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I think my bearing is going out of my engine. I have a 96 Mercury Villager van with a Nissan engine. I was hoping it would last forever (I love my coffee stained, fast food, kid hauling, paid off, runs like a charm vehicle). It will have to be buried soon (I am guessing) at around 200K Mi. It's sounding a little "hydraulically" now, and yes..there is oil in the engine...plenty of it..though it does leak because of a rusty oil pan. It's a former northern car!
I don't want to do a bunch of payments. I drive a long commute to work and have a family to haul around (needs to seat 5).
If my trusty van dies tomorrow, what is a good, safe, reliable used vehicle? I really want a model around 3-4 years old with around 30K miles (unless I can get a heck of a deal with a new vehicle with low interest rates) I do not care if foreign or domestic...They are all pieced together from all over the world anyway. I do want good gas mileage like around 28-30 on the highway, but for a great price to offset the price of gas for it, I would maybe consider another minivan.
My wish list would include Volvo or Saab, but I'll come back to my price bracket and wake up from dreamland! I've heard Kia is getting somewhat respectable. I've always like Ford. I have a friend that loves a Honda and recommends it, though I find it boring. I hate Chevrolet so please don't anyone suggest it. They look "plasticy" and cheap on the inside and from my last glance, they are not anything that people brag about. Nissan is great from a safety standard and looks nice. My brother drives a Hyundi Elantra and loves it. My problem...there's too much to pick from...the endless ads in newspapers and things online are too much to take. I get crazy and quit looking. I don't want to get stuck having to quick pick something on sale or whatever.
Saabs aren't that great and they are a subsidiary of GM, which you said you hated. Volvos (new ones) aren't that great either. I suggest a Honda Accord or Odyssey, or anything by toyota
You can find them in great condition under $10K. Spend some time looking around at the smaller lots that are buying and selling at the local auctions frequently. I recently purchased a 2001 Accord for my younger brother and ended up at $7000 for it.
Oil Changes, filters, timing belts, tranmission flushes, and a cv joint or two will be all you will need on these for a couple hundred thousand miles at least.
but yea you should def. check out some used sedans/minivans from the "Big 3" (honda, toyota, nissan). they have a good line-up of vehicles in minivans and sedans and will most likely last way longer than you expect with proper yet minimal maintenance. they might be tad more expensive than the average Ford P.O.S. windstar but trust me, its well worth the extra 300. gl!!
I think my bearing is going out of my engine. I have a 96 Mercury Villager van with a Nissan engine. I was hoping it would last forever (I love my coffee stained, fast food, kid hauling, paid off, runs like a charm vehicle). It will have to be buried soon (I am guessing) at around 200K Mi. It's sounding a little "hydraulically" now, and yes..there is oil in the engine...plenty of it..though it does leak because of a rusty oil pan. It's a former northern car!
I don't want to do a bunch of payments. I drive a long commute to work and have a family to haul around (needs to seat 5).
If my trusty van dies tomorrow, what is a good, safe, reliable used vehicle? I really want a model around 3-4 years old with around 30K miles (unless I can get a heck of a deal with a new vehicle with low interest rates) I do not care if foreign or domestic...They are all pieced together from all over the world anyway. I do want good gas mileage like around 28-30 on the highway, but for a great price to offset the price of gas for it, I would maybe consider another minivan.
My wish list would include Volvo or Saab, but I'll come back to my price bracket and wake up from dreamland! I've heard Kia is getting somewhat respectable. I've always like Ford. I have a friend that loves a Honda and recommends it, though I find it boring. I hate Chevrolet so please don't anyone suggest it. They look "plasticy" and cheap on the inside and from my last glance, they are not anything that people brag about. Nissan is great from a safety standard and looks nice. My brother drives a Hyundi Elantra and loves it. My problem...there's too much to pick from...the endless ads in newspapers and things online are too much to take. I get crazy and quit looking. I don't want to get stuck having to quick pick something on sale or whatever.
I appreciate the feedback.
WTF? A Mercury Van with a Nissan engine? How'd you manage that? Anyway, you say that there is too much to choose from but that is a good thing. That works in your favor. There are a lot of good deals to be had right now for prospective buyers so all you have to do is find a vehicle that will meet all your needs. You can check reliability and other ratings of vehicles buy buying a Consumer Reports magazine or something similiar.
look at a jeep liberty.
I Put 80k miles on one and than gave it to my GF to drive, in the 4 years we've owned it, it has had ZERO problems, routine maintenance only.
22mpg was the best it saw. 18mpg was more of the average...
MAZDA PROTEGE, HONDA ACCORD, HONDA CIVIC. With the honda's....look for the 1991-1993 models with about 100K to 120K miles......usually go for 1500-3000 dollars. If you find one that has been propertly maintained, it will be love at first sight. I had a 91 honda accord I purchased as a daily driver...it had only 100K miles and it was such a smooth and pleasant ride. Highly recommended !
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I do not care if foreign or domestic...They are all pieced together from all over the world anyway. I do want good gas mileage like around 28-30 on the highway, but for a great price to offset the price of gas for it, I would maybe consider another minivan. 
il be the first to say
