Well, it looks like I'm looking for a car

About a month ago I bought a very clean mod free low mile 2000 Civic. I realized after a week it was burning a quart of oil per tank of gas. The dealer then agreed to split the cost for getting valve seals done on the car. A day after getting the car back it dropped a cylinder and is now only running on 3. The dealer agreed to buy the car back if it turns out to be more then just a minor problem. It appears as if I'll probably be getting money to find something new.

I am in college and about 5 hours from home. I'll be without tools (except for basic hand tools), so I want something that is going to be reliable and trouble free. I'm in Erie Pa so something that can handle deep snow will be needed. There is snow on the ground from November until April, and it gets fairly deep. I could also use a car with a decent amount of cargo space for moving in and out of college and enough room to haul 4 people around.

I own a Karmann Ghia and a Kawasaki Ninja so it doesn't need to be something that is exceptionally fun to drive, and I could even live with an auto if need be.

I would have a max budget of $4,000 and was thinking along the lines of a sedan or small SUV. 4wd would also be a nice bonus. My thought were maybe a Subaru Legacy, Ford Escape, or Jeep Cherokee, but in all honesty I really don't know enough about this section of the auto market to know what to look for.

Thanks for the help, Aaron

$4k would get you the world's nicest Cherokee.

Gas mileage isn't that great, though.

I paid $3000 for my 2000 Sport 4x4. It's in great shape, runs well, hasn't needed any attention at all in the last year. Gas, oil changes, drive.

Matrix/Vibe

Focus? Protege 5? Something Korean? I'd stick with plain old boring FWD in a car, just for simplicity's sake. Aside from that? Condition condition condition.

Although for $4K you should be able to get a damn nice 318i...

Cherokee or Subie Outback. Both are reliable as dirt, cheap and easy to fix, all wheel drive, and can be had very easily for $4K.

An updated Cherokee; I think it happened around '97 or so.

My '98 was great fun in the snow, stupid simple, repair parts are everywhere, and can haul a lot of you fold the back seat down and through stuff on the factory roof rack.

Cherokee, although GCs are easier to find for stupid cheap. What kind of regular driving do you do? Live on campus, outside job, ect? Can you easily handle the MPG hit of a Jeep?

neon4891 wrote: Cherokee, although GCs are easier to find for stupid cheap. What kind of regular driving do you do? Live on campus, outside job, ect? Can you easily handle the MPG hit of a Jeep?

GCs seem to have more electrical issues, and the V8 variants don't seem to be as rock solid as the 4.0 i6s.

I'd rock an i6 GC, not a V8.

I live on campus and don't drive that often. Maybe 2 or 3 times a week and a short distance. I've only used a 1/2 tank in a Mini in the past 5 weeks. When I come home though it is a 350 mile drive, but that isn't that often. If I could stay around 20 mpg or above freeway that would be fine.

I'd second that churkey choice, IMO. Any subie up there for that cheap is probably gonna need more care and feeding than you can provide.

I just went throuogh this. I bought a Merkur... it broke (almost in half actually) traded it for a PT Cruiser which proceeded to give up it's life almost instantaneously... I now own a 2006 Chevrolet Impala.

There are no good used cars out there right now for some reason.

ratghia wrote: I live on campus and don't drive that often. Maybe 2 or 3 times a week and a short distance. I've only used a 1/2 tank in a Mini in the past 5 weeks. When I come home though it is a 350 mile drive, but that isn't that often. If I could stay around 20 mpg or above freeway that would be fine.

20mpg would be a stretch. Highest i've seen out of mine was 19.2mpg on an ALL highway tank @ 75-80mph. Likely be higher if speeds were kept down a bit. (But that was hauling a motor in the back, maybe that was the extra 0.8mpg?)

In mostly town driving, we usually see 14-15mpg.

Split the difference between an Outback and a Cherokee and get a Forrester.

It would be nice if you could find a nice 10 year old Civic.....

Cherokee. We love our 99 Cherokee Sport with the 4.0 and have almost 180k miles on it now (had 70k when we bought it). It got 19-20mpg before I lifted it and added 33 inch tires.

The Cherokee is the 4wd Miata.

Notice that MANY people on here that have a Miata, also have a Cherokee.

John Brown wrote: There are no good used cars out there right now for some reason.

We were looking for a used small car for college student son last May - I heard every reason from the dealers - Earthquake in Japan has shut down new production - everyone grabbing the used cars - $4.00 a gallon gasoline.

The local Honda dealer told me one night they were going to raise the prices on the used cars. We also looked at a lot of Impala's figuring a little pain at the pump can't be that bad......can it?

The kid found a 2007 Sentra.

A 4X4 that gets BETTER than 20 mpg on the highway? Is there such a thing? Having lived in Pa. and returned a few times a year, I would think a Cherokee would be easier to find than any Subaru....but Erie may be different.

For mileage, go with the Vibe, for heavy snowfalls? The 4X4 Cherokee.

Try to find a late 90's early 00's crv or rav4 if possible. More space than a Cherokee with better mileage you will just gove up towing.

John Brown wrote: There are no good used cars out there right now for some reason.

Cash for clunkers took a bunch of used cars off the market place. 690,000 were traded in to be destroyed, making used cars a little more expensive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cash_for_Clunkers

Focus wagon with snow tires in the winter. Capable of 35 mpg.( not winter)

Small trucks like a Comanche or B2200 or S-10 all seem like good college vehicles. Another way to go would be small cheap station wagon like an Escort or Saturn. These can all be found in great condition for $3k, decent for $2k, and you'll have money left over for maintenance and such.

I really appreciate how my '98 Outback Legacy just does everything it ought to. Every time I start to think of it as an appliance, I realize that it is really a Swiss army knife.

Smooth ride in all conditions, enough room for reasonable amounts of gear or people, reliable and easy to wrench on; I am averaging around 27 mpg highway. I would rate it just above average in all categories.

Hell, I'd sell my 318ti for 3K....been reliable, put 60K since I bought it and replaced everything....Did incredible in the snow earlier this year. Yay winter package with LSD!

Valve seals on a car burning that much oil is a bad call. You should get ALL your money back.