I am looking for a used car
Jun 17, 2008 at 5:32 PM Post #16 of 52
Quote:

Originally Posted by intoflatlines /img/forum/go_quote.gif

My dad told me never to buy a leased car because the previous drivers probably drove them like crap because they knew they would get a new one in a couple years anyway. What do you think?


I think the fear factor is a bit much - most immature people don't lease $15,000 - $30,000 new cars and make 48 lease payments on a car just to trash it. For a lot of them they lease cars for tax reasons and some of them are planning to buy it out at the end of the lease. If you drive a car hard for 4 years it shows, it just looks and feels worn out. If you take a car out to the hinterlands and drive the bag out of it, it will gets dents and pieces will get broken and unless the owner replaces the broken pieces, the dealer will assess thousands of dollars of charges to the owner of the lease when he goes to return the car.
 
Jun 17, 2008 at 5:46 PM Post #17 of 52
Along with Edmunds, cars.com and autotrader.com are also good resources for info on older cards. Consumer Reports has tons of reliability info, but requires a subscription for full access to the site.

If you can possibly find one in your budget, you can't go wrong with a Honda or Acura product. I had an Integra for nine years that was reliable and good in the snow for a small car. I'd probably still have it if it didn't get stolen. (I guess it's also worth mentioning that Honda parts are worth a lot on the "secondary" market, so there's a higher theft risk.)

I'd also put in another vote for either the Escort or the Focus. My wife has a 98 Escort that has taken a ton of abuse and still runs great. Most of the Ford products have pretty good reliability reports, especially compared to other American companies.
 
Jun 17, 2008 at 8:13 PM Post #20 of 52
Quote:

Originally Posted by intoflatlines /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Thanks for all the pointers so far!

Uncle Erik - Hmm.. never considered a Ford Escort. If I find one for a really good price I might have to check it out.

oogens - I was looking at the older (mid-90s) BMWs because I heard that they didn't break down very often, are supposed to be safe, and I like how they look. My girlfriend scared me because she kept going on and on about how her grandparents say it's so expensive to repair, though.
frown.gif


DanTheMiataMan - Wow, I guess you really like Miatas?
tongue.gif
I'll probably check some out. They are definitely small enough..

XxATOLxX - Hatchback, huh? I'll look around. But, weren't the 90s Civics really unsafe? Or, am I thinking of earlier models?

infinitesypmhony - Thanks for the tips. I'll definitely take that into consideration.

frozenice - What's a 4 year lease return?

Dutchess of York - Another vote for Miata, hmm.. There must be something to it. However, I was thinking.. how would a Miata drive in the winter?

Snicewicz - AWD definitely would be great to have, but isn't that a serious damper on MPG? Also, isn't there much more that could go wrong in an older car with AWD compared to FWD or RWD?

Does anyone know where to find mileage ratings for all (or most) models of older cars?


Also check out the Ford Focus in the 2002 range year. The things never held value but they didnt really have any major problems. Again just check to see if they have the Z motor in them. Easy to check pop hood look at motor and it should have a Z somewhere in the motor name on the valve cover.

With BMW's the e30's i would stay far far away from but the e36 (94-99?) are fine. They dont break down much but again if they do break down parts are damn spendy. stupid germans and their nice cars.

The 90's hatches were safe but you will end up paying an Arm and a Leg for one in semi decent condition because of the Fast and Furrious Tax. Look into Corolla's, G20s, Sentra, Maxima, and you can find the same type of car and get far more for your monies.

Miata in the winter isnt the best due to light car (the NA 1990-1998) were only like 2400 lbs and the NB (1999-2005) are like 2600lbs and the BC (2006-today) are like 2700-2800 lbs and that they are all RWD means if you dont know how to drive it can easily spin out. Again though if you know how to drive, have good throttle control and a good pair of chains you'll be fine. When mine was running I took it though the mountain pass with light snow and it was also running about 100hp over stock.

AWD does hurt the MPG but not by much only 1-3 maybe even 4 mpg. I'd stay away from ANY 2.5L Subaru that isnt Turbo'ed they LOVE to blow headgaskets. Also things can go wrong like the center diff, or the viscous coupling but only really if the previous owner drove the piss out of it as both were made to last 175,000+ miles. But again the 2.5RS from 1998-Now love to blow head gaskets around like 125,000. My old 2001 RS blew one at 98,000 miles. But the Legacy Outbacks and stuff are good cars. Friend has one that has 198,000 clocked and still running like a champ.

Milage rating can be found at edmunds.com or a quick google search.
 
Jun 17, 2008 at 8:15 PM Post #21 of 52
Love the Prelude, but I thought they stopped making them quite a while ago. If you can't find one with reasonable miles, see if the Integra suits you. It's also made by Honda, similar body and pretty fast.
 
Jun 17, 2008 at 8:22 PM Post #22 of 52
Toyota Corolla. I have a 97 Corolla thats about to hit 240,000 miles and has yet to give me any problems (except for the basic maintanence). In fact it just returned from Mexico (12 hr drive) for at least the 25th time. The corolla has about 100k more miles than both my brothers chrysler and my sister's mustang and the engine still runs smoother than both.
 
Jun 17, 2008 at 8:47 PM Post #24 of 52
davidr2287 - damn said:
Yup. And to think I wanted an 89-97 Mustang GT instead of a corolla, gas would be killing me right now! My family goes to Mexico 3-4 times a year on the corolla not to mention I drive home from school for the weekend almost every week(~110miles) so the miles are just gonna keep on going up. One thing though is that the car was bought new, so it has been well taken care of since first bought. Whatever car you buy make sure its been well taken care of by the previous owner/s to minimize the risk of giving you future problems.
Click to expand...
 
Jun 17, 2008 at 8:58 PM Post #26 of 52
Prelude is an excellent choice. Some of them have been driven pretty hard so have a mechanic do a thorough inspection of the car as well as it's history. I think they run on premium fuel only so you might want to add that on as a fuel surcharge.

<edit>By driven hard I am referring to street racing - using nitrous and other high performance tweaks and putting 300 or so hp to work - which the chassis wasn't designed for.<edit>
 
Jun 17, 2008 at 9:51 PM Post #27 of 52
Quote:

Originally Posted by frozenice /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Prelude is an excellent choice. Some of them have been driven pretty hard so have a mechanic do a thorough inspection of the car as well as it's history. I think they run on premium fuel only so you might want to add that on as a fuel surcharge.


stock Preludes run on reg... Less you got high compression or a Super or a Turbo you dont need Premium.

Preludes are cool cars just a few things to remember about them. Waterpumps make sure it has been replaced they like to go out if not replaced on timed intervals. Also it is a Interference engine so MAKE SURE TO CHANGE THE TIMING BELT ON TIME. If the previous owners have not kept up with records of a waterpump change and timing belt change after 90k miles. Find another car. Preludes and Integra's will also have the fast and furious tax on them. Both cars are very very fun to drive and should last forever given proper care of them.
 
Jun 18, 2008 at 2:36 AM Post #29 of 52
Quote:

Originally Posted by intoflatlines /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I saw some pictures of the dash of Preludes and I think it said "Premium Unleaded Only"..


Huh aint that a bitch they have super high comp motors... yeah seems they need Premium...
 
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