Looking for a cheap DD/commuter car (1 Viewer)

[fjman]

I’m back to work and with the hotel opening back up in 2 months and salty roads ahead, I need to start shopping for a DD I don’t mind driving in the winter. It needs to get decent mpg ,20-ish plus ideally, under 6 ft tall so it will fit in the garage at work and not be super low since that won’t work in our garage either. Currently I can use the valet spot out front Until we reopen and I don’t want to go back to spending roughly $250/month on parking once we do.

Im flexible On make and model but don’t want to spend more than a couple grand. Doesn’t have to be mint condition of course but shouldn’t look like a total $hitbox! Reliable transportation!

 

[D21FJ60]

... but shouldn’t look like a total $hitbox!

And you're asking us? heh
Paruse FBMP never know what you can find there...

 

[94YotaGuy]

Your best bet is probably going to be a Corolla, Matrix, Camry, or Civic.
Something like this:

Toyota matrix XR - cars & trucks - by owner - vehicle automotive sale

Clean title and clean car fax, manuel transmission, New breaks, Good tires, Powerful engine and...

washingtondc.craigslist.org

 

[D21FJ60]

Or you could find something like this

1979 MGB LE for Sale - cars & trucks - by owner - vehicle automotive...

Black 1979 MGB Limited Edition for sale. Has new brakes, brake lines, fuel pump, and battery. Has...

baltimore.craigslist.org

dunno how that'd be in the winter though

 

[Stumpalama]

Subaru

 

[TTViper]

LS400 or LS430? For the budget they will be rough with a ton of miles, but you should be able to put a ton more miles on comfortably.

 

[rrc swb]

Subaru

True that!

They are safe, reliable, good on MPG...

 

[afgman786]

With that budget...

 

[OTRAMM]

It's not nice to use my Subaru in memes! If your commute is real short I've got a Subie with blown head gaskets I'll make a deal on

 

[D21FJ60]

With that budget...

Was it you whose parents had an avalon that needs to be sold? Or am I remembering incorrectly?

 

[L8Shift]

Not mine, I have no clue about this... but.. Good Luck on your search..

2010 SUBARU OUTBACK LTD - cars & trucks - by dealer - vehicle...

VERY CLEAN 2011 SUBARU OUTBACK LTD with 126k MILES Runs excellent,Looks BEAUTIFUL I offer...

washingtondc.craigslist.org

 

[afgman786]

Was it you whose parents had an avalon that needs to be sold? Or am I remembering incorrectly?

I did, but we ended up selling it a while back.

 

[1MOA]

I know a guy unloading a 2004 corolla with about 90k on it.

 

[Whiskerz]

Buy a stick shift Accord with a K engine. I sold mine at 404,000 miles. Was my daily commuter until last year. It is still running down the road as well.

 

[fjman]

Wow ! Lots of replies. Yeah I’m figuring it’ll probably be a civic, older Lexus, subaru, etc. mostly just seeing if anyone in the club was thinking about selling something It’s way cheaper to just own another car due to my parking situation at work.

@1MOA whats up with that corolla? Might fit the bill!

@OTRAMM sounds a little project-y!!!! The Cruiser and the Mas are a little high maintenance already!

 

[NearJetties]

Everyone loves their Subarus and I thought we’d love the mint 2007 outback we got with 30k....it was the worst. Never again.

Used it on weekends and road trips only. In the 50k miles we owned it:
-6 wheel bearings
-valve cover gaskets
-new front drive shaft
-$2k on suspension/bushings/joints/links
-rear half of exhaust was turning to dust (drove it in the salt and snow probably 5 times and always washed it afterwards)
-blew the power steering rack and almost fried the pump
-felt like the trans was going to go
-had unsolvable heat shield rattles
-2 sets of tires

cosmetically it still looked great though.
It was a non-turbo so it wasn’t even fun . We even did a PPI.

get a Honda or Toyota and some snow tires if you need em. Or listen to the car wizard:

 

[fjman]

Everyone loves their Subarus and I thought we’d love the mint 2007 outback we got with 30k....it was the worst. Never again.

Used it on weekends and road trips only. In the 50k miles we owned it:
-6 wheel bearings
-valve cover gaskets
-new front drive shaft
-$2k on suspension/bushings/joints/links
-rear half of exhaust was turning to dust (drove it in the salt and snow probably 5 times and always washed it afterwards)
-blew the power steering rack and almost fried the pump
-felt like the trans was going to go
-had unsolvable heat shield rattles
-2 sets of tires

cosmetically it still looked great though.
It was a non-turbo so it wasn’t even fun . We even did a PPI.

get a Honda or Toyota and some snow tires if you need em. Or listen to the car wizard:

Yeah I feel like Subaru’s and VWs fall into the same category if being 50/50 super reliable vs money pit. Totally different outcomes between owners.

 

[afgman786]

I was on autotrader yesterday for giggles. There's an LS400 for a couple grand and LS430 available for a few

 

[ace10]

Honda Fit.

 

[1MOA]

Everyone loves their Subarus and I thought we’d love the mint 2007 outback we got with 30k....it was the worst. Never again.

Used it on weekends and road trips only. In the 50k miles we owned it:
-6 wheel bearings
-valve cover gaskets
-new front drive shaft
-$2k on suspension/bushings/joints/links
-rear half of exhaust was turning to dust (drove it in the salt and snow probably 5 times and always washed it afterwards)
-blew the power steering rack and almost fried the pump
-felt like the trans was going to go
-had unsolvable heat shield rattles
-2 sets of tires

cosmetically it still looked great though.
It was a non-turbo so it wasn’t even fun . We even did a PPI.

get a Honda or Toyota and some snow tires if you need em. Or listen to the car wizard:

Neighbor has a Subaru Forester. Base gasket blew at 50K. The exhaust system is bone stock and rattles terribly as well.