Efficient, cheap beaters! Used car ads: 35 mpg highway or more for $1500 or less

[Xist]

I wish that I could pursue the Insight, but I am not traversing the state for a nonrunning car. I guess the tow yard sold the Maxima. They now have a high mileage autotragic Sentra in rough shape, but this interests me:

Ah lame. Google said that it got 35 MPG, but when I used FuelEconomy.gov to compare it with the 2007 Fit that is still for sale (for $2,000) it said the 3 only gets 24/32, but showed the sedan. I cannot specify the hatchback, so I started looking around.

I do not know why Google says 35 MPG. The 2.0 sedan with a manual gets 23/32. The hatchback only came with the 2.3 and is rated 22/29.

How much gas can I buy for $1,100? It also has 63,000 fewer miles.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...6198187831421/

Awesome pictures!




Awesome description!

I got this vehicle for $3,200 last year and thoughout this past year, it's just been parked for about 5 months because I lost the key. But I got another one made about 3 months ago. It runs good but does need work in some areas.
For instance the front bumper was loose when I bought it, it's got a couple dents and little scratches, needs a whole new rear window (the glass shattered when I slammed it shut after a cold night) and the interior is decent but not great.
It's standard, NOT automatic. Needs a new tire, and a few minor things under the engine, i.e an oil change and possibly a new air filter? Aside from ALL of that. Lol It runs good and has gotten me and my 2 kids up and down the mountain without a problem. It's got a clean title in my name and with my clean driving record, I was only paying $45 for insurance on it. It's good on gas and would make a great project car for someone who has the knowledge, time and patience.

My version: "I bought this car last year. It runs well, but needs some work. It needs a new tire, an oil change, and possibly a new air filter. The bumper is loose, it has some dents and small scratches, the back window shattered, and the interior needs some work. Nonetheless, it has been reliable, cheap-to-own, good on gas, and would make a great project car for someone who has the knowledge, time, and patience."

[mpg_numbers_guy]

Looks pretty beat up, probably a lot more hidden issues. Mazdas don't get great fuel economy (the newer ones are alright on the highway). Their automatic transmissions were pretty bad, but it's a standard. I've heard mixed things about their engines.

EDIT: my dad loves Mazdas, but he's biased.

[iikhod]

And mazdas tend to rot away like vampires in the sunlight. Well at least here where road salt is the answer to everything.
But hey, if rust is not a thing where you live...

[Xist]

It snows, but they don't salt the roads. Good thing I have a 101-point checklist I can use to inspect it!

[iikhod]

Originally Posted by Xist

It snows, but they don't salt the roads. Good thing I have a 101-point checklist I can use to inspect it!

Saw something similar at reddit, wonder if it's the same?
That was a useful list.

[Xist]

This one? Used Car Inspection Checklist PDF

[iikhod]

Yep, that's the one. Got it on my phone, just in case.

Are you going to buy that mazda? Could be a decent car with a weekends worth of diy.

[Xist]

It sold!

There is a kid wanting to sell me his Accord, which was once like mine, for $200. As I posted here:

It has scissor doors, but the driver's side strut detached, so you need to lift the entire door unassisted. The doors damaged both fenders. Someone stole the HVAC unit, the battery, and spark plug wires. Walmart's cheapest battery is $50 and the wires were $33.50 at AutoZone when I replaced mine, so $83.50 just to maybe get the car to run.

https://ecomodder.com/forum/showthre...car-36495.html

I can replace the HVAC unit for $60 off eBay, as low as $20 from car-part, but the cheapest one in Phoenix is $45. However, the junkyard half an hour from me had one. I do not know how much they charge, but I am sure that it would be better than driving to Phoenix for a $45 part!

Hopefully they just unplugged the harness. It is kept in with three screws. If I end up replacing this whole thing:
it should cost about double.

It just seems like the scissor doors are a dealbreaker. Either I part it out or fix the hydraulics and find someone who wants scissor doors?

The interior was pretty bad, too.

The only parts that I would want to swap to my Accord were the hubcaps. Hubcaps! I have been trying to find nice Honda rims for three and a half years.

Copied from that same post:

Here is a 2005 Corolla with a manual transmission for "$1,395" at that lame dealership that had some 300,000-mile Prii.

It is entirely possible they want $500 in fees and I would want to have a mechanic check it out somehow. Someone told me her dad is a mechanic, he found all kinds of problems with a car from that place, and the dealer tried to get him to lie and say that everything was fine: https://showlow.craigslist.org/ctd/d...051046088.html

I found a mobile mechanic! I was unable to locate one before!

When I tried to research them because they were selling one Prius and then another for a low price I am pretty sure there was something about having a mechanic inspect a car before buying, but I cannot remember or find it now. I believe that someone complained that the salesman didn't let them inspect it themselves and the salesman responded "You were taking apart the engine!"

I do not have any idea why someone would dismantle an engine for an inspection except to check out spark plugs and test compression. Allegedly you need to say that you have cash on hand to test drive, but people complain that you need to actually show the money.

Maybe you could find a local mechanic available to inspect and take the car there during the test drive, but I am sure that you would get a harassing phone call before the inspection is complete.

[freebeard]

A one time I needed a valuation on my Clark Cortez, so I went to a motor home dealer. One salesman sat down to do some figuring, and the other one walked around the lot and talked to me. Once I said how much I'd paid, he cut off and the other guy came back with a figure that was suspiciously similar.

[Xist]

Okay guys, hear me out. What if, instead of trying to get that $200 2000 Honda that is missing spark plug wires and the battery, and has messed up HVAC, running, I try to get my Civic running?

Then if I decide to pursue the Accord I can park the Civic in the garage and dismantle the Accord in front of the house.

Learn how to infuriate my mother with one trick! She hates me!

Yes, it would make more sense to dismantle the Accord in the garage, which would be easy if I got it running first, but I can barely work on my Accord in there. There would be room in the garage to walk around my Civic and room outside to walk around the Accord.