Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
A Jaguar? You can't be serious. Jaguars have perhaps the longest uninterrupted history of building unreliable cars. I don't think they ever figured it out. That is to be expected of course, being next door to Triumph and MG.
A Jaguar? You can't be serious. Jaguars have perhaps the longest uninterrupted history of building unreliable cars. I don't think they ever figured it out. That is to be expected of course, being next door to Triumph and MG.
Yeah, but the Duratec engine is good, but that is it for reliable Have.
I like the big car recommendations here, but if you're mostly zipping around town, go small. There is WAY more difference in cost from 15mpg that you got to 22mpg+ or so even if you don't get out on the highway. You'll feel a huge difference in budget each month. Many big cars won't be able to do that because of their weight. They do well on the highway, but the extra poundage hurts in town.
Back in ~2004.5, I traded my beloved F150 for a commuter. Used 2001 Ford Focus with 19k at 7,900, or, next to it, a 2000 Civic with 44k for 11,900. The reason I remember these numbers is the mistake I made. Don't get me wrong, at what the Focus was meant to do (sip gas) it was excellent, but it was made from cardboard and duct-tape. Fuel-pumps failed, the rear windows would just drop in the doors when the nylon door parts broke, the mirrors didn't fold so my wife scraped them off on the garage, and the sidewalls blew out of the tires. I put 130k miles on it at 35+ mpg, but boy was that a long four years. I'm sure they're better now, but when I get one as a rental I still wince.
Second the Corolla rec. They're more boring than Civics or most Kias, but will NOT fail. Here's my best bet, look for a Pontiac Vibe from 2001-2007 or so. It will fit in your budget, has five seatbelts, has enough cargo space that if you want to move a chair or stuff from Pottery Barn you don't have to pay delivery, and the best part? Underneath the Pontiac badges it's really a Toyota Matrix! This cuts the price by at least 25%. However, if you find a good Matrix it's also a good deal. The Matrix/Vibe is a Corolla with a wagon body. Still Corolla reliability and mileage, plus more usefulness. Also, generally a good price since ppl looking for Corollas tend to ignore them. My sister in law bought one to replace the Camry she couldn't afford, it has about a hundred thousand miles, but does almost anything and costs nothing to own.
Best of luck! For full disclosure, I now own two Hondas. The paid-off one is a 2001 and costs me only gas/insurance.
Very interesting info on the Pontiac Vibe. I'd love to have space for the modular kayak I want to buy - don't think it would fit in my Corolla. Maybe my next car will be a Pontiac that is secretly a Toyota.
Jaguar XJ from early 2000s, with 3.0 V6, and ONLY with that one.
A friend of mine worked on Jags and Land Rovers back then. He said it was common for Jag owners to drop $4,000 or more a year on keeping their cars on the road. Not specifically or exclusively that model, but at that time there weren't a whole lot of people bringing in old E-Types or XJS's. The sedans (or should I say, saloons) made up the bulk of customer cars. Jag is a niche car for people who are looking specifically for that car who can either afford the upkeep and/or endure the ownership or chance it on being lucky - not grandmothers looking for inexpensive transportation.
Toyota Camry is not a good used car price wise. It holds its resale value.
For example in Summer 2005 I had a 1996 Camry with 48K miles and my wife a 1998 Mercury Sable with 24K miles. My wife got a new SUV and I had to sell ithe the Camry or Sable.
Both at time was worth 5k. My wife was suprised I sold Camry. But I explained Camry is 9 years old and Sable is 7 years old and Camry has double the milage makes no sense to keep the Camry.
Sadly in Summer 2008 a lady t-boned the Sable with only 30K on odometer but it ran fine till them.
The Camry, my neighbor drove it til 85K and his daughter then drove it to 4 years of colllege to 110k and my neighbor got it back when his daughter moved to city and drove it to 120K and then in 2012 in got totalled in Sandy.
I really was hoping to see if picking the Sable was the smart Idea but both cars got totaled out.
However, the sable was much much cheaper to fix and had a higher accident safety rating nad considered I got tboned at 60 mph by a SUV and walked away my wife thinks I made the right choice.
A friend of mine worked on Jags and Land Rovers back then. He said it was common for Jag owners to drop $4,000 or more a year on keeping their cars on the road. Not specifically or exclusively that model, but at that time there weren't a whole lot of people bringing in old E-Types or XJS's. The sedans (or should I say, saloons) made up the bulk of customer cars. Jag is a niche car for people who are looking specifically for that car who can either afford the upkeep and/or endure the ownership or chance it on being lucky - not grandmothers looking for inexpensive transportation.
A jaguar 12 cylinder is 3k for a tune up and a Mercedes SL is 1k for a tune up. BMW 7 series the 50 or 60K maint is 3k.
People forget you can drive a Jaguar or BMW or Mercedes and it could NEVER BREAK and still cost you triple at dealership than a plain old chevy that does break a lot.
Run Flat tires, headlamps that are hard to reach, batteries under seats omg
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
