Why do you say they are biased toward imports and snobby?
Consumer Reports gives good ratings to cars that are of good quality and have good relaibility records, both of which the Japanese are outstanding out while the Big 3 have been standing around with their thumbs up their asses, pumping out crappy oversized SUV’s.
CR quote:
“Higher predicted reliability”
I also have noticed that they will rate electrical systems, engine and drive train all over the place for the exact same systems 
CR seems fine to determine things like battery and light bulb strength and life but I have found the finer things such as vehicles and stereo equipment ratings to be a joke.
Ash tray dimensions and self reports do not determine a good car.
Undead:
My Mother has a Honda. There were dozens of nuts and bolts that were coming loose under the hood - when I noticed the fan about to fall off I tightened the bolts and then put the wrench lots of other bolts - the thing was about to fall apart with only 45K miles on it.
The Accord has otherwise been a good car for an old lady to use to drive a few times per week to the grocery store, but it drives like crap. Everything from how the door sounds and feels when getting in, to the seats, the road noise, the lack of power YUK
The car probably has a higher resale value than my Bonneville, but I have comfortable leather interior, quite smooth wide 16" wheels/tires, the 3800 series II engine. Comfort, style, power and handling.
First off, I’d stay far away from a German car, too expensive to fix when something goes wrong. I like Hondas and Toyotas, I find that they are very reliable. They have that reputation for a reason, and their resale value is high for that reason. You will almost certainly get “more” car for your dollar if you go American, but I would expect to have more problems as well, it’s a tradeoff.
Cheep car but might be hard to find a reliable one is an early to mid 80s Porsche. Either a 924, or 944 models. If you can find one that was taken care of it will run for awhile, and these are very safe cars.
Down side is that parts are expensive. My brother just bought a 924 for 1300, and is spending about 2000 to fix a few minor items, and for a few upgrades. He is doing the work himself tho so all the cash is going for parts. One of the parts he needs is a fuel line. This one part is going to cost 300 if he gets it from Porsche (autopart stores don’t carry it), and the dealer has to special order the part from the factory. Of course if you only spend 2000 on the car that leave 3000 to have someone fix it, and get it running well.
One of the other problems is they are not very roomy. Are you going to need to carrry people around? These are two seaters, and the hatchback gives some storage room, but not much. Also at 6’4" 300lbs I barely fit behind the wheel comfortably.
Now that I have bashed the car enough here are some of the good points. They are very safe cars. I have seen one flipped on its top and the car was still drivable once it was flipped back over. Paint scratched, but the roof did not cave in at all. They are also very fun to drive. Taking corners at twice the speed of everyone else is a blast. Well not many good points. Guess I’m just a Porsche guy.
Other cars that seem to last forever:
Good luck, and no matter what kind of car you decide to get make sure you get it checked out by a mechanic that is not accosiated with a dealership. May cost a little extra, but this way you know they are not biased. Make sure they look for signs that the car has been in an accident, or had any serious damage(Flood, Smoke, etc).
A Porsche…christ, that would be nice. 
Right now its looking like Honda. They seem to get enough positive feedback and cheap to repair is a big plus.
I plan to get the car from my SO’s father’s dealership(another selling point of the Honda), so I would hope I can trust him(if not his daughter will pay! :P).
There’s plenty of Accords and Civics on the lot, but there is also this pretty sweet 97’ Prelude. I’m pretty confident with Honda now so hopefully I can get some extra guidance about particular cars at the dealership. Maybe this weekend I’ll have something? Would be nice… Thank you everyone for the advice and hopefully I can make a good decision now. Feel free to further advise me though, my mind is almost made up but I’m known(I should say notorious) to change it at the last second. If not I will revive this thread with some pictures of my new ride when I get it!
thanks again!
Cheesesteak:
“More” problems? So you find one that has already had the water pump ($50) replaced. That is about it for another 150,000 miles in a GM.
CharlesW:
There is a reason you do not see 924’s on the road today
I have a 96 Saturn with 72K miles I bought for $5K. Boring, but dependable. It’s a wagon which I assume you wouldn’t want, but it’s got the twin cam engine and a 5 speed, so it’ll actually get moving if you push it. I’d recommend one.
[continuing CR hijack]
I have always conculted Consumer Reports. I have always found it somewhat suspect that every GM Ford and Chrysler product gets such a low reliability rating. Somewhere in their polling process or data analysis, there must be some bias because I have a hard time believing American car companies make such crap.
Then I look at cars on the road. I hear people talk about their cars. All the execs where I work used to have Buicks as company cars. I know a couple of them had transmissions replaced at 30K miles. My friend had a GMC Jimmy that needed a new mater pump for $600 soon after the 36K mile warranty ran out. My father’s 78 Malibu needed two new transmissions. My dad’s second Dodge Shadow needed a new cylinder head at 10K miles. My sister-in-law bought a 95 Celica that started burning two quarts of oil a week, engine was kaput. In high school my frends dad put a new engin in his Toyota after many thousands miles, done under warranty.
My in-law’s 90 Camry is still going strong at 210K miles. I sold a 89 Civic with 172K miles for $1200 last year.
All this is far from scientific and anecdotal, but CR has a bias and/or I share the same one.
I also believe there is no comparison between almost any foreign 4 cylinder engine and a US brand design. 4 Cylinder Accords and Camrys are smoother and more powerful (and reliable) than say a Pontiac Grand Am or a Plymouth Breeze.
The US car manufacturers overcome this by pricing the 6 cylinder model close to the 4 cylinder import, so you get more for your money etc…
I’m done beating this norse.
[/continuing CR hijack]
How’s that wonderful Chevy Cavalier running my dearest kputt? Have you filled everyone in on how wonderful of a car it is? Oh, I’m sure you have not sure why I even bothered asking. BTW, kputt have you taken your meds today darling?? 
Cheesesteak, my anecdotal opinion is that Hondas are good, dependable cars. But they are not cheap to repair, when compared with their domestic counterparts. (Albeit not as steep as Porsche).
Mine has 214,000 miles on it, and I love it. But the average repair costs more than the same repair on a Ford or a Chevy or Chrysler. (IMHO, people should become aware of this when they plan on buying – it’s not the sticker price, it’s the total cost of ownership – more dependable does not necessarily mean cheaper over a lifetime). You can mitigate this some by finding a good shadetree mechanic, who will probably charge much less than the dealer.
undead assuming that what I’ve asserted in the first sentence of the last paragraph is true, the bottom line is to some extent a crapshoot – test drive lots of brands, rank your preferences, and shop for the best deal.
My first new car was a Dodge Charger – I finally threw in the towel at 120,000 miles, after replacing practically everything (YMMV) – <old Hee Haw gag> lemme tell you, there was only one part on that car that didn’t make noise, and that was the horn! </old Hee Haw gag>
The one that reads: … the average repair costs more than the same repair on a Ford or a Chevy or Chrysler.
I guess they (consumer reports) are getting better.
I was not quoting CR – I was referencing my previous post.
I claim no knowledge of CR – I have not read them in a long time.
Moderator’s note:
Knock it off, Aubrey, and consider this a formal warning. IMHO is for discussion of ideas, not personal attacks on others. Get it? Address the idea, not the poster.
If you have a problem with another poster, that’s your problem. Take it to e-email and leave the rest of us out of it. We have very limited patience for people who try to use precious board resouces to solve inter-personal gripes. We don’t like having limited board resouces squandered that way.
You are abusing our hospitality and we’re sick of it. Edge one toe over the line again and you will be banned.
TVeblen,
for the SDMB
My first car was a ‘93 Accord EX… ran like a dream well over 160,000 miles until I drove it to Ohio and back and failed to notice the relay on the cooling fans had failed and the needle was in the red. Naturally, I blew a head gasket and my love affair with ol’ Dino (after the Flintstone’s dogosaurus) ended in tragedy.
However, I’ve had three cars since then, including the 'rents '01 Merc E-class for 6 months, and not one of them ever inspired the same confidence that nothing was going to break.
The 4WD Accord Aerodeck was a nice car new but the 4wd system is pretty temperamental and really expensive to fix- you won’t find Honda 4 wheel drive parts in many junkyards, and new OEM equipment will come at a premium.
My advice- grab a '92 or '93 Accord and get it chipped. For between 300 and 900 dollars you’ll have a car quick enough to blow the doors off most cars you see, and the standard suspension is more than up to handling extra go.
Let me take back my statement on consumer reports. I’m going to replace it with that you should buy a vehicle that you like, not some independent testers/reviewers say. At least, that’s what I do.
And, my cavalier is doing great and I love the car. That’s why I bought it.
This is a joke - right?
TVeblen…please accept my sincere apologies. I think you guys have a pretty cool board going on here and believe the rest of the members do a damn fine job of flaming kputt without my help. I’ll be good!! Thanks, Aubrey
Hey Undead, go for the '97 Prelude. Honda reliability, and actually a little bit of style. The perfect car for you.
A 97 Prelude would be an awesome choice, but I doubt you can get it for anywhere close to $5k unless it has a bazillion miles on it.
And to the guy who said to “chip” an Accord… :sigh: This is one of the biggest rice myths out there… that chips on a normally aspirated car actually give significant performance gains. If you have a turbocharged vehicle with a boost level that is controlled by the ECU (like an Audi/VW 1.8T) then and only then will you see huge gains from a chip. The only n/a car I’ve seen that gets decent gains from a chip is the RSX type S.
For $5k, you might want to look at Mazdas and Mitsubishis too. Everyone and their mother wants to buy a used Honda or Toyota so you can often get a much newer/less miles Mazda or Mitsu for the same price. And the quality on those is not far below Honda/Toyota level at all. Look at mid-90’s Mazda 626’s with the V6 engine, you should be able to find some in your price range. Or for something sportier, look into an MX-6 or Eclipse/Talon turbo. The Eclipse/Talon will give you more performance and upgrade potential but will cost a little more for one in decent condition.
I drive a 98 Talon Tsi that I picked up for $10k with 40k miles on it. Couldn’t be happier with it!!
W00t! DSMs represent!
dil brings up a good point. What’s wrong with the Prelude to make it that affordable? Or are you just getting the “family deal”?
Also, the MX6 suggestion is a good one. Also, I think the V6 Ford Probe is the same car, basically, and may be cheaper because it says “Ford” on the outside.