saturn!
saturn!
Haha, that's hilarious, I was going to suggest that myself. I've started noticing the clean ones around town, and they're not half bad...
I like Nissans. They are usually a bit cheaper than Hondas and depending on the model you may not have to worry about a timing belt.
There are two local G20's for under $1000. One even has AC.
poopshovel wrote: Like I said, I'm not claiming to be a damned expert (hence, the "ask the toyota guys,") I've just had a couple of friends who had the problem. The first was from a co-worker (who probably DIDN'T change the oil at the recommended interval) with a newer corolla. The second was my retired next-door-neighbor Bob who's freaking psycho about keeping all his E36 M3 in order, and had receipts for every oil change...performed AT the stealership. Anyway, apparently it was common enough problem that Toyota sez: "To make sure that customers have absolute confidence in their vehicles, this program will cover repair costs and incidental expenses for which a customer has paid or could incur as a result of damage due to oil gelling for a period of eight years from the date of first sale or lease without a mileage limitation. In addition to the costs of repairs, reasonable incidental expenses, such as car rental, and other out-of-pocket expenses will be covered." I didn't say "DON'T BUY A TOYOTA, THEY'RE PIECES OF E36 M3!!!" Just that I'd be leary, especially in the sub $1,500 range.
Oh i know.... i wasn't attacking you, i'm sorry if it came off that way. I'm just saying that the amount of cars that TRULY sludged through no fault of the upkeep, i'm sure has been WAY inflated on this issue. I've had 4 5sfe-powered cars, and never once had a problem with them. They're completely bulletproof.
I just find it funny the models that they're including in there....
Leaving out the early 90s celicas. The n/a MR2s. Glossing over the fact that the early Camrys with the 3sfe is the same motor, just with 0.2 less displacement, the 3sgte is the same platform, so on and so forth. But why do these particular years have a problem? No one has been able to explain that.
I honestly think Toyota just wanted to avoid an uproar on this one. Same thing when they were replacing old-ass Tacomas for rust.
And regardless.... i don't think he's going to find a car in the $1000 range that is actually on the "Beware Of Sludge" list.... They hold their value too well.
In the older Toyotas powered by the "sludge motors" if they're in his price range, and haven't blown up yet, then they WON'T blow up.
The 5S-FE in my old '90 Celica had over 340 000 km on it when I sold it and still ran perfectly. No sign of sludge or any other problems. It FLEW through its last emissions test better than any other car I've had.
J
Great suggestions. If it were me I'd pick any of these cars based on your preference, style, budget:
EDIT: BTW, are there any Subaru's that meet the requirements of reliability, ease of maintenance for DIYer and inexpensive/plentiful parts? On my visit to Seattle recently I couldn't help but notice the abundance of them.
I wouldn't recommend buying a Civic that cheap unless you have lots of time to do work.
Maybe it's a regional thing. Our challenge hondas were all less than $500, and the only one that required any work to run right was the s00p3rturd (transmission.) The old A-Hole crx with 200k miles on the original motor has been through at least 50 nitrous drag runs now, not to mention COUNTLESS autocrosses, and still runs like a top. And the great news is, Honda parts now come in cracker-jack boxes...or so I'm told. 
Obviously, I'm not saying every honda can withstand this kind of abuse. Just throwin' it out there.
Obviously, any car in the sub-$1k range comes with a little risk, but I've generally had really good experiences with hondas. My 80 mile round-trip DD Integra (which would probably be a $500 car according to KBB and the like) should hit 300,000 miles before the end of the year.
92dxman wrote: 97 Tercel $475 (how bad are clutch jobs on these $$ wise?): http://boston.craigslist.org/sob/cto/890084727.html
Sub-$100 with a cheap kit and free labor.
93celicaGT2 wrote: I honestly think Toyota just wanted to avoid an uproar on this one. Same thing when they were replacing old-ass Tacomas for rust.
Oh I dunno about that... Buying back every Tacoma made for KBB Excellent regardless of condition for frame rust is pretty damn serious. There's countless pictures of pristine Tacos bent in half in parking lots or on frame lifts. Now I'm not saying the sludge thing is or is not true, but even a Toyota fanboi can't deny that Tacoma frame rot is a VERY real problem.
camry all trac if you can find it
both sides have very reliable used cars
Neons are good, its better not to get a 95 if you have the choice (my dad has one and the wiring harness started to fall apart after about 275k miles), and change the timing belt if you dont know when it was done.
Satruns are ok, but mostly badly abused becasue of the type of people the appeal to.
Toyotas are almost all automatics, but seem to hold up well. I really dislike the majority of people that hondas appeal to, and they are commonly stolen, so that would be out for me.
Escorts and proteges seem alright too.
Does it have to be a car? a 4 banger ranger with a 5spd and 2wd early 90s examples with 100k or less miles are plentiful and almost always less than 1000. It will give you towing, hauling, parts availability, purdy reliable, parts availability, you can hop it up as soon as you get bored by dropping in a late 80's 2.3L Turbo instead of the 2.3 N/A. Hell, you can even reuse the ranger roller cam and hop up the 2.3 Turbo. Oh and they get good mileage, 25-28MPG on the highway depending on the rear end ratio. Just a thought...
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