Daily driver advice needed

[Da67goatman]

I have been on the lookout for a fuel efficient car for daily driving.  I am really liking the newish 1999-06 VWs jetta golf and passat that style.  I was just concerned that I might be getting in over my head with something so new and electronic.  I have already seen a couple trends/hiccups in these cars.  I know I want the 4cyl with 5 speed trans.  I want your opinions/experiences with these vehicles, so I have enough knowledge to make a good decision.

The ones I'm looking at are in the under $2k range so they all need some love to varying degrees.  I have noticed that Bent valves and broken timing belts seem to be popular problems for these.  How bad is it to replace the belt and pull the head for valve repairs?  I know some of you are mechanics that might have fixed these problems and I would like your advice/ guidance.  Anything else I should be looking for?  things to stay away from?

Thanks again, you guys are like family.

[Lt.Del]

personally I would stay away from anything VW.  They engineer those things so that the average person MUST take it to a dealer to do as little as changing the oil....they have complicated bottom pans that involve removing 20-30 bolts just to get to the oil pan, with special tools required to remove those bolts. VW is ridiculous.  People I know who bought one of those wish they didn't after they realize what is involved for just the simpliest of maintenance....it turns comlicated very quickly.

[78 Chevyrado]

Timing belts can be a pita to fix.  You usually on a 4 cylinder have to remove at least one motor mount and all the ones I've seen need special tools for aligning everything back up wihen you reassemble.  If you don't do the timing belt yourself figure on spending $600 to $1000 to have it replaced for you, depending on how hard it is. 

Might be a good idea to find some VW forums to haunt and hunt for the problems those guys have with their VW's.  Also you would be able to find which years are the best and worst.

If bent valves are a common problem, and you don't plan on revving it much (like economy driving) then it may not ever be a problem. 

[txchainsawgogi]

an old friend of mine had a jetta. you couldnt even change some of the fluids on that thing yourself. FLUIDS.

[thirsty]

I think cavaliers are good cheap cars. We use them for 4cyl race cars. They are cheap to keep on the road too. Find one with a stick and they do pretty good (probably not as good as VW) on milage.

Plus they come with a bowtie!

[Da67goatman]

I will never again drive a cav.  I think shopping carts handle better, those cavs are just too unpredictable.  I once ended up 50 ft into someones yard because the rear end kicked out when I hit a dip in the road.  They r out of the question.  I am a domestic supporter, but I would take a german car over american any day.  German engineering is the best, by far.

Does anybody drive a vw?

[Blazin]

We don't do much on them at the shop, but I have done a few things, They are a PITA to work on. You want Not to hard to work on, reliable, and milage? Three words, Subaru, Toyota, Honda.

[txchainsawgogi]

i had a honda civic... 93 i think. that thing was fun. low and tight handling and good zippy acceleration. then again it had a 95 vtec engine in it when i got it. got it for 2300$ never did a single thing to it except put gas in it and change the oil.

not as easy as an old chevy to work on but still pretty simple. a lot of stupid little relays that can and will go out depending on age. another good mileage car i had was a jeep cherokee laredo edition. it was a straight 6 but again was pretty good on acceleration. never had any problems with that either. bought it for 3k and sold it for 3.5. it did so well in the two years i had it that when i took it to the buyer's mechanic he put it on the lift and 30 minutes later came out and said "i cant find a single thing wrong with it" haha. not a drip of oil.

[Blazin]

You would be the first person I know that thinks the 4.0 Jeep motor gets good mileage. My ex had one, and I know a bunch of people that have them. Great rigs, but MPGs are not their strong point. They are somewhat of a pain to work on as well. Engine compartment is a tad small!

[Canadian 4X4]

I personally say cant beat a cavi I have had two and put 330kms on one (still runs just needs a fuel pump but its rotting away in a snow bank) and another with 250kms (bought for a grand put 50000 on it and sold it for a grand again) cant beat a car you can do a complete brake job on for under $200 in an after noon. i consistently got 30 mpg with a 2.2 5 speed. the new cobalts or g5s are pretty nice and handle better than the older ones.

[1980c10]

I had an audi A4(same drive train as VW), great car to drive all around. I could not afford to keep up with the repairs. It only had 118k and the turbo was goin out-600, seat covers were torn in the front-300, needed tires 600, speeding ticket 270 , replaced all struts, transmission shifted wierd-1800 on a guess other 2500 to pull and diagnose plus additional parts and labor. I unloaded it on craigslist as fast as I could.

As far as the timing belts breaking and bent valves-it is considered regular maint to change them avery 60k or 80k miles to prevent this.
 btw it is about 600-700 to have this done.
If you don't; your best bet is a set of junk yard heads if you can find them.

Cavaliers are very boring to drive, I had a 2000 z24 loaded with 34k miles-noisy and kinda slow.  

I now own a 2001 mazda protege with 178k and nothing ever breaks
if you get one of these make sure it has the 2.0L and a 5 speed-otherwise too slow.
If you can get the mp3 version it has a turbo charger.

[txchainsawgogi]

You would be the first person I know that thinks the 4.0 Jeep motor gets good mileage. My ex had one, and I know a bunch of people that have them. Great rigs, but MPGs are not their strong point. They are somewhat of a pain to work on as well. Engine compartment is a tad small!

sorry,i meant that compared to the blazer with 33" tires on it i had before it haha

[86silverado]

i had a ford festiva, got amazing mileage, ac and everything worked in it, im a chevy person but that came by and i drove it for almost 2 years and just sold it 2 or 3 weeks ago and bought a civic hatchback, does alot better in acceleration and handling than the festiva and alot nicer, gets good mileage, but ill sure miss mileage fesiva got. parts were easy to find for car, and cost me 20 bucks to fill it up and could run for 2 weeks sometimes more on it

[VileZambonie]

VW=money pit garbage can.

Nissan Altima is the cheapest longest lasting minimal cost car imo and I would buy one if I needed an economical car.

The cavalier is definitely an affordable easy fix car.

[bake74]

   This is my choice for the best economy car.