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Help me to buy a reliable and efficient used car

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A

Alucard

Banned
Alright, so I'm looking for cars that are good on gas, cheap on insurance, and have a long engine life so I won't be going to my mechanic every few months. What are some brands I should stay away from? What are some that I should look into?

I've been looking into a few Honda Civics and am leaning in that direction. However, I'm curious about other cars like Hyundais, Toyotas, and Mazdas. With the amount of money I'm looking to spend ($4000-5000 Canadian) I figure that I'll likely end up with a 1993-1996 vehicle. What companies made good, long-lasting cars between those years? Makes and models?...

I know almost nothing about cars so any opinions from the board are welcome.
 
D

darscot

Member
My wife had a Mazda 323 in those years and the thing ran forever with no money going in. For the record I hated the car but I have to admit as far as reliablity the thing was ace. You sound like you on the right track stay away from domestic and just take your time.
 
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Neo_ZX

Member
Any well kept Corolla, Tercel, or Civic. Personally I wouldn't buy a car over 3-5 years old. I'd rather spend double for a 99-01 car and finance it. That was the plan when I was looking but I bought a new one anyways.
 
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Tsubaki

Member
My trusty Corolla's reliable. Perhaps a bit too much so. It's also one of the best non-hybrid/non-diesel cars for fuel mileage.
 
T

teh_pwn

"Saturated fat causes heart disease as much as Brawndo is what plants crave."
"Hyundais"

Uh oh. I'm pretty sure those aren't much more reliable than Kia, which is rock bottom.

Go with Honda Civic.
 
N

Ninja Scooter

Member
if you don't mind the subpar exterior and just want something to drive around and beat up, i would say Hyundai. My first car was a little piece of shit hyundai, and although driving that thing around in high school wasn't the funnest thing, that car could take a beating, hardly ever needed any kind of maintenence, and filled up on gas for like $8-10. If anything does go bad, they're pretty cheap to fix too. In general, if you are looking for a used car most japanese compacts (hondas, toyotas) are pretty reliable and effiecient though. An early 90s Civic would probably be easy to find and a good bet.
 
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Dilbert

Member
Hyundai's are bad news in the reliability category -- avoid, avoid, avoid.

I'll add to the chorus of voices recommending Civics -- solid cars with excellent value retention and good gas mileage. If memory serves, 1996 was the last year of that particular Civic redesign. The 1997 and later models had upgrades in technology which might make them more desirable...though I preferred the exterior styling of the earlier years more. Any Civic buffs out there who can confirm that?
 
Hawksley

Hawksley

Member
For the price range you're talking and the age of the vehicle you're going to probably end up with, I'd say avoid Hyundai. If you were talking, say, 2001+, I'd recommend one in a heartbeat. Don't listen to all the naysayers: the company has shaped up its efforts in recent years. I own an '03 Tiburon SE; it runs like a dream, it accelerates like that, and it's reasonable on gas for a sports car. I can fill the tank for $25 at 95.9 a litre, though, so it's no big deal.

It's also pretty sexy. Which, I admit, is the only reason I bought it. The safety and performance stuff the salesguy rambled on about were just extras. I park it next to my X5 with pride and flip a coin to decide which to drive. ;)

...

Er, ew, I sound like a salesman. And I'm not even being helpful.

A quick search on the internet for cars in Canadian dollars and in the Ontario region reveals you could get something in the range of a 1990-1998 Honda Civic for $5000 or less. But in most cases, for the price range, you're going to be looking at vehicles with pretty damn high clocked kilometers. 200,000+, I would say, or a bit less if you're lucky.

Or you could get a late 80's-early 90's BMW. And since a 1992 BMW in good condition is still a highly pretty car and still highly reliable, I would probably go in that direction. Finding one of these in your area comes down to luck, though.

Good luck.
 
A

Alucard

Banned
Fuuuuuuck.

Okay, my dad is helping me buy this car. He was supposed to check out that Civic for me at the dealer this morning. He went, the Civic wasn't there, but there WAS "a really nice 1997 Pontiac Grand Am for the same price." I told him I don't want a Pontiac. That I don't want a car that's going to suck me dry of gas money. To which he said fine, but that if I buy "a piece of shit Honda" that he won't help me at all with whatever repair bills come my way.

So tomorrow I'm going out to the dealership with him and my mom to check out this Grand Am. Now, obviously my question about '97 Grand Ams is...are they reliable?
 
T

teh_pwn

"Saturated fat causes heart disease as much as Brawndo is what plants crave."
"That I don't want a car that's going to suck me dry of gas money. To which he said fine, but that if I buy "a piece of shit Honda" that he won't help me at all with whatever repair bills come my way."

Honda piece of shit? LOL. They're #2 on any reliability list you can find. Just behind Toyota.

I have a 1992 Accord. I've had it for 4 years. Total money spent on repairs: $130.
 
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