Which Car For $10,000 ???

Dave N

Dave N

My PC goes to 7...
A few posts down you can read where I was looking for a super-cheap car to drive to work, because my truck is just getting too expensive to feed with gas. I came to the conclusion that buying a <$2000 car probably wouldn't get me much, and it would take too long to realize any savings from the saved gas money.



So, I am considering selling my truck and buying a $10,000 (more or less) economical car. If I did this I would no longer have an auto loan payment to make, and I would be saving around $100 per month in gas to boot. Here are my requirements:



1. At least 30 mpg on the highway

2. I don't want a "geek" car :cool: (a la Matrix, etc.)

3. $10,000 (may go a couple $G higer for the "perfect" car)



That leaves quite a bit open, but I'm leaning towards a 02/03 Mazda Protege because they get good reviews and seem to be a better bargain than a Corolla, Civic, etc. A turbo diesel Volkswagon would be nice for the MPG, but they are more expensive and higher miles.



This group seems to have pretty diverse tasts, so tell me what you like and why :bigups
 
If we were only so lucky to get Alfas in the states..a 156 GTA would be in my possession :)



You can't really go wrong with any of those small econoboxes. Most seem really reliable, good on gas, and affordable. You might want to throw a hyundai or kia into the mix too, as they seem to be building quite a reputation.
 
IMHO, you can't wrong with the build quality, relaibility, fit and finish, and subsequent resale value of the civic, or any Honda in that price range.



I am of course bias.............
 
Dave N said:
That leaves quite a bit open, but I'm leaning towards a 02/03 Mazda Protege because they get good reviews and seem to be a better bargain than a Corolla, Civic, etc.
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I love my Protege. I believe the EPA rating is 28/34, but I get over 30 with all city driving. I got 39.89mpg once, when I was going 60mph with the cruise on, no A/C, for almost the entire 130-some miles of the trip.

The 02s and 03s all have the 2.0L, regardless of the trim level. You'll make me jealous with a laser blue mica 03 ES! :drool:
 
Thanks for all the replies so far!



White95Max said:
I love my Protege. I believe the EPA rating is 28/34, but I get over 30 with all city driving. I got 39.89mpg once, when I was going 60mph with the cruise on, no A/C, for almost the entire 130-some miles of the trip.

The 02s and 03s all have the 2.0L, regardless of the trim level. You'll make me jealous with a laser blue mica 03 ES! :drool:
Click to expand...



Yeah, the 2.0 doesn't get quite as good of gas milage, but you get more power. This is one thing I really enjoy about my truck -- you step on the gas and GO!



BTW, in two of my local papers right now:



2003 MAZDA PROTEGE LX, red, almost new, only 2500 miles, automatic, moon roof, 6 CD package, alloy wheels, $12,500



2003 Mazda Protege LX, 4 door, auto, power, CD, keyless, great MPG. Extended warranty. 34K. $9200



I'm still in the thinking stage, and will probably miss out on these two even if I do decide to sell my truck.
 
ebpcivicsi said:
IMHO, you can't wrong with the build quality, relaibility, fit and finish, and subsequent resale value of the civic, or any Honda in that price range.



I am of course bias.............
Click to expand...



I use to have a civic...loved it and would be a great buy...I beat the living SH*t out of it and never had a problem with it...Image if u took care of it! My dad also has a toyota that has 170 g's on the odo and all hes had to do is regular maintenance on it...Im going to be in the market for a new chepo soon and its going to be a honda or a toyota for sure!
 
I second the used Protege. :bigups

Great value and reliability, and it's more fun to drive than a civic or corolla(stock).
 
I really like Protege's too, so if you like those I'll forth of fifth that vote.



Otherwise for your requirments I'd quickly narrow down my options to Hondas, Toyotas, or Nissans.



I'm not sure where il Illinios you are but a quick Auto Trader search reveals that you can probably get a 2000 Camry with about 35k miles, a 2001-2002 Altima with 40ish k, or a 2000 Accord LX with 50k for ~$10,000. Of the three I'd personally lean towards the Altima, it's got the most HP and torque, and seems like the best value to me. Of course there are always the civic/corolla/sentra options, but it depends on the guts you like. I just find 115hp is too little for me, but what do I know?



If you really want to get whacky you could look at 2000ish Acura TL's or Infiniti I30's, but the city mileage might suffer.
 
4830Deuce said:
I use to have a civic...loved it and would be a great buy...I beat the living SH*t out of it and never had a problem with it...Image if u took care of it! My dad also has a toyota that has 170 g's on the odo and all hes had to do is regular maintenance on it...Im going to be in the market for a new chepo soon and its going to be a honda or a toyota for sure!
Click to expand...



Hehe, here's my history with Honda:



87 civic 187,000 miles, routine maitenance, for Honda's that = timing belt @90,000 miles, drive belts, water pump, CV boot/axles, plus items that wear out (brake pads etc). Sold her in 96 for $3500.



94 accord 188,000 miles, routine maitenance, sold for $4300 last October.



00 Civic SI, 140,000 mile, routine maitenance, still driving her daily. :)
 
My family was always (still is) almost all Honda/Acura. I had a '92 Civic hatchback for 8 years that I beat on every day and it never gave me any problems. And yes, they ARE fun. Go to an autocross and see how well the fifth gen Civics do. Great mileage also.



That said, my wife's first car was a 91 Nissan Sentra. We sold it to her brother a few years ago with almost 300,000 miles on it and she's still running well! Original motor, tranny, clutch, etc. and lots of city (SF) driving. That thing started right up every morning.



Like someone stated earlier, cant' go wrong with Honda, Toyota or Nissan. Probably the same with the Mazda--I just don't have a lot of personal experience with them. I had a WRX too for a while and that was fun and reliable as well, but not the best mileage.
 
Picus said:
I'm not sure where il Illinios you are but a quick Auto Trader search reveals that you can probably get a 2000 Camry with about 35k miles, a 2001-2002 Altima with 40ish k, or a 2000 Accord LX with 50k for ~$10,000. Of the three I'd personally lean towards the Altima, it's got the most HP and torque, and seems like the best value to me. Of course there are always the civic/corolla/sentra options, but it depends on the guts you like. I just find 115hp is too little for me, but what do I know?
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I'm kind of thinking the same thing, HP wise. I drove a 5-speed 115 hp Nissan for 5 years, and I had to drive that thing like a race car just to keep up with city traffic. Also the a/c on smaller cars isn't the best, and I do like my a/c. My Silverado has the best a/c out of any car I've owned. I'd hate to give up that comfort. I've been looking on the internet at mid-sized cars, and actually the Oldsmobile Alero seems to get decent customer reviews on Edmunds. It's really cheap used too -- maybe that's a bad thing...
 
Ok, you can have my '95 200SX for $10,000 instead of $2,000. :D Well, worth a try... What size of a car are you looking for? And what kind of tranny, drive configuration, etc? Do you want something somewhat upscale? Big trunk? fold-down seat? sporty? two doors? four?



The Aleros with the Ecotech would be my choice, not the V6, if you are looking at Aleros. Oldsmobiles in general are pretty cheap, that's generally what happens when a company goes under. :( There are a ton of cars in the range you are looking at. If you come up with some more criteria you'd like from a car, you might be able to pare the list down. Also, if you are only looking at locally available cars within a certain timeframe, that too will pare it down. Good luck with the search! :)
 
Dave N said:
BTW, in two of my local papers right now:



2003 MAZDA PROTEGE LX, red, almost new, only 2500 miles, automatic, moon roof, 6 CD package, alloy wheels, $12,500



2003 Mazda Protege LX, 4 door, auto, power, CD, keyless, great MPG. Extended warranty. 34K. $9200
Click to expand...





I don't know what the base model has in terms of wheels, but if they have steelies, I'd go with the first one. I really prefer alloys. :)

I'm not thrilled with red though. The red '00 Protege I did recently was a single stage, really oxidized. It looks great now, but I couldn't believe how bad it looked for just being 5 yrs old. It will surely start turning orange/pink again, since the owner isn't much for taking care of cars, cosmetically anyway.
 
Honestly, I'm open to just about anything right now (except a $10K 95 200SX :grinno: ).



One car that I really like is the Volkwagen Jetta, but after looking on the net there were just way too many people having problems with all years of Jettas. So that's out.



I think what it comes down to is that I want a fairly late model (2002+) small car that has a little more motor than the base Civic/Sentra/Corolla. I looked at older, higher milage mid-sized cars, and decided that I didn't want as old and high milage as $10-12K would buy. Auto or stick is a toss-up right now. I like the convenience of auto, but I drove a 5-speed for 10 years (82 200SX, then 05 200SX!) and it was OK. Obviously a stick would get me a little more power and mpg. If it came down to the "right" car, it wouldn't matter that much to me what the tranny was.



Here's a short list of what I like:



Mazda Protege5 - I know I originally said "no geek cars", but this kind of grows on me, it has a sporty look, and some extra storage room.



Mazda Protege - nice car, never read a bad review



Nissan Sentra SR - I almost overlooked this one. A 5-speed w/165hp should have decent power for what it is. Scores "poor" in side-impact crash test though, and that gives me paus.



Olds Alero - I dunno, although it looks good on paper, something about this car just doesn't sit well with me. There sure are a lot of 04's on the used market.



Still just thinking for now...
 
White95Max said:
I don't know what the base model has in terms of wheels, but if they have steelies, I'd go with the first one. I really prefer alloys. :)
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According to Edmunds, the LX gets 15" alloys

http://www.edmunds.com/used/2003/ma...ml?tid=edmunds.u.safety.leftsidenav..5.Mazda*



I think the stock Protege alloys really look sharp, which is a great thing for this level of car. Thanks for warning me about he ss paint on the 00 -- I'd think by now everything would be cc, but I guess you never know for sure. I'll be taking some AIO to test if I go look.
 
Dave N said:
I'm kind of thinking the same thing, HP wise. I drove a 5-speed 115 hp Nissan for 5 years, and I had to drive that thing like a race car just to keep up with city traffic. Also the a/c on smaller cars isn't the best, and I do like my a/c. My Silverado has the best a/c out of any car I've owned. I'd hate to give up that comfort. I've been looking on the internet at mid-sized cars, and actually the Oldsmobile Alero seems to get decent customer reviews on Edmunds. It's really cheap used too -- maybe that's a bad thing...
Click to expand...



I don't know anything about Olds, sorry. I understand what you're saying about the a/c. I can't give that up either. In that case I would definitely look at 4 bangers with over 150hp or a 6 cyl with under 250. That Sentra looks nice, and I've always liked Nissans for reliabilty - I can't speak to the side impact test, though.



I would really take a close look at a 2000-2001 Acura TL. It will be pushing your mpg restrictions (I think they are 22/30), but it will have plenty of power and the performance shouldn't suffer with the a/c on. Another side benefit is the mpg shouldn't go down with it on, either. That's one thing I found moving from 4 cyl to 6 cyl, in a 4 your a/c can rob you off 5-10 mpg, in the 6 normally I might see 1-2mpg difference, if any.
 
What about a new Hyundai Elantra , About $13000.00 , full power pw pl etc , 60,000 miles bumper to bumper , and 100,000 power train. Best bang for the buck i.m.o..
 
I like the Protege5 too. I don't like wagons, but that's one that I do like. With the nice 5-spoke alloys, they really do look nice.
 
How about a last generation Grand Am. My girlfriend has one and she gets like 35 mpg on the highway. They should be right around the price range.
 
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