$1.39 / lb

2006 Impala LS. Grampa-spec and one-grampa-owned. Just under 48,000 miles on it and maintained like Driving Miss Daisy. 3500 V6, nothing fancy inside. Minimal dings, zero rust or accident damage, pretty much spotless inside.

Split the cost with DD#2 to replace her old Celica (see $2017 Classifieds). When we got the Toyota she had asked for a larger 4-door car, but the Celica appeared at the right time and price, so that's what she got. Been shopping for a while and ran across this on CL. Coincidentally it turns out that it was being sold by an autocross acquaintance on behalf of his aunt following the passing of the aforementioned grampa, the original owner, so the provenance was good. Never been north of Delaware and given the mileage it wasn't driven much in the winter anyway.

So far she loves it, and I have to admit, it's a nice car to drive, despite its relative plainness. It's not even a little bit sporty, but it's big inside, comfortable, and will haul a young adult and all her stuff anywhere she needs to go for the next 10 years. The back seat is big enough for 3 friends and the trunk is cavernous.

It doesn't exactly invite a cross-country road trip, but it would accommodate one effortlessly and comfortably. Even with the base 3500 it moves well enough and it doesn't even wallow like a waterbed. It's not what I started shopping for, but it was much closer to the right car at the right time and price.

You can liven up your drive with judicious left foot braking while cornering....

You can't always get what you want.

But if you try sometimes, you get what you need.

According to "The Millionaire Next Door" the majority of "real" millionaires in the country (those who earned it the hard way) buy their cars by the pound. Used, highly depreciated, reliable. A lot to be said for that!

At least it is a nice blue color and not the terrible beige-silver color that seems to be on every GM grandpa-mobile.

I've driven every version of that body style up to the 5.3v8. Enthusiasts may give it little love, but thats the kind of car that reminds me that in this modern day, plain/boring/average/mediocre commuter cars are still pretty damn good commuter cars.

Per old-school GM fwd norms, i believe 2nd gear in that car goes to about 90mph.

In reply to Vigo:

No kidding. At 70 mph, this thing is ticking along at 1800 rpm.

W-bodies are great cheap transportation cars, and that one looks like a pretty good score.

I paid a buck a pound for this:

The '12-'13 W-body Impalas had the 300+hp 3.6L VVT (It made more power than the LS4 5.3L and weighed less) and were absolute rocketships. They make no sense.

Once paid $1700 for an extended-cab, long-box, duallie, 4WD GMT-400, which works out to something like $0.30 a pound.