Daily driver advice needed

[Captkaos]

The 01 Grand Prix we have gets 21mpg around town and about 30mpg on trips.  Love that car now that I resurrected it.

[TexasRed]

If you're cool with working on your own car, the VW isn't that bad of an idea. Like someone said, they're like Macs, in that they have somewhat of a decent following, vwvortex.com and others for forums. So you've got a tech base to pull from. I drive a newer VW, but I wouldn't get another one. But I think all cars are somewhat going in that direction.

[fitz]

I think the best bang for the buck as far as cheap cars go is a Saturn. I'm no expert on them but as far as I know they have timing chains instead of belts. I've bought a few at the auctions and had great luck with them.
The older Honda's and Toyota's are great cars but if you buy a beater with 150K on it it may be in need of a timing belt.   

[1980c10]

I think the best bang for the buck as far as cheap cars go is a Saturn. I'm no expert on them but as far as I know they have timing chains instead of belts. I've bought a few at the auctions and had great luck with them.
The older Honda's and Toyota's are great cars but if you buy a beater with 150K on it it may be in need of a timing belt.   

The important thing is not to look for something with a timing chain, but rather to not get one with a timing belt and an interference engine(valves will hit the pistons if the belt breaks).  If you get one with a timing belt and a non interference engine it is fine.

[roadrage41]

Or get an S10 with a 3800.

[rustyMUD]

 I haven't heard anything bad about a VW from someone that's driven one

    I drove one.  It was my girlfriends but I drove it frequently, including everything from being a dd to cross country road trips.  It was a 2002 Jetta 1.8 turbo. It had little issues with it.  The AC would never work, even after being fixed by the dealership many times.  The auto tranny would stick in gears sometimes.  The CEL would come on randomly.  All in all it was a good car.  30mpg consistently on the highway.  It was smooth and stable cruizing down the freeway.  The only maintenance I did on it was rear brakes, which were not difficult.  While driving across the state last August, cruizing at 55mph, the car shut off and left us stranded.  The timing belt had failed.  It bent most of the valves. She now drives a Blazer. 
   I'm not saying they're bad, but like any other vehicle, they have issues.  As others have mentioned, ask to see proof of when the timing belt was changed.  Change the oil on a regular basis.  Try to get one with a manual trans. 

[HAULIN IT]

Not that I put much stock in Consumer Report, but scroll to the bottom of the page. My real problem with them is how they can end up with Two of the same items with different badging (S-10 Blazer but not the GMC Jimmy or an Escort but not a Mystique, ect.) one on the list of either "Good" or "Bad" & not the other. I have a friend that does appliance repair & he sees the same thing there...Two of the same washing machines, dryer, ect. labeled by a different company one on a list & one not.  It looks like this years list is a bit closer as far as those types of things go...I'm sure they hear that kind of comment often & maybe are starting to "watch" how they do it. Their credibility as to "unbiased" facts would be hard to swallow when they claim a Caravan is "Good", but a Voyager is "Bad". There will allways be some on there that someone feels shouldn't be & vice versa, but it's just another source. Lorne
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/used-cars/cr-recommended/best-and-worst-used-cars/overview/best-and-worst-used-cars.htm
 

[roadrage41]

lorne

escort -> tracer.

contour -> mystique.

i've owned enough furds to know what's compatible at the junkyard   

[roger97338]

I've got two late 90's Nissan 2WD, 4 cylinder, 5 speed pickups. I got one for 500 bucks, the other was free. Great trucks! I abuse them, neglect them, I expect them to run flawlessly even when the low fuel light has been on for a week. I don't have to worry about dents or scratches, because they were beat up when I got them. I don't have to worry about theft, because really....THOSE two trucks? Nah. They get good gas mileage. (I haven't filled a tank up in ages, so I can't give you an example.) And for having 200k and 250k miles on them, they run as good as a four cylinder can run. If that four cylinder hasn't been tuned up anyway. The only pampering they get is I use Mobil 1 Synthetic in them. And Rain-X on the windows. But the Rain-X is really more for me, I guess.

I've hit curbs. Mailboxes. Deer. Ditches. Shopping carts. Trees and other assorted shrubbery. I've gotten stuck and left them in the ditch and wasn't worried if someone would hit them. I eat in them and get food everyplace! (I'm kinda a sloppy eater when I'm driving.) I never worry about washing them on nice days, and I've NEVER waxed one of them! Dogs, cats, hobos, chupacabra....they can all pee on a tire and I don't stress about it. And if I'm not mistaken, they were both manufactured in Tennessee. And I'm sure Nissan is a great company to work for. So I don't feel bad about "buying foreign."

They can't haul much. They can't tow much. Seating three people on the cab is an uncomfortable joke. And you feel bad about yourself when you drive one, while you've got a beautiful Chevy truck in the garage. But, your Chevy stays beautiful this way.

[bobcooter]

My son in law bought a 2002 KIA Optima the other day for $3800.00. He paid a little too much. We had to change out the radiator and the starter right after he bought it. Had the rad repaired for $65 and the starter was $160.00. That a lot of our trucks starters worth.  But the car was very easy to work on and layed out nicely under the hood. I was surprised. Much easier to work on than a Taurus.

[former520]

Vile: Way to rain on my parade.  That was def not what I wanted to hear.  Anyway I am still looking, found a few.  Pursuing one in particular, its a "98 Passat 1.8L turbo with 5 speed 120k miles very clean car.  has an electrical gremlin but the price is well within budget.  I would like to hear more from drivers of said VWs, since I have heard lots from the mechanic point of view.   I welcome the suggestions but I have a very tight budget with no fudge room, under 2k period.  Most of those vehicles would be way out of my price range, and not really my style.  I need something other than the Burb that I can drive back and forth to college.  Thanks again.

I drove a A4 Quatto with the 12 valve V6 for 7 years as a daily driver.  It is the same chasis as the Passat.  I got it with 40k and sold it with 190k.  In the time I owned it I replaced the AC compressor, the front suspension has 8 ball joints that are built into the 4 control arms per side.  It was 5-600 for parts and you could do it yourself pretty easy and it needed it a few times and the wheel barrings once.  That is all.  It was still even on the original clutch after few learners beating on it as well to the point of having to wait for the clutch to cool down before it would grab at all.

Other than that I had it slightly lowered and used it like a rally car around MN where I was living at the time.  Never missed a beat.  I broke the oil pan twice, once ran it out of oil because I didn't notice (at 60k miles).  Still never had a problem.  Only sold it because I was getting to worry about the clutch, the non factory AC wasn't that good for AZ summers and the front ball joints where going to need replacing again.

The 1.8t's have oil sludge issues if the owner wasn't using good oil.  They had coil pack issues that have been dealt with, the turbo is going to be suspect anywhere after 100-120k.  Timing belts are a must and about 600 at a good shop.  The rest is really solid on these (sunroofs, windows, locks, they don't rattle, etc).  But if they do have issues, they are expensive.  Even to work on your own you need to buy specialty tools.  The 2 special sockets to change the trans fluid run about $50.

[Stewart G Griffin]

1) i think vdubs are ok----as long as you keep up on maintenance(have the $$$ to) AND the dealer has a loaner car.  i don't drive one myself, but i have friends that do.

2) Please see my upcoming thread concerning gm compacts.

a) i don't know why you had handling problems with a cavalier as i think they handle excellent for their class.

b) IF handling is a concern, then the 3rd generation trans-camaros can out handle any vw and get good mpg AND be much cheaper to fix than vw;   You could buy 3 or 4 trans/camaros with what you'll spend on repairs for the vw.

[Da67goatman]

Except insuring a trans/camaro will cost more than the repairs to the VW, remember I'm under 25 yrs and male. Sports cars are out, or I would have a 76 jag no rust with a smallblock and 700r4 swap, that's class.

[Stewart G Griffin]

That is true;  trans/camaros will cost more to insure (thanks to bozos like the bridge incident in ohio), but i think the overall cost is still cheaper when all is said and done.  Remember, a newer passat is not going to be cheap to insure either for a younger unmarried guy.

BTW my thread concerning gm compacts/daily drivers etc. is up.

[slammed79]

Except insuring a trans/camaro will cost more than the repairs to the VW, remember I'm under 25 yrs and male. Sports cars are out, or I would have a 76 jag no rust with a smallblock and 700r4 swap, that's class.

Do they consider the XJ6 a sports car? Classy and 4 doors... just a thought.