Recommend me a used car!

Daniel Moore

Daniel Moore

Joined
Jul 28, 2003
Messages
2,790
I'll be 16 in just over a month and I need a set of wheels :cool:

I'd take anything from a small SUV like the Grand Cherokee to a smaller car such as an older Saab. It'd be a point A to point B car, but I'd probably spend a lot of time working on it so I don't want something too beat up. Nothing ghetto-fab, and speaking in terms of design I prefer late 80's car geometries, but then again domestic 80's cars were awful and Japanese ones rusted. Anyone have an older car that they think would be a good one for me so I can look around for one?


Thanks
 
Hey, I don't know if you are considering pickup trucks or not. If you are I will wholeheartedly recommend the late 80's Toyotas. I have never owned one myself but I have quite a few friends that do and they have found to be darn near indestructible. Not to mention that they just seem to run forever. I'm talking 250,000 even well over 300,000 miles. If you're intereted in pickups, give the Toyotas a look. Choose wisely because your first car will always be special. ;)

Take care and good luck, Heath.
 
I agree. Toyota Corolla. Great reliability. And understand a car is JUST transportation. If your income exceeds $1,000,000 a year then you buy a status symbol.
 
I have a Civic that I love. It's reliable, easy on gas and is smooth and handles well. Course it's no speed demon but if you want lots of rumble/oomph get a used Mustang.
 
Why so small?? If I were in your shoes, I'd be all about something big to haul me and my buddies around in. I'm guessing by the "Late 80's Geometry" part that you like cube-shaped stuff, so I'd recommend a box-body Panther, either a Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis or a Lincoln Towncar. You should be able to find any of the three fairly inexpensive, and they'd take care of you really well, especially if you can find a fleet vehicle that was well taken care of. I've seen quite sell at 300k on the clock with a lot of life left in them. .
 
sweet delicious 71 type 1 baha bug :D bought mine for 500$, and its been good times since... (i know nothing about cars :rolleyes: )
 
SethMurdoc said:
sweet delicious 71 type 1 baha bug :D bought mine for 500$, and its been good times since...
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My father has a '64 VW Bug that has 500k+ miles on it. And he's restored it to show room condition. It's cherry.

If I were to buy a bug, I'd skip the Baja types. All those unnecessary mods can cut down the reliability. Stick to a stock model, or one with as little mods as possible. I'd stick to the mid to late 60's or very early 70's.

Safety tip: the fuel line nib on the carbs are just pressed in, not threaded. With thermal expansion and contraction over years of use, the nib will loosen, and eventually pop out from the gas pressure. When this happens, the engine is still running from pool of gas in the carb, so the pump is still pumping gas. The fuelline is waving all over the engine compartment, spraying gas like garden hose. Nice way to start a fire! :eek:

That's why you see so many burned up bugs! This happened to my Dad's bug, but luckiny it didn't catch fire.

If you were to get a bug, please find a good mechanic, and have him rebuild the carb, and take care of this problem. A well maintained bug will last years. Even if you have to replace an engine, it's not all that much.
 
There are a lot of good choices here.

Depending on how much you want to spend I'd opt for:
Honda Accord or Civic since 01
Hyundai since 02
toyota since 00
Can't go wrong. They'll last forever.
 
1985-1987 Toyota Corolla GTS: twin cam sixteen valve, high revving, rear wheel drive, limited slip differential, four wheel disc brakes.

Sports Compact Car magazine rated the Corolla GTS as the number ten best sport compact of all time. I agree, I drive one myself.
 
I'm another fan of Toyotas. I have a '91 4Runner that's very well made, and still runs fantastically even with quite a bit of mileage on it. Toyotas just have a certain feel to them that you can't really explain, yet you can't really run away from once you've felt it. My brother owned a '91 Corolla until he went off to university, and it was a very reliable machine.

Travis
 
We had a '90 model Geo Prism that was in essence a Toyota Corolla, had too get dash lights and other similar parts from the Toyota dealer. It had a tad over 100,000 when we bought it and we drove it for another 40,000 before I sold it to my grand daughter and she put several thousand on it before she got rid of it, wanted a larger car. It got good milage but wasn't a good road trip car over 150 miles or so.

We're getting ready to buy a new Toyota Camry SE, the sport version and both us being 65 or near to it figure it will be the last car we'll ever need.
The Toyota 4 cyl's are good up to 300,000 and beyond! The 2005's have a 5 speed auto tranny instead of the old 4 speed and are s'posed to get 32-33 mpg on the hiway.:D

Whatever you get just remember that oil and grease are cheap compared to engine and steering components. Change your oil every 3,000 mile, they say 5,000 on the new Toyotas but I would stick with the 3K especially on an older vehicle.

And as Heathen said, "Your first car is special."
My 1st car was a 1951 Hudson Pacemaker 6 that rode like a Cadilac and got better milage.:D ;) I wish it were restored and setting covered in my yard now, or I was out driving it.:cool:
 
ACMarina said:
Why so small?? If I were in your shoes, I'd be all about something big to haul me and my buddies around in. I'm guessing by the "Late 80's Geometry" part that you like cube-shaped stuff, so I'd recommend a box-body Panther, either a Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis or a Lincoln Towncar. You should be able to find any of the three fairly inexpensive, and they'd take care of you really well, especially if you can find a fleet vehicle that was well taken care of. I've seen quite sell at 300k on the clock with a lot of life left in them. .
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I also just got my license and bought a 95 crown vic with just 38k on it. The guy who owned it before said he bought it from the city of San Diego, figured it was a surplus gov't. vehicle. You cannot go wrong with these vehicles. Their only soft spot was their rear air bag suspension, which I found out on my car, was replaced by spring suspension, so I had nothing to worry about. And the trunk, is simply cavernous. Probably you and some other guy could fit inside the trunk with room to spare! The downside is, being a V8, it guzzles gas. But discounting that fact, why do you think cops had these for cruisers? They're pretty darn tough, if you ask me.
 
My wife had a 98 Corolla until some dweeb in a Neon ran a red light and totalled it. I did a few bolt-on tweaks to it (stainless cat back exhaust, K&N filter, etc.) and it really screamed from 4000-6000 rpm. Got a set of Bridgestone Blizzak tires for the winter, and it stuck like glue in the snow.
 
In 2002 I bought a new Toyota Takoma to replace my 1982 Toyota pickup. The old truck had 327,189 miles on it. Oil was changed every 3k with no exections. Cooling system was flushed every fall, and all factory services where done.

You can't go wrong with a toyota truck.

Find a used Tacoma and stay with the strait four banger, not the V6.

Treat it well and it will carry you a very long way.
 
Thanks for the suggestions so far, it's pretty hard finding a good car for a low price.

I don't have any interest in a pickup at the moment, but I'm not big on really compact cars either. I'm looking at some Saabs right now, but two other favorites are the Grand Cherokee and the Jimmy. There's an 80's Jimmy that my uncle has that he wanted to give to me if he can get it running, and it's a nice SUV. I like the older Corollas, especially the 85 hatch.
 
NR since this is your first car it might pay you to Google, "How to buy a used car." There's tons of info from Edmunds.com and others that give really good tips on pricing, how to deal, what to do and what to look out for. I just researched it all myself and found it very informative and worthwhile. Going to save me a lot. I already have 2 new car dealers dickering back and forth.:D I'm like a lot of people and have little experience in buying a car but have generally always gotten a fair deal and decent cars.
You can buy an extended warranty online just as good and cheaper so watch 'em if the lot tries to sell you one.
Being prepared saves a lot of hassle.
 
Get the '85 Corolla hatch. As I stated previously, I drive one myself and it is the best of all the cars I have owned. I must stress that you get the GTS though. Only the GTS comes with the high reving 4ag motor. The '73 Porsche 914 and '73 Datsun 240z I owned previously do not make me as happy as my '85 Corolla GTS hatch.
 
Thanks, Rebel. I do have one concern, my dad had an Integra in the 80's that was rusted out after 7 years or so. How's the Corolla hold up for a Japanese car in terms of rust?
 
Gentlemen, I think I have found my car :cool:

Saab%209000%201.jpg



Saab 9000 hatchback. Just have to find one for sale, which isn't too hard. There's about 10 on e-bay. I want the hatchback/standard model, but I'm finding a lot of trunk/automatics.
 
My boss has one, it's a nice car but it's hard to find parts (around here anyway). Very cool, though :)
 
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