Crowd-source my next car!

"Matthew Henry" (matthenry) 08/02/2013 at 13:47 • Filed to: None

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Greetings, fellow denizens of the internet.

I'm a nearly broke college student. I need to buy a car. I have expensive tastes (and unfortunately, there are no cheated-on wives selling old Aston Martins for pennies on Craigslist in my area). So I'm turning to you guys for help. What should I buy? Specifics below

I live in east/central NC. My budget is $2200.
My commute to and from school (in Kentucky) is 500 miles, and I won't have much time or a garage, (or money to pay a mechanic) so the car needs to be (somewhat) reliable. I am capable of doing my own work, but I don't want to have to drop the engine to fix something simple. Fuel efficiency of 25+ mpg is preferable.
I leave in two weeks, so it must be currently running. I can drive a manual (in fact, I'd prefer a stick). I love convertibles. It needs to be big enough for me (6'2" tall), a duffel bag, a backpack, and my acoustic guitar. That rules out a Miata.

Cars I've considered: 1999-2001 Ford Crown Vic P71. 1979 Mercedes 240d. 1989 Saab 900s Turbo. Dodge Neon. 1997-2003 Chrysler Sebring. Early 90's Saturn SL/SC.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, as well as any advice regarding any of the cars listed above. Good? Bad? Worst Car You've Ever Driven? Thanks!

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Matthew Henry 08/02/2013 at 13:52

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Crown vic. Game over.

Good mileage, plenty of room for you and tough as nails.

This discussion has ended thank you.

Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis > Matthew Henry 08/02/2013 at 13:54

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"I have expensive tastes"

Lexus ES?

http://detroit.craigslist.org/wyn/cto/390852…

Casper > Matthew Henry 08/02/2013 at 13:55

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I was about to make a suggestion and realized you were considering Dodge Neons, Saturns, and Chrystler Sebrings...

Matthew Henry > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 08/02/2013 at 13:55

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I got an insurance quote on that one, and it's a little steep. Apparently, people crash into things with it. It does have a lot of benefits, though. How good is the mileage? Think I can baby it up to 25 mpg for my drives home?

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Matthew Henry 08/02/2013 at 13:59

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Yea I think you should be fine, I think I've even seen them listed at 26 mpg. Which is shocking because V8.

Correction - just saw listed at 23. I bet you could do some stuff, maybe intake exhaust (cheap things) to help flow air a bit better and maybe increase mpg a smidge. Also being very polite with the gas pedal. Honestly for durability I'd pick the Crown Vic and know I'm saving there as opposed to at the gas pump.

Matthew Henry > Casper 08/02/2013 at 14:00

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Hey, I never said I wanted to actually own or drive one of those. Just that they're cheap. Make a suggestion and spare me from the terrible fate of driving a soul-sucking piece of junk!

Matthew Henry > Matthew Henry 08/02/2013 at 14:01

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If you don't share your suggestion, I will literally go out and buy a Dodge Neon with a three foot tall spoiler, a mis-matched hood, and an automatic transmission. One of my neighbors is selling it.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Matthew Henry 08/02/2013 at 14:06

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Please god share your opinion.

Don't let anyone drive that horrendous neon.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Matthew Henry 08/02/2013 at 14:06

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I got a stripper model Mk3 Jetta and it's about 50$ a month for PLPD insurance in Michigan as a 23 year old. Parts are cheap and abundant and with a stick, the four cylinder zips around town easily enough. The VR6 is there for more power but it is a lot less reliable. I average high 30s on the highway and mid 20s around town. Great car to learn to wrench on. Put on new wheels and coilovers one weekend with my friends in a driveway. Cost me about 2 grand for car + upgrades. Spent another 500 recently on some repairs and am about to get new tires for another 500. So 3 grand or so for a pretty solid little sedan.

The Mk3s (Golfs and Jettas from 1992 to 1998) have a good combination of availability, simplicity, and cheapness that it should be on your list. I know they're not that fancy but if you're a broke college student, don't turn down a good car or deal just because it lacks leather or power everything. Wind-up windows are far less likely to break and let's be honest, a car with power windows for a grand or two either has, or will soon have, at least one window that doesn't work.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Matthew Henry 08/02/2013 at 14:07

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Those early 90's Saturns are about as bare bones as you can get. but they RARELY die and if they do it's at 250-300k plus miles.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Matthew Henry 08/02/2013 at 14:10

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Also I've seen these as cheap as $1000. There's your first 5 months of gas.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 08/02/2013 at 14:11

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Here's one that might work - http://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/3944313329…

It needs a good clean-up but it will survive a lot of abuse. You should be able to pick it up for 1500 or less, get a buffer and some fine cut polish for 50$ and brink the exterior back in a saturday. I'd say budget another 300 or so for some odds and ends and you should be good to go for a while.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 08/02/2013 at 14:13

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I'm advising against those saturns nowadays because parts are not as available as they once were and those cars are NOT like the rest of the GM lineup so service can be tricky on occasion. It seems like you either get a perfect example or a nightmare on wheels.

Matthew Henry > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 08/02/2013 at 14:13

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That's not bad at all. Are VW parts hard to find? I'm going to be living in a pretty rural area of Kentucky.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Matthew Henry 08/02/2013 at 14:16

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It might be difficult in local junkyards, but places like rockauto.com and ebay vendors have everything you'd need. Most autozones, advance auto, NAPA, and others should stock them too. They were very popular and so the parts support is still strong even though the cars are 20 years old.

Here's another one. Looks like it got tapped on the front so check the radiator and make sure it's sitting even in the engine bay. Body looks good otherwise, and it is also a 4 cylinder w/ stick shift - http://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/3952919128…

Matthew Henry > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 08/02/2013 at 14:17

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Haha. I didn't mean like a Lexus, just that I've been trying to justify throwing caution to the wind and buying all the old British roadsters on Craigslist. And I honestly hate economy boxes.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 08/02/2013 at 14:20

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That's fair. I've seen some make it to 350k with just regular maintenance. Some are just unbelievable, I swear the good ones are like cockroaches - they will survive the apocalypse.

Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis > Matthew Henry 08/02/2013 at 14:23

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Fair enough, just remember. These are just luxed up Toyota's, so they are work horses. Something to keep in mind.

Casper > Matthew Henry 08/02/2013 at 14:28

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It depends how much room you want. I prefer coupes, so I always default to MR2s, Z cars, etc. I scored a nice Z32 300ZX for around $2200 when I had just graduated high school that would be perfect for what you suggest other than it was only ok on mileage.

Since you sound like you want more room, I would probably look at a CRX Si, Civic, older BMW, etc. I prefer RWD and manuals, so BMWs usually make the short list of old person, I mean sedan, style cars for me. Something like a CRX will get crazy mileage and can be fixed with a hammer and a screw driver. A 1990 CRX will be many times more reliable than anything from Saturn, even when they were new. You might think hatch back for the extra room for a guitar (although college student + guitar almost always equates to douche, so I'm a little hesitant to support it).

If I were you and not cool enough for a coupe, yeah I said it, I would look for something like this as a runner up (that's on the East Coast, so it's basically in your back yard):
http://charleston.craigslist.org/cto/3894554721…

Matthew Henry > Casper 08/02/2013 at 14:34

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That's a sweet BMW. And I've been playing guitar (and bass) for a long time, and regularly play local gigs (for pay!), so I think I'm allowed to keep my guitar. :D

Casper > Matthew Henry 08/02/2013 at 14:40

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Ok, you can keep the guitar as long as your hair doesn't get too long and you don't sit in dorm hallways strumming it pretending to be making songs.

Mercedes has some cars that might work too, but getting manuals in Mercs is not easy for that price point.

6cyl > Matthew Henry 08/02/2013 at 14:53

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BMW 325e or 528e

5 speed manual

easy to work on

reliable motor

25-27mpg

classic e30/e28 styling

fun to drive

RWD

easy to get more power later (at the cost of fuel economy)

Matthew Henry > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 08/02/2013 at 17:07

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Good point. And my hatred of Toyotas is somewhat assuaged if it's more leather and less econobox.

Matthew Henry > 6cyl 08/03/2013 at 01:01

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This is seriously tempting. Any years that were particularly good?

6cyl > Matthew Henry 08/03/2013 at 01:11

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Pretty much all the same (for the e30 at least dont know quite as much about the e28). The e30 was '84-'87(?) and the e28 '82-'88.

Brian Tschiegg > Matthew Henry 08/03/2013 at 13:18

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If you're looking at these, check the fuel pump and the fuel lines. That seems to be a common problem that I've been finding, but on the bright side it's a cheap fix ($100-$200 for all the parts, labor is free because wrenching). Also, check for rust.