Anyone recommend a $4000.00 car?

shotgunner11

shotgunner11

Joined
Dec 17, 2005
Messages
7,809
Hello, I need a new car for about 4 grand. I drive about 20 miles each way to and from work so it needs to be reliable. I also need to get 2 car seats into the back.

I'm kinda looking at Volkswagen, older Jettas but I'm not set on anything quite yet.

Anyone have a suggestion? Thanks.
 
Honda's are reliable vehicles that don't cost an arm and leg to maintain. The 4-door Accord sedan might fit your needs, get one with the lowest mileage you can find in your price range that has it's records. If it has more than 90,000 miles make sure it has had it's timing belt changed.
 
Any 4k$ car is going to require maintenance. VW's aren't known for cheap parts and labor is often a little more than other makes. Get a manual transmission little 4cyl car or wagon, I would lean heavily towards nissan, toyota, honda.

The best 4k$ car I ever had was a 2wd nissan pick up. Decent mileage, bombproof reliability, and versatile. Even with an extra cab would still be kinda tight with car seats.

A ford escort, 5spd, would be on my list too. An old subaru would be a good choice in that price range, depending how popular they are in your area..
 
Toyota, Honda or Suburu. Anything else in that price range will make your mechanic a happy guy.
 
Ok, I'll give you some advice, since the kind of car and the amount you have to spend is almost exactly what I can muster for my Son's car(if he ever gets his license). See if you can find yourself a Geo Prism. They haven't made them in a few years, so they won't cost that much. First, they were marketed as Geo, then Chevy took over and they sold them as Chevy/Geo, I believe. The important part about all this is what the car actually was. It was actually a Toyota Corolla with different trim. That means these cars should run practically forever, with modest upkeep.
 
I'd go with Toyota (the above mentioned Corolla/Prism), then Nissan, then Honda. Hondas are pretty reliable but a guy I know who was a rep for a major parts maker said they're awful to work on compared to a Toyota.
 
Look at a Maxima. Dead reliable, plenty of power/torque, roomy, and depending on options, can be pretty luxurious. Manual transmission option, if you prefer to drive the car rather than just ride in it. If you shop around private party, the 97-99 model years are what I'd look for, and can be had for that price pretty easily.
 
The 1965 Mustang, purchased brand new. Trouble is you had to do it in 1965.

Failing that, a Toyota Camry with some body damage--- big scratches on the side or better yet a good whack somewhere. Needs to be enough to really turn buyers off and probably cost 2k-3k to fix. Can take a 5 year old car in perfect condition with 38,000 miles from the 13000$ retail value to 4000 $ trade in value for a car that has body damage that would cost 2000$ to repair. Don;t spend the 2k either.
 
I agree with Toyota, Nissan, and Honda. Nissan's seem to be going for a premium right now. I think your best bet is a mid-90's Honda Accord. Don't let a 100,000+ miles scare you. They can be very reliable way over 200K.

Jack
 
Danbo said:
Ok, I'll give you some advice, since the kind of car and the amount you have to spend is almost exactly what I can muster for my Son's car(if he ever gets his license). See if you can find yourself a Geo Prism. They haven't made them in a few years, so they won't cost that much. First, they were marketed as Geo, then Chevy took over and they sold them as Chevy/Geo, I believe. The important part about all this is what the car actually was. It was actually a Toyota Corolla with different trim. That means these cars should run practically forever, with modest upkeep.
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Great advise. My nephew is driving one the family got for his older sister about 1992, and at over 200,000 miles is still running like a champ. The big thing about the Geo is 1. The Toyota Corola was named the worlds most reliable small car, and 2. Being a Geo, most people don't know its a Toyota so the resale value on it is lower so it lets you buy the car for less money than the same year car that is badged a Toyota.

Also a friend of mine who runs a body shop says the Toyota stands up to collision a bit better than Honda and is cheaper to fix if something happens.
 
mrd74 said:
Toyota, Honda or Suburu. Anything else in that price range will make your mechanic a happy guy.
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I think this advice is right on. Definitely stay away from the Jetta and other VW's, at least for now if you want to hold on to your wallet. The new Consumers Report car issue lists the Jetta is the 6th least reliable vehicle built ... period ....., between 1998 & 2005.

Razz
 
Thanks for all the advice. I guess I need to get off my German car high horse, at this price range, I'm not going to find one thats good enough to last.

I guess I'll start looking harder for the Toyotas. My other car is a '98 4runner and the things great. Camry wagon would be perfect.
 
i have a mint 81 yugo ill let go for 4 grand,am/fm 8track,55 ac,manual power stearing and brakes-lol

i just bought a 06 yoda(toyota) because i was sick of hearing about cars that lasted for 250 grand and not having one
 
How about a Jeep Wrangler? Aguy around the corner has one with minor body damage (very minor, no repair needed) for $3600. Needs a new top.

Looks to be early to mid 90's YJ, I'm guessing a 4 banger from the trim level.
 
shotgunner11 said:
Hello, I need a new car for about 4 grand. I drive about 20 miles each way to and from work so it needs to be reliable. I also need to get 2 car seats into the back.

I'm kinda looking at Volkswagen, older Jettas but I'm not set on anything quite yet.

Anyone have a suggestion? Thanks.
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Ford Taurus se, You should be able to find a 2002 or 2001 with less than 60,000 miles for under 4 g's

The se has a shifter console in the center of the front seat instead of on the tree, so only 2 people can ride up front. Big back seat, big trunk.
 
The guy who writes this entertaining and opinionated guide
http://dogandlemon.com/
says the three important things to look for in a car are, "Toyota, Toyota & Toyota".
Mind you I still have a brace of Hondas and am happy.
 
I have a 1998 jetta, and i had to replace the transmission a few years ago. Do not buy one unless you have a warranty, or you can get VW parts cheap (HAHAHAHAHAHA). At 4K, I'd have to do some thinking.
 
Up in the great white north here where the winter takes its toll, there are lots of very elderly Toyota Camrys on the roads. Seems to be a car with great longevity.

There is a programme called 'Top Gear' in the UK and they said they keep seeing the Toyota hilux pickup truck in all the third world trouble spots being shot at and people shooting from them and driving on beat-up roads. They decided to see just what they could put up with. They parked it on a sea slipway and the idea was that it would get a good splashing, but while the crew were in the pub the sea washed it off the slipway into the sea and they had to wait for the tide to receed. After draining the oil, checking the battery, changing the plugs, it started. They did all sorts of tests including hitting it with a wrecking ball and setting it on fire, with the final one being putting it on top of a 23 storey building and blowing up the building below it! The truck was pulled of the rubble, it had a broken chassis, but it still drove! They gave the truck an award and displayed it in the foyer of the top gear offices. The 15 minute video is here
http://www.bbc.co.uk/topgear/downloads/hilux_broadband.ram
 
Should be able to get a Ford Escort for close to that. They gave me 8700cad when they wrote my 2000 ZX2 off from my december accident.

Running about 40mile/gallon in city, up to 52 highway if I drove 1/2 sensibly(or about 45mpg if I went 120kph for my usual hour trip.

Great handling, decent gas milage, enough guts for it's size(I think I've got less guts in the 92 sherman tank, I mean plymoth voyager, I drive now).

And even allowed me to limp away from an accident that did 9K in damages. Front right corner into the side barrier on the bridge, was doing about 70kph when I tapped my brakes too hard and lost control... front right corner was toast, middle of bumper to wheel well, hood shifted over and came up, both front airbags blew... And the only thing (other than my nerves and pride being shot) was tweaking my knee for a week of pain.

Solid little car.
 
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