What car for my sister?

My sister is currently driving my grandfather's '05 Impala. She used to own a '01 ZX2 that blew its transmission and was traded towards a '06 Suzuki Aerio hatch for my other sisters (long, complicated story, don't ask). The Impala will need to be sold eventually as part of an estate sale, and my sister doesn't want it. It guzzles gas, it's very long and hard to park, and the suspension is very floaty. She knows and cares very little for cars, so don't expect her her to learn stick or be 100% on top of maintenance.

Here's her criteria:

1. Needs good fuel economy. The old ZX2 got great gas mileage.

2. Four-door sedan, sized somewhere between the ZX2 and Impala. She might consider certain two-doors and hatchbacks, see below.

3. Decent handling, including in winter. No boats like the Impala.

4. Low maintenance

5. Automatic

6. FWD or AWD

7. No Honda Civics or Accords or Acura Integras. They are major theft magnets in our area.

8. Newest, lowest mileage car you can get for $4000 max.

She's doing some legwork on what style cars she likes but she mentioned the Protege, Altima (didn't say what year), and an unidentified 2-door Acura. She might also consider a hatch but it would have to a modern design like my Speed3 or my other sisters' Aerio for her to consider one.

MKII Jetta or MKIII Jetta, a lot of ladies at my school drove them a few years back

or just get what every one of them has around here, Cavalier, Sunfire, Beetle.....oh wait, that's it lol

There's so many I can think of but those were the first

an 05 Impala is a gas guzzler? don't they get 28-30 highway?

Don't get a jetta. My sister got one, spent about $3k fixing all the worn out stuff, and now it's sitting infront of my house and won't start. Mk2s (in mostly original form) are done as daily drivers IMO.

My MKII GTI wasn't that bad with money haha she must have gotten a bad taken care of one.

Corolla - as reliable as gravity, good in snow, great on gas, parts grow on trees, are easy to maintain (both mechanically and costwise) and easy to park. Theyre no less sporty than a base civic, and actually are pretty comfy. No one wants to steal one, ever, in the world.

Grtechguy wrote: an 05 Impala is a gas guzzler? don't they get 28-30 highway?

I'll speak to her, but I think she does mostly around town driving, which drops the Imp's official gas mileage to 19mpg. I've driven her ZX2 and I will say it got stellar gas mileage, in the 33-40(!) mpg range depending on conditions, so I think that's had an influence on her buying choices.

Travis, Nick: I've considered the Jetta, but all of the Mk.IIs have rusted through and all of the Mk. IIIs are broken up here in New England

yeah, an Impala of that era gets great milege for it's size. My Dad '01 Lesabre gets 30 hiway all the time with the 3.8. Thats not a boat. A '71 Grand Ville is a boat. But she wants economy car numbers so I vote Saturn SL2. 30+ in town and nearly 40 hiway. Or a Miata 'cause thats the answer.

Travis_K wrote: Don't get a jetta. My sister got one, spent about $3k fixing all the worn out stuff, and now it's sitting infront of my house and won't start. Mk2s (in mostly original form) are done as daily drivers IMO.

Mine's reliable enough to DD (92 8v GTI w/Digifant), but considering how hard it is to find the trim pieces (big bumper kit + road debris = fail), I won't DD it once it's back together. Unless gas hits $4 a gallon again.

friedgreencorrado wrote: Mine's reliable enough to DD (92 8v GTI w/Digifant), but considering how hard it is to find the trim pieces (big bumper kit + road debris = fail), I won't DD it once it's back together. Unless gas hits $4 a gallon again.

hehe werd yeah I really am still unsure why I sold my 85...

I can understand that though with being up in New England, yeah they're all probably gone....

Grtechguy wrote: an 05 Impala is a gas guzzler? don't they get 28-30 highway?

I drove a 1968 Oldsmobile "98" that had a 455 - 4 barrel. Oldsmobile Rocket! It got 10-11mpg using premium gas as long as I didn't wail that four barrel open. That was a gas guzzler.

The car ran good when we got it, (other than worn out valve guides), the money was for struts, suspension bushings, shifter rebuild, clutch, timing belt, cooling system work, cv joints, timing belt, etc, all the things that should have made it reliable. The problem with digifant cars is once they dont run right anymore, its almost impossible to fix them. Id never buy another one or tell someone to buy one, unless they were planning on an engine swap.

CIS for the win!! hehe sorry

CIS probably will run longer, but then you have all the fun of CE1 wiring problems. lol

2002 Corolla or Prizm is rated at 40mpg. This was the last year before they changed to the larger car.
2002 was the last year for the original style Saturns, also great mpg.

www.fueleconomy.gov to see the epa mpg rating for any car sold in the US since 1985

Yeah, sorry, I run a repair shop. Don't buy a VW if repair costs are an issue. Part costs alone scare me.

The answer for girls looking for this kind of car is the Civic, however since that's already been disqualified (high theft is a very good reason to avoid a model!) you should go with the oft-overlooked Mazda Protege. The Protege is nearly as reliable as a Honda, but cheaper in the used market and quite nice to drive. Also, try to talk her into a 5 spd, they're almost always cheaper to buy and cheaper to operate over the long run.

Focus

(my apologies in advance...)

Your sister told me she wanted a really big back seat, or perhaps a van.

(poor taste I know, but it popped in my head after a few Stellas)

Hyundai Elantra. Good room, great miliage, and a great warrenty with a bullet proof drivetrain as long as she gets the oil changed on a regular basis.

and nobody will steal it

Corolla.

dude, if my sister blew a tranny i wouldn't post it on teh intarwebz unless i really hated her. [/perv]

bwahahahaa

Woah, 20MPG is gas guzzling now? WTF?

Yeah, I remember when 20 mpg was something to shoot for.

4cylndrfury wrote: Corolla - as reliable as gravity, good in snow, great on gas, parts grow on trees, are easy to maintain (both mechanically and costwise) and easy to park. Theyre no less sporty than a base civic, and actually are pretty comfy. No one wants to steal one, ever, in the world.

^^^^ This, or Geo Prizm. Other options would be Protege or Elantra/Optima