Pick a car, any car, just PLEASE make it a GOOD one!!

In My Humble Opinion
1

Okay SDMBer’s, my son’s car broke down when he was coming home for Christmas vacation, that blasted thing was only NINE MONTHS old too (to him)!! It was a '93 Taurus LX, and * of course * it would cost more than the car could ever be worth to fix it [close to five thousand dollars], with no guarantee that the 3.8 engine wouldn’t go kaflooie again real soon, so it’s being scrapped.

SOOO, we have to start looking AGAIN, and besides wanting a V-6, having four doors, and getting good gas mileage, I don’t know where to start.

** I need help!! ** Do you love your car, is it reliable? Are repairs fairly reasonable? And specifically, what make and model is it?

If we choose your ideal car, we’ll find a teeny tiny spot in DJ’s new car to put YOUR name!! Sign up today!! :smiley:

2

I drive a 1988 Toyota MR2 Supercharged. I love these cars! If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have spent a year looking for this one after my '86 NA was hit.

The engine is incredibly durable, the handling is great, the gas mileage is great, and the car looks sporty. Repairs are generally cheap, but body work is very expensive.

Because it only has 2 seats and a 4 cylinder engine, you should probably look elsewhere. The handling can be very tricky at first and you will literally “go for a spin” in the rain if you aren’t careful.

Why does it need to be a V-6? Many 4 bangers(like my 4-AGEZ) provide excellent performance and get great gas mileage.

3

If you don’t mind an SUV, I had a 1995 Honda Passport up until about 3 weeks ago- I handed it down to my stepson for his 21st birthday. Loved the car, I bought it used with 28,000 miles and put another 70,000 on in less than 3 years(!), never had to replace anything but the timing belt at 60,000 and the tires. And I fudged about the oil change every 3,000 miles, too- I’d frequently let it go a bit longer. It still runs beautifully and I expect my stepkid to get another 90,000 miles out of it!

4

** Lawmill, ** oh wow buddy, you reminded me of what I should have put down too, NOT sporty as in ‘this car can go for 0 to 1000 in TWO SECONDS man!! Wanna watch??’

Why the V-6, mainly because DJ has to do a lot of interstate driving between here [Atlanta] and Lynchburg, VA where his school is located. I thought that the V-6 would have more pickup on the merge in lanes.

katie1241, Nope, hon, I’m sure not a fan of SUV’s. I’ve seen them flip personally, and the way I understand it, the more they are loaded up, the more dangerous they are, and DJ has to haul stuff home twice a year, so I’m afraid that won’t work.

But thanks for the suggestions.

Judy

5

A couple suggestions.

I like Mazdas. I had a Protege. It was a good little car. I believe the next level up, the 626, is a V-6.

But, you can get good power from some bigger V-4 engines, like in the Nissan Altima. That’s what my wife and I will be looking for an Altima soon. Our Nissan Sentra is in great shape, with low mileage, but we need a bigger car after having a child. Nissans are good, durable vehicles.

Of course, I think the best V-6, four-door cars are Honda Accords and Toyota Camrys. They’ve always rated high in consumer satisfaction. But, they’re a little more expensive. Still, an old Camry is better than many newer cars.

6

My car’s reliable, cheap to fix, and uncomplicated enough I can do almost all the repairs myself.

1971 Chevy Nova V8 :smiley:

7

Toyota Camry. My mom has a Toyota (not Camry) 1980 Cresseda it has over 100k miles and has had little to no maintanice for the past 5yrs Mom drives < 5k miles a year. This car is a throw back in terms of toughness. I am a former ASE certified mechanic. Toyotas are well built and hold value well.

8

I LOVE my car.
It is a 93 Subaru Legacy Wagon. I, too, am a college student lugging my stuff around twice (sometimes more) each year. The maintenence on it is no more expensive than any other car (I take care of it) and it has held up very well since I bought it used at 67,000 miles for $7,500.
As for having a V6, I see no need whatsoever. This car (a standard V4) has traveled the DC beltway more than a few times, was loaded up with the goods that two people needed for a two week beach vacation, and had no problems whatsoever. Huzzah to the Subaru.
In addition to its great hauling capacity, it has AWD (All Wheel Drive) which is very useful in Pennsylvania winters where snow and ice are always a reality. I highly recommend this car and its successor, the Outback.

~Mag

9

If I was going to tell you to buy a car it’d be either a 89-94 cavalier or a 90-93 grand am. I’ve had personal experience with both of these cars. While the cavalier doesn’t have wonderful pick up with it’s 4 cylinder models it does offer quite good gas mileage. Not to mention mine had over 200K miles on it before I gave it to my brother 6 months ago and he is still driving the damn thing it just won’t die. As for the Grand Am ahhh what a lovely car! I swear by this car I really do. Mine is a 1991 2 door LE model. While it gets superb gas mileage it is also wonderfully fast for a normal 4-cylinder. I’ve reached speeds upwards of 120+ in my car and could have gone faster. Mine has 100K miles on it and has only needed minor work. Good luck in looking!

10

My wife drives a 1992 Pontiac Lemans. Its got four doors, has been bulletproof mechanically, and averages 35 mpg in the city. It only has a four banger, but equipped with a manual transmission, it gives rather spirited performance as well. It’ll cruise all day at 140 kph (approx 85 mph), we drove it at this average speed for 12 straight hours; it had around 184,000 km (108,000 miles), and used less than a cup of oil. This with the car loaded to the gills with enough camping gear, etc. for a week. Parts are dirt cheap; don’t go to Pontiac, go to Daewoo, who actually built the thing. Also, its fairly simple mechanically, I’ve done all the few repairs needed to date, with only the help of a Chilton guide (and no, I’m no mechanic). I cannot recommend this car enough. The nice thing is they can be had extremely cheap; we paid around $1100 CDN when we bought it a year ago. A great, cheap, reliable car.

11

A nitpick. While it’s technically a V-engine, the Sub’s engine is referred to as a Boxer engine because of the 180[sup]o[/sup] angle the pistons have: they’re “boxing” against each other.
You’re in good company though. Other boxer engines include the Porsche 911 (6 cylinder), the Ferrari 512 Berlinetta Boxer (12 cylinder), and… the Citroën 2CV (2 cylinder). :smiley:

A decent 4 cylinder has enough performace for a quick lane merge and for hauling a lot of stuff. As he is a college student, I think a car like magdalenes Legacy is an excellent suggestion. Together with Toyota, Subaru makes the most reliable cars. They’re fairly economical, fun to drive, and cheap to maintain.

If it has to be a V6, I suppose that would rule out most “foreign” cars (from an American perspective). I’m sure a secondhand BMW 325i, for example, (OK, that’s a line six, technically) would be in another price league.

12

I have a Saturn SL2 ('93) w/ 135,000 mi. Sure it has a 4 cyl, but I love that car!! It has never given me ANY trouble and I’ve spent less than $1000 in upkeep (not counting oil changes, etc.) And it has a timing chain, instead of a breakable belt.

If you need a 6 cyl (I don’t think it’s required for pickup in interstate travel) Saturn has a couple of 6 cyl models. They run a bit more ($20k - $24k) and are a bit larger. Mrs. Spritle has a 6 cyl LW2 wagon. It’s great.

With the newer 4 cyl Saturns, there is gobs of pickup at better gas mileage. We test drove the new 4 cyl before buying the wagon and loved the zip it had merging onto 301 N and onto Rt. 50 E. (MD). Saturns also are quite reasonably priced and have a good resale value.

To summarize, I highly recommend Saturn. I also think that you can get by with the 4 cyl with no problems. Son doesn’t need that much power provided by 6 cyl. Look at SL2 (4cyl is a bit more powerful than SL).

13

(Monks Chanting) SU-BA-RU SU-BA-RU SU-BA-RU

I’m forever a subaru fan now since I got my '00 Legacy GT Limited. The boxer engine gives great power, if you’re at highway speed and need a quick boost it’s there. Subaru’s AWD system is supposedly better than any other manufacturers as well (no cite for this), and mine came in very handy in the two recent snowfalls. It’s also standard on all subarus now. Count me as a vote for a subaru wagon.

14

Anybody know about the OLDSMOBILE ALERO? I drove one with the 5-speed Getrag tranny, and seems like a nice car. I would like to know if anybody has had trouble with these!

15

I keep hearing people say this. I don’t understand. My GF has a 2000 Forester with the boxer engine, and it sucks. There is simply no power. In order to accellerate on the highway quickly, you have to kick the auto down a gear. What’s up with that? Granted, my normal car is a 4.9L V8, but still…

16

Well I officially don’t know what I’m talking about from a technical standpoint. I’m basing it on comparison to my two previous 4cyl cars ('87 Dodge Shadow, '94 Honda Accord).

17

91 Escort GT. 5 speed manual shift and automatic sun roof. Best car in the world. Reliable and great milage. expensive tires unfortunately. Hope it goes for another 10 years. Spouse’s Taurus was also a lemon.

18

The automatics in Subarus are not recommended, from what I hear, precisely because the boxer 4 is way underpowered. The only way to tap its useful HP is by revving higher, either by skillful shifting of the manual, or, as you noted, by downshifting.

Re the OP:

V-8’s get decent mileage these days, ~25 or so on the highway. How 'bout a retired cop car? You don’t have to worry about those LL hogs anymore[1], parts are cheap, and the vehicles are big, and more importantly, safe. A late model Caprice or Crown Vic should set you back about $4k, and most are reasonably well-maintained.

[1] This is important on long trips, say between Atlanta and Lynchburg (Liberty U.?)

19

Subaru

I love them, but they are gutless. Bulletproof, awsome 4wd setup, but unless you get an Imprezza with a 2.4, you are really planning ahead to pass. I have driven the Forrester, Legacy Outback et al, and they are all the same, save the Sport model of the Imprezza, which will be our next car. Mated to a 5spd, you have a fun little car.

One nitpick, I have a bit of a dislike for the “boxer” engine (which I will call a Flat-4, since that is what it really is…Boxer is just a nickname that stuck for some reason…supposidly the pistons look like boxers). I overheard 3 seperate salesman say “They have been using these engines in airplanes for years!” Who cares? They have been using jet engines in planes for years too! Why do I want a plane engine in my car! I don’t care if the Porsche has been using them for years either. Most high performance engines are based on the V or inline design. End of story.

Alero

We test drove one last year. Power was OK. It had some nice little features. One thing that totally turned us off though, is it absolutely OOZED cheapness. The dashboard and vents must have been made out of the flimsiest plastic the designers could find. If you tried to move the direction the vent faced, the whole vent would streeetch and bend. In sub-zero weather I would be concerned of it breaking. Other little things just didn’t say “quality” either.

I will ditto the above mention of an Early 90s Grand Am. We have a 93 and its been a great car.

If you can find one, go for pretty much any year or model of Honda…or a good deal on a used Subaru if power isn’t something you are concerned of. I have a freind with a Ford Focus, and she seems to like it.

Hope some of this helps.

20

** See why the SDMB is fantastic??? **

Okay, everyone gather round for a group hug!! :wink:

Thanks, ** magdalene, c_goat, Coldfire, ** and even ** bernse ** to a lesser degree, for endorsements on Subaru’s. I’ve not even looked at those, and just like normal, ** Necros’ ** experience with the ‘boxer’ engines would be a bummer. Could it be just the type of car you have, Necros?

magdalene, I really appreciate your experience as having had to lug stuff and being a college student, you REALLY don’t want that car to break down far from home!

My condolences on the lemon Taurus you got stuck with too, ** Many Crows ** if you ever care to picket at a Ford place, you have my word, I’ll be there! :mad:

** Dev Null ** I have a V-8 in my 95 Crown Victoria and boy do I love that car, almost as much as I HATE DJ’s broken down car!! But, the gas mileage isn’t great and the parking lot he has to deal with at school, it’s suited for smaller cars. And yes, he does go to Liberty University in Lynchburg. He’s finishing his junior year, STILL in a tie, THAT fact lone is so amazing to me!! He always HATED dressing up when he was younger.

** Gunslinger, ** hon, if I could fix the cars, I’m not sure I’d even CARE what kind it was!! I envy your ability. :cool:

** Clucky, Booker57, and bernse, ** ya’ll are hitting about what I had been thinking of. The mechanic that told me the Taurus was dead told me to go get DJ a Honda Civic, Accord or a Toyota Corolla.

So many of you have downplayed the V-6 versus the V-4’s, I’m rethinking that particular attribute, just because of your advice.

** The Mighty Tiki God ** love your name BTW!! As to your thoughtful ‘good luck looking’, does anyone else hate car salesmen and shopping for cars??? I wish I could go in a tank!!

Thanks ** spritle, and Elkman, ** with coming up with extra ideas. I’ve seen the commercials for Saturn, but frankly, the ‘we’re so special’ attitude irritated me. I’ll try getting past that to check out the Saturns and Elkman’s idea for the Pontiac’s too.

Thanks guys!!!