Alright, I'm going to be needing a new car within 2 years. I currently drive my mom's old '93 Ford Explorer. I love this car, it's beautiful. It can turn on a dime, it's a standard (wheee) and it looks bad *** . (i have interesting taste...)

(actually, i think i have a picture)


Okay, but it's an SUV. When I'm out on my own paying for my own gas, I don't want to be getting 12-18 MPG by MYSELF in a car that can hold 4 other people and a donkey in the back while 4-wheeling over rocks. Plus, apart from the engine (which is fan-damn-tastic as far as I'm concerned) it is falling to pieces. My subwoofer is busted completely (it rattles whent here's any bass at all) and it has no air condition (only heating) and the leather interior is trashed. The back wiper just plain doesn't work and the spray thing back there is also broken. It squeals when it idles (fanbelt?), it's missing 2 of 4 pedal covers, the turn signal feels like it's breaking in half every time you move it, and it has serious problems going into 1st gear sometimes...gotta jiggle it a bit and rock it back and forth to get it in there.

Why the long list of problems? THIS IS NOT THE KIND OF CAR I WANT TO START OUT ON MY OWN WITH. I love it to death but it just will not do. So, I ask for some advice. I'm looking for a 4-door car with good gas mileage..i was thinking a hybrid, even. But I hate stupid looking cars. The Prius and the Insight are both such vehicles. (Is there an unwritten rule that efficient and sensible cars must look stupid?) What kind of car can I get that will still have a teensey bit of power if possible, look like a normal 4-door car, but be overall sensible and reliable? Does such a dreamcar exist? For a reasonable price, at that?

I figure planning early is a good idea.

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WOOSH.
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[This message has been edited by BobTheMasher (edited February 23, 2004).]

Are you buying new or used? What is your price range?

My mom and dad got a Ford Escort a few months back for a really good price. It's a decent car, gets good gas milage, 4 doors. The usual small car.

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I'm not an actor. I just play one on TV.

New or used, either will work. PRice range is something I'm not sure of. My parents bought my sister a $10,000 or so car, but she ran it into all kinds of stuff and now they said they won't buy ME a car. SO I'm just going to say price is no object but I'm going as cheap as possible, if you understand what I mean. I just don't know.

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WOOSH.
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If you want good gas mileage, than you probably shouldnt be considering anything thats American.

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And everything under the sun is in tune, but the sun is eclipsed by the moon...

DSettahr's Homepage

Honda Civic was the first car that jumped to mind. They have good mileage, a 'bit' of power, cheap to repair (sensible), and pretty reliable.

Of course there's about a million other alternatives...

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The Massassi-Map
There is no spoon.

Yeah Civics are pretty much the ideal car for the poor college student.

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And everything under the sun is in tune, but the sun is eclipsed by the moon...

DSettahr's Homepage

I love my galant. Great gas mileage and it looks nifty. You should be able to get a used one in that price range.

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"She turned me into a newt!"
Pause
"Well I got better..."

98+ Toyota Corolla.

2000+ have VVTi (variable valve timing)..a guy over on www.vvti.net ran a 16.2 in the quarter mile with a bone-stock 2002 5 speed. Not fast, but it's peppy.

Expect 26-28mpg in the city if you're on the gas all the time (heh..a day I don't see redline is rare)..probably easily 30+ if you baby it. I break 40mpg on the highway without too much difficulty.

Doesn't look bad either, IMHO.

$500 into the suspension (Tokico struts : $290..Tein/Intrax/Eibach/H&R springs should be about $200) makes it feel like a new car..

..and if you have way too much money, PSiRacing should be offering a turbocharger sometime this year.

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The Truth about Bowling for Columbine

I went cruisin' in my friend's 2004 explorer last night, and it's freakin awesome. Pretty damn expensive though. Some of the features got taken out for some reason though, like CD seeking on the steering wheel, climate control in the back etc.

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Eat the pudding.

...oh wait... you said "sensible"...

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"Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend." - Proverbs 27:17

The Giant Internet IC Masturbator - Index of IC pinouts
Catalog of Electronic Components - Complete IC data sheets
National Electrical Code (NEC) Online - Don't do wiring without consulting it. OR ELSE!

Be a classic nerd.



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The future is here, and all bets are off.

^ Be clasically crushed at the smallest impact, too.

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"Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend." - Proverbs 27:17

The Giant Internet IC Masturbator - Index of IC pinouts
Catalog of Electronic Components - Complete IC data sheets
National Electrical Code (NEC) Online - Don't do wiring without consulting it. OR ELSE!

Hahaha. Thanks, guys...I went and looked at the Civic, and did you know that they have a hybrid version of that? It looks identical, but they claim it gets 50-60MPG.

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WOOSH.
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That's because it does

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I'm not an actor. I just play one on TV.

Huh? Most of those problems you could fix in a short period of time by yourself, for a very small cost. I would save the money that you were going to spend on the new car and use it on 'gas'.

Btw the slipping noise could be the alternator belt, I recommend opening the 'hood' and re-adjusting the how tight the belts are, it could just be a matter of tightening some bolts on the alternator.

(Word in the ' 's are me using american slang, so if I stuffed it up forgive me)

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Team Battle.

Well slang'd.

It is true, many of those problems could be fixed cheaply and easily. However, the non-working speaker spells money to me, and the air conditioning would cost a couple hundred to get fixed...

However, my main point was that it's a large-ish car and more than I really need. I hadn't thought about the fact that the new car would end up costing the same as the gas for this one would, but that makes a lot of sense. I suppose it then depends on how long I would expect to use the car and who would be paying for what. Thank you!

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WOOSH.
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Why do they call it an 'alternator'? That's a term for AC generators. (Unless of course it is an AC generator. I've never actually checked.)[/b****ing]

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"Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend." - Proverbs 27:17

Catalog of Electronic Components - Complete IC data sheets
National Electrical Code (NEC) Online - Don't do wiring without consulting it. OR ELSE!

[This message has been edited by DogSRoOL (edited February 24, 2004).]

Honestly...I'd recomend a truck. You can't go wrong with a tacoma. the 2wd 4cyl 5spd will get near 30 mpg and trucks are set higher than any car you would probably get, you'll be much less likely to drive overly fast. Police tend to ignore small trucks too. Also, an extended cab is something you would want.

A friend of mine looked into getting a hybrid Civic. He did the math and you end up spending more to get the hybrid version then you would if you got the regular version and had to get a bit more gas. As for me I drive a 92 Accord and love it. I found this one in great shape last year, garage kept with only 70k miles. And only paid $4500 at that. It's 4 door, nice looking, and gets 28-33 MPG. I'd recommend an Accord or a Civic.

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http://www.sporkaudio.com

You can get an old (late 80s) subaru for under a grand. Both my brother and I put well over 250,000 miles on ours before we sold them. And they were still running perfectly. They also have 4wd for those winter months, and they are great for snow driving. They are ultra-reliable and all the typical things that you have to replace on older cars don't usually have to be replaced on a subaru. As long as it was taken care of decently (not perfectly). For example, the exhaust system is 100% stainless steel, so it will never rust out. The engines are generally 1.8L boxer 4 cyls which last a really long time, mostly because critical parts sit in oil as opposed to having oil splashed on them (as typical engines).

Whatever you do, don't get a Jeep. I really liked my Wrangler, but it certainly wasn't reliable. My current Cherokee is okay, but the mileage isn't great (17mpg).

The news just said that gas could be as high as 3 bucks a gallon this summer

Good deal. I got my 1998 Ford contour (the last contour series that they ever built) for 5K and it had only 25,000 miles on it at the time. In other words, practically new. I have taken it up to 34,000 miles since then. I'll post a pic of it as soon as I get my dig. camera.

One of the best features of my car are the rims. I've seen a lot of contours of the same model and year and I've never seen rims lke mine anywhere else. Interesting, because my rims were stock according to the previous owner.




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Most people regard me as the dark and immoral side of Massassi. At least I'm getting what I want out of life.

the thing about hybrids is that even though they cost a bit more, you can get a pretty good tax break for owning one. im not sure how much but you might want to check into that. i'd have to suggest either the escort or a focus. they both have the same engine, which is pretty good. it's the 4cyl Zetec engine. it has VCT (variable cam timing, same thing as the corolla and basically the same thing thats on the honda vtec motors), gets good gas mileage 27-32mpg for me usually. and you can get them in 2-4 doors. the 2-door escort is the zx2, thats what i have. the focus you can also get in a hatchback which is pretty convenient i've heard. good luck with whatever you get man.

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Truth is in the eye of the beholder.
Forum Rules

Whatever you get (I'm partial to Hondas), it should be obvious that you don't want a Ford product. My family used to own an '87 Sable. Reliable is the last word that comes to mind. Problems is the first word that comes to mind. A/C, defroster, etc, you know how it goes, you own a Ford after all.

LOL, I'm sorry, I just can't help it; I can't stand Fords.

Go for Japanese cars. Best deal for your money. Pay cheap for a Ford and you'll get ****. Its known.

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In Tribute to Adam Sliger. Rest in Peace

10/7/85 - 12/9/03

Yep. The interesting thing is that the car still works REALLY well. I'm trying to remember real problems with the car itself, but all I can remember is something about the power steering. The rest is all superficial stuff. But DAMN is there a lot of it.

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WOOSH.
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i've never had a problem with fords except they fog up like crazy in the rain and i cant get it to go away. but both fords i've owned have been very reliable and never given me trouble. btw, i hate honda's. people do such stupid **** to them because they're cheap, it really sickens me. i'm a big car guy and seeing most honda's just makes me ill. i've never owned one, but my grandparents have owned quite a few and say they're very reliable too.


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Truth is in the eye of the beholder.
Forum Rules

I'd say one of the newer Grand Prix's or a Civic..

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Member of the Minneassian Council

Dogs made me laugh.

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Superstition brings bad luck.
-Raymond Smullyan, 5000B.C.

Uhm, crimson, you know, there is more to Honda than tricked out Civics. And they aren't that cheap. If they were, they wouldn't be worth buying. Hondas keep their value better than most cars.

Exacly, if I recall correctly the title of the topic was "Looking for a sensible car", not "Looking for a car I can race and mod the hell out of"

Get a Accord, Civic, Corolla, Camry, Altima, Maxima, any of those would be a great car for you.

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http://www.sporkaudio.com

Beware:
If you live in a bad neighborhood, do not get a Civic. Civic's are the #1 most ripped off car. Don't think stereos. Think any. single. part. that isn't welded to the car.

You want a sad story? Friend goes off to Tennessee for the weekend. Rides with his friend. Comes back, his car is on blocks, with ALL THE DOORS MISSING. Don't ask me how he explained that one to the insurance company. He told me that when he was talking to a cop, they said:
"The robbers usually won't take the whole car, since it's easy to spot the car. But it's dam near impossible to locate specific parts, even... doors in your case." They also said it's most common with civics, because they can sell the parts to nearly anyone.

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"The future is not determined by a throw of the dice, but is determined by the conscious decisions of you and me."
I am addicted to ellipses!!! AHHH!!! ...

[This message has been edited by Cool Matty (edited February 29, 2004).]

I have an old-ish Ford and have almost no complaints about it.

Of course mine is Australian made, not some American fuel-guzzling feeble contraption

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The Massassi-Map
There is no spoon.

as soon as i read your post, and ad for a new Ford Explorer came on the tv.......

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Life is too important to take seriously
-Oscar Wilde

Ah, but my car looks way cooler than the new ones.

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WOOSH.
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Hey. At least we go off in a bang!

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Snail racing: (500 posts per line)
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An exile of the Soviet Massassi Regime

I'll sell you my '98 Neon for $2895! (90k miles, white, power everything, sunroof, 150 hp DOHC 2.0 L engine, can get almost 40 mpg on the highway).

JK. Not for sale right now. Unless you want to trade me that for a 2004 Bentley Continental GT Coupé. No, you probably don't.

vauxhall cavalier



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stop talking in brail

300 years as jedi master i was, now i bloody night-lite

(:-) Monobrow