Oppo, I need a new car, help me out

"Captain of the Enterprise" (justanotherdayinparadise)
07/22/2015 at 19:47 • Filed to: Help

I’m in college and have been driving a hand me down car to college, the seat broke but it’s my dad’s car and he won’t allow me to fix it or replace it because he doesn’t think it will look good.

This has given me chronic back spasm issues and I have missed work and school multiple times because of this, including today. I’m done with it and need to buy something that will be better for my health.

I’ve been saving and have a budget of $4000 to spend on a new daily. I drive 50 miles per day 5 days per week to go to work and school so it needs to be relatively fuel efficient (minimum of about 19mpg). I’m also 6’3” so it needs to be able to fit me comfortably, it should have excellent seats in particular. I would also like a manual transmission and something that doesn’t constantly need repairs. I can wrench so that should help with maintenance costs but I’m not making a ton of money right now. On the plus side my dad will pay for PLPD insurance while I’m in college so I don’t have to worry about that. Also I live in the metro Detroit area so it will have to handle awful roads and harsh winters. So what should I buy?

Specific cars or people you know looking to get rid of a car would be cool too.

DISCUSSION (33)

Nibby > Captain of the Enterprise
07/22/2015 at 19:52

Buy an S class Benz with massaging seats.

Kinja'd!!!

TheOnelectronic > Captain of the Enterprise
07/22/2015 at 19:54

I can’t say anything about the older ones, but the current Foci have excellent seats and tons of headroom.

dogisbadob > Captain of the Enterprise
07/22/2015 at 19:55

The Echo would be a great car for you.

Brian, The Life of > Captain of the Enterprise
07/22/2015 at 20:00

This is how I feel whenever anyone asks what car they should buy.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > Captain of the Enterprise
07/22/2015 at 20:00

A GM W-body might do the trick. 3800 series II is reliable, gets pretty good gas mileage, and the seats in them are generally pretty comfortable. No manual though.

A 90s Accord maybe?

AM > Captain of the Enterprise
07/22/2015 at 20:01

I’d recommend a Golf/Jetta TDI. Great on fuel, pretty comfortable and relatively cheap to own. If you want something bigger try find a Passat TDI. People give VW a lot of shit for reliability but from what I’ve seen the diesel models are rock solid. I have a ‘13 Jetta TDI and it's been fantastic in the almost 20,000km that I've put on it. Little bit more to fill than say a civic but once gas goes back up it will even out.

AM > TheOnelectronic
07/22/2015 at 20:03

I feel dumb but what’s a Foci?

Jordaneer, The Mountaineer Man > AM
07/22/2015 at 20:06

I assume he means ford focus, just a guess though.

AM > Jordaneer, The Mountaineer Man
07/22/2015 at 20:09

Well in that case his suggestion is bad. We have a ‘12 Focus and the only way to describe it is “fucking garbage”

Captain of the Enterprise > Brian, The Life of
07/22/2015 at 20:12

All the stars for you. What movie is that from?

AddictedToM3s - Drives a GC > Captain of the Enterprise
07/22/2015 at 20:18

I’d suggest (and I never thought I’d do this) a Crown Vic. Comfy, bulletproof, 19mpg achievable (I think?) and roomy.

Or a Miata since this is Jalopnik/Oppo after all.

Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna > Captain of the Enterprise
07/22/2015 at 20:19

You can’t go wrong with a Camry. This one is for $6,000 which I’m sure you can talk down to $4,000 and it’s one of the rare manual ones too.

And if you ignore the need for a manual transmission, you can get into one significantly newer and higher trim.

If you’re daring, here’s a 2001 BMW 530i with the manual.

Captain of the Enterprise > AddictedToM3s - Drives a GC
07/22/2015 at 20:20

I currently drive one, the seats suck even when they aren't broken

Brian, The Life of > Captain of the Enterprise
07/22/2015 at 20:21

Joe vs. The Volcano. Quite possibly the greatest little known movie by a big star ever. I love it more each time I see it.

AddictedToM3s - Drives a GC > Captain of the Enterprise
07/22/2015 at 20:24

Well shit, I didn’t see that coming.

In that case, as someone else has mentioned, a camry, corolla, accord, civic would be a good bet. Maybe an integra or prelude would work too if you can find a reasonably unmolested one. All can be had with a manual and found for under 4000 if you do some searching.

Other than those I’d maybe suggest an older SC400. They are comfy and share a similar platform and engine to the mk IV supra.

AddictedToM3s - Drives a GC > Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna
07/22/2015 at 20:30

Oh god. If I had the money, I’d get that 530i. I got to drive a 530i once and it was SUBLIME. The induction noise, the smoothness of the suspension and the steering. OH THE STEERING!

Conan > Captain of the Enterprise
07/22/2015 at 20:34

I saw some older Jeep stuff, non 4X4 trucks, Volvo/Subaru stuff, and older Toyota 4X4 stuff. Tough to find, but you can get manual choices.

marshknute > Captain of the Enterprise
07/22/2015 at 20:36

Kinja'd!!!

You really can’t do better than a 1990s Subaru Impreza L. They're practical, durable, AWD, and fun to drive (especially in the snow!).

CRider > Captain of the Enterprise
07/22/2015 at 20:41

https://detroit.craigslist.org/okl/cto/510083…

Captain of the Enterprise > marshknute
07/22/2015 at 20:57

It's the front runner right now, it's hard to find them without rust though

TheOnelectronic > AM
07/22/2015 at 21:03

Sorry, looked better to me than “focuses”

1111111111111111111111 > Captain of the Enterprise
07/22/2015 at 21:06

Put a plush seat in that miata!

DirtyBird > Captain of the Enterprise
07/22/2015 at 21:16

not a car but a s10 may work well, can usually be found cheap too

AM > TheOnelectronic
07/22/2015 at 21:19

Well you weren't wrong there, focuses seems weird.

Bytemite > Captain of the Enterprise
07/22/2015 at 21:20

This is like the most wide and open preferences for a car. Honestly ANY car would fit your description. Just get a Scion xA or something.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Captain of the Enterprise
07/22/2015 at 22:02

I’ll be another person to suggest a Toyota Echo - very reliable and practical cars. :)

My suggestion would be to find an older Echo hatchback or later Yaris hatchback. The hatchback would be even more practical than the sedan Echo/Yaris, especially 4-door models. They are dead reliable and frugal, but still small and tossable, especially if you could find an RS hatch model.

.......then again, where are you located? If in the US, sorry! You never would’ve had the Echo hatchback sold there, but you could still get a later Yaris! I’ve always preferred the styling of the Echo hatch though, personally. :)

Chasaboo > Luke's Dad Sold His 2000TL To Get a Sienna
07/22/2015 at 22:33

We had a 4 cylinder Camry and the bottom of the motor went. Google it, you’ll find others with the same issue. I’d see if you fit in any of the Hondas. Hondas are nearly impossible to kill.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Captain of the Enterprise
07/22/2015 at 23:38

Excellent seats and manual might be very difficult. Almost all of the suggestions so far have mediocre seats, at least in my opinion. Excellent seats tend to come in “luxury” cars, manuals tend to come in econoboxes and sporty cars neither of which have excrement seats unless you start looking at way more money.

That being said, I suggest a late 90’s Buick sans supercharger because much less reliable, or any Mercedes diesel up to the 210 chassis. Though an E30 or E34 BMW might have everything you want. 525i is a pretty solid car (except for the interior) and not hard to find with a manual for cheap. But those, and Mercedes that I suggested, have a higher chance of having been neglected and needing a crazy amount of work, so a pre-purchase inspection would definitely be a good investment. And avoid salvage/dirty/rebuilt title cars, in my not-insubstantial experience they will have many more issues over their lives.

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > Captain of the Enterprise
07/23/2015 at 00:34

Miata.

tall person mod and snow tires

911e46z06 > Captain of the Enterprise
07/23/2015 at 03:54

Straight-6 e39 all damn day. A better car for big dudes who drive a lot has never been made.

Captain of the Enterprise > 911e46z06
07/23/2015 at 07:08

I love e39s but I'm worried about maintenance on them

twochevrons > Captain of the Enterprise
07/23/2015 at 08:10

If you want the best possible seats on a budget, look no further than a Volvo. Seriously, they’ve got the best seats in the business. You could pick up a really nice 850, or a serviceable S60 for that kind of money. Manual transmissions are a bit hard to find, but they are out there, and the engines are pretty bulletproof.

911e46z06 > Captain of the Enterprise
07/23/2015 at 12:11

Just do your homework and make sure you get a good one. And make sure it’s from the Southwest. I’ve had 4 of them, and I’ve never had any serious problems until I was flirting with 250k miles.