Most reliable Mommy-mobile ~$1k

I'd stay away from a $1000 3rd gen Accord. In that price range, they are going to need a good bit of work underneath. If you come across one that has had its dampers, balljoints, and bushings replaced, consider it. If you're looking at an automatic, put a cooler in-line. I do have a free one that needs tires, a distributor, probably some carb work, a transmission, and a ton of cleaning. It will probably get donated to the high school's auto shop, though.

I'm going to add that I'd also be looking at a 3800 powered GM. Those cars seriously don't die.

Id take neons off the list for a $1k non car person car, there isnt anything wrong with them, its just that a $1k car isnt going to have had the timing belt replaced at the appropriate time most likely, and will either need it done or end up in the junkyard with bent valves.

VanillaSky wrote: I'm going to add that I'd also be looking at a 3800 powered GM. Those cars seriously don't die.

Except for the ones that do die. Beware the plastic timing gears used well into the 90s iirc.

You can probably find a 98-01 Suzuki Swift for $1k. If it doesn't rust, it will run forever, be as, or more reliable, and get better MPG than anything mentioned.

Saturns don't rust - they're plastic. My $400 SW2 needed an upper motor mount and rear struts. That's it. Engines are good as long as you check the oil frequently. Transmissions are OK as long as you don't spin the wheels too much and grenade the diff pin. Parts are actually pretty cheap, and they're fairly easy to work on too. Won't be that way forever, though, as the S series is getting older and older. Mine's 15 years old, and the last ones were built in 2002. But an 11 year production run - that's almost as long as the current Crown Vic.

For a minute I thought poopie was breeding. Oh, the hongumanity!

benzbaron wrote: As much as I dislike the crown vic based on the handling and having exploded the intake manifold I bet you can get one for cheap and they are a rather safe car. You can haul tons of stuff in them also. The fact that Vic have a hell of a depreciation curve and get rarely driven by the age 60+ crowd also helps.

It's tough to get a cheap Crown Vic in the south. They all end up as donks or taxis.

For a serious mom mobile, consider a Venture van. The only drive train issue I have had is lower intake manifold gaskets once. I know for a fact that the 3.4 will run for a month or so with the crank case half full of water and not explode. At 175K it gets the worst maintenance in the fleet. I'm lucky if the wife checks the oil before the valves start rattling. I honestly don't think you can kill it. Drives pretty good. The instructor at the street survival school my daughter took couldn't get it to slide spin or push on soap. Gets 25-28 mpg if you are nice to it, and 22-25 if you flog it. The wife usually flogs it. The interior has held up well considering the 4 kids that have abused it. I have to clean the power window and lock switches when the wife dumps a coke in them. Other than that it still looks good with no squeaks or rattles. There is no rust anywhere and it looks good enough to not be an embarrassment to drive.

I would have to say out of all the vehicles I have ever owned, it is by far the most usable, abuseable, dependable, versatile, and neglectable car I have ever owned. Seats up to 7. Will haul almost anything up to and including two 4200 I6 engines from Miami to SC. Stick the key in and it cranks, every time. I haven't even had to put a battery in it. You could call it the ultimate appliance vehicle.

Looks like prices in your area start a little over a grand.

After this, it will probably blow up tomorrow.

In reply to poopshovel:

At that price point, the individual car's history and owners are going to have way more influence on reliability than the car itself. No matter what you cars end up looking at.

So sorry to say but "buy the best car in that price range " really is the answer in that price range. Specific makes/models really aren't terribly relevant when looking for a reliable sub 1k daily driver. As the car's history will trump any inherent reliability.

keethrax wrote: In reply to poopshovel: At that price point, the individual car's history and owners are going to have way more influence on reliability than the car itself. No matter what you cars end up looking at. So sorry to say but "buy the best car in that price range " really is the answer in that price range. Specific makes/models really aren't terribly relevant when looking for a reliable sub 1k daily driver. As the car's history will trump any inherent reliability.

Of course, that will be factored into the equation. After buying, flipping, buying, junking, buying, Challeger-ing, insurance auction cars, I think I've gotten pretty good at hong CSI; i.e., getting a good picture of who owned the car and how it was treated, why it was abandoned, etc., without ever speaking to the previous owner!

Thanks for the great advice, guys. I know dick-squat about GMs, so thanks for the recommendation. Easy to work on? "Mom" is having a really, really, really rough go of it right now. I'd like to find her something that I'm comfortable wrenching on (i.e., something that doesn't have some weird-ass "oh by the way, the radiator, alternator, A/C compressor, intake manifold, battery, and right rear tire need to be removed to replace the plugs" -type-issues.)

Again, thanks guys. You're all good samaritans.

Any thoughts on late 80's / early 90's Dodge 3.0 V6's? Specifically, in a Shadow? I may be able to scoop one up close to free, mommify it (tune up, tires, etc.,) for less than $500 all-in. Thoughts?

I'd really like to have something in the stable that, if our friend's car dies, I can toss her the keys and say "Here's a car, get it insured and tagged. Merry m-f'in christmas."

PS: I like the idea of non-interference motors too. Good call there Junkyard_Dog.

Does this:

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/cto/1440741227.html

plus 3 quarts of rustoleum chinese red = win?

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/cto/1455242926.html

This Corolla has come down from $1,350 to $1,200. I am sure they would take $1k, maybe less. Says the T-belt done, and that the AC works. Looks like some clearcoat issues.

Sure, it is not fancy, but it is easy to work on and should run a long time.
Cheap on gas, cheap parts, cheap tire prices.
Should be worth a look.

poopshovel wrote: Does this: http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/cto/1440741227.html plus 3 quarts of rustoleum chinese red = win?

do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it do it

The 3-0 shadows are ok, they usually burn alot of oil, and the auto trannys arent that good though.

wouldn't put my wife and kid in a $1,000 car.

I recommend a 1st gen Integra, I daily drove one two winters ago. Bought it for $750 with 208,000 on it, put an additional 15K on it over the course of the winter. It never gave me any problems and the car was definitely not well maintained by previous owners. When I was done with it I sold it for $900. :)

I beat the hell out of it too...

Too much "PC load letter"?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfCYzJAgwrw

plance1 wrote: wouldn't put my wife and kid in a $1,000 car.

Give me a break. When my wife and I first started dating I had a $500 92 Protege LX. That car brought us home from our wedding, brought both of our kids home from the hospital, shuttled us all over the place for 7 years with NO problems. I let my sister in law drive it and she promptly ran it so hot that it won't even start, otherwise I'd still be driving it to work today.

Tercel Corolla/Prism Camry GM G-body 78-88 GM B-body 75-97 Ford Crown Vic (the 4.6 is super reliable) Chevette

I would avoid the DSMs. They eat timing belts. I also like the 3.8L buick, but later EFI versions tend to have head gasket issues. Its not overly common, but given the headache of replacing head gaskets on a FWD car its not my first choice.

Mazdas from the 90s seem pretty bulletproof, but starting in about 2002 I start seeing more of them in the shop for suspension bushing and steering rack failures.

Nissan is kinda hit or miss it seems. Many of the 90s cars like the Altima and Sentra seem to be great, but the Maximas don't impress me on reliability. Put it this way, you can buy a 96 Camry and be more assured that it won't be a money pit than if you bought a 96 Maxima.

My first choice (and I'm a bit biased) would be an 84-88 Buick Regal, Olds Cutlass, Chevy Monte Carlo/Malibu, or Pontiac Grand Prix. I wouldn't call them the most reliable, but when they break they are super cheap and simple to fix. The Camry will be super reliable, but try changing a timing belt or alternator after she comes in from the garage saying she needs to get to work in 20 minutes. Most things on those older GM engines are VERY progressive failures. The timing chain will give you 10,000 miles warning instead of a timing belt that is either intact or not. Carbs and distributors are much easier to diagnose than MAP sensors, cam position sensors, and O2 sensors. Need a wheel bearing? $15 and a half hour gets the job done with a pair of channel locks instead of a complete suspension disassembly and an $80 bearing that needs to be put on with a shop press. No expensive CV joints to replace, and U-joints last for years. No rear alignment issues, no struts to disassemble when they need replacing.... I could go on.

When it comes to reliability, I prefer the simpler engineering. Sure, a Camry will break down less frequently, but when it does it tends to be a larger issue. I can replace an alternator on an 86 Cutlass in 20 minutes with two wrenches and a long screwdriver; not to mention you can buy a reman alternator for it for less than $40.

The fact that a nice Euro Cutlass Salon coupe looks a few million times better than a 96 Camry Lima Bean is just icing on the cake.

skruffy wrote: Any of the 80s A-body GM cars (Century, Celebrity, Cutlass) with the 2.5 iron duke can be had for basically nothing and run forever.

My experience is that they were the poster child for planned obsolescence. Transmissions grenade at 85,000 miles, guaranteed. I had personal experience with 3 of those models and would avoid them like the plague. My 2-cents.

I would look for a Toyota Corolla (and the cheaper Geo Prism clone) and the Honda Civic DX sedan. Both sold in the millions and were bulletproof.

Another nice option is the Infiniti G20. The first models has the SE-R engine and some nice options to boot. Pretty bulletproof when not hyper-tuned like a lot of SE-R motors.

have you tried doing like a one-grand mom's-car challenge? challenge your buddies into each building what could be the best car for a mom, for a grand. the best one, then you can buy

Junkyard_Dog wrote: Just picked up my 89 Volvo 740 Turbo wagon for $500. Is 273,478 miles reliable enough for you? Volvo safety is legendary, though common sense says buy the newest thing you can if thats your #1 concern. Just needed a turbo ($200 on turbobricks.com) and some maintenance/tuning. It'll be both nice and quick for less than a G. My last brick was $1200 for a nice 7 seater 91 945t with "only" 198k on it. That car is currently knocking on the door of 13 second 1/4s in the hands of tuna55 on here. I missed it so much I bought the 89 to replace it. For the ultimate cheap hauler get a non-turbo. Dog slow but even more bulletproof. Oh and the motors are non-interference so getting one with a snapped timing belt is a cheep buy in as most go for little more than scrap value.

Done. Simply put, there is no safer, roomier or more indestructible "mommy mobile" at that price point than a red block, RWD Volvo. I sold my 760 Turbo wagon to one of my employees. Car is stock except for sway bars, springs and shocks. He currently has over 400K on the dumb thing and auto crossed it a couple weeks ago(beat a number of cars with it, too!) Original engine, trans, rear end, doesn't leak or burn a drop of oil between changes, etc and the AC still blows nice and cold.

Escorts are great bets - wagons even more so. Neons are great - 2000+ is better.

CLNSC3 wrote: I recommend a 1st gen Integra, I daily drove one two winters ago. Bought it for $750 with 208,000 on it, put an additional 15K on it over the course of the winter. It never gave me any problems and the car was definitely not well maintained by previous owners. When I was done with it I sold it for $900. :) I beat the hell out of it too...

That_is_awesome. Funny, I had damned near the same experience, though my wife beat the piss out of it, not me. She LOVED that car. Can't even remember why the hell I sold it. But yeah, bought it for $800, drove it for 3 years, replacing only the thermostat, set of injector gaskets, and tires, and sold it for $1400. Just did a CL search - 3 pages of results for "integra." One 1G. Apparently, they're getting as hard to find as 1G rexes/3G civics :(

curtis73 wrote: Tercel Corolla/Prism Camry GM G-body 78-88 GM B-body 75-97 Ford Crown Vic (the 4.6 is super reliable) Chevette I would avoid the DSMs. They eat timing belts. I also like the 3.8L buick, but later EFI versions tend to have head gasket issues. Its not overly common, but given the headache of replacing head gaskets on a FWD car its not my first choice. Mazdas from the 90s seem pretty bulletproof, but starting in about 2002 I start seeing more of them in the shop for suspension bushing and steering rack failures. Nissan is kinda hit or miss it seems. Many of the 90s cars like the Altima and Sentra seem to be great, but the Maximas don't impress me on reliability. Put it this way, you can buy a 96 Camry and be more assured that it won't be a money pit than if you bought a 96 Maxima. My first choice (and I'm a bit biased) would be an 84-88 Buick Regal, Olds Cutlass, Chevy Monte Carlo/Malibu, or Pontiac Grand Prix. I wouldn't call them the most reliable, but when they break they are super cheap and simple to fix. The Camry will be super reliable, but try changing a timing belt or alternator after she comes in from the garage saying she needs to get to work in 20 minutes. Most things on those older GM engines are VERY progressive failures. The timing chain will give you 10,000 miles warning instead of a timing belt that is either intact or not. Carbs and distributors are much easier to diagnose than MAP sensors, cam position sensors, and O2 sensors. Need a wheel bearing? $15 and a half hour gets the job done with a pair of channel locks instead of a complete suspension disassembly and an $80 bearing that needs to be put on with a shop press. No expensive CV joints to replace, and U-joints last for years. No rear alignment issues, no struts to disassemble when they need replacing.... I could go on. When it comes to reliability, I prefer the simpler engineering. Sure, a Camry will break down less frequently, but when it does it tends to be a larger issue. I can replace an alternator on an 86 Cutlass in 20 minutes with two wrenches and a long screwdriver; not to mention you can buy a reman alternator for it for less than $40. The fact that a nice Euro Cutlass Salon coupe looks a few million times better than a 96 Camry Lima Bean is just icing on the cake.

+5 On older cars being cheapr an simpler to work on. Sadly the ravages of road salt, emissions nazi's, and high gas prices make nice, simple v8 power out of reach for a lot of people. The 82-93 Chevy S-10 is another great example of simple engineering that never quits.