What $2k car?

I just wound up about $3000 positive on a tire blowout repair on my Cummins powered crew cab F350. It gets 17 mpg around town or 22 blended with WMO. That's 50% - 100% better than my previous Chevrolet.

It's big. Really big. There are times when I could live with something smaller and easier to park. I have a six and eight year old, so I gotta have a back seat, and four doors would be good. I carry car parts often, so capacity is important.

We have an 06 Rav 4 for general family stuff. In a perfect world I'd have another Vibe gt / Matrix xrs, but they haven't fallen to the $2k range yet. I have an aversion to timing belts, although I could deal with it, and I gotta have a standard transmission.

Qualifications are; sub $2500 price point, 30 mpg, standard trans, reliable, not soul sucking.

On your mark, get set, GO!

Saabs are dropping in price fast.
I am interested in a 9-5 wagon turbo with manual trans. A Saab could be a bit more less reliable than a Matrix but you do have the truck as back up.
Sample for your area:
http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/2547536399.html

Whoa, you have a Cummins-swapped F-350? Do go on!

You can get a turbodiesel mercedes that gets 27 mpg for $2500, not a manual though. Since you already like diesel that would be a plus.

Saturn wagon + sticky tires and a bolt ons could be had for under $2500. It checks all of your boxes. Mine achieves approx. 30mpg real world, mid-upper 30s on the highway. 29.4 average over the last 41 tanks, 32.2 rolling average (10 tanks). I have approx $2500 in my car, but most of that is in modifications.

Older Corolla wagon? Or a Protege 5? Closest things I could think of to a Matrix or Vibe GT. Minor mods will keep all 3 from being "soul sucking", or at least any more so than a VibeGT or Matrix.

In regards to the Saab: will not achieve 30mpg unless you spend a lot of time on the highway. My roommate is into Saabs and has had a bunch. I asked him about those because I was genuinely interested in them. They seem to have good performance, good looks, and can be had in good condition for little cash. I'm paraphrasing, but he said "they are unreliable and require constant attention" Oddly enough my roommate before him had 2 saabs: a 900 that was a rolling abortion with stuff perpetually broken, and a 9-5 that he got rid of before the warranty was up as it spent way too much time at the dealer for major stuff going wrong (like a transmission).

Mazda Protege?

BMW E30 or E36 318 sedan?

Twin cam Saturn?

Just looking at Craigslist in my area several Zx2 for less than 2k and look pretty decent.

No saabs, no benzes. I like the Saturn idea. Escorts are a possibility.

Travis_K wrote: You can get a turbodiesel mercedes that gets 27 mpg for $2500, not a manual though. Since you already like diesel that would be a plus.

I thought turboiesels are supposed to get good milliage? thats not what i would consider good.

aggravator wrote:

Travis_K wrote: You can get a turbodiesel mercedes that gets 27 mpg for $2500, not a manual though. Since you already like diesel that would be a plus.

I thought turboiesels are supposed to get good milliage? thats not what i would consider good.

My 92 MB 300D get's about 32 or 33 on average (more highway than city though). And that is very good economy, when taken in perspective. It's between a crown vic and Taurus in terms of size, but get's Escort economy, all without actually BEING an escort, cavalier or neon.
Add to that that you could keep mixing WMO in (I wouldn't though...) and your way up there. I get, on average, more than two hundred miles per diesel gallon. Plus, none of the cars mentioned have the build quality of the W124 or W123 benz.

I'm liking the saturn wagon idea. What about escort wagons? Any other good, cheap wagons out there? I was thinking hard about a small car while parking at a meter in downtown Dallas this morning.

Focus wagon would fit that mold as well, but 5-speeds seem to be rare and I don't know that I'd trust a $2k Focus just yet.

My friend's wife's 5-speed Accent is an absolute hoot to drive and Miata wheels are a direct swap.

Escort GT?

ReverendDexter wrote: Focus wagon would fit that mold as well, but 5-speeds seem to be rare and I don't know that I'd trust a $2k Focus just yet. My friend's wife's 5-speed Accent is an absolute hoot to drive and Miata wheels are a direct swap. Escort GT?

My $3000 Focus left my stranded on the highway, 4 weeks later left my wife stranded on the highway. I promptly sold it, after urinating the the right-rear tire. I've owned almost 40 used cars, all but one have been older and with many more miles and that has been the only time I was stranded on the highway.
Don't get a Focus. A 100,000 mile focus is, with rare exceptions all but dead.

I think an Escort wagon would be a good choice but go for 96 or 97 and up due to the fact that they went from the seat belts with the motors to the regular ones. Also, they got an increase in power.

btp76 wrote: I'm liking the saturn wagon idea. What about escort wagons? Any other good, cheap wagons out there? I was thinking hard about a small car while parking at a meter in downtown Dallas this morning.

Protege5 is a great little wagon, though I don't think they've gotten that cheap yet. Though mine has been wrecked a bunch, totalled, has 271K on it and is still doing great. Runs circles around my BMW. In fact, I just bought another totalled one for a grand to fix up for auto-x or as a DD to replace the bmw 318ti

Yep, Saturn wagon. Twin cams aren't too tough to find, but plan on swapping in your own 5 speed. They were offered in wagons but are tough to find.

ProDarwin wrote: Saturn wagon + sticky tires and a bolt ons could be had for under $2500. It checks all of your boxes. Mine achieves approx. 30mpg real world, mid-upper 30s on the highway. 29.4 average over the last 41 tanks, 32.2 rolling average (10 tanks). I have approx $2500 in my car, but most of that is in modifications. Older Corolla wagon? Or a Protege 5? Closest things I could think of to a Matrix or Vibe GT. Minor mods will keep all 3 from being "soul sucking", or at least any more so than a VibeGT or Matrix. In regards to the Saab: will not achieve 30mpg unless you spend a lot of time on the highway. My roommate is into Saabs and has had a bunch. I asked him about those because I was genuinely interested in them. They seem to have good performance, good looks, and can be had in good condition for little cash. I'm paraphrasing, but he said "they are unreliable and require constant attention" Oddly enough my roommate before him had 2 saabs: a 900 that was a rolling abortion with stuff perpetually broken, and a 9-5 that he got rid of before the warranty was up as it spent way too much time at the dealer for major stuff going wrong (like a transmission).

Anecdotal SAAB experience countered with anecdotal SAAB experience. I DD a 2003 9-5 Aero, we got it three years ago with just under 100K on it and it now has @152K. The only thing I have had to do to mine outside of normal wear items was o replace two little green wheels that keep the windows in their tracks. That is it, I think that is not bad for an almost 9 year old car.

30mpg, as long as you get a manual, will not be too far off. On my commute, which is 2 lane stop and go, I get @ 28 when I behave and around 22 or so if I put my foot in it alot. On the highway I usually get low to mid 30's. 2 weeks ago I averaged 33 on a trip from Tobyhanna PA back to Delaware OH with the cruise control set on 74 and the AC on.

Finding a nice one for the money you are looking to spend might be tough but if you do find one let us know. There a few things you need to look out for but over all they are hard to beat for the price. Also they have timing chains as long as you get a 4 banger.

aggravator wrote:

Travis_K wrote: You can get a turbodiesel mercedes that gets 27 mpg for $2500, not a manual though. Since you already like diesel that would be a plus.

I thought turboiesels are supposed to get good milliage? thats not what i would consider good.

For a large 28 year old car that gets double the mpg of a gas one its not bad. There is still too much of a diesel tax on most of the cars that do better (like the vw tdi)

Gearheadotaku wrote: Yep, Saturn wagon. Twin cams aren't too tough to find, but plan on swapping in your own 5 speed. They were offered in wagons but are tough to find.

You can find manuals without too much trouble. Just have to be willing to wait a few weeks. The true unicorns are option-less twin-cam wagons. Mine only has A/C and ABS (the stereo didn't even have a cassette player), which are the two options I wanted anyways.

Rusted_Busted_Spit wrote: Anecdotal SAAB experience countered with anecdotal SAAB experience.

Fair enough.

Rusted_Busted_Spit wrote: 30mpg, as long as you get a manual, will not be too far off.

Anecdotal SAAB experience countered with data? :)

Fuelly average is 25mpg for those EPA estimates are 19 city 28 highway

In reply to ProDarwin:

i have always been able to beat EPA estimates with every car I have owned except for my wifes R350, I hate putting gas in that thing. If you are ever in the area feel free to stop by and drive the car.

Here are the things that I do to help with mileage:

The itres are inflated to whatever the owners manual says to inflate them to when the car is fully loaded, I think it is 42psi for my car.

I use the cruise control on the highway whenever I can.

When I change my oil I take out the spark plugs and clean and check the gap on them. Every 5K miles.

Those three things along with keeping the boost gage out of the red unless I need to () I really am getting the mileage I mentioned.

Now my In-Laws have the same car except with an auto and they are getting closer to the EPA numbers, but my Mother-In-Law has a heavy foot. (Just don't tell her I said that)

Gearheadotaku wrote: Yep, Saturn wagon. Twin cams aren't too tough to find, but plan on swapping in your own 5 speed. They were offered in wagons but are tough to find.

Yup. SW2 with a stick is a unicorn.

Be warned though, when I got T-boned in my SC1 it folded like a cheap suit. I got hit by a late 90s Sonata and her only damage was a missing grille badge. The SC1 was totaled so bad the dash buckled and the windshield cracked. If she had hit me in the driver side I'd have probably gotten a broken hip and arm or worse.

I don't doubt you can beat the EPA estimates. Remember that your driving cycle has a lot to do with it. When comparing mileage between cars, that's apples to oranges. Going off the Fuelly average (which is arguably the best example you will get) and the EPA #s is apples - apples. I beat the EPA #s with my Saturn, and am about 1mpg over Fuelly average. I use this to gauge what my real world mileage would be if I were to switch to another car by looking at those numbers.

slefain wrote: Yup. SW2 with a stick is a unicorn.

Not at all. Just checked craigslist here, and there were 5 different manual SW2s. >50%

slefain wrote: Be warned though, when I got T-boned in my SC1 it folded like a cheap suit. I got hit by a late 90s Sonata and her only damage was a missing grille badge. The SC1 was totaled so bad the dash buckled and the windshield cracked. If she had hit me in the driver side I'd have probably gotten a broken hip and arm or worse.

Huh. They used to get very good crash ratings back in the day when compared with other economy cars. I was in a bad accident in one and it held up pretty well, all things considered.

ProDarwin wrote:

slefain wrote: Be warned though, when I got T-boned in my SC1 it folded like a cheap suit. I got hit by a late 90s Sonata and her only damage was a missing grille badge. The SC1 was totaled so bad the dash buckled and the windshield cracked. If she had hit me in the driver side I'd have probably gotten a broken hip and arm or worse.

Huh. They used to get very good crash ratings back in the day when compared with other economy cars. I was in a bad accident in one and it held up pretty well, all things considered.

Maybe a head-on would have been different. The passenger door panel was buckled into the passenger seat a good six inches. She nailed me just behind the A-pillar doing about 30 mph. The outer door skin just shattered.

a nice, well maintained E30, or a slightly less maintained E36, or a clapped out E46.

The days of a nice well mantained $2k E30 are long past, they are getting closer to $5k now.