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Many were giveaways... the cars had trouble or had sat too long and the people just wanted to get ride of them.
I still own the $800 car I bought in school so many years ago... same engine and transmission and nearing 300k miles... it is a 1972 Plymouth Valiant...
In other words it is a simple car... very easy to work on and parts are dirt cheap...
Water Pumps last about 80,000 miles and the last one cost $26
Brake pads and shoes cost almost nothing... last set of pads cost $12.
My biggest expense and the only time my car left me stranded was the timing chain... less than $40 for parts and about 2 hours of my time.
Insurance is also cheap.
The only thing that isn't a bargain is gas mileage... but, not really a problem when work is 4 miles away.
Up until my States Cash for Clunkers... people would still offer me cars for free... most were older American Cars and many had V8 motors...
The last car I picked up is a 1976 BMW 2002 that was one owner... the car has sat in the garage for the last 9 years till I went with a trailer to bring it home... they thanked me for helping them with their car problem...
What would be a car for which parts are dirt cheap and also has good gas mileage as well?
Are early 90's Honda Civic parts expensive?
What would be a car for which parts are dirt cheap and also has good gas mileage as well?
Are early 90's Honda Civic parts expensive?
I would say it is hard to go wrong with a Toyota... not saying the others are bad.
An older Corolla would be a good bet... 41 mpg is the EPA on a 2001 Corolla.
I'm in California, so rust is not a problem... car bodies here last just about forever.
Grew up around the family car business... Toyota had the edge over Honda back when I was working there... part of the reason was there were so many Toyotas around back then. They seemed to take abuse a little better than Honda.
We never had to change a Head Gasket on a Toyota... we did on several of the Hondas with very high mileage.
A co-worker just got a heck of a deal on a Suzuki... resale has tanked since they are pulling out of North America... car is like new from an older driver... parts, will become harder to get or you might have to go online to find them in time with no Dealer support.
I have yet to have a car lease and don't care to have one ever! I had a 97 Honda Civic, it drove from A to Z then back again like I don't know HOW many times. The maintenance wasn't that big of a deal as well. However the person before me had a terrible accident and the people who put it back together did a terrible job so it kept falling apart. I would suggest that a person knows the history of the car before they buy it which is what I will be doing, do test drives, take it to a mechanic and have them look it over. My car was driving by these leased cars that broke down on the side of the road. I've had family members who leased cars have to pay the full amount of maintenance service even if the transimission needed to be changed, then they want you to pay for FULL insurance? Get out of here!
While it's not a form of "ownership" per se, if someone wants to have a car *available* for cheap, something like Zipcar *can* be very cost-effective for urbanistas who don't rack up many miles.
It wouldn't work for me, but it might work for some.
I would say it is hard to go wrong with a Toyota... not saying the others are bad.
An older Corolla would be a good bet... 41 mpg is the EPA on a 2001 Corolla.
I'm in California, so rust is not a problem... car bodies here last just about forever.
Grew up around the family car business... Toyota had the edge over Honda back when I was working there... part of the reason was there were so many Toyotas around back then. They seemed to take abuse a little better than Honda.
We never had to change a Head Gasket on a Toyota... we did on several of the Hondas with very high mileage.
A co-worker just got a heck of a deal on a Suzuki... resale has tanked since they are pulling out of North America... car is like new from an older driver... parts, will become harder to get or you might have to go online to find them in time with no Dealer support.
Thank you. I guess japanese cars have expensive parts? What models are old American cars that has decent to good gas mileage and doesn't cost an arm and leg to repair ?
We have local auction where drivable cars can be bought for several hundred bucks.
Keep insurance down to legal minimum, which is liability only and hit and run.
Tell insurance you are not driving more than 12 miles one way (15 is the deal breaking point).
Buy only early 90s Japan made cars.
Kill it.
Buy another one.
Well, before you kill it, change oil and ATF, maybe plugs and wires. That;s it. I had a beater like that, $250, 91 Civic, took me through 1 year of go anywhere, at 38mpg, and still drives my patient around. I gave her to him.
We have local auction where drivable cars can be bought for several hundred bucks.
Keep insurance down to legal minimum, which is liability only and hit and run.
Tell insurance you are not driving more than 12 miles one way (15 is the deal breaking point).
Buy only early 90s Japan made cars.
Kill it.
Buy another one.
Well, before you kill it, change oil and ATF, maybe plugs and wires. That;s it. I had a beater like that, $250, 91 Civic, took me through 1 year of go anywhere, at 38mpg, and still drives my patient around. I gave her to him.
How did you get it for so cheap?
So would buying an early 90s Civic be the best way?
Does it really not get out of order unlike American cars?
No. Your way could be cheap, but only if you know what you're doing. If you know what you're doing, you wouldn't narrow it down to a particular model. I don't think a 90's Civic is for you, nor is anything else that's 20 years old.
(BTW, the Accord is the Honda with the longevity, and nice non-abused, non-modified Accords are much easier to find than Civics. Used Accords are not much more expensive to purchase for the same year/similar mileage.)
For you, you should probably buy a 2-5 year old used domestic with 60,000 miles or less, take good care of it, do all the scheduled maintenance in your owner's manual (oil, filter, and fluid changes, spark plugs, inspections, adjustments, etc.), do all every minor repair (brakes, alternators, radiators, water pumps, etc.) as they come up, and drive it until the cost of a needed repair exceeds the approximate market value of the repaired vehicle.
The slightly used/drive it into the ground method is pretty much the least expensive way to do it over the long haul, as proven by the numbers time and time again. And cost-wise, it's better to avoid used Hondas and Toyotas because they retain resale value so well. (If you really want a Honda or Toyota, they're two exceptions it almost makes financial sense to purchase them new rather than used.)
Last edited by Thegonagle; 08-11-2013 at 02:29 AM..
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