flight doc89;1801209 said:
My parents had a 2002 Subaru Forester. It needed a new steering rack and headgaskets at 37,000 miles.
Need a reliable, cheap dd (AKA I hate VW)
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My parents had a 2002 Subaru Forester. It needed a new steering rack and headgaskets at 37,000 miles.
Eh, I wouldn't say the fuel savings are really what they're cracked up to be, FOR THE PRICE. Fuel economy is alright, but to be honest... my 1980 Corolla (which I take my forum name from) cost me $350, had over 325k on it, I beat the hell out of the thing, yet it still ran like a champ when warmed up, and I still managed to get 35-40 mpg. Can't be mad about that...flight doc89;1801018 said:Thanks for the inputgonna get the bug running so that I can get it sold, then the hunt begins. If anything else comes to mind, I'm still open to suggestions
My wife asked about one of those ugly prius hybrids. Anybody here had any experience with them?
Remember, a car payment buys a LOT of gas if you are willing to do your own maintenance once in a while.
Interesting, you're about the second person on here to suggest such utter unreliability. Think theirs was a fluke? I've heard generally good things about them in my travels...emiliorescigno;1801212 said:
Emo's family did 2 sets of HG's on that 2.5 forester , from my research the 2.5 was a terrible engine for reliability (much akin to the 7M's matra, but with no 'simple fix'). The 2.2sohc and the 2.0doch were much better as far as I can tell.
, from my research the 2.5 was a terrible engine for reliability (much akin to the 7M's matra, but with no 'simple fix'). The 2.2sohc and the 2.0doch were much better as far as I can tell.I second the Highlander, got one for the wife and she loves it. Decent fuel milage comfortable, cant really complain about it. I did try the supra wheels on it for the hell of it and they actually fit!
I am considering buying a new car for first time in my life, because a warranty sounds really appealing right now. Currently considering a jeep patriot or a kia soul. Small SUV/big hatchback + relatively cheap is what I'm looking for. Does anyone have any experience with these? Is it worth getting the new car price? Or is this really just a dumb idea and I should keep looking for a used car? Considering all options at this point.
EDIT: another point I want to consider is ease of maintenance and repairs. Are all of the newer (read: 2000 and up) cars a bitch to work on, or are some brands ok?
EDIT: another point I want to consider is ease of maintenance and repairs. Are all of the newer (read: 2000 and up) cars a bitch to work on, or are some brands ok?
Eh, if you're looking for relatively new, roomy hatchback that's still reasonably easy to work on, I'd suggest a Mazda3 hatchback. I rather like my girlfriend's car, it's been good to her so far, just minor maintenance needed for the most part.
Nice chassis too... really nice for a fwd car.
Nice chassis too... really nice for a fwd car.
New Corollas are nice. Simple motor! The 2003 and above are great. Easy maintanence and come on, we know it will last.
Are you sure you want to buy and have a monthly payment hovering over your head?
Are you sure you want to buy and have a monthly payment hovering over your head?
I'd second the 03-08 Corollas too, Matrix being a roomier option. Given what my buddy Dave has put his old 05 through, it's a wonder that that thing ever lasted this long. Well made cars... the new ones? Not quite so much it seems. The 09 he bought after paying off the 05 has given him a couple relatively minor issues, but frankly, on a car like this, they were issues that never should have happened in the first place...IBoughtASupra;1803026 said:
I'll also say again, a car payment buys a whole hell of a lot of gas... I mean, in two or three months of an average car payment, I could have bought an entire YEARS worth of fuel for my Supra that I drive daily.
Which 09 did he get? Bad maintainence? What kind of problems, I haven't seen any issues with those Corollas. Motor problems, transmission, electronics? I believe there was a recall about the computer's motherboard cracking but that's all I know of.
IIRC, early 9th gen corollas (and matricies) had some clutch troubles with the earlier models, like the 03-04s. It was fixed later however, and the automatic is obviously unaffected.
My parents replaced their horrible '02 Forester with an '07 Pontiac Vibe (Toyota Matrix clone), and it's been a fantastic car. 100% reliable and gets great gas mileage.
My parents replaced their horrible '02 Forester with an '07 Pontiac Vibe (Toyota Matrix clone), and it's been a fantastic car. 100% reliable and gets great gas mileage.
emiliorescigno;1803164 said:
This was the problem my buddy had with his. His clutch literally exploded on him. Upon inspection, it wasn't adjusted properly from the factory... If this car was built in Japan, someone would have lost their job at the very least, but I think his was built in Tennessee or something like that. Needless to say, he didn't buy another Corolla when this one was paid off.
Emilio, isn't the 9th gen Corolla 09+? Or were the 09+ cars 10th gen?
te72;1803160 said:
But how many major repairs will it cover? I may be a little hypersensitive to that at this point
My parent's 06 Toyota Matrix AWD automatic needed a brand new transmission at 90,000 miles. Presently, there's some sort of bearing problem in the rear that they were given an estimate of $1500 to repair. Car has reached about 110,000 miles now.
Additionally, my parent's friend owns a Pontiac Vibe automatic that's either an 06 or an 07, and has experienced similar transmission problems.
Additionally, my parent's friend owns a Pontiac Vibe automatic that's either an 06 or an 07, and has experienced similar transmission problems.
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Figure an average $400 car payment these days, right? Now, for what it's worth, I bought, had shipped, ported the head of, replaced all seals of, and bought cams for, my 1jz, for about $4000. This also came with an r154 too. So, for less than a years worth of payments I could have been making, I bought an engine that doesn't burn oil, gets 20-25 mpg, makes around 400hp, and sounds absolutely beautiful. Been using it as a daily driver for nearly 2.5 years now, the only times it has NOT been there for me to use is the one day I missed out because the battery called it quits (-35° ambient temps and 15w-40 Rotella will test your battery for sure...), and when we took a couple days to replace the clutch. Oh, and a coolant line off the front turbo decided to pop a hole in it because I neglected to replace them while we were doing the seals. 5 minutes in the parking lot of Home Depot fixed that.flight doc89;1803490 said:But how many major repairs will it cover? I may be a little hypersensitive to that at this point
Not like I drive like a grandma either, I do get to enjoy it at least a couple times a day, unless there's too much snow to get traction. She's been good to me, by all means.
New car alternative? No thanks. I just never understood buying "new". New-ish, sure, but not "new". Especially not new and boring, which 99.995% of reasonably affordable cars fall into that category anymore. I mean, if you can swing a newer car, go for it, but if you're looking for reliable, affordable, and reasonably efficient, you can't go wrong with a used car that's been decently maintained, or a cheap used car that you plan to sink a bit of cash into it to start with.
te72;1803731 said:Figure an average $400 car payment these days, right? Now, for what it's worth, I bought, had shipped, ported the head of, replaced all seals of, and bought cams for, my 1jz, for about $4000. This also came with an r154 too. So, for less than a years worth of payments I could have been making, I bought an engine that doesn't burn oil, gets 20-25 mpg, makes around 400hp, and sounds absolutely beautiful. Been using it as a daily driver for nearly 2.5 years now, the only times it has NOT been there for me to use is the one day I missed out because the battery called it quits (-35° ambient temps and 15w-40 Rotella will test your battery for sure...), and when we took a couple days to replace the clutch. Oh, and a coolant line off the front turbo decided to pop a hole in it because I neglected to replace them while we were doing the seals. 5 minutes in the parking lot of Home Depot fixed that.
Not like I drive like a grandma either, I do get to enjoy it at least a couple times a day, unless there's too much snow to get traction. She's been good to me, by all means.
New car alternative? No thanks. I just never understood buying "new". New-ish, sure, but not "new". Especially not new and boring, which 99.995% of reasonably affordable cars fall into that category anymore. I mean, if you can swing a newer car, go for it, but if you're looking for reliable, affordable, and reasonably efficient, you can't go wrong with a used car that's been decently maintained, or a cheap used car that you plan to sink a bit of cash into it to start with.
+1
The only new car that I would invest in if I had the money, outside of an exotic anyway, would be a Scion FR-S/Subaru BRZ. That car looks absolutely brilliant.
Besides that, car manufactures stopped making cars that I'm interested in a long time ago.
te72;1803731 said:
If I finance, looking at a (max)$250/month payment (I can put down some cash, but not a huge amount). IF i get a new car, probably gonna be a kia soul, but i havent decided yet.
That's not terrible if that's the route you decide to go. I've just outlined how I've gotten by all these years. I'm with Luna above though, I wouldn't buy a new car other than the FRS these days...flight doc89;1803779 said:
We need a car for a different purposete72;1804399 said:That's not terrible if that's the route you decide to go. I've just outlined how I've gotten by all these years. I'm with Luna above though, I wouldn't buy a new car other than the FRS these days...
Need something reliable to haul dogs and stuff around. If not a hatchback/small suv, then a sedan with a big back seat (big enough for a couple hundred pound german shepherds/dobermans.The nice thing about a suv/hatch would be that we can put a couple dog crates in it if we are transporting dogs that dont get along well, but we can make do with a sedan if i find a good deal
Dude, 4runner for sure. things are dead reliable. friends has 200k and it still runs like a top. i think hes done a maf and o2s on it in the last 150k. and oil changes of course.