| Girlfriends car. $8k budget, 2 door, newer than 2000, suggestions? - Click HERE for Original Thread |
| Stainless |
My girlfriend has $8000 to spend on a car, and she is enlisting my help. I'd just as soon have her buy a Rx-7, but she want's something reliable, and newer than 2000 :rolleyes:
She is looking at a few Olds Aleros, but the research I did shows a lot of electrical problems.
My question is this... For $8000, what is the all-around 2-door that is newer than 2000. All input is welcome, as long as the cars meet those three criteria. |
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| Jord@n |
Ford Focus
Chevrolet Cavalier
Pontiac Sunfire
Your options are limited if you are specifically looking for 2000 or newer.
:dunno: |
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| GT34 |
quote:
Originally posted by Jord@n
Ford Focus
Chevrolet Cavalier
Pontiac Sunfire
Your options are limited if you are specifically looking for 2000 or newer.
You could not be more wrong. There's lots of cars out there for 8k! I would try and sway her away from the idea of sticking to a car that's 2000 or younger and try to focus on the milage depending on the vehicle. But check the autotrader's website and it'll help you narrow down your picks. Lot's of alero's for sale.
To name a few veh for under 8k:
-Toyota corolla
-Chev malibu
-Hyundai accent/spectra
-Kia rio
-Pontiac grand am
-Saturn sc1/sc2/sL1/sL2
-Ford taurus
-Mercury cougar
And it shouldn't be a problem finding something under or around the 100k mark. |
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| TrevorK |
quote:
Originally posted by Stainless
My girlfriend has $8000 to spend on a car, and she is enlisting my help. I'd just as soon have her buy a Rx-7, but she want's something reliable, and newer than 2000 :rolleyes:
She is looking at a few Olds Aleros, but the research I did shows a lot of electrical problems.
My question is this... For $8000, what is the all-around 2-door that is newer than 2000. All input is welcome, as long as the cars meet those three criteria.
Girls seem to like Sunfire and Cavaliers (2 door versions of course), so why not see if she likes those? There are also the 2 door Saturn Coupes (Well, the 3 door ones technically) in her price range.
With a Sunfire/Cavalier you're getting a car that will be just as reliable as any other, when maintained properly. |
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| fatbastard |
I'll preach this till I fuckign die.
I had a 1992 Colt (before I did the first 4G63 swap into it) that had the 12 valve mitsubishi 1.5L 4G15 in it.
That thing lasted forever. It got awesome gas mileage, I went from international airport to calgary and back again on one tank of fuel. It was easier than hell to work on, and with some suspension in it, was fun to drive.
Actually, the car is Cody's pumpkin colt before a friend got ahold of it and painted it. I loved that damn car. http://www.nacdsm.org/gallery/v/album10/album17/ |
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| Fish_e_o |
personally i love the focus....
but thats just me... i would definetly drive one everyday.. |
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| Bad Egg |
Can you sneak a Tiburon into that list for that price? It seems to fit what she is looking for, I am not overly familiar with their pricing, though.
I would personally forget age and go with condition, because I have seen year old lease returns that were in far worse shape than most 10 year old cars, but it is her decision. |
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| Don_the_dragon |
| I think either a Focus, cavalier, 2.0SX, Corolla, or Civic. :dunno: |
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| dtjohnst |
quote:
Originally posted by TrevorK
Girls seem to like Sunfire and Cavaliers (2 door versions of course), so why not see if she likes those? There are also the 2 door Saturn Coupes (Well, the 3 door ones technically) in her price range.
With a Sunfire/Cavalier you're getting a car that will be just as reliable as any other, when maintained properly.
I can vote for the sunfire, largely because maintenance doesn't seem to matter. Don't yell, hear me out first.
My first car was a 98 Sunfire with 28,000kms on it. Purred like a kitten. I was young and foolish and had a few accidents where it was almost written off. By the time I traded it in, it had over 240,000km and still purred like a kitten despite the fact that in the whole time I had it, it received no more than 5 oil changes (I really don't like sunfires, so I didn't care about it).
It always started (and these were cold Manitoba winters), it never left me on the side of the road (except with flat tires from hitting things), and it passed the OOP here with flying colours despite everything it had been through.
IMO, you can't kill a sunfire. In all fairness, it should've been falling apart, but it was in PERFECT shape. If you don't hate the styling (which I did), they're hard to beat. |
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| SilverNeonRacer |
quote:
Originally posted by dtjohnst
I can vote for the sunfire, largely because maintenance doesn't seem to matter. Don't yell, hear me out first.
My first car was a 98 Sunfire with 28,000kms on it. Purred like a kitten. I was young and foolish and had a few accidents where it was almost written off. By the time I traded it in, it had over 240,000km and still purred like a kitten despite the fact that in the whole time I had it, it received no more than 5 oil changes (I really don't like sunfires, so I didn't care about it).
It always started (and these were cold Manitoba winters), it never left me on the side of the road (except with flat tires from hitting things), and it passed the OOP here with flying colours despite everything it had been through.
IMO, you can't kill a sunfire. In all fairness, it should've been falling apart, but it was in PERFECT shape. If you don't hate the styling (which I did), they're hard to beat.
My wife got a cavalier brand new, before the warranty ended she went though:
All 4 wheel bearings, some twice
Power steering rack
power steering pump
Clutch slave cylinder
2 clutches, and she knows how to drive a standard.
Now really it wasn't that bad of a car, I found it very stable on the highway in the winter, better than my neons, maybe even my fifth ave. Not quite as good as my mini 4x4 truck.
Milage was decent.
All I can say if it's a J-body she's looking at get it inspected before you buy, for a period there they where the worst vehicles you could buy used. |
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| newtuner |
| I have a '95 sunfire with engine problems and I would have to say stay clear of the sunfire/ cavis. Nice cars if they have been taken care of very well. Most others will start to die around 100k. I put way too much money into mine just to keep it running. I'm not sure what a good car would be, but I wouldn't buy a sunfire with more then 120ks on it. good luck with the search. |
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| silvermist |
| I say focus. it is roomy and is easy to drive. my only problem has been the car is a little light for winter but I'm sure a good set of winter tires will fix that. |
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| cally |
| Try a hyundai elantra the resale value is not the best, but the company's reliablity on thier cars have been good in recent years, even rivals the good old corolla. |
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| dtjohnst |
Damn, sounds like I just got lucky.
What about Kia? Is there anything in the price range? I have a few friends with Kia's who sear by them. |
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| TrevorK |
quote:
Originally posted by dtjohnst
Damn, sounds like I just got lucky.
Considering that the JBody platform (When you take the Sunfire + Cavalier together) outsold the Civic for many years, I'd say it's normal to have some people who have problems.
The sheer number of older JBody's on the road speak for themselves; the car is obviously reliable. If not, why would people be driving a 10+ year old car? |
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| Jord@n |
quote:
Originally posted by TrevorK
Considering that the JBody platform (When you take the Sunfire + Cavalier together) outsold the Civic for many years, I'd say it's normal to have some people who have problems.
The sheer number of older JBody's on the road speak for themselves; the car is obviously reliable. If not, why would people be driving a 10+ year old car?
Cause' it's cheap. :p |
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| SilverNeonRacer |
quote:
Originally posted by Jord@n
Cause' it's cheap. :p
Any with the amount of them still out there parts are relativly still cheap.
I'd still be driving my diesel D50 if parts where cheap. |
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| Stainless |
Thanks for all the feedback. I may have her sold on a Focus ZX3. It's an auto, but should still be a bit fun if I ever have to drive it.
She likes the look of Cavalier coupes, but I'm wary of GM products in that year range. |
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| gab |
| mabey check with import car recyclers? i bet there are some wicked deals right now!!! |
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| GT34 |
quote:
Originally posted by gab
mabey check with import car recyclers? i bet there are some wicked deals right now!!!
:lol: :lol: :lol: :thumbup: |
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| beeb |
| i just sold my 2000 ford ranger stepside with 77K for 8g's |
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