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After living carless in two different big cities in the Northeast for the past 10 years, I'm moving to Florida where that will no longer be an option. I'm obviously not looking for anything eye-catching or self-esteem boosting, rather just reliable transportation. The hitch is I do not want the typical "econo-box"...Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic, Nissan Sentra, etc...you get the idea. I've noticed late 90s VW Jettas, VW Golfs and Subaru Legacys as options. Are they good choices? Would love to hear of some others also. Thanks!
I've had the best luck buying cars from middle-aged, upper-middle-class people who just happen to have too many cars at the moment. Look around for that kind of a seller, who happens to have a car that comes close to suiting your needs. Mostly, they just want to get rid of it, and can be bargained down easily because they dislike the chore of selling it, they don't need the money, and don't want to deal with it anymore. These cars are often found parked on their front lawn in semi-rural areas with a for-sale sign on them. You can get a good idea from their house and property and other cars what kinds of owners they were.
If you decide in advance the car you want, there will be few or none at your price. But if you decide in advance the price you want, there are plenty of cars, and you just need to pick the cherry.
What jtur said. Hondas are good, in general many of them have a timing belt that has to be changed on time and if it breaks you have substantial engine damage, not all Honda are "penalty box" cars, you can get an older Prelude for $3K. Subaru are good, in general. In FL you can consider older cars, even old Detroit stuff from '72 and earlier when they were good. I saw a good 6-cylinder, 4-speed first gen Mustang go for $5K recently, it was a presentable car. Something like this if well cared for may actually appreciate in value, at least you don't have depreciation.
An old air-cooled VW Bug is another option, although look out for rusty beach cars.
What jtur said. Hondas are good, in general many of them have a timing belt that has to be changed on time and if it breaks you have substantial engine damage, not all Honda are "penalty box" cars, you can get an older Prelude for $3K. Subaru are good, in general. In FL you can consider older cars, even old Detroit stuff from '72 and earlier when they were good. I saw a good 6-cylinder, 4-speed first gen Mustang go for $5K recently, it was a presentable car. Something like this if well cared for may actually appreciate in value, at least you don't have depreciation.
An old air-cooled VW Bug is another option, although look out for rusty beach cars.
that would be a cool little car to cruise around in in FL
A concrete example of a good cheap car, in my little town there is a decent looking 66 Dodge pickup, newly rebuilt 318, new brakes all round, not ready for Pebble Beach but far from ready for the junkyard - I think they are asking $1500 for it.
It does not offer all the latest tech of course, but it also does not have near as much to go wrong.
Well cared for, use it but don't abuse it - you could drive it 5 or 10 years and then sell it for the same or more money in today's dollars. Or you could decide to go another 5 or 10.
If you were born after say 1980 you may not be aware of it, but up till about '72 Detroit built some fairly desirable cars...
In Florida, you will see a suplus of old man and old lady cars. Our older residents scale down to one car or sometimes no car as their driving needs and ability decreases. Settle on what there is a surplus of where you are. You will get the best buy that way. See if you can stomach a Buick LeSabre or a Cadillac DTS or the like. That's where you will get a real value.
2000-2004 Ford Focus. They're later model and usually have somewhat low miles for around your price range. I'd recommend the ZX3 with the DOHC 2.0.
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