I need a vehicle

[Balog]

For a long time we've been a single car family, but more and more I find myself in a situation where not being able to get somewhere because my wife has the car goes from "annoying" to "dangerous."

Case in point: tonight, our dog ate something he shouldn't have, and was throwing up a lot with what looked like blood in it. So I was cleaning the vomit up, and my wife snagged him and took him to the 24 hour vet. Problem is, she A takes melatonin to help with her sleep (and had taken it before we found out he was sick) and B gets up at 0430 every day. It'll be close to 11 before she gets home, and I'm pretty worried about her driving.

Anyway, TL:DR and all. I need a car/truck/whatever. 4 wheeled conveyance of some type. Requirements...

Cheap. Both to buy and ensure. We just spent a bunch to get to a funeral, and I'd prefer not to dip into savings too much to cover this. Say $1500-$2k including the stupid sales tax when we transfer the title, %9ish.

Reliable. Obviously at this price point it'll be old and a beater, but I want something that given decent maintenance is capable of running strong after 20-40 years and 1-200k.

Simple. I'm a very shadey shade tree mechanic, but I want to be able to do the simple things easily. This one can probably be waived the easiest.

Not tiny. Able to haul me, my wife, a kid, and a dog.

Current thoughts. Old but unabused Mazda or Toyota pickup. Old Mercedes diesel (I hear a lot of good things about the super simple engines in these things). Pretty much any non-thrashed older Japanese car, really. What about older (mid-90's or older) American trucks?

[Jim147]

These days if you can get into anything that you know has had the oil changed it should go an easy 200,000-300,000 miles and beyond.

For older imports your on the right track. I would look at a Toyota pick up or a Honda car. I don't know much about the diesel car engines but if they have been serviced you should be alright. But the little parts for the car may be pricey.


If I needed a beater car I would look for a Saturn S series. If you don't run them out of oil they are almost indestructible.

jijm

[Gowen]

You might try an auto auction.  You can get a newer car for a whole lot less, because they are repo's.  A guy I work with swears by them.

[Grandpa Shooter]

Is it safe to assume you have tried Craigslist for your area?  I cruise it regularly and find nice looking older vehicles frequently.  After the research I have done I would avoid the Ford Explorer and the early years Subaru Forester.

[roo_ster]

If you can stretch the cash a bit, the Nissan Frontier Crew Cab of 2000-2004 vintage would accommodate your needs out to 2 kids & a dog.  Older Frontiers (1998-1999) & Hardbodies (1985.5-1997) are also great trucks, but did not have the full, 4-door Crew Cab option.  Outside of the Ford Ranger, the 2004 Nissan Frontier was the last true compact pickup.

I was very happy with my 1997 Nissan King (Ext) Cab.  Got 180K miles with it until totaled out in a wreck.  Original I-4 engine, 5-sp manual tranny, & clutch.  Replaced the radiator after a sledgehammer mechanic broke the top tank, replaced the valve cover gasket, got leaves in the evaporator once.  Other than that, I spent on general maintenance.

Kids & extended cab compact pickups used to go together like peas & carrots, but can be a pain with the new booster seat requirements.

Another option is a 1970s-1990s Ford F150 with an extended cab.  The older blocky bodies.  The seat in the back is a forward-facing bench, so booster-seat friendly.  The base I-6 is known for torque and longevity and the 302 and 351 V-8s are known quantities.

Good luck.

[roo_ster]

Oh, and if you get an old, full-sized pickup, your kids will think you are really cool.  Kids like big trucks, even if they are old & kinda beat up. 

We were at the Christmas Tree farm the other year and this high school kid was working there on his weekends.  He had a mid-1980s red Chevy 1/2 ton.  My boy saw his truck and saw him and said, "I like your truck, its really neat!"  I think my boy made his day, as he had a big ol' grin on his face.

[220_SWIFT]

I used to have a 1990's (can't recall the exact year, but I am leaning towards 1991) Mazda Protege.  It was a 4cyl with a 5 speed and that was one of the best little cars I have ever had.  It was a 4 door sedan, and while not a huge car I still fit in it fine and I am a big guy, bigger then.  I changed the oil every 3,000 miles and other than that the only thing ever required (other than tires/brakes) was the alternator needed tightened once.  I owned it for 6 years and put almost 200,000 on it.  When I bought it, it already had 125,000 on it.  Great little car, and if you were not heavy on the gas it would give you ~30mpg on the highway.  

I just saw one here locally for sale, it was a 94 with 37,000 miles and they were asking $2000 for it.  I was considering buying it for running errands, but it got snagged by someone else pretty fast.

[AJ Dual]

Used Scions can be a good deal.

Aimed at young first time car buyers, so they're cheap but functional on the interior. And it's essentially a way to buy a compact Toyota without the quality/value retention pushing it's used price too high because it's a "Scion" and not a "Toyota".

[go_bang]

As cars go, I think the best thing you'll find in your price range will be an Buick.  Something like a mid to late 90's Century or Le Sabre that was well cared for by some senior who past away or can't drive anymore. They are generally reliable cars, easy and cheap to fix, but are valued so low because most people don't want them.

Next best might be a 2WD full size pickup.  Standard cab Ford F150's of this type made between 1987-1996 can be easily found in that price range.  Look hard enough and you might even find an extended cab model that fits your budget.

[charby]

You can't seem to kill Chevy Luminas either

[Bogie]

Older Chevy Astro minivan with a 4.3 litre....
 
Room to haul, room for travel, and it -will- tow a trailer if you need to.

[roo_ster]

Older Chevy Astro minivan with a 4.3 litre....
 
Room to haul, room for travel, and it -will- tow a trailer if you need to.

Remind me again how much fun it is to work on a van's engine?

[Jamisjockey]

Remind me again how much fun it is to work on a van's engine?

Its not hard at all, if you don't value the skin on your knuckles!

 

I do think that as a second cheap vehicle, bogie makes a decent suggestion. 

My personal favorite is the Jeep Cherokee.  Easy as pie to work on.  Avoid the 2.8L v-6, though, its a nightmare. Junkyards are full of them, so you can fetch parts cheap.  Might have to stretch your upper limit up a little higher, but for what you're asking to find, well worth it IMHO.  You can do pretty much everything with a chiltons and some tools.

here's a 2000 with under a hundred K on it, for $2,999

  1993 for $1300

[zxcvbob]

Where are ya?  I have a 1994 Cadillac that I can't sell for $950 cuz everybody thinks it's a gas hog.  No dents, no rust (but the clearcoat is peeling), runs good, and the air conditioner works (replaced the compressor 2 years ago.)  I put a new transmission in it about 5 or 6 years ago, and it's had an easy life since then.  Leather interior is still in pretty good shape.

The catch is, it has 234000 miles, and also the front end is loose -- but the tires are wearing OK.  I'm not sure if it needs new ball joints or a new rack and pinion unit (or maybe both).

I'm in Minnesota, if you're interested.  Or you might can find a similar deal where you are.  Nobody wants a land yacht anymore, so the prices are low.

[roo_ster]

Where are ya?  I have a 1994 Cadillac that I can't sell for $950 cuz everybody thinks it's a gas hog.  No dents, no rust (but the clearcoat is peeling), runs good, and the air conditioner works (replaced the compressor 2 years ago.)  I put a new transmission in it about 5 or 6 years ago, and it's had an easy life since then.  Leather interior is still in pretty good shape.

The catch is, it has 234000 miles, and also the front end is loose -- but the tires are wearing OK.  I'm not sure if it needs new ball joints or a new rack and pinion unit (or maybe both).

I'm in Minnesota, if you're interested.  Or you might can find a similar deal where you are.  Nobody wants a land yacht anymore, so the prices are low.

If it has a gold exterior and a cream yellow interior, my dad would be all hot & bothered.  That combo (caddy+gold+cream) is one of the things he pined for for decades, but never managed to get.  Another is a 3 car garage.

[Jamisjockey]

I had to run before I could finish posting.

The cherokee XJ was pretty consistent for what, 20 years?  Alot of the parts are interchangable among the years, you can hit the junkyard and get pretty much anything.
The 4cyl was okay. Slow, but reliable. 
The I6 is a workhorse.  Getting behind the block for working back there is a little bit of a contortionist act, but there isn't much behind the block.  They have been known to run hot, so care and maintenece of the cooling system is a must.
Many of the parts for the engines are even interchangable between the Cherokee/Grand Cherokee/Wrangler.  If you get one that fits your price range, you'll certainly want to be a junkyard hero.  The beautiful part is that there were so many of them built that you'll be able to find parts almost anywhere.
Gas mileage for a well maintained I6 should be in the 15c/20h range with stock sized tires. 
Shadetree mechanic ability of the XJ is high.  If you can't figure it out yourself, any mechanic should be able to work on it.  Very little computerized, especially when you start going back into the mid 90's and earlier. 

[Balog]

These days if you can get into anything that you know has had the oil changed it should go an easy 200,000-300,000 miles and beyond.

For older imports your on the right track. I would look at a Toyota pick up or a Honda car. I don't know much about the diesel car engines but if they have been serviced you should be alright. But the little parts for the car may be pricey.


If I needed a beater car I would look for a Saturn S series. If you don't run them out of oil they are almost indestructible.

jijm

I love old Toyota trucks (dad had one growing up) but the tend to hold their resale value annoyingly well.

A Saturn SL2 was my wife's first car, and we beat the hell out of that thing and it kept going. Might not be a bad choice.

You might try an auto auction.  You can get a newer car for a whole lot less, because they are repo's.  A guy I work with swears by them.

I thought about that, but frankly I'm not sure how to find all these car/storage locker/school machinery etc auctions.

Is it safe to assume you have tried Craigslist for your area?  I cruise it regularly and find nice looking older vehicles frequently.  After the research I have done I would avoid the Ford Explorer and the early years Subaru Forester.

I've looked around on CL but didn't really know what make/model/years were especially known for being bulletproof.

If you can stretch the cash a bit, the Nissan Frontier Crew Cab of 2000-2004 vintage would accommodate your needs out to 2 kids & a dog.  Older Frontiers (1998-1999) & Hardbodies (1985.5-1997) are also great trucks, but did not have the full, 4-door Crew Cab option.  Outside of the Ford Ranger, the 2004 Nissan Frontier was the last true compact pickup.

I was very happy with my 1997 Nissan King (Ext) Cab.  Got 180K miles with it until totaled out in a wreck.  Original I-4 engine, 5-sp manual tranny, & clutch.  Replaced the radiator after a sledgehammer mechanic broke the top tank, replaced the valve cover gasket, got leaves in the evaporator once.  Other than that, I spent on general maintenance.

Kids & extended cab compact pickups used to go together like peas & carrots, but can be a pain with the new booster seat requirements.

Another option is a 1970s-1990s Ford F150 with an extended cab.  The older blocky bodies.  The seat in the back is a forward-facing bench, so booster-seat friendly.  The base I-6 is known for torque and longevity and the 302 and 351 V-8s are known quantities.

Good luck.

Interesting. I've been wanting a truck for a while just for the utility aspect.

Used Scions can be a good deal.

Our current car is a Scion. :) I love that little toaster.

Where are ya?

WA state.

I had to run before I could finish posting.

The cherokee XJ was pretty consistent for what, 20 years?  Alot of the parts are interchangable among the years, you can hit the junkyard and get pretty much anything.
The 4cyl was okay. Slow, but reliable. 
The I6 is a workhorse.  Getting behind the block for working back there is a little bit of a contortionist act, but there isn't much behind the block.  They have been known to run hot, so care and maintenece of the cooling system is a must.
Many of the parts for the engines are even interchangable between the Cherokee/Grand Cherokee/Wrangler.  If you get one that fits your price range, you'll certainly want to be a junkyard hero.  The beautiful part is that there were so many of them built that you'll be able to find parts almost anywhere.
Gas mileage for a well maintained I6 should be in the 15c/20h range with stock sized tires. 
Shadetree mechanic ability of the XJ is high.  If you can't figure it out yourself, any mechanic should be able to work on it.  Very little computerized, especially when you start going back into the mid 90's and earlier. 

Interesting as well. :)



Thank for the input everyone, good to have a baseline to work off of.