$5k, need commute, reliable, fun and back seat for kids. yer pik?

"Grindintosecond" (Grindintosecond) 01/08/2014 at 10:08 • Filed to: None

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Ok folks it's income tax season! Not for your taxes...but for the cragislist shopping commuter. Mid February is THE time for any $5,000 & under small little used cars to sell for the most! So what's your recommendation for the most reliable low maintenance used FUN car for commuting under $5k?

Kat Callahan > Grindintosecond 01/08/2014 at 10:10

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EK3? I used to have one in red. You can probably get one from 2000 for way less than $5K.

Casper > Grindintosecond 01/08/2014 at 10:14

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SW20 MR2, Miata, Z32 300ZX, CRX Si, etc. There are a whole lot that are good solid cars under $5,000. More than anything it is just a matter of inspecting them to make sure they were maintained correctly.

Cars breaking down are almost always the owners fault. There are a few rare cases where there was a defect of some kind, but that part should have failed and been replaced with a corrected part at some point.

Grindintosecond > Kat Callahan 01/08/2014 at 10:15

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5g civic...yeah my sister has one. Good choice if they don't already have 180k miles on em and even then still a good choice. The 6g size hatch is also down to about 5k by now too....

BoumboQC > Grindintosecond 01/08/2014 at 10:16

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Sebring convertible.

Storz > Grindintosecond 01/08/2014 at 10:16

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Search for cars in the 5-6000 dollar range and talk people down

Kat Callahan > Grindintosecond 01/08/2014 at 10:16

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I still see them all over the place here in Japan. I keep wanting to pick one up to relive my teen years, but I'm driving an econobox Mitsubishi EK Wagon.

ETA: Here's mine:

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > BoumboQC 01/08/2014 at 10:19

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Grindintosecond > Casper 01/08/2014 at 10:20

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Commuter and fun. Good mpg and solid. Also means a 4 season car too. I like your choices but there are cars that will just fall apart too regardless of owner maintenance. (Cacalier/sunfire bleh!) Now a sw20 Mr2 in the snow n ice....umm lovely car but how will that be a good 4 seasoner? EDIT: I redacted that. It apparently is no issue just don't get punchy with it. Nice choice

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Casper 01/08/2014 at 10:22

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"MR2, 300ZX"

I'll give you that the miatas are tough little beasties specifically meant to be low maintenance and reliable but the 300ZX? Really? Are you sure you would trust one to be a daily driver? Ditto the SW20 MR2? Because I don't think I would. Both are likely to be almost 20 years old and both require a lot of time and maintenance.

Yes they might not be as fast, but older pony cars, older BMW sedans, even cars like the honda prelude/accord coupe can be enjoyable to drive despite being basic. My recommendations would be the aforementioned accord coupe or perhaps a non-rust belt impreza or legacy. An older volvo turbo could work too. My strategy here would be to get the car for about 2500-3500 and spend the remaining 1500 on replacement parts and some upgrades. You might laugh but an accord with better brakes and tires and a tune up can be a ton of fun to chuck around at a weekend autocross and then be driven to wherever you have to go the next day. You can even put some snow tires on it and be all set for winter. Or put dirt tires on it and do rallycross.

Casper > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/08/2014 at 10:24

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Yes, I have daily driven a $2,000 300ZX for over 120,000 miles with nothing major changed. Eventually it was killed by a deer with over 240k on the odo. I also raced an MR2 in autocross while also using it as a DD for over a year, it was a 93 and never had any changes made that weren't purely aesthetic.

Grindintosecond > BoumboQC 01/08/2014 at 10:25

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You know what? With small kids, that could be the most fun choice.

BoumboQC > Grindintosecond 01/08/2014 at 10:26

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Convertible is always fun. I bought a miata last summer and I wouldn't go back.

Casper > Grindintosecond 01/08/2014 at 10:28

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MR2s are great on snow... like a better balanced 911. Of course I drive all my cars in the snow, so I don't understand people's hangups about having to have season specific cars. It doesn't matter if it was my S2000, 300ZX, MR2, 240Z, Ninja 1000, or wife's BRZ. If I have it and want to take it out, it comes out. The bike I don't do too much snow with just because it's a freaking mess and it's too nice to lay down on a patch of ice. The S2000 did better in slow on summer tires than most sedans did on snow tires.

Grindintosecond > BoumboQC 01/08/2014 at 10:29

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Yeah. Nice a friend has one for that. I do need back seat toddler room tho..

BoumboQC > Grindintosecond 01/08/2014 at 10:30

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Exactly why the sebring comes into play! Plus all chrysler products in the used market are cheap as hell.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Casper 01/08/2014 at 10:32

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I'd wager you got lucky over those cars still being good DDs today. I knew a guy with a Z32 with the NA V6 and he had all sorts of electrical issues despite having the simpler motor. I'm not 100% convinced it's the car's fault as he ruined the cobalt SS he bought after dumping his Z, but I would be wary of that combination of time and amateur modifications. I think the good ones that you would want to spend time and money on are going to be out of the price range at this point or take too much work to be made decent again. The only MR2s I've seen have, again, been chopped and hacked and modded and ruined so again - the one that will be dependable is also likely to be out of range. I live in the midwest so maybe there are more down south that are better but neither of those cars are typically taken care of in the northern states.

Casper > themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles 01/08/2014 at 10:36

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That goes back to the inspection. It doesn't matter what car it is if some idiot didn't take care of it. Stupid people ruining their cars don't make the cars bad.

Textured Soy Protein > Grindintosecond 01/08/2014 at 10:36

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Wait, so if now is the time when commuter car prices will be highest, why would you want to buy one now unless you absolutely need a car?

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Grindintosecond 01/08/2014 at 10:39

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Impreza, Mk3 GTI (avoid the VR6!), Accord/civic coupe, E36 BMW, Volvo turbo, celica (good luck finding a non-riced one though), cavalier Z24 if you can withstand the embarassment of being seen in a cavalier, Focus with a manual, and the classic standby of late 80s/early 90s mustangs, camaros, and firebirds.

This entire group fits the basic criteria of

1) More enjoyable to drive than the average crapcan

2) Simplistic drivetrain

3) Plentiful aftermarket support as well as replacement parts and donor cars being readily available

4) Required maintenance and repairs are no more common than your average commuter and any procedure you need to do is likely well documented on online forums and cheap repair guides.

gawdzillammm > Grindintosecond 01/08/2014 at 11:13

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Impreza Gc8
You can get a decent condition one for exactly 5000

JEM > Grindintosecond 01/08/2014 at 12:55

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Mustang, or Mustang convertible?

Assuming you don't have have be moving car seats in and out a lot of course, the back seat would work for kids.

JACU - I've got bonifides. > Grindintosecond 01/08/2014 at 13:54

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My vote also. Fun to drive. Cheap to own.

Aaron James > Grindintosecond 01/10/2014 at 12:30

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I have a 4 door Accord, it's not really fun but it gets the job done, there's room for the kids in the back, gets good MPG, and it's a five speed so I can at least pretend like I'm having fun. Super reliable too, I've had it 6 years and only changed the oil, brakes, and tires.

Crabsy > Grindintosecond 01/10/2014 at 14:00

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P71 Crown Vic!