Girlfriend wants a new car.

Protege 5

Kind of looking at 1st gen Ford Focuses. Yay/ney? Appears they came with 3 different 2 L 4 bangers. The duratec, the zetec, and the old CVH. Anyone want to give me a quick and dirty comparison of the engines?

I'm a fan of the duratecs 200hp NA HP can be made from them without fuss. (240 can be with fuss)

icaneat50eggs wrote: [dave ramsey] if all you can afford is $2200 then the only thing you need to consider is reliability. There is no wish list for that price range.

This. ^^^ That's an extremely tight budget. I vote older Lexus also and that will be tough to find in that range.

Unorthodox choice in that price range - older Saab 9-5 (99-01). People are afraid of them now that GM killed Saab off, but still a great car. If you DIY and buy your stuff online, maintenance isn't so expensive. As with anything, prior mx is key, especially oil changes on the 4cyl. (Or the Q45, I'd be all over that if it was closer and I had $$ right now)

Test drove an 07 Focus. WOW, what a pile of junk.

In that price range, she should be thankful to have something that runs. Loving it isn't always in the cards. Check out third gen and early forth gen maximas. We sold a really nice 96 to a friend for $2700 several years ago.

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/4577122610.html

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/cto/4545623093.html

If fast is not a requirement and you can stretch your budget, a first gen scion xb might be the best choice. Did someone already sat protege5 (that is not rusted to hell)

If she's into wagons, you might be able to snap up and accord wagon also. 94-98 ones seem to run forever.

Those saying that a reliable/running/good car cannot be found for $2200 and under are simply out of touch (or live in Manhattan). I have never spent more than $1200 on a car and have had 1 "stuck on the side of the road" break down in 7 years (due to a leaky water hose). I've driven my cheap rides across NC, to TN, GA, SC, and KY without worry or trouble. I've never had a bad engine, transmission, or had to perform any large and wallet breaking repairs. I've had to do wheel bearings, shocks/struts, and brakes. Oh no, oh my. All other work performed on my drivers has been maintenance.