$2k Daily Driver Needed
 

I will likely be moving to Sherman, TX in the near future which is approx. 40 miles from my job in Plano, TX. I'm currently financing a 2006 Jeep Liberty. I love this vehicle, but it's fuel economy is awful. I'm looking at buying (for cash) a used car that will have better fuel economy, preferably at least an avg. of 30mpg. I'm looking at spending approx $2k. My initial research on this suggests that pre-1995 Honda Civics and Toyota Celicas seem to be a popular choice for these criteria. Any other suggestions? Any one looking at this thread happen to live in the North Texas area and want to sell me a reliable, fuel efficient car for that price?

The Toyota Tercel is a car I looked at, as I understand it they get in the mid-to-high 30s if you drive them nice.
There's the Geo Metro too, of course.

I don't think a Geo Metro would work for me. I've never been able to comfortably sit in one and if I have to spend 80 miles a day in it, I'd like to be comfortable.

Well then the Tercel might not work for you either. I kind of forget that other people are usually taller than me (I'm 5'7") so it hadn't been a consideration :/
Anyway older Hondas and Toyotas are the way to go for sure. You're not going to find many American cars at that low price with high miles that will still drive as long as the Japanese ones will.

You should check here as well, for every car that catches your interest:

Search by Make - fueleconomy.gov

honda civic, or a crx, or an accura integra all from teh early 90's.

all can be found for 2k if you look just a bit. don't be afraid of 200k miles - but expect to put a timing belt in them.

For what you are wanting, I would recommend a early to mid 90's Honda. Civic, CRX, even an Accord are all good for over 30 mpg. Also as stated before an Acura Integra(Acura is made by Honda) is also a good choice, I drive a 92 Integra LS, and am averaging 40 mpg, with a few modifications and some hypermiling. The Civic and CRX would be the best choice for mileage, but my brother and a close friend both drive 93 Accords, and average high 20's around town and low to mid 30's on the highway. Both are manual transmission, four door model.

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I'll start looking at Acura's as well. I have a list I've compiled on Google Docs, but the forum won't let me post links yet...

Well, there's exactly zero intact CRXs for sale in my area for that price range. I found a few Integras, but the Accords and Civics I've found look like they are in better shape.

According to that site a 1996 Honda Civic HX would be the way to go. I found one in the area for $1,790, but the mileage isn't listed. I'm waiting to hear back from the seller.