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At that price level the brand and model is almost immaterial. You're looking for a well cared for,
well maintained, survivor of years and (likely) multiple owners.
Exactly, I had a 1998 explorer 5.0 AWD with 225k miles. Still ran strong, torque monster headers, rebuilt A/C, Michelin tires less than 2 years old. I had taken professional pictures of it myself and detailed it. Plus had complete maintenance history going back to 1998. I had it so the buyer could download the scanned maintenance history and see everything done.
I had no less than 10 calls and 20 text in the first day, and im in a very rural area.
If OP can find a car like that well, he better jump on it because it was a sellers market. I got top dollar for that explorer.
We are searching car in Nevada and California. i mean ... people says about lower lower price here compared to
east states, with bad weather and higher prices/
I bought a 1998 Audi last year with 159K for under $2k and it had all the maintenance records since new. We have put over 20K trouble free miles on it. One of the best cars I have ever purchased. I know Audi is a hit or miss but I have zero complaints and I have not put a penny into the car.
Not the Chrysler Sebring! (Tried the same thing - needed less than $3k car for a very short commute and it was a disaster. It was one thing after another with that car despite it seemingly being very clean and well cared for and only 80k miles.)
Hi ! My friends want to buy a car under $2000 for traveling
, what advice you will give, what can be reliable for 10k miles ? Thank you
guys, please with no trolling
P.S. there some ideas from craiglist:
mercury sable 2000 / buick century 2003 / honda Odyssey 2002 / isuzu 1998
Mercury Grand Marquis 1999 / Chrysler Sebring 2003 / Ford Taurus 2006 / Pontiac ... ?
what car from this list most reliable for long trip ? Or ...toyota camry but not to much good for this price
IMO when looking for an older car reading the seller is just as important as reading the car. For example, one owner car being sold by retired person or recently retired person with all maintenance records. VS car with multiple owners especially in different states with no maintenance records whatsoever. I would go with the first car even if it had higher mileage.
Another thing to consider when looking at older Japanese cars especially Honda or Toyota is to ask "does this car have a timing belt, or a timing chain".? If the owner doesn't know the answer that is probably a red flag. Cars that use a timing belt have to have those belts changed at specific intervals. Could be 50k or 100k I don't know, but that info is probably in the owners manual.
Changing a timing belt can be fairly expensive and probably starts at a minimum of $500. If the car has a timing belt and the owner doesn't know when or if it has been changed I would deduct the dollar amount it would take to replace the belt from the selling price. If they don't agree I would walk away since a timing belt failure can possibly ruin the whole engine.
Timing chains are designed to last the entire life of the engine so I wouldn't worry about chains too much. Most American cars use chains and that is one big advantage they have IMO over older Japanese cars.
Also, in my area at least the junk yards have more American cars vs foreign cars, so finding used parts should be easier and cheaper.
There used to be a rule about buying an inexpensive reliable vehicle - buy a big four door American sedan that was owned by a retiree. Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis, Buick LeSabre, etc. These cars were lightly used, usually well maintained, easy to repair, parts were relatively cheap, and (being a grandma/grandpa mobile) were usually the lowest priced vehicle, as compared to other vehicles like trucks, suvs, coupes, sporty cars, etc.
But it's been a while - does anyone still think that the grampa-mobile rule still applies?
Location: San Ramon, Seattle, Anchorage, Reykjavik
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At that price point for a car you need to depend on for traveling I would get a Toyota Corolla, Honda Accord, or a Honda Civic. I would buy at the $1500 price point and spend $500 on a check up, tires, brakes, tuneup, etc. Should be good to go.
For example, one owner car being sold by retired person or recently retired person with all maintenance records. VS car with multiple owners especially in different states with no maintenance records whatsoever. I would go with the first car even if it had higher mileage.
yeah, but there is not so many grandma's buick and mercury in craigslist in a pretty good condition/
i like Lesabre, pretty cool stuff, like from 90's tv shows with fox malder and dana scully ))
For $2000 there is almost nothing on Craigslist that won't need repairs for going 10,000 miles. I wouldn't recommend anything on your list. My best recommendation: Add another $1000 (=$3000 private sale) and buy an approximately 2005 Scion xA (a Toyota in every sense) with approximately 100,000 miles or less. Very reliable car with excellent reviews. Fold down the back seat and you have a lot of storage space for a long road trip. Automatic is best.
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Thank you
