[justincampbell]

So the transmission just went out in my wife's work car. While it has been a pretty good car, it is not really worth the cost of a rebuilt trans. I have been looking around a little a have found a 2000 Ford Focus and a 2001 Taurus, but both of these cars seem to have quite a few complaints.

If you were searching for a decent work car, front wheel drive, automatic, under 100k miles, no more than $4000, what would you search for?

Does anybody have any input on the above cars?

[Ben M.]

Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla. May not get the under 100k & $4k in the same car, but you likely won't have any problems with them for 200k miles either provided basic maintenance is done.

Friend bought a Ford Focus for cheap and while it's been a decent car, it's needed a LOT of work he didn't intend to do (nor did the previous owner know about). He spent around $3500 and has probably put in another $3500 fixing all sorts of problems like leaky engine seals, leaky transmission (almost to the point of failure), etc. The Ford Taurus I am not overly familiar with, but they seem to suffer from a bland styling and potential transmission issues based on reading I've done.

[cuz68]

My neighbor has a ford taurus and had to put a rack in it it needs a tranny mount now he has spent to much on it. I would go with a honda accord, My wife and i got a pontiac vibe 6 yrs ago with 21-k on it just turned to 50-k, one set of tires, battery last year, brake pads, eazy on gas and lots of room in it, Thay have toyota drive tranes in them, Try one out.

[Chris65LeMans]

Originally Posted by Ben M.

Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla.

Anything Honda or Toyota will run forever with almost zero maintenance. Stay away from the V6 Hondas with auto transmissions - they didn't figure out how to make them last over 100K miles until very recently. Driving one of their 4 cylinder cars 300,000 miles without any engine or transmission work isn't even a big deal.

[67drake]

I'm in the same boat. I just junked my daily driver 98' Lumina LTZ. I'm looking for a car with a stick,smaller,and around $2000.
I'm looking at old Honda Civic's and Toyota Corolla's. I prefer the Civic,as I owned a 5-speed 98' years ago,and at the time I drove the Civic and Corolla and thought the Civic was built a little "tighter",so that's what I bought.
I would also consider an Escort if the price were right. I also think the Taurus is a good dependable beater car,but just a little too big for my gas milage needs driving down to IL to work everyday.
I've heard the Focus has dependability issues,so I crossed that off my list. I see Hyundai's (SP?)and Kia's selling for a song,but I don't trust them as I know of nobody with a high milage old one.

[PMD1969]

[QUOTE=Ben M.;5121626]Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla. May not get the under 100k & $4k in the same car, but you likely won't have any problems with them for 200k miles either provided basic maintenance is done.

Friend bought a Ford Focus for cheap and while it's been a decent car, it's needed a LOT of work he didn't intend to do (nor did the previous owner know about). He spent around $3500 and has probably put in another $3500 fixing all sorts of problems like leaky engine seals, leaky transmission (almost to the point of failure), etc. The Ford Taurus I am not overly familiar with, but they seem to suffer from a bland styling and potential transmission issues based on reading I've done.[/QUOTE

+1 for Honda's. I have owned 2 Accords and one Prelude and they do go forever. The key is to make sure to do the timing belt change at 100k and all regular scheduled maintenance and it'll be extremely reliable. Good gas mileage and a nice ride. Personally I am not a fan of foreign cars and my size I don't fit that well but the Honda's seem to be the most comfortable and have better quality. FWIW I have owned a Honda Valkyrie since new in 99 and it too has been a great bike.

[GMCPerson]

May be a little bit of your price range but I love my 05 Grand Prix. 3.8L engine and the seats fold flat so I can carry lots of parts. My 99 GP was also an excellent vehicle. Just watch out for hidden rust under the rocker cladding.

[Cerberus]

Friends don't let friends drive Fords.

[geeteeohguy]

X3 or 4 on the Honda or Toyota. Honda's are a bit more complex and tend to have more issues after 200,000 miles. The 4 cyl Toyotas typically pass 300,000 without issue. Also, they have non-interference timing belts, unlike the Hondas. Found my brother a mint '98 Camry with 69k on the clock for 5 grand....he put 25k miles on it in the first year, had zero problems, and averaged 34 mpg. (4 cyl). Have worked on a ton of these cars, and all they every need is brake pads every 90k and oil changes. Had a Camry come into work years back for a front alignment, and I assumed the car had about 50k on the clock due to its mechanical condition.....backing it off the rack, noticed it had 365,000 miles on the clock. Can't beat a lowly 4 cyl Toyota for value.

[justincampbell]

What about a 4cylinder '91 Grand Prix? I found one of those with 60k for $2000.

[justincampbell]

I appreciate the feedback on the Focus. I was really excited when I found it because it seemed ideal(small wagon, 4 cyl, lots of underhood room to do any repairs), but it sounds like I would be buying it twice with potential repairs.
I have made my fair share of jokes about Fords, but the most indestructible vehicle I have ever owned was a Ford.('85 Escort hatchback w/4spd.)

[Sirrotica]

Damn, what's wrong with an American car? I bought a 1991 3.1 Z24 cavalier in 2000 for $200 that needed some body work on the front end from a wreck. The car had 110,000 on it when I bought it, at just over 200,000 miles in 2009 the nylon timing sprocket let loose and bent some valves so I junked it for $350. Tough to do that with a furin car. Other than general maintenance items, brakes and tune up parts it ran me from Memphis to Pa many times and all over Ohio and once to Prescott Az.

If you want a GM/Toyota made in the US (Calif.) car the Vibe would be tough to beat, bought one for my wife new in 2008 and it now has around 165,000 on it now. Tires brakes and a tune up with regular oil changes is all I've done to it so far. We even pulled an enclosed 6X10 trailer with it 1600 miles with it when almost new, and have used it to pull that trailer and even haul tow dollies with cars on them since then. They hold their value well and used ones bring decent money. A toyota Matrix is not the exact same car and many parts don't interchange between the 2 cars. Many do, but not all parts interchange.

Being a former tech in a Honda dealership the factory parts are way overpriced on Hondas as well as Toyotas. Most aftermarket parts for either brand DON'T work nearly as well as factory parts do or last as long. JMO.

[geeteeohguy]

X2 for factory parts for imports. They don't need parts often, but when they do, get the OEM stuff. I installed 2 Airtex water pumps on my '83 Toyota 4X4 in three years before I spent the money on a Toyota pump.....and that's been in there and doing fine for the past 18 years. American cars are better than ever, but from a sheer durability standpoint at high mileages, I have yet to see the 4 banger Toyotas overshadowed by anything domestic. I have seen Ford Escorts and Ranger pickups with well over 400,000 miles on them.....all the little stuff (AC, window motors, etc.) was falling apart, but they still ran well and were reliable transportation.

[ck67goat]

I've owned 2 ssei bonnevilles - a '95 and then an '01. If you take care of them right, they run a long time - in fact the '95 would still be running if an oncoming lexus did not decide to turn left right in front of me...

[Old Blue 66]

Originally Posted by justincampbell

What about a 4cylinder '91 Grand Prix? I found one of those with 60k for $2000.

don't touch that car with a ten foot pole. To many reasons why at this point. Also stay away from the Focus. The early models had quite a it of problems. Ford has even admitted to that.

I have to agree with everyone else here. Honda or Toyota anything really. I wouldn't tend to lean more towards the Civic. I see them with well over a hundred thousand miles on used car lots every day. The feel a lot more like a solid car than a domestic car of the same age and mileage.

[justincampbell]

Originally Posted by Old Blue 66

don't touch that car with a ten foot pole. To many reasons why at this point. .

Out of curiosity, why not?

[Sirrotica]

Originally Posted by ck67goat

I've owned 2 ssei bonnevilles - a '95 and then an '01. If you take care of them right, they run a long time - in fact the '95 would still be running if an oncoming lexus did not decide to turn left right in front of me...

X2, another very good reliability US car, on Craigslist there are a bunch of them over 200,000 all the time. Mileage on highway is about 30 and in town 22 MPG. I'm currently looking for a SSEi or a GTP GP right now for myself. Found one for $900 asking price that they say needs an engine because it locked up.

Many times on supercharged 3800s the plastic core intake gaskets warp (factory problem) and leak water into the intake ports and cause hydrolock from sitting overnight. The car may only need to drain coolant from the cylinder and replace the intake gaskets to be repaired. New GM gaskets have aluminum core to stop the warpage problem. Even if it does need an engine I found used ones from $450-$800. I'd be happy to have an 01 SSEi for around $1500-$1700 or less if it only needs intake gaskets...............................

[Old Blue 66]

Originally Posted by justincampbell

Out of curiosity, why not?

Those cars don't age very well. That's just my opinion. That was a first generation of a different kind of car for GM and we all know what that means. One with low miles like that will just start spewing fluids all over the place when it gets driven on a regular basis. They just seem like fragile cars after 23 years.

Again. Just my opinion.

[1970cat]

if you look at the taurus ,watch for rust in the rockers, front frame rails and right inner fender under the overflow jug. also, if the springs haven't been replaced, expect to do so.

[Chris65LeMans]

Originally Posted by geeteeohguy

Found my brother a mint '98 Camry with 69k on the clock for 5 grand....he put 25k miles on it in the first year, had zero problems, and averaged 34 mpg. (4 cyl)..

Strange - I've got a '99 4 cyl Camry that I'm lucky to get 22 mpg out of. that's lower than my V6 Acura that has about 140 more HP. All short trips with that car, though. 190,000 miles now - I've had it for about 5 years (it was passed to me through the family), and I've only changed oil and filters in it. That's it.