My brother is looking for his first car. Down side is he's looking in the sub-$1000 range.
I came across a 1993 Mazda 626 while I was out this evening for $600. It looked real clean. I called about it. I was told that it's a 4cyl/5sp with 290K miles. It was getting dark so I'm going to test drive it tomorrow. Any experience with these? Is this thing already past it's life expectancy?
Any recommendations on cheap cars to look for?
I have no experience with Mazdas so I will not be much help there, but I do have another suggestion for a cheap car!
You might want to look for a 1st gen acura intergra(86-89). I buy a new beater every winter to daily drive, and twos winters ago I bought a 89 integra with 220K on it. The car was not well maintained when I had bought it, and most likely had a rough life. I did a tune up and drove that thing for another 10K before I sold it. The car costs me $750 and ran like a top, it also got 35mpg. I really liked that little car, I was surprised how well it handled stock and I was almost temped to keep it and turn it into an AutoX beater.
I bet for $1000 you could buy a pretty clean one these days!
-Josh
H'lo! The 626 isn't bad at all for $600, but definitely look at the normal wear stuff. If it's had regular oil changes and belt maintenance, it'll be a keeper. The v6, on the other hand...that can be a challenge, but if you're up for it, it can be a screamer. Think Miata with a sideways engine, and you'll be close. Real close to some of the English Escorts, too. Really satisfying as a sleeper. Mike
