Need ideas on a 30mpg+, sub-$5k car

In My Humble Opinion
1

It’s getting on about time to put the non-black non-455 out to pasture, and I figure with the glut of used cars that have supposedly been traded in due to the recent employee discount sales, it’s a good time to start looking.

I’ve got about five grand to drop. With my family’s current financial situation, we’d like to avoid yet another monthly payment on something, though we could probably swing financing another couple of thousand. Still, we’d like to avoid it if we can.

Anyway, I’m looking for something with excellent fuel efficiency, hopefully in the 30+/35+ range. We’re going to need an automatic, for certain reasons I’d rather not go into here.

I’ve found that as I rapidly approach the ripe old age of thirty, power and/or styling are no longer particularly important to me. We live downtown, and I commute 15 miles (one way) on the freeway in the opposite direction of traffic.

One more thing, which I probably should have mentioned first, see as to how my current vehicle is a complete POS: I’d like something that either has the balance of, say, a ten-year warranty, or can run like a tank for decades.

I’ve been digging through Edmunds and the EPA estimates, and I’m in kind of a quandry. The compacts out of Detroit and Korea don’t get that much better mileage than my current Corsica with a 3.1 V6 (I’ve calcuated that I’m averaging 28mpg), and the Civics and Corollas from, say, 2001, are juuust out of my comfortable price range.

I dunno. Maybe my local dealers will desperately need to make some room on the lot, and can give me a steal on something Japanese.

Anybody got any other ideas?

2

My first thought was a Geo Metro, but I wonder if the automatic versions have enough power. I’ve had Chevy Sprints/Sprint Metros with standard transmissions. They don’t climb hills very well, but they’re rather peppy around town. When new, I routinely saw 50 mpg. When worn out, I was still getting 40 mpg. I like to call them ‘Cardises’, because like Dr. Who’s ‘tardis’ they seemed to have more room inside than out. The last Sprint I saw for sale locally was $500. If I were going to buy a cheap disposable car for commuting, I’d consider a Sprint.

But I’d prefer a Civic. I met this girl in New Orleans who had a 90-something Civic hatchback. I think it was a '91 or '92, and we drove it to North Carolina in 1996. She drove it 100 mph much of the way, and it never complained. I tended to keep it nearer 90 mph and it felt quite stable. The coolest thing was that the rear hatch was ‘split’. It had a tiny tailgate that came down, while the glass could be raised. I don’t remember the mileage, but it was very good. Honda has a good reputation for longevity and reliability. Maybe you could find a slightly older one than 2001 that’s within your price range?

I have a '63 Triumph Herald that gets over 30 mpg (estimated, since the odometer doesn’t work) that I’ll let you have for $5,000. :wink: (Sorry, stretch!) Needs a coat of paint and the top could be in better condition, but it runs great and is much fun to drive! :slight_smile:

3

30 mpg under 5k? Are you looking for something you have to push?

4

A used neon. Mine was a little more (in the 7 to 8 range), but it was only 2 years old. I get 36 to 38 mpg and have no complaints. One of my roommates from college has a used civic and it is constantly in disrepair.

5

To his credit, he says the main use will be a freeway commute without heavy traffic. Pretty much any decently put together small-medium car can get over 30 in those conditions, from my experience. YMMV (literally).

To the OP: the stuff that I have had the best experiences with that would seem to fit what you need are the smaller Toyota models and Saturns. I have absolutely no experience whatsoever with warranties on used cars, however, so I can’t really help you out much there.

6

Get yourself a used VW diesel. I know many people who have driven theirs well over 200k miles. You should definitely be able to find some early 90s models for around that price. I was able to find several on eBay without much trouble.

The VW’s will cover 35mpg pretty easily, and diesel is not difficult to find at all. We’ve had ours for two years and absolutely love it.

7

My wife’s Ford escort wagon cost us about $3,000 with 120K on it, and it gets about 35 mpg.

8

You could also get a pretty nice mid-90s Toyota Tercel for that money, and still have some left over.

9

I just bought a very nice used Honda Civic (EX model . . . power everything, moonroof, A/C, etc.) for $4K. They’re not invincible but Hondas have a reputation as being very reliable, and it sounds like you’d be happy with their mileage.

10

How about a Geo / Chevy Prizm. I had a 93 Geo Prizm and it was reliable.
IIRC I got mid 30s milage.

Brian