Used car recommdation

My Pontiac Sunfire decided it had enough the other night. Looks to be a timing chain issue and with 185000 miles on it, the cost to repair probably exceeds the cars value. I commute 100 miles to and from work. What's worked well for everyone and what should I stay away from?

 

Given your drive, I'd be looking for a VW diesel. I have never had one, but they are great commuters from what I hear. If you do a lot of stop and go, a hybrid would maybe serve you better. With current gas prices, they are selling at a significant discount from what they once were.

I drive a 2005 Ford Focus and a 2000 Mazda Protege, and both are serving me well. They both average 30-32 mpg. I think the newer Focuses might do a little better than that.

Greg

 

I think any Civic or Focus would be good. I'd be looking for vehicles in the under $5,000 range with great mileage. A Focus probably depreciates faster than Japanese or VW, so you could get lower miles.

 

Toyota Corolla, we've had 2 now for the wife and they have been bullet proof. Great mileage, normal service and they just keep running and running..............................

 

had a Toyota Camry for a loaner, for 4 months, while they fixed the frame on my Tacoma. 31 + mpg avg and comfortable.

 

Toyota/Honda

 

I have a trusted mechanic who does my repairs, He told me to look for Toyota. He said they are the ones that spend the least time going in for repairs. With that kind of driving mileage, I would be going for one that is nearly new. My car isn't a Toyota but the last new car I bought, I got the manufactures 's extended warranty that is "anything mechanical" for a long as I own the car. Big bucks for that, but it is starting to pay off.

 

My dad drove his old 92 Civic until it hit 260,000 miles and then the engine died. (Dad's bad about maintenance, and probably changed the oil once a year even though he'll put 25k miles on car in that amount of time). He found a used engine/tranny, had it put in, and drove the car another 90k or so until that engine died. He drives the actual speed limit on the highway, and consistently got 45mpg.

But that car died when gas was about at it's peak, and Civic were commanding outrageous prices. He eventually found a pretty nice Accord cheaper than he could a Civic. It doesn't get as great as mileage, but it's holding up pretty well still.

I'd be looking for any smaller Honda or Toyota, maybe even a Nissan. Some of the smaller Fords like the Focus or Escort seemed to last a long time, but I think those are fewer and further between than a car from the Japanese "Big Three".

 

My buddy just bought a civic, has 250000 miles on it and ruins better than it looks, with lots of life left in it, on top of that he claims parts are cheap and extremely easy to work on, it's an older car and has it's ticks, but when your getting 35+mpg is hard to complain

 

Another Honda/Toyota vote. Had plenty of success with several of them going over 100,000 miles-fiancé drives a 2002 Camry with 160,000 miles-no repairs besides tires, etc. Only on 2nd battery, no radiator, alternator, or exhaust work.

 

There are a few rebadged 'yotas out there too. Geo made one years ago...and the Pontiac vibe is really a toyota....for less $.

 

Being in ND, you maybe have slick roads sometimes. I was impressed with the handling of my old Subaru Forrester (full time AWD), but the AWD takes a toll on mileage - it averaged 26 MPG hwy/city but I drove it hard. It started leaking at 260,000 miles so I had to let it go. It needed the drive shaft replaced while I had it.

 

I agree with Bushpilot. VW diesel. I have known guys that go 120 miles round trip to and from work. They the VW TDI and say pretty economical. Lukem makes a good point on the rebadged products. Usually, same vehicle, different name. Could save some money there too

 

Nearly half the home care nurses around here own Subaru's for that very reason. No fun getting stuck in poor traveling conditions. They used to have a history of being rust buckets, but now seem to have overcome that.

 

We are on our second VW Jetta in 13 years. bought used.
1999 tdi 5 speed. went 200,000 miles. then was taken over by rust. 38 mpg was the worst mpg. usually around 50 mpg.
current. 2006 tdi tiptronic (6 speed dual clutch automatic). has 192,000 and still running strong. these are smooth, tight cars. worst mpg is 42 city. averages 48.
drove it to SC, this spring. averaged 51 mpg for the entire trip. 1300 miles, 26 gallons. (2 full tanks)

the level of engineering in the 2006 is better than the new models of the last 3 years.
my next one will be a Passat tdi. (still engineered in Germany)
Known to get over 50 mpg regularly. And a very nice car.

 

We have a 2000 Toyota Camry here, 228+ thousand miles, still going strong.. +1 on Toyota or Honda.

 

great cars!

 

Thanks. Always been a fan of the VW TDIs, excellently crafted german automobiles.

 

yes
they started building the jetta in mexico to compete with Toyota corolla