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I'm in the market to purchase a car. I've been looking at AutoTrader.com and there seems to be great older model cars in my price range ($2,000...just trying to get from point A to B). My question to the board is, what older model cars (lets say from 1995 on) would you consider a great car to look into to purchase. So far I have Honda Accord, Nissan Altima, Ford Taurus, Ford Contour, and Ford Escort. I'm not even sure if these will be good or not. I just liked the body style of most of them.
In your view, what cars should I stay away from and what cars should I have on the top of the list. I'll be making my buying decision mid-february.
Throw the Taurus off your list completely as they are troublesome. I have a 1991 Ford Escort that I purchased for $500, and it is extremely reliable. However, it is also extremely short on horsepower too. It only has 88 gerbils under the hood. Still, if you are looking for reliability it is the way to go.
Vegas Drunk don't know what he's talkin about! Sorry drunk, but my 2 Taurus' I had were very good cars. One had 187K when I finally traded it in and the other had 204K when it finally died. My cousin also had a high mileage Taurus and it took some abuse.
I would go with a 96-99 Taurus, or even better the 90's Accord and Civic. My friend has a 95 Civic with 270K and he has never done anything but brake pads and oil changes...and he bought it new. Great cars Honda and Ford. No such luck ever with any GM or Chrysler products. That's not to say all their cars are bad, but I personally had zero luck with them.
Well you could look into a police Crown Vic., they auction them off with only around 88K miles. That's just broken in for a Crown Vic. check
Crown Vic.net
Also consider a generation 7 (93-97) Toyota Corolla. I own a 97, they are extremely reliable, easy to work on and inexpensive to maintain. If you want an automatic, go for the DX version which has a 4 speed rather than a 3 speed meaning it gets much better gas mileage. But manual is the way go if you don't mind shifting with a clutch.
Vegas Drunk don't know what he's talkin about! Sorry drunk, but my 2 Taurus' I had were very good cars. One had 187K when I finally traded it in and the other had 204K when it finally died. My cousin also had a high mileage Taurus and it took some abuse.
I would go with a 96-99 Taurus, or even better the 90's Accord and Civic. My friend has a 95 Civic with 270K and he has never done anything but brake pads and oil changes...and he bought it new. Great cars Honda and Ford. No such luck ever with any GM or Chrysler products. That's not to say all their cars are bad, but I personally had zero luck with them.
They are notorious for head gasket and transmission problems. I have only owned one Taurus myself, and it was one of, if not the worst cars I have ever owned. It was a 1992 Taurus Sho which actually had BEST engine ever put into a Taurus. I would have loved that car if it was not so troublesome.
Also consider a generation 7 (93-97) Toyota Corolla. I own a 97, they are extremely reliable, easy to work on and inexpensive to maintain. If you want an automatic, go for the DX version which has a 4 speed rather than a 3 speed meaning it gets much better gas mileage. But manual is the way go if you don't mind shifting with a clutch.
I second this, but I would definitely go with the five speed manual. I would also go with the 1.8 engine over the 1.6. The Geo Prizm is also the exact same car that you can typically get a little cheaper.
Ford Escort with 2.3 (88HP) was a very reliable engine.
Just make sure that the timing belt was changed every 60,000 miles.
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. It only has 88 gerbils under the hood. Still, if you are looking for reliability it is the way to go.
Sorry drunk, but my 2 Taurus' I had were very good cars. One had 187K when I finally traded it in and the other had 204K when it finally died. My cousin also had a high mileage Taurus and it took some abuse.
