What Car Thread (Redux): CHEAP car

Recently my 99 Hyundai Accent daily was written off by an inconsiderate punk in a Honda Accord. So now I'm looking for a replacement. I'd like it to be CHEAP. Cheap to purchase, cheap to buy parts for, cheap on gas, cheap to insure, easy to work on, etc. Something the Accent did very well, but it's now difficult to find Accents of the same generation. I have driven/worked on the following generation Accent, but it's just not the same. I'd also prefer it to be standard, but I might have to forget about that.

....and GO

A Saturn. Not the planet.

BG chassis mazda.

Cavalier with a 2.2 pushrod motor and a 5 speed manual... probably about the most simple/reliable/cheap car you are going to find these days.

Prizm/Corolla

Honda Accord

novaderrik wrote: Cavalier with a 2.2 pushrod motor and a 5 speed manual... probably about the most simple/reliable/cheap car you are going to find these days.

Strangely, I agree with this.

OR- MX6 GT!

Another accent?

Miata •

88-92 mx6 or BG Chassis Mazda.

Corolla/Prizm.

novaderrik wrote: Cavalier with a 2.2 pushrod motor and a 5 speed manual... probably about the most simple/reliable/cheap car you are going to find these days.

These never die(assuming the timing chain is replaced if it gets loose), but its not a pleasant experience, that's for sure. Something non mission critical, but incredibly annoying, will always be broken.

I'd take an Accord, but I'm biased. Sold nearly as many Accords as Camrys(Accord's are way more fun to drive), they're crazy reliable, and you can find really NICE ones hovering around $1000. I'm really surprised at how much nicer my '97 Coupe is than a same year Integra or Civic in terms of build quality, materials, interior, etc.

bigdaddylee82 wrote: Prizm/Corolla

I currently have one, a 1996. Problem is it is rather ugly: dents and dings, stained brown interior, sagging headliner... I may keep it, as it does run better than I'd expect.

Just curious: how does one make it less visually unappealing?

Flyin Mikey J wrote: Just curious: how does one make it less visually unappealing?

By selling it and buying something else.

EvanB wrote:

Flyin Mikey J wrote: Just curious: how does one make it less visually unappealing?

By selling it and buying something else.

That's my wife's answer. I am toying with the idea of making it look like either a SCCA GT4 car or a rally crosser, leaning more towards rally as I could get away with increased ride height and all terrain tires.

what about later model proteges? I don't think there are many BG proteges around here for sale. I know Honda civics are plentiful and parts relatively cheap, but are they garbage or what?

Infiniti G20, cheap, better suspension then the vaunted B13 SE-R and revhappy SR20 goodness. Timing chain so you don't have to immediately change a timing belt for piece of mind.

Mazda 6s can be found with a 4 cyl and stick shift. My BIL had one that he paid less than a grand for, drove it nearly 120k miles in 2 1/2 years, and sold it, still running ok for $450. All he ever did maintance wise was brakes and oil changes, and tires. He sold it because it was eating front tires due to badly worn lower control arm bushings, which could have been fixed easily.

A Saturn. Mazda rust would scare the hell out of me that far north.

What Civics are you finding cheap? Are they rust buckets? Civics are great cars... the only problem is they are rarely cheap. Usually double (or more) the price of a BG car, Saturn, Cavalier, Etc.

Most of the civics in my intended price range (2000-3000 Canuck bucks), seem to be late 90's or early 2000's with somewhere between mid to high 200,000km. They run the gamut from plain jane 4 doors to riced up hatchbacks and coupes. Rustbucket is relative term I think, most cars here have considerable rust after a certain point if they are driven on the heavily salted roads in the winter. Some cars do seem to rust a lot faster than others though. The Mazda3 comes to mind, as I know lots of people who have them who are now watching them turn to dust.

Reading through threads like this make me happy to live in a relatively rust-free zone.

85Canuck wrote: Most of the civics in my intended price range (2000-3000 Canuck bucks), seem to be late 90's or early 2000's with somewhere between mid to high 200,000km. They run the gamut from plain jane 4 doors to riced up hatchbacks and coupes. Rustbucket is relative term I think, most cars here have considerable rust after a certain point if they are driven on the heavily salted roads in the winter. Some cars do seem to rust a lot faster than others though. The Mazda3 comes to mind, as I know lots of people who have them who are now watching them turn to dust.

The Protege is equally bad with respect to rust. If you can find a decent Civic in that price range, get it.

I really want someone here to get my girl to a million miles.

I really don't want some CL brotato putting a fart can and stickers on her.

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/200x-classifieds/the-mighty-integra-1500-your-lechumpchallengedd-chariot-awaits/76320/page1/

Honestly, Civic's suck. The only Civic I'd take is something already swapped with a B-series, done CORRECTLY, which is almost never. Anything past 1992 really requires decent brakes, which Civic's don't have. D-series powered cars are terribly slow and miserable to drive, IMO. Yeah, it's a Honda Civic and parts are available galore, but the Integra is such a better starting point it's ridiculous how people ask 2-3x the price for a beater POS Civic/Integra as a similar(and usually BETTER) condition Accord. Seriously, if you're considering a Civic, test drive an Accord with a stick, it's a MUCH nicer thing to drive/be in. A cam, good exhaust/header, and tune REALLY wakes them up, 40+hp out of that stuff is not unheard of and it won't affect drivability. 90-93 are all non-VTEC and the heads flow very well, but the 94-02 VTEC heads cream them in flow out of the box, especially on the exhaust side. As cast both heads flow WAY more than the D/B series stuff, even with porting. The 94-02 Non-VTEC heads are kinda crap.

Saturn S Series. They can be picked up all day for 800-1000. Hold out for the twin cam 5 spd.

The cool part about the s series is most of the parts are interchangeable. If you're as cheap and bored as me you can find some good deals on parts at the local u wrench it. I've scored everything from valve cover gaskets to spark plug wires to struts and springs.

Down side, they rattle something fierce.