Quote:
Originally Posted by backpacker3
Have you considered any older (95-02) subarus?
|
I'd consider anything manual shift 3-4 cyl in my area! Though to be honest (1) there aren't many Subies locally (no dealership), and (2) as a rule I would probably skip AWD because I don't need it and mileage suffers vs. comparable FWD cars.
Quote:
|
Saturn S-series cars (specifically SL1 and SC1). They have the highest highway EPA rating
|
I have seen a couple of SL1's in the $1k range but they violated the "50 km beater" rule.
---
BONEYARD browsing...
I dropped by 2 new car dealers to see what they had in their trade-in boneyards (older, rough, or hile miles cars they send to auction or sell "as is" from the back lot).
One interesting prospect falls in the category of "spend more upfront, but resell next year and recoup"...
(The actual car in the boneyard)
- 2007 Civic LX sedan 5MT (34 EPA hwy), $2900 -- high miles for its age (214k kms / 133k mi.) and cosmetically poor: resprayed front bumper/quarter that's flaking plus a new small dent; pretty dirty interior; needs 4 new tires (at minimum).
Some quick research shows the
cheapest '07 manuals in this area (170k kms avg.) are in the low $5k range. The cheapest '06 manuals (220k kms avg.) are in the mid $4k range.
That would theoretically give me a ~$1500 budget for taxes/fees/tires/repairs/inspections and re-sell next year at ~$4500.