Good car model

[Hellravager]

I own a 1990 Chevy Beretta that still runs and drives just fine. It's ugly as hell and needs a paint job, but otherwise works just fine. I don't drive it anymore, I just keep it around cause I just can't let it go. But the previous owner was an old woman who used it to get groceries.

I've bought a number of used cars and I have a few suggestions on what to buy if you want reliability. The brand of car doesn't matter as much as who took care of it.

#1 Pay attention to the owner. If the owner has or had kids, don't touch the car. Good chance the interior was ruined and the owner probably didn't do basic maintenance. Old people are generally better cause they hardly drive the vehicle. Also a dog owner that keeps the dog inside would certainly indicate the car is on its last legs.

#2 Stay away from Mitsubishi, Chrysler, BMW, and Mercedes. Cars like Lexus Toyota are #1 in reliability, followed by Acura Honda. Though this doesn't make a 1998 Honda Civic a better deal than a 1998 Pontiac Sunfire, as there are other factors.

#3 Always assume something is going to fail. No used car is sold perfectly working, so be ready to deal with it. American cars are generally easier to repair than foreign cars, especially compared to cars like BMW and Mercedes. Not because the parts are expensive but because of the labor. What good is a $60 alternator if I have to remove half of the engine bay to replace it? On top of that someone needs specialized equipment just to install a shock.

#4 Newer isn't always better. Older Honda's were built better than newer ones and as a result created Honda's popularity. Nowadays Honda doesn't put that same quality as they did in the 80's and early 90's. That 98 Pontiac probably maybe built just before the whole ignition fiasco that GM had in the 2000's models. Not to forget older models are more likely to be cheaply repaired, as opposed to newer ones. Older Lexus's shared a lot of the same components as Toyota's, but today not so much. So a newer Lexus might be impossibly expensive to repair, while an older Lexus used the same parts as a Toyota Camry.

If you really want help finding a car, just give us a link to your local Craigslist. We can find cars in your area that you might want to look at. For 1.5-2.5k I can probably find a much better car.

I live in indiana, valparaiso. The only reason why its so much is because it has 68k miles low mileage and alot of new parts in the engine. https://chicago.craigslist.org/search/nwi/cta

[Shadowferal]

American parts used to be a lot cheaper to replace than foreign.
Cat converter had to be swapped out of a friend's Toyota and it cost her 6x the price of the one I had in my old Dodge truck.

[Xirrohon]

Whatever Honda Civic you can find for that price.

[Karfal]

The cars cost 50-100% more here than elsewhere in the world pretty much. If you compare to the US: our cars cost 100% more, our wages are 30% lower and taxes 30% higher. Our gas costs 200% more.

If you think owning and driving a car is expensive there - you know nothing.

That's why the average age of our cars is the oldest in Europe.

Well socialism works.

[Selastan]

Pontiac is a reliable brand, I had a Grand Am that lasted 17 years, and still nothing horribly wrong with it. Not too sure on the Sunfire specifically, though. That price sounds a little steep, though. For that price range, you don't really get much choice in model, but you just gotta play with what you got in your local area. Here is what I would recommend in a tier system

1. Old Muscle. If you get really, REALLY lucky, someone might be selling an old Mustang or Monte Carlo with peeling paint, superficial rust, and miscolored body panels, and a fucked up interior but otherwise in decent driving condition. Most likely a project they lost interest in finishing. These are your best buys, because there are a million and one places to buy new parts and fixing them is a breeze. There's a reason they last as long as they do. The best part is you are setting on a potentially AWESOME ride, if you wanna put the effort into it, but even if you don't, its gonna last as long as you want it to, thanks to ease of repairs and plentiful aftermarket. Think of old American rides as the PC Master Race of cars.

2. 90's Japanese. The 90's were to Japan what the muscle era was to America. Kind of the pinnacle of reliability and ingenuity that came before car maintenance required a degree in rocket surgery. The Tuner scene is a lot less popular, at least in my area, than the Muscle scene, but still strong, so aftermarket is aplenty as well. These also have the benefit of being super reliable on top of their abundance of modern upgrades, so if you get really lucky, a Toyota Corolla or Honda Accord would serve you very well. Just don't get a 2000's Celica if you don't want to look like a douche. I'm a Toyota fan and all, but IDK what the hell they were thinking with those...its like they directly wanted to tap into the teenagers wanting to play Fast and Furious but who's parents didn't want to buy them a car that could break the speed limit...

3. Volkswagen. Take your pick, I've heard nothing but great things about them. Expensive and hard to repair, but from what I've heard if you need a professional to repair your Volkswagen you must be living in a warzone. I don't know much about them myself, not a fan of European cars (TVR, Aston Martin, and Jaguar being the exception), but based on rumor they are as tough as tanks, and the Golf specifically has some aftermarket love

4. Pick-up trucks. A dime a dozen in rural America, and chances are if you find one you are a stones throw away from someone who will fix one with ducktape and will most likely accept a 24 pack of Bud-light as payment. You really can't go wrong with these, if you find one in your price range by all means go for it. Only reason I'm putting it at the bottom is because of the sheer lack of cool factor. If you can get anything else that seems like a good deal, go for it. But if you really need a reliable, cheap car, a 90's or 2000's American pickup will always be there for you.

[Deleted]

And you will pay that much for any car in the first 5 years worth of repairs and maintenance. Between breaks, tires and other random things cars aren't cheap to own. Paying an extra $10k up front doesn't help shit.

Nope. I've spent less on maintenance over 11 years of owning my Opel Zafira. Car is in pretty much perfect condition, except for rust showing below driver's door, but I'll fix that sometime this summer. Bought it brand new, one of first batches of 2005 model. Since then repaired spark plugs in engine (about 200 euro), had power steering fail twice (400 euro each time), replaced tires 3 times (250 each time), some asshole damaged my window when I was in UK (300 euro) and that's it. Small things like brakes and stuff don't cost much. Just over 2k on big stuff, probably around 500 euro on small stuff. Repairs are done by family friend who works at cheap workshop and does excellent work.

Just don't buy crappy French and US cars. Or new Volkswagens. They won't last more than 5 years.

[Puupi]

Nope. I've spent less on maintenance over 11 years of owning my Opel Zafira. Car is in pretty much perfect condition, except for rust showing below driver's door, but I'll fix that sometime this summer. Bought it brand new, one of first batches of 2005 model. Since then repaired spark plugs in engine (about 200 euro), had power steering fail twice (400 euro each time), replaced tires 3 times (250 each time), some asshole damaged my window when I was in UK (300 euro) and that's it. Small things like brakes and stuff don't cost much. Just over 2k on big stuff, probably around 500 euro on small stuff. Repairs are done by family friend who works at cheap workshop and does excellent work.

Just don't buy crappy French and US cars. Or new Volkswagens. They won't last more than 5 years.

My parents bought a new Seat Leon in 2008. The car has 220 000 km on ifs meter now and nothing has broken yet in the car thus far. I mean nothing extra has ever had to be done on it, the annual maintenance program has kept everything in check.

[Deathquoi]

Don't buy american...it really is that simple.
All my Japanese cars have lasted longer than i wanted them ;P
best buy still my lexus sc430 that's still going after 15 years with barely any maintenance

What year is this, 1995? American cars are great now.

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Nope. I've spent less on maintenance over 11 years of owning my Opel Zafira. Car is in pretty much perfect condition, except for rust showing below driver's door, but I'll fix that sometime this summer. Bought it brand new, one of first batches of 2005 model. Since then repaired spark plugs in engine (about 200 euro), had power steering fail twice (400 euro each time), replaced tires 3 times (250 each time), some asshole damaged my window when I was in UK (300 euro) and that's it. Small things like brakes and stuff don't cost much. Just over 2k on big stuff, probably around 500 euro on small stuff. Repairs are done by family friend who works at cheap workshop and does excellent work.

Just don't buy crappy French and US cars. Or new Volkswagens. They won't last more than 5 years.

American cars last a lot longer than 5 years...

[lockedout]

What year is this, 1995? American cars are great now.

OP is not buying a current year American car, I think it's in that context.

[Tasttey]

I live in indiana, valparaiso. The only reason why its so much is because it has 68k miles low mileage and alot of new parts in the engine. https://chicago.craigslist.org/search/nwi/cta

Using your same craigslist, I found this one.
https://chicago.craigslist.org/nwi/cto/6130778868.html

For $1900 you can't go wrong with the V-6 Camry with sub 200k miles.

[Amalaric]

Still iffy about buying the 1998 pontiac sunfire, anyone know a better car for around 1.5-2.5k?

Only buy Honda, Mazda and Toyota the rest of the auto makers are pretty much shit quality.

[Xandrigity]

Buy an older Subaru. I've been buying them for years most reliable make ever.

[Louisa Bannon]

Yeah, you can't get much for that money. I recommend looking at used trucks from 1995-2005 for a combination of utility and quality in that price range. Look for an 8 foot bed and a decent interior. If it's a bit of a beater, remember that its a truck and it's sort of expected to be one. If you can do at least some mechanical and maintenance work yourself that's going to be very helpful. A truck like that will also be economical in terms of yearly registration and insurance.

[Hellravager]

A buddy of mine has moved back into South haven and he knows all about putting parts into cars but idk if he knows whats a good brand

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Pontiac is a reliable brand, I had a Grand Am that lasted 17 years, and still nothing horribly wrong with it. Not too sure on the Sunfire specifically, though. That price sounds a little steep, though. For that price range, you don't really get much choice in model, but you just gotta play with what you got in your local area. Here is what I would recommend in a tier system

1. Old Muscle. If you get really, REALLY lucky, someone might be selling an old Mustang or Monte Carlo with peeling paint, superficial rust, and miscolored body panels, and a fucked up interior but otherwise in decent driving condition. Most likely a project they lost interest in finishing. These are your best buys, because there are a million and one places to buy new parts and fixing them is a breeze. There's a reason they last as long as they do. The best part is you are setting on a potentially AWESOME ride, if you wanna put the effort into it, but even if you don't, its gonna last as long as you want it to, thanks to ease of repairs and plentiful aftermarket. Think of old American rides as the PC Master Race of cars.

2. 90's Japanese. The 90's were to Japan what the muscle era was to America. Kind of the pinnacle of reliability and ingenuity that came before car maintenance required a degree in rocket surgery. The Tuner scene is a lot less popular, at least in my area, than the Muscle scene, but still strong, so aftermarket is aplenty as well. These also have the benefit of being super reliable on top of their abundance of modern upgrades, so if you get really lucky, a Toyota Corolla or Honda Accord would serve you very well. Just don't get a 2000's Celica if you don't want to look like a douche. I'm a Toyota fan and all, but IDK what the hell they were thinking with those...its like they directly wanted to tap into the teenagers wanting to play Fast and Furious but who's parents didn't want to buy them a car that could break the speed limit...

3. Volkswagen. Take your pick, I've heard nothing but great things about them. Expensive and hard to repair, but from what I've heard if you need a professional to repair your Volkswagen you must be living in a warzone. I don't know much about them myself, not a fan of European cars (TVR, Aston Martin, and Jaguar being the exception), but based on rumor they are as tough as tanks, and the Golf specifically has some aftermarket love

4. Pick-up trucks. A dime a dozen in rural America, and chances are if you find one you are a stones throw away from someone who will fix one with ducktape and will most likely accept a 24 pack of Bud-light as payment. You really can't go wrong with these, if you find one in your price range by all means go for it. Only reason I'm putting it at the bottom is because of the sheer lack of cool factor. If you can get anything else that seems like a good deal, go for it. But if you really need a reliable, cheap car, a 90's or 2000's American pickup will always be there for you.

So it'd be worth just passing on the pontiac and saving up for a mustang? Seems to be some for 2k to 2.5k on craigs and facebook

[Puupi]

If you want a cheap old car that is somewhat reliable and cheap to fix - go Japanese.

Toyota Corolla, Mazda 3 (or 323), Subaru Legacy, Honda Civic, Nissan Almera.

Those are the safest bets. The most common Japanese b or c segment cars.

[Shadowferal]

Cheapest to fix?
Maybe in Finland.

[Twix]

Buy japanese.. avoid american cars like the pest

[Puupi]

Cheapest to fix?
Maybe in Finland.

Well those Japanese cars don't have any expensive parts in them, and everything is easy to fix.

Small engines, manual transmission....

Of course in USA they probably sell even Toyota Corolla with a 3 litre engine and automatic transmission - then wonder why it's so expensive to fix and breaks down all the time.

[Shibito]

Nissan primera ftw had a 2002 which i crashed into a mountain wall now i got a 2005 one

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Well those Japanese cars don't have any expensive parts in them, and everything is easy to fix.

Small engines, manual transmission....

Of course in USA they probably sell even Toyota Corolla with a 3 litre engine and automatic transmission - then wonder why it's so expensive to fix and breaks down all the time.

Love nissan its like lego bricks everything can be taken apart

[Selastan]

A buddy of mine has moved back into South haven and he knows all about putting parts into cars but idk if he knows whats a good brand

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So it'd be worth just passing on the pontiac and saving up for a mustang? Seems to be some for 2k to 2.5k on craigs and facebook

Depends on how good of shape its in mechanically. But Mustangs are REALLY popular and also really common, meaning there are parts a plenty and a seasoned mechanic has worked on more than his fair share. I would go for it if you wouldn't mind waiting on it a while, but I've personally never owned a Mustang, so do your own research on the year and trim, see if its what you want. But most importantly, make sure its on the up and up. Test drives are musts with used cars, make sure you bring someone mechanically inclined with you. Test drives are what saved me from buying a $14,000 Mercedes that needed lots of work done, though it looked and sounded perfect. You might even be able to haggle them down to your price range, and if you can, I would say it might be a better bet than the Sunfire. Only on paper, though. That Sunfire might be garage-kept by an old man who only drove it to Wal-Mart every other week, the Mustang might have been kept out in the hail, driven on salt, and poorly modified by a street-racer wannabe. If both are in comparable shape, though, the Mustang would most likely be worth the extra $500. Anyone else agree?