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I travel quite frequently for work and therefore drive to the airport and leave my car there pretty often. I'd rather not do this with my nicer daily driver, as I don't want it siting out in the weather and airport parking lot getting door dings and suitcase scrapes all the time.
Its about a 60 mile trek roundtrip, once a week, mostly highway.
What used car would you all suggest? I'm looking for something that is...
- Reliable (would like to keep it for years and just need to do regular basic maintenance)
- Safe (don't want some tiny econobox thats going to get me killed on the highway)
- Cheap (hopefully under $5000 to buy and not expensive to maintain)
- Not a junked out beater (don't want something with busted seats, cigarette smell, no air conditioning, etc)
Other than that, I don't really care what it is. A minivan, pickup truck, coupe, heck... ugly as a Pontiac Aztek is fine.
Location: San Ramon, Seattle, Anchorage, Reykjavik
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Interesting. I parked at the airport every week for 25 years. Drove the nicest car I had every single time. Given my work and travel schedule, I always wanted the best car waiting for me to enjoy during the very limited time I had at home. I parked my Mercedes S500, my Audi RS6, whatever, and always looked forward to hitting the ground. Never worried about the car and never had a single problem.
Get a large truck or SUV. Since it's only once 60 miles a week the gas mileage won't matter, and it will be cheaper and you would get utility over your daily driver which I assume is a car
This is the same question asked multiple times here. And there are multiple answers.
Again, it is not the brand of used car but the condition and mileage. Any brand will do.
Some key features are: Stick to 4 cylinders. Lower maintenance costs and better fuel economy. Find a used one owner car with records. Avoid a used multiple owner car. Find one with maintenance records if possible. Rust is an issue up North while sun damage is an issue down South. A car that was garaged is best.
A low miles on odometer older car is better then a high miles newer car. But that is debated endlessly here.
If you have a grandfather or grandmother who has a car - buy that one when they trade or sell.
An airport car? Thats a new one on me! For the money it would take to just satisfy the "reliable" portion of this equation I cannot believe it would be financially worth it.
That said, I would say the "perfect" car for parking in an environment where it will receive a lot of body hits is either a Saturn Ion or Vue. They have plastic bodies... they won't "ding." If you want reliable, find a mid 2000's Vue with the Honda 3.5L V6 under the hood. No dings and it will run forever. (Plus, you can use it to haul things you want to keep out of your DD)
A car service would be the least expensive in the long run.
Insuring and paying for a parking spot for a weekly Airport trip makes no sense.
But if you absolutely need that second vehicle than a pickup truck is your best bet.
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