| Author | Message | ||
| '75 308 GT4 (Peter)
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A friend of mine has a Caprice ex-sherrif's car. Very good car for hooliganism. But these things are tough as rocks and most are maintained quite well.  | ||
| Adam Goldman '86 TR (Icnsltmfg)
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How about a Ford Crown Victoria ex Police Package. I had one when I came out of college and Ford required that I drive a Ford. I had it painted white, and still joke with my brother about how the most important thing after washing the car, was to pop off the small hub caps and paint the rims high gloss black. At the time I was a Medic in NJ so I had all of my lights and 5 Ant on it. I never had more fun with a car, except maybe the TR..... | ||
| Richelson (Richelson)
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Martin has a great idea. I have found the 87-89 Volvo 740s to be great cars. They can have 200K on them and still run well. They are fairly easy to work on and it is a 4 cylinder engine. She could probably do some of the standard maintainence herself. Very reliable. | ||
| Edward Gault (Irfgt)
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The Chevy Cavalier/Pontiac Sunbird-Sunfire is a good dependable servant that need to get a close look too. They actually have lower overall maintenance costs than a Honda. | ||
| martin J weiner,M.D. (Mw360)
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1) Honda Accord or civic 2) vw Jetta 4 banger 3)'87-'88 Volvo | ||
| Tim N (Timn88)
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Definatley a early 90's civic, or accord (more towards the 5k range). My 94 accord has 117k on it and has had no major problems. The thermostat got disconnected somehow, but that was easily fixe, the exhaust needed to get replaced a few hundred miles ago, and the front dirver window came out of the track. It makes the occasional weird noise but it still has another 100k left in it (if im gentle). Now that im thinking, try to find a 90-92 acura legend. They are around that price range, they have leather, a v6 thats good on gas, they are comfortable, and they have driver and passenger airbags AND side airbags. | ||
| chris cummings (Entelechy)
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Great advice - thanks everyone. I passed (and will pass any further) the info on to my sister who is very grateful. Best, ~C | ||
| James P. Smith (Tigermilk)
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My daily driver is a '94 Saturn SL (stick) with 108636 on the clock. Of course, it's had the same mileage for some 2 years now because the odo went out (speedo still OK). In all the years I've owned it I've only had to replace an alternator. No other mechanical problems, just standard maintenance items. I'd highly recommend one that's a few years old. Yesterday a coworker and I were talking cars, and he said he'd never buy another automatic again. He said the trannies always crap out after so many years. And really, of all the cars I've had in my short life (5 or 6 cars), the automatics always had the worse record. Tell her to stick with a stick for more trouble free driving. | ||
| Najib Amanullah (Najib)
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Limited budget - low maintenance and insurance - she need a small Japanese car - Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic - in that order. Toyota makes up in reliability what it lacks in flair and looks. After 3 German cars, I bought 2 Jap 4x4s. Superbly reliable and inexpensive to run. Would hope to always have one as a daily driver from now on. Good luck in your search. | ||
| Tyler (Bahiaau)
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I'd go for a honda civic or a toyota corolla. Great reliablilty, great gas mileage, cheap to insure. | ||
| John Delvac (Johndelvac)
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I'm with DeFrancis on the VW's. Not that this is related to the question, but, I drove a Passat all over Italy last May. I was super impressed! Fukengruven | ||
| Arnaldo Torres (Caribe)
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For the money and reliability, Honda Civic definitely. | ||
| Mitchell Minh Le (Yelcab1)
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If it were my sister: Honda Civic hatchback for ultimate reliability and practicality. Toyota Camry 4 door for hauling people, junk, and stuff with minimal upkeeping. No BMW (too high maintenance costs), no Porsche (too small and cost too much to insure), no Alfa Romeo or anything Italian (it would really good by the side of the road), no VW (unless she can fix it herself), no Suzuki (until they know how to make more than just motorcycles). $5k, stick with Japanese. | ||
| Willis Huang (Willis360)
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An Alfa Spider would be fun. But operative word is "reliable". Honda Civic would be perfect for her. | ||
| Rob Lay (Rob328gts)
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VW is a good choice or any other import. For $2-5k I would go with a classic Alfa Romeo. That's the coolest car you can get for the price. | ||
| TomD (Tifosi)
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Guy asks about a little car for his sister and Nika has hear strapping a racing helmet on - You racer chicks have a one track mind  | ||
| Nika (Racernika)
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Honda/Suzuki Call "Jackson Racing" - get catalog...then get better sway bars and bushings to stiffen up the suspension a bit and viola...a little rocket I am speaking from experience | ||
| Mitchel DeFrancis (4re308)
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I would put her in a VW, like a Jetta or a Golf. My brother has a VW Corrado, my little sister has a green VW Cabrio, and she just loves it. I have a 95 VW GTI VR6 as my daily car, and I absolutely love it. It has 135,000 of MY miles on it, and it is still perfect. Go for a Volkswagen! | ||
| BobD (Bobd)
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I'd probably look towards a used Honda or Toyota. Great reliability and she'll probably be able to sell it in couple of years close to what she paid for it. Make sure you get the books, tools and records (just kidding). | ||
| chris cummings (Entelechy)
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Anyone have any recommendations for a car for my sister? She's a poor college student whose current Nissan Sentra is ready for the scrap heap. She can't afford much and is just looking for a cheap, reliable car with good gas mileage. I've been so impressed with the extensive car knowledge on this site (extending beyond Ferrari's of course) that I thought you might have some good recommendations. I think her budget range would be between $2500 - 5000 (ha, about what a Ferrari costs to service - it's all relative :-)). Thanks in advance! ~Chris |