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Someone mentioned that they had a super cheap car to operate because it took dirt cheap parts to repair but gas mileage wasn't cheap. Can anyone recommend a car that is dirt cheap to buy, repair and maintain and also has good mileage?
2000-2005 Toyota Echo. 29/37 MPG and is possibly the lowest maintenance car on the planet that will get 300,000+ miles. Trust me, we've had one for 12 years and counting
Panther Platform (Crown Victoria/Grand Marquis/Town Car) MPG is around 20/25
Agreed... mileage isnt spectacular, but being cheap, reliable, and cheap to repair makes up for it. There is an advantage of not really reassign ng it much for years and years.
I am averaging 19.88 and I have a heavy foot lot of local driving.
2002-2006 Camry 4 cylinder. My fiance has one and it's one of the easiest cars to work on, period. There is an enormous amount of room in the engine bay. Plus, it's very reliable and has decent power. In 2002 they introduced a bigger, chain driven, 4 cylinder engine. So you wouldn't have to worry about doing the timing belt either.
My Saturn S-Series had some mighty inexpensive parts. The car was mostly made of plastic though, so... Even the clutch cylinders were made of plastic.
That car had almost 250,000 miles, and it died for reasons other than the engine, which ran great up until the end. S-Series engines are known oil burners though--mine took a quart every couple thousand miles--so I did keep an eye on that.
Still, it didn't take much money to fix the little things that broke or wore out. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a clean and decent one if the price was right.
My Saturn S-Series had some mighty inexpensive parts. The car was mostly made of plastic though, so... Even the clutch cylinders were made of plastic.
That car had almost 250,000 miles, and it died for reasons other than the engine, which ran great up until the end. S-Series engines are known oil burners though--mine took a quart every couple thousand miles--so I did keep an eye on that.
Still, it didn't take much money to fix the little things that broke or wore out. I wouldn't hesitate to buy a clean and decent one if the price was right.
Agree these are good cars as well. Only concern as they are getting old. I think for reliability I would stick to 15 years and newer
2002-2006 Camry 4 cylinder. My fiance has one and it's one of the easiest cars to work on, period. There is an enormous amount of room in the engine bay. Plus, it's very reliable and has decent power. In 2002 they introduced a bigger, chain driven, 4 cylinder engine. So you wouldn't have to worry about doing the timing belt either.
I was going to recommend a Corolla, but this is an excellent suggestion as well. Most anything from Toyota will provide simple, straightforward, and inexpensive maintenance relative to its peers.
20-25 mpg is good for a car like the Crown Vic, but not compared to a 24-32 mpg Camry or 27-35 mpg Corolla. And I wouldn't wish a GM J-body car on anyone.
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