Suggestions on a vehicle

[XsrdX22]

Those are cheap anywhere

Should I be staying away from them? The one I'm looking at seems pretty decent.
1996, 116000 miles, bunch of new parts (Cat converter, brakes, muffler, starter). Just sent him an e-mail to see if it's a 4 cylinder and if it's auto or manual.

[Mr_Silence]

Pontiac sunfires are cheap just because its a commmon car. They're actually pretty good starter cars since they seem to last forever and cheap on maintence

[XsrdX22]

Pontiac sunfires are cheap just because its a commmon car. They're actually pretty good starter cars since they seem to last forever and cheap on maintence

Thanks. If I don't get any e-mails about the jeep at the current price I'm selling it at, I'm probably gonna sell it to the guy offering $2500 and just pick up a sunfire.

[Mr_Silence]

Theyre pretty cheap to upgrade if you're looking for performance parts and such

[DJSuperNova]

Should I be staying away from them? The one I'm looking at seems pretty decent.
1996, 116000 miles, bunch of new parts (Cat converter, brakes, muffler, starter). Just sent him an e-mail to see if it's a 4 cylinder and if it's auto or manual.

I have no opinion, not familiar with them,

Theyre pretty cheap to upgrade if you're looking for performance parts and such

I doubt that's what he's looking for considering he's searching for an economical transportation solution.

[XsrdX22]

Just sold it, ended up getting $2400. The guy and his girlfriend came to look at it, the guy's a mechanic and he figured out it the head gasket was bad. He explained everything to me, I learned a lot, so I let them name a price and it was all settled. They're picking it up Friday afternoon. I swear, I'm gonna cry seeing it pull out of my driveway=/
Anyway, there's a lot of civics in the area, just no 5 speeds. So I might have to wait a month or two to find a good 4 cylinder 5 speed driver.
Or, if the sunfire is still available by Monday, I might snatch that up and call it a day.

[XsrdX22]

Got a great deal on a '97 VW Jetta with 155k and just got exhaust work done on it, and has a lot of new parts.
It's 5 speed, 4 cylinder, black, and looks pretty nice. It's only $1550, which is a bit under the KBB price for a used jetta in good condition.
Before I go to check it out, does anyone know anything about jettas?

[didj]

vbuds have horrible electrics in those years.

[DJSuperNova]

vbuds have horrible electrics in those years.

Not the first time I've heard that.

Hey OP, why don't you get an inspection done on it before you buy? Might cost your around $100, but it's better than unintentionally buying a couple-of-months-er.

[XsrdX22]

Yeah I decided to pass on the Jetta. Seemed like a piece of junk. Plus, I didn't want the electronics to go bad.
I went to check out a '97 Taurus last night. 6 cylinder, leather interior, new tires, and everything worked great. The interior is about 4/10 though, a few covers are missing and the leather lip above the odometer is pretty frayed. Mechanically, it runs 100%. Gonna need an oil change as soon as I get it home, though.
I'd love to bring it for an inspection, but the guy I'm buying it from is only home after 6, and most places are closed by then.

[DJSuperNova]

Yeah I decided to pass on the Jetta. Seemed like a piece of junk. Plus, I didn't want the electronics to go bad.
I went to check out a '97 Taurus last night. 6 cylinder, leather interior, new tires, and everything worked great. The interior is about 4/10 though, a few covers are missing and the leather lip above the odometer is pretty frayed. Mechanically, it runs 100%. Gonna need an oil change as soon as I get it home, though.
I'd love to bring it for an inspection, but the guy I'm buying it from is only home after 6, and most places are closed by then.

Go to a garage and see if you can arrange something with one of the mechanics. Don't be rash/ in a rush to buy, you don't wanna get F'ed over in the end. If you can't do that, do it on your own. Posting some guides below.

http://classiccars.about.com/od/buyi...inspection.htm
http://www.tips4carbuying.com/used-c...checklist.html
http://www.consumer.org.nz/reports/c...tion-checklist

How much is it, anyways?

[XsrdX22]

Thanks dude, ended up having my stepdads friend who is a mechanic come check it out with me tonight. We did the best we could to check it out, and mechanically it runs great. All it needs is that oil change and a few junkyard parts, like cupholders and other small things like that. Ended up purchasing it.
Drives very well. Brakes are pretty new and very responsive. Accelerated to highway speeds at a normal rate and maintained them comfortably on the way home. The engine didn't sound unusual at all. It started raining on the way home, handled normally in that too.
I was checking out all the luxuries when I got home. Inside and outside thermostat, 6 CD changer in the trunk, all leather interior, theft alarm, auto lock, new tires, and a sunroof.
I'm not a big fan of sunroofs. I've had 2 cars with sunroofs, and both of them developed minor, but really annoying, problems. On my Mazda, if you shut it all the way, it wouldn't open for a while. On my Passat, it would open and close on its own. That one was pretty annoying on rainy days.

And it was $2000, but we got it down to $1800. I think I could have talked him down more, but it was getting late and I'm not too good at face to face haggling.
Overall, I'm very happy with the purchase. I'm glad you guys steered me away from that VW and other things. I think I got an awesome deal for $1800.

[barantaran]

My folks bought a 2003 Pontiac Montana for $800 last year. We've driven it all over the place and it still runs really good.

[ironman_]

hondas are great little things, very reliable and when they do break they are very easily fixed. ive always managed to be able to get mine started and limp it home, only time starnded was a flat tire due to me not having a spare that wasnt too big with it tucked into the fender. a peice of advice, if you ever lower them to the point of tucking the wheels secure the exhaust up

ps. one of my buisness partners has ran his 93 civic 4 door out of gas 5 times and the damn thing wont quit, never seen that before

[ironman_]

on that case i beleive the european cars have a considerably less tolerance than your avereage domestic thus its alot easier to get a service engine light to pop on, if you have a mechanical skills at all i would definatly recomend a vw, bmw. volvo, or audi as long as you can afford the parts when they break and know how to fix it yourself, usually involves a lot of speialty tools

[sawyer7864]

man i would keep the jeep!

[xcaer]

I had a 1998 Honda Civic.
Got it in 2008 with 142,000km on it.
cost $3200
I just sold it last month for $1600.
Never had any major problems with it. Couple minor ones but nothing cost more than 100 bucks to fix.
it had 235,000km when I sold it.

Got about 530-590km/35L tank.

I recommend them.

Just got an 07 Escape and absolutely love it other than the mileage is much worse than the civic.
You're looking at 10-12k for them though.