If you get a Saturn, definitely look for a DOHC version... the non-DOHC is pretty gutless. I say this from experience. My parents bought their Saturn SL brand new in '92, and I drove it for a couple years from '97-'99. My father freaking loves that car. It went 145k miles on the original clutch and now has in excess of 210k miles on it. And he still daily drives the car in spite of the fact that it uses a quart+ of oil a week.
besides burning oil they're great.
do a piston soak with your favorite carbon dissolving solution and even that may subside.
how about this for $1200?
I just bought a Saab 900 Turbo for 800. It needed a transmission, that I already have. I sent the carcass it came out of to the crusher and got $125...
Now I just need to get the new trans into my new saab
Junkyard_Dog wrote: 90s Escort GT with the Mazda 1.8 and 5 speed. Same as a Protege GT but with a hatch and half the cost thanks to the reputation of the 1.9 turds.
And for $1200, you could get an EGT nice enough to make all the fanbois online insanely jealous.
thread title caught my eye cuz my current daily driver was $1200 and all ive done is oil changes and coming up will be new brake pads, and MAYBE some teethier tires for winter
84 peugeot 505 sti, xn6 4cyl gas, automatic. and the heated seats work! was 230k or so miles when i got her about 2 years ago i think, now at 270k (my gf and i drive a lot).
obviously not an easy car to find, but theyre out there, and its a buyer's car - sellers have a hard time selling them for any decent price, so really good condition cars wind up going for relatively little money. and usually, whoever owns it is a peugeot nut, so they've been maintained and cared for. i see so many go for so little (or not sell at all!) on ebay and craigslist. i'd say consider one if either your mechanically inclined (well, why else would you be on this forum) and/or theres a good european car/peugeot specialist shop in your neighborhood.
just reread your post - for a winter car, check out old xj jeep cherokees - the 4.0 I6 is a soldier.
In reply to upwardlymobilehome:
In reply to ohms:An suv could definately have some benefits...hmm...
In reply to darkbuddha:I see somany saturns around me for cheap, very cheap for what seem to be good cars. I'm just always thinking there is something more fun to drive, but a small light car with a manual transmission has never been torture to drive either.
In reply to 92CelicaHalfTrac:Would love to find an escort gt in decent running order for the price!
In reply to upwardlymobilehome: I abused the crap out of our Saturn during its time with me, yet it's still at it nearly 20 years later. It was always a decent driver, and could be fun to hammer on (though it was never exactly fast). That said, for every one you see on the road still, there are 10 (or more) in the junkyard. The question is why? Is it just old car syndrome... i.e. cheap, easily broken interior bits and the failure prone switches? Or is the cost of parts... like $150 for a rebuilt starter and $350 for a a/c compressor (failure prone!)?
BTW, my father reminded me ours is actually a '91. He also pointed out that he and my mother took it to the "Saturn Homecoming" in '94, and the sticker is still on the car to prove it. Crazy!
They are in junkyards because of neglect. People forget to check the oil, or never change it. Also, since they are worth $nothing, its easy to justify just throwing the car out when it has problems.
upward: If you get a DOHC manual, it will be decent fun. They will run high 15s -16 flat in factory form, and only weigh around 2200-2300lbs. FWIW, I have averaged 28.7mpg over the 9,983 miles I've logged on this car. My "rolling average" is 29.7mpg. I have a 10mi city-biased commute. On highway trips I get mid to upper 30s.
big downsides for a car enthusiast - crap aftermarket, and FWD Strut suspension.
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