Guide me/enable me. Oh GRM, tell me what car

Here I am, Captain Fickle, fresh off selling the perfectly good Camry and looking for a new heap. (The 2018 Fit will be driven by Mrs. Fickle and is a long term car)

Things I want and am willing to fix/install myself:

-Good tunes. With very young kiddos at home the only place I get to listen to anything is in the car.

-Air Conditioning. I live in St. George UT. We have 3 months of 100F+/year so...

-Rear seat. Two kiddos, though to be clear this will be a very rare ride for them. Total PITA to move the car seats anyway.

Budget: $2700 all in.

For a long while now I've been missing my 93 Accord. So without going into why, HERE is a very clean one I found. Going to look at it tonight. Close to max budget, but it shouldn't need anything if the seller is being honest. This is my original choice, practical, smart.

But then I realized I should keep my eyes open, also it has been a while since I've made bad automotive decisions and I miss the uncertainty.

So a few blocks from the Accord I found a 1980 mudstain 4cyl auto. Runs and drives, can't seem to find the ad (used her FB thing to find it) but was asking $1500 which, after haggling, leaves much budget for improvements (stereo, interior stuff, ac)

Then I see THIS and get all hot and bothered. Closer to me than the other two, unique, and V8. Not perfect, and would need some work though it does drive. Close to max budget and not sure how flexible the guy is. Impractical, doubt it has AC, and if so I really doubt it works. Poor mileage. Tailfins! 260ci! so there is that.

I also went last night to look at THIS 1961 Falcon wagon. Pretty rough, but aside from missing two windows is pretty complete. Minor rust in the floors, 170 thrift six, 3 speed column shift, but needs more work than money. And dudes lowest price is 800, which might be fair to the right buyer but is more than I'm willing to spend on this particular example. Also no AC.

I'll update as I keep looking. Thanks for playing.

If you could talk the Meteor seller down to $2000 grand, I'd say go for it.  On the other hand, I'd be all over that Falcon for 800 bucks too.

How much of a relationship do you want with the car? You have two kids and a wife... if I were you I would pass on that older stuff, as cool as it looks. 

But wait, this is GRM. What I meant to say was: get the Mercury!

That’s two for the mercury. Which I did just go look at on my break, but the owner is out of town at the moment so it’ll be next week before I can drive it. If he’ll go close to $2k we may have a winner. 

does jumper k balls still have his crew cab falcoon?   because that car was friggin' sick!

Just drove the 1980 mustang. Lima power and 4 gears. Straight and no rust. No ac. No radio. Asking 1500. Manual was a nice surprise  drove well and seemed to be in good working order. I liked it but I worry that it would become a quest for speed, which is not what I am after  

I am on my way to drive the accord. I did not bring money so I cannot make hasty decisions. 

Life is too short to drive a Honda. Go back and buy the Mustang. 

BTW, I was in St george a few months back. Breath taking!  If I could find work, I’d be there. 

I suspect Accord is your answer. And it gets my vote.

Go pick up the newest lowest mileage Saab 9-3 you can find.  You won't be disappointed.  Way cheaper than they should be.  Fun to drive, and quick.  Lots of manual trans ones out there as well.

Drove the accord. It felt really good. The odometer read 322k. The engine has been replaced with a junkyard unit an supposedly has 160k. Had a lot of blow by after warming up. Decent power. Ac worked great. 

But he wants 2600 freedom dollars. And I suspect he used a Costco sized bottle of armor all. Everywhere. Everything was slimy with the stuff. Everything. And 322000 miles is a lot on any car. I’m gonna sleep on it. 

I also cant stop thinking about that falcon. I suppose if I was rational I wouldn’t be a member here though. 

In reply to DrBoost :

A: I like Honda’s    

2: This is a very pretty town with plenty of work, just not if you want reasonable wages.

$2700 gets a lot of protege 5 

I was gonna talk up that Accord until Mazdas were brought up. Now i just think the Accord is a goodish idea at 2k max. 

I forgot about Protege5’s. Off to the classifieds. 

This guy wants 2700 for his track prepped mazda3. They have a lot of back seat for a small car. 

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/cars-sale/2006-mazda3-track-capable-challenge-eligible/155276/page1/ 

In reply to Strizzo :

Getting that car here would cost more than I can spend. And with no intention of racing it really deserves a better recipient than me. Good find though. I liked my focus and I do like Mazda. 

I retract my vote for the Accord. That's all used up.

The more I think about that mustang the more I like it. 

I’m old car guy.  Don’t daily one especially with kids.  The radios suck, most don’t have ac, the ones that do have E36 M3ty ac.  You’ve thrown all your needs out the window, and berkeley a 4 cylinder mustang(that’s not turbo)

or get the mercury

Armor-all would be a deal killer for me on that thrice used Accord  

+1 on the Saab suggestion. 

There's an 03 Camry V6 with only 209K for $1,300 listed locally to you. Says 1 owner and needs some repairs. V6 Camry makes decent power and good bland car to avoid unwanted attention from LEOs.

Or get an older Accord up to 1997. I like Hondas more than Toyotas but that 93 seems kinda sketchy....

In reply to Patrick :

The whole worst-flavor-of is actually what attracts me to that car. I’m not looking for speed either. And it would be a spare car mostly used in days when I can’t ride my bike or as a backup if I take the kids somewhere and she needs a car. Not trying to justify it, just paint a clearer picture. 

In reply to 90BuickCentury :

Just sold a V6 Camry and in no rush to get another. The way I drive I am not at all worried about law enforcement. Something nice and slow suits me just fine. 

After talking with Accord guy some more, his price isn’t nearly as flexible as I’d need it to be for that armor all marinade. Ad after sleeping on it I’m not at all wanting to get in any car with 322k on the chassis, new struts or not. Still waiting to hear from mercury guy on when I can drive that. It is a cool car, though I suspect a 1960s V8 (even such a small one) would be quite thirsty. I don’t put a ton of miles on my cars but still a concern. 

The only cars around D.C. that rival an Accord for shiny happy person drivers are those with temp paper tags.  

Probably less traffic out there so maybe not a problem.

Also you'll feel a sudden urge to take corners too fast and crash into a house 150 ft from the apex.

Also.  Hennessey.

I dunno.  Maybe find a SVTf if at all possible.  $2k might be a little too close to their beat to death point however.

That Meteor is cool but project so don't do it.

The only other one I'd always suggest is a mid-90s SE-R coupe.  There are some nice unmolested ones left but usually north of $3k.

The a/c requirement might be a sinker as I'm sure everyone out there is looking for exactly the same bumping up prices.

How far north and cooler climate ( I know nothing west of the Pecos shoot the Mississippi ) would you have to go to find a cheap a/c'd car?  I searched Billings, Montana and saw a couple of cool cars and a big old boat of a Bonneville, a stinkin' Lincoln Town Car, then a super cheap Mk1 Golf just needing a clutch.

There was a Del Sol in there too but no back seat of course.