My Mazda 2 has been reliable and very cheap to run. Great city car but I'd say it might be a bit noisy for all that highway driving.
My Mazda 2 has been reliable and very cheap to run. Great city car but I'd say it might be a bit noisy for all that highway driving.
Early 3rd gen 5sp Focus should be close to the $5k range by now - my '12 has 80k on it, nothing but gas and oil. You should be able to find with fewer miles than mine, though - my clutch will need replacing in the next year, probably.
Auto cars with the DCT are either horribly problematic, or just fine - a little chancy imo.
It's a great highway car, taken on lots of road trips, roughly 30 around town, and high 30s on the highway.
tripp wrote: The biggest catch is I need something big enough for 2 car seats in the back
Forward or rear facing, and how usable does the front passenger seat need to be?
In reply to Driven5:
One forward one rear front passenger seat just needs to be there for the rare occasion it would be used. Likely 3rd car for the weekend family outing. My wife has a new accord and planning to keep the Yukon for hauling stuff.
In reply to tripp:
Got a rust free well maintained proteg5 ill sell you for half the budget....
They sold the Integra in a 4 door, 5-speed model for a few years. They are thin on the ground (especially stock or close to stock) but I do see them come up every so often. Newer than that would be a 1st gen TSX, but those might be just at $5k if not a little higher.
The Infiniti G20 came in a 5 speed if I recall, also rare, but a little nicer than a Sentra...
In reply to tripp:
OK, just making sure... Because with the numerous compacts being suggested, anybody in front of a rear facing won't be much better off than in the back seat of a 911. But it sounds like that shouldn't be a problem for you, with a forward facing behind the driver, and the front passenger seat being more of an emergency jump seat.
I suppose it depends on the RF seat and passenger, but we have done many long trips in our Honda Fit with a 5'11" passenger in front of the rear facing kid. It was fine for room.
In reply to Dusterbd13:
Interested to learn more about your protege
Put high mileage Mini Cooper out of your mind, unless you feel like constantly fixing it. They are fun and get good mileage and kids love it but are not daily driver reliable.
Toyota Avalon for an automatic car. Cushy commuter, cheap, nice V6, tons of room. Don't think they do 30mpg though, but I daily drove mine on a 45 mile commute and it was smooth, reliable, and decent enough on gas that I didn't think about or notice it.
For manual cars I've noticed Volvo S40's and 2003-ish Mercedes C230 kompressor 4 door sport package pop up occasionally around the $5k mark.
1st gen Scion xB. I daily drove one of those for a few years, and it was suprisingly utilitarian. Light, fun to drive, good on gas, not fast but can carry stuff. Probably a deathtrap with 2 kids in the back.... there's a Party Patrol 2001 crown vic police package I just saw on ebay for $3200. That might pass the wife test and be safe for a couple of kids.
2nd the 7th gen Accord 4 cylinder, 06-07 was slightly revised for more power, better fuel economy than the 2.3 in the focus and Mazda, and double wishbones. Good crash ratings from iihs if you get one with side airbags and a more pleasant place to be than most of these other suggestions
In reply to tripp:
2002 protege5. 178k, auto. Bought from original owner in florence south Carolina about 3 years ago at 100k. Mobil1 and wix filters every 5k since owned. Fresh struts, abs/ac/power everything/mazdaspeed protege brakes on the front, lowered 1 inch all the way around, 35% tint, dark blue, sunroof. Can pull all the suspension with a 3/8 ratchet if you want to. Super clean and nice. Needs nothing but an oil change in 2k.
Located outside charlotte nc.
GTI. Fun, roomy, fun. Boost or VR6. Cheap. Decent gas mileage, not great.
In reply to Dusterbd13:
If it was manual I wpukd,be more interested but rather avoid automatic if it's an option
Where are you all finding sub 3k Mazda 3s? I vote protege 5, 1st gen focus for the sub </= 3K Mazda 3, Ep3 civic for the </= 5k.
a lot of these cars suggested are 5k or more
consider old vw golf, hondas, celicas and stuff you would want your teenage kid driving
Big picture here - gas mileage is only one part of the total cost equation 80 miles/day x 260 work days = 20,800 miles. 20,800 miles / 21 mpg = 990 gallons /year. @ 2.19 local northern MD price = $2169/yr 20,800 miles /42 mpg = 495 gallons/year. @ 2.19 local northern MD price = $1084/yr
MPG range of 21- 42 can save you a max! of $1100 bucks per year.
Crown Vic P71 about a 21-24 mpg highway car. there's 2-10 in every junkyard in North America Walmart cheap for tires = 225/60x 16 in - just got a set of four for $240 mounted/balance/life time tire rotation out the door. Some Singapore brand Dextero. Rides like a dream
insurance = cheaper than a 10 year old minivan durability = indestructo, junkyard survey :several are 324,000, 275,000 miles - yellow crayon "won't go into gear" -so they were still running, but the trans went out. Stuff $1500 under the mattress. replacement parts = rock auto fire sale cheap ease of repair = a fleet car, 10,000,000 taxis and cop cars. Ford really went the extra mile to make it easy to work on.
If you buy a cheap 125,000 mile Civic or Kia, you'll get 5 miles to 50,000 miles before some thing big happens. Meanwhile the CV is racking up an extra 200,000-300,000 miles before it is done.
600 lbs of firewood, 250 lb shortblock, two mountain bikes, all fit in the trunk just fine. A shortbed pick up with a lid. Get the 2003 and up, rack and pinion, 239-250 hp engine, Aluminum LCA's and engine cradle.
Safety - body on frame Tiger Tank. Some had halon fire suppresion standard like NASCAR?
Fun to drive factor = best ride that is not a Rolls Royce. Street handling= shockingly competent. Intangibles = every Pious/prius can't cant out of your way fast enough in the left lane. No fears to park anywhere. Invisible to parking tickets when left in the fire lane at the store.
Remember: Christine in the novel was a Four Door. 
I will raise Mazda 3 suggestion and say Mazda 5. Plenty of room, available with stick shift and I commuted 60 miles round trip for a couple years in one. 27-30 mpg all day long. Also Mazda 3 suspension parts fit.
Found an 08 Fit for $4k with 125k on the clock. 2 weeks and 800 miles later a CEL which is likely the gas cap not sealing (purge system codes) last 2 tanks got 33mpg and fun enough to drive for what it is.
Thanks for all the input it helped. Figure I am saving close to $2k a year on gas from the Yukon with insurance likely being in the $600 per year range. Looks like it will pay itself off.
you know, there's a perfect carfor you currently for sale in the open classifieds right here on this site.
If you care about handling, the Mazda 3 is a lot better than the Mazda 5 minivan, which seems to become a bit ungainly with the added weight high up. Tha 3 is a very good handling comfortable cr. Only the Sport (hatchback) should be considered for utility reasons.
The Mazda 6 (even in wagon form) is an under appreciated and seemingly forgotten jack-of-most-trades type of car.
Good looking too and very affordable.
Not sure why I've overlooked them until fairly recently.
In reply to tripp: I just did this, but on a slightly smaller budget. My lifted/armored Xterra gets around 14mpg and I just started an internship that has me driving a lot of miles. I picked up an 06 mazda3i sedan with the 2.0 and 5speed manual (which is why I came back to the forum, thanks for not deleting me). Paid just under half your budget but 5k would get you a nice example of a first gen 3 hatchback with a manual, possibly even into the second gens depending on miles. I happen to know that two forward facing car seats will fit in the back of a 3 hatch. I am halfway through the first tank of gas and so far am averaging 27mpg according to the trip computer with a good bit of hard driving. I was expecting a gutless motor tied to a decent chassis with this but the gears are just about perfectly matched to the engine, redline shifts drop the motor right on the meat of the torque in the next gear, so there's no "shift, stumble, go" feeling.
If you want to get real silly, svt focii did come in 5 door versions for a year or two. I test drove a 3 door that had too many issues for my liking, but would have been a hoot to drive if it were more sorted. They did only get around 27mpg and require premium gas though.
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