Best $3k Commuter?

My friend is looking for a new primary vehicle. He has about a 40 mile round-trip commute each day, and prefers manual transmissions and domestic vehicles over foreign.

He doesn't have great DIY skills, but he has potential to learn them and I'm teaching him a lot of the stuff that I know. Some keys for the purchase are cheap to buy ($3k or so) and insure, reliable, cheap parts, decent MPG, and he'd prefer a car over an SUV or minivan.

Basically, he needs an appliance. His past two vehicles have been a Saturn S Series and an '02 Saturn Vue with the Ecotec 4cyl/5 speed combo. He recently totaled his Vue (it had 280k on it), so that's why he's looking for something else.

Given his preference for domestics, I'm thinking of the following options:

• Chevy Cobalt
• Saturn Ion
• Pontiac Sunfire
• Chevy Malibu
• Chevy Impala
• Pontiac Grand Prix
• Ford Fusion
• Ford Taurus
• Pontiac G6
• Ford Focus
• Buick Century
• Buick Regal
• Dodge Intrepid
• Dodge Neon
• Olds Intrigue

If it weren't for his preference for a domestic, I'd be looking at these, as well:

• Pontiac Vibe
• Nissan Altima
• Nissan Maxima
• Mazda 6
• Toyota Camry
• Honda Accord
• Elantra

Anything I'm missing? Thanks in advance for your input!

The nicest of the 4cylinder/5speed options from the first list. That is about it.

At that price point, you go for the best one you can find and don't worry about the brand.

Saturn ion.

Chevrolet Prizm, assuming he doesn't read too closely under the hood, he'll think its just a ridiculously well built chevy. This assumes he can keep up with oil changes using good oil.

Kenny_McCormic wrote: Chevrolet Prizm, assuming he doesn't read too closely under the hood, he'll think its just a ridiculously well built chevy.

Came to post this. I paid 3500 for mine, but it only had 46,000 miles. It's been a wonderful appliance

Focus or Neon sound like the best of that list to me as long as stuff following the timing belt replacement interval won't be a problem.

Most of the stuff on your domestic list is going to be hard to find at 3k unless very high mileage or beat-up/rusty. I'd look for another S series Saturn or a Ecotech powered Cavalier/Sunfire (2003-2005).

dj06482, There are quite a few upmarket Volvos that can be picked up for under $3,000. These cars have their fair share issues from the factory (mainly suspension) but non of them would leave you stranded and there are more durably replacement parts availible. Here's a good example: http://newyork.craigslist.org/que/cto/4252897023.html The parts aren't ridiculous when you buy them from Lemrodër instead of Volvo and most of the parts that do break are usually fairly inexpensive (ex. Spring Seat, $40)

See if you can find (a good one) with the check engine light on, usually it's the O2 sensor which is an easy and cheap fix.

what about a V6 Mustang?

calteg wrote:

Kenny_McCormic wrote: Chevrolet Prizm, assuming he doesn't read too closely under the hood, he'll think its just a ridiculously well built chevy.

Came to post this. I paid 3500 for mine, but it only had 46,000 miles. It's been a wonderful appliance

180k+ on my 2nd one- still goes strong.

Escort?

You can get a pretty nice Saab for. 3 grand these days.

That is true. There is an 06 with 84k miles for 6k locally

stuart in mn wrote: At that price point, you go for the best one you can find and don't worry about the brand.

+1

Also, to add to your list, 2.0 MKIV golf. Volkswagen isn't everyone's first choice in reliability, but my 2.slow survived horrendous abuse, worse than even what the most apathetic of other teenage girls could manage to neglect, all the way up to 180,xxx (with absolutely no signs of stopping) before it was hit and totaled while parked. All I ever had to do to it was a epoxy a coil pack. It had its occasional share of odd electrical gremlins, but that bastard always started. The interior in them is kind of flimsy, but honestly everything went back on as easily as it broke off.

Anecdotal, I know, but every I know who had one has similar things to say.

Thanks for all the feedback! My friend is in CT, so whatever he gets needs to be decent in snow. For that reason I'm favoring FWD, as I don't see him getting a set of wheels/tires for the winter.

The local Prizms seem to all be autos, but I'll keep my eye out for them.

I've sort of ruled out Saabs, Volvos, and BMWs because it's going to be his only car (he may have a spare in the future, but it's currently not driveable). I've done the Saab and BMW thing and they don't scare me, but I fear for the day something needs to be replaced ASAP and he needs to take it to the dealer. If you have a good backup car, you can wait to order the parts to save money and then do the work yourself. Unfortunately, he really won't have that luxury. In addition, if I get him a car that requires DIY to be affordable, then I'd guess I'd be involved in most of the work, which I don't have a ton of time for. I think he'll be self sufficient for oil changes, serpentine belts, filters, brakes, and other fluid changes, but that'll probably be his limit.

The Ecotec-powered Cavalier and Sunfire are great choices, his previous Vue had the Ecotec and I came away vert impressed with that motor. Even with 280k, it idled quietly and ran very well. I'll keep an eye out for those!

Six months ago I bought a Vue 2.2L, manual trans with 146k miles. I am encouraged to hear of the 280k.
Buying another might be a good idea. They are cheap and largely forgotten about.

If he can sacrifice the space, something with a more car like shape will get better mpg even with the same engine. As mentioned earlier, the Saturn Ion offered that motor and a manual. The Ion suffers the same fate and forgetability since Saturn's demise. I would think an Ion could be bought cheaper that the same year Cobalt. The Ion will have the benefit of the plastic, no-rust panels that like the Vue.

Caution: In '03 and '04 the Ion coupe was offered with an auto trans that was a CVT. These should be avoided at all costs. I know he is shopping manuals (and the manuals are good) but I did not want him to be lured into a CVT equipped model by a low sales price. The repair price is significant if paid for at retail.

Gently suggest to him that the best manual options are imported and the best domestic options are autos?

For $3k I'd be looking for:

1. The best Civic or Corolla for the money; or

2. The best 3.8L Buick-powered GM product I could find.

The imports will win on gas mileage and general reliability, the GM's will still return decent mileage, parts will be cheaper, and they will probably be a much nicer place to spend 80 miles a day. Maybe split the difference with a US-built manual 4cyl Camcord?

Side note: Tell him to get his E36 M3 in gear and buy a car NOW though, people are still broke from Christmas, but once those tax rebate checks start rolling in this part of the used car market will get hilariously overpriced!

I know that they are hated appliances but I have to vote for the Ecotec powered Cavalier/Sunfire/Ion option. I picked up an ex daily rental 2004 Cavalier for dirt cheap in 2005 and ran it up to 376k before it was hit and written off. I truly hated that car but it just kept going. I ran whatever oil and filter happened to be on sale, Sometimes the oil changes were 3k apart sometimes they were 15k (did I mention that I hated that car?). It was still running the original rear brake shoes and shocks when it was written off. I threw some brake pads and tires on it other than that it needed an alternator($48) and a few other bits and pieces but it never left me stranded.

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/200x-classifieds/the-mighty-integra-1500-your-lechumpchallengedd-chariot-awaits/76320/page1/

80 miles a day for the last 10 years. 33 mpg. Fun in the twisties. The least rust you yanks have probably ever seen on a car, cheap, widely available parts, all for half the proposed budget!

Accord or Geo/Chevy Corolla. My Accord has the best interior of any sub $1000 crapcan I've ever owned. I'm kinda stunned Honda made such a nice place to be in the mid 90's and it's held up this well.

ShadowSix wrote: 2. The best 3.8L Buick-powered GM product I could find.

I had a 3.8 Lumina for awhile. It was a hand-me down and I was in school when I got it. I had neither the money/time/space to fix anything that was wrong with it so I ended up driving it for about a year before I bothered to figure out why it ran like crap. That included several 500 mile trips between school and home.

When I did decide to try and fix it it I found I had been driving it with a bad MAF, dying crank sensor, bad catalytic converter and some other issues all that time.

Never stranded me though until the starter died later in the car's life.

If I had a long drive to work I would rather have something like that than a smaller appliance box for the sake of comfort. The big engine was nice too.

When my daily was the '95 Prism 5-speed I bought new I had a much newer ecotech sunfire as a rental for an extended business trip. All I remember from the experience is a nice stereo and terrible torque steer and fuel economy by comparison. Prism/corolla by a mile.

That said, if the commute is not much stop and go, I'll +bunches to the 3.8L gm idea. Everyone I know with one knocks down nearly 30 mpg highway despite all of them having something wrong with them no one cares to fix. Pretty much fix the intake manifold gasket if it hasn't been done yet and add fuel.

sc400? v8, rwd, reliable, comfy, unloved by the masses. Also sc300 substitute v8 for 2jz.

I must say you can get burned on buying anything with a 3800 in it, at least I did. Redid all the intake crap, changed the oil twice, main thump and no oil pressure at idle in two weeks. Sludge from the gasket leaking was holding the motor together. Those big GMs also rust like mad in every place imaginable.