and rather quick when I finished modding it. Still, the 1st gens are very hit-and-miss reliability wise and they had too many inherent bad engineering issues.
All that got corrected with the '00 Neon.

A Focus might be an option, but I've got 0 experience with them.
I don't do Fords.

**DaGeek** · 06-12-2009, 10:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gtrdave

2000 or 2001 Dodge/Plymouth Neon. Maybe 2002.

Why? Because I own one.

Seriously, those two years were by far the BEST of the entire line. The locusts of Mercedes had not yet cheaped out the car quality as they did with the '03-'05 years and the reliability was WAY above the '94-'99 first generation cars.
ES (or LX for Plymouth) models get lots of nice options as standard (mine has 4 wheel disc, ABS, traction control, cruise control, 4 disc CD and cassette, power everything, light group, leather wheel and shift knob, front and rear anti-sways, rear adjustable headrests and more) and the 5 speed/2.0 sohc combo has plenty of power AND responds to basic mods quite well.
Seats 4 very comfortably, 5 in a pinch and has a trunk that can swallow a LOT of gear and/or luggage.
I get 27 to 30mpg around town and 38 to 40mpg on the highway.

I paid $5200 back in 2005 for my '01 ES w/ 52k miles on it.
It's now got 114k miles and I've replaced a shifter bushing (Boogers rawk!) and a power window switch. Several folks over on Allpar.com have close to or over 200k miles on their early 2nd gen Neons with no odd problems, only routine maintenance.

The '03 through '05 SXT was fairly popular and you can find them a dime a dozen, but they had thin paint, removal of some of the nice ES options, no rear anti-sway bar, cheesy interior fabric and a seemingly inherent piston slap issue when cold.
I owned an '03 for a while and it was ok, but it felt more like a true economy car. My '01 ES is MUCH different, hence my recommendation.

Hm... I hadn't looked at the Neon (mostly 'cause I honestly think they're ugly little things), but I'll check around to see if that year group is being sold around here when I get back in a few weeks (I'm leaving tomorrow 'til the 27th-ish). Never actually would have thought of checking 'em out on my own

. Are they decent to drive?

gtrdave · 06-13-2009, 09:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaGeek

Are they decent to drive?

In the same relative league as most other FWD McPhereson struted ind. suspension compact cars.
Fun to drive, or so they say.
You could luck out and find a competition model, otherwise known as the ACR. Made in '01 and '02 only, they look like a base model and carry very few options, BUT they come with adjustable struts and performance suspension, 150 horse 2.0l motor, performance geared trans, and other goodies.
More fun to drive.

***Art*** · 06-13-2009, 12:54 PM

Subaru anything, Ford Focus. I can recommend those cars.

robinson · 06-17-2009, 09:13 PM

I would not even consider a focus or a neon when you already know about the Honda and Toyota options. Go with one of those, and you won't look back in disappointment later.

mulletman · 06-17-2009, 09:28 PM

Unfortunately, it's been my experience that for the same money, the Honda or Toyota that you'd get would be worn twice as much, and be twice the age as well.

mattslope · 06-19-2009, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Phantom Mullet

Unfortunately, it's been my experience that for the same money, the Honda or Toyota that you'd get would be worn twice as much, and be twice the age as well.

What he said.

I'd look into a newer Ranger pickup. The DOHC 2.3s (Mazda engine) are amazing, and having a truck is really nice. They average 28-30 mpg (2WD, Manual, Standard Cab) too.

In the car realm, I'd shun anything with FWD (ugh, when will people see that commuting can be done in a fun car?), so a mid-90s Miata or BMW 3 series would pop up in my radar. Remember, it isn't the age of the car as much as the mileage and service history. If the car is 3 years old but has 100,000 miles, it's far less likely to be well cared for than a 10 year old car with 50,000.

mulletman · 06-19-2009, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mattslope

What he said.

I'd look into a newer Ranger pickup. The DOHC 2.3s (Mazda engine) are amazing, and having a truck is really nice. They average 28-30 mpg (2WD, Manual, Standard Cab) too.

In the car realm, I'd shun anything with FWD (ugh, when will people see that commuting can be done in a fun car?), so a mid-90s Miata or BMW 3 series would pop up in my radar. Remember, it isn't the age of the car as much as the mileage and service history. If the car is 3 years old but has 100,000 miles, it's far less likely to be well cared for than a 10 year old car with 50,000.

Indeed. Along with the Ranger trucks, I'd look into the 22R powered Toyota trucks as well. They are older.... so good luck finding one with lowish mileage.

mattslope · 06-19-2009, 07:31 PM

Even the newer 2.7 liter four cylinder Toyotas are fairly stout. The problem with Toyota trucks (much like Civics and Corollas) is that they have higher resale and by the time they come into the $5k budget, they tend to be more beat than an equally priced Ranger.

**DaGeek** · 06-27-2009, 11:19 PM

Ended up purchasing a 2001 Honda Accord

. (VERY) Sadly, it is an automatic, but the price was good, and practicality wins out, as I needed one ASAP, and I pick it up Monday. Even with it being an automatic, though, I feel confident it was a good buy and will serve me well! Pictures to come!

mattslope · 06-28-2009, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaGeek

Ended up purchasing a 2001 Honda Accord

. (VERY) Sadly, it is an automatic, but the price was good, and practicality wins out, as I needed one ASAP, and I pick it up Monday. Even with it being an automatic, though, I feel confident it was a good buy and will serve me well! Pictures to come!

Enjoy your new car. Treat it as though its longevity counts on it.