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

[freebeard]

10 Olympic medals? Sounds too obsessive for my taste. But that would certainly help the Hyundai.

[Fat Charlie]

As Joseph Heller put it, all Olympic medals... signified was that the owner had done something of no benefit to anyone more capably than everyone else.

[Xist]

I tracked down the Focus ZX2 that I saw a while ago, but couldn't find later:

Compared to the sporty Corolla, oh heck, let's throw in the Blue Turd!



Are any of those worth pursuing?

YouTube has not suggested Might Car Mods in a long time, just carpentry videos, but that sounds more productive! Moog had a Daihatsu Cuore they called the Blue Turd. Is a Hyundai Accent comparable? I don't know!

[JSH]

Originally Posted by Xist

I tracked down the

Are any of those worth pursuing?

Not unless you want to be the owner of 3 old beaters that break down all the time.

I'd look to consolidate to something like this 2006 Prius with 118K miles for $4650:
https://phoenix.craigslist.org/wvl/c...231458883.html


I know from personal experience that driving <$1000 beaters is a constant headache.

[MetroMPG]

$1200 firm. 144k kms = 89k miles.

I can't remember the last time I saw the sedan bodystyle on the road.

Unfortunately, the ad doesn't say which transmission. But if I had to gues... well, most of these Little Old Lady Fireflies/Metros were autotragics.

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-view-details...dId=1535961710

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by JSH

I know from personal experience that driving <$1000 beaters is a constant headache.

My $750 crapcan 1990 Miata has been the most reliable beater I've ever owned. Water pump was the only unexpected repair so far in ~12k kms / 7.5k mi.



On the other hand, my $1200 2000 Metro has been a bit of a headache. Sayonara, crappy Metro.

[Xist]

I don't know why my relatively-new distributor went out, but I do not remember the previous problem.

My Civic hasn't broken down in years!

I need to install the new heater core and reinstall the dash. I wouldn't have any reason to replace my Civic with any of these--or my Accord.

Are any of these suitable candidates for fixing up and selling?

My Accord was $250, but my sister-in-law didn't sell me the significantly-newer Acura that she was supposed to.

Metro, how far away is the sedan?

[JSH]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

My $750 crapcan 1990 Miata has been the most reliable beater I've ever owned. Water pump was the only unexpected repair so far in ~12k kms / 7.5k mi.

The fact that you have "only" had to replace the water pump in 7500 miles of driving is telling. The average person in the USA drives 13,500 miles per year so that is about 7 months of driving.

I have no issue driving an old car like my Astro for infrequent trips. (We drive it about 2500 miles per year) I don't want one as my daily driver or only option.

[freebeard]

I don't want one as my daily driver or only option.

That's why I have a [free] bus pass and a bicycle.

My XFi has been reliable for a month now. The only problem was I let the rear hatch drop and the 3rd brake light flopped down and is pointing at the headliner. It needs a crutch. Popsicle stick and duct tape?

[Fat Charlie]

Originally Posted by JSH

Not unless you want to be the owner of 3 old beaters that break down all the time.

I know from personal experience that driving <$1000 beaters is a constant headache.

Cue The Bottle Rockets:

A thousand dollar car, it ain't worth nothin'
A thousand dollar car, it ain't worth $#*+
Might as well take your thousand dollars
And set fire to it
A thousand dollar car ain't worth a dime
You lose your thousand dollars every time
Oh why did I ever buy a thousand dollar car

A thousand dollar car is gonna let you down
More than it's ever gonna get you around
Replace your gaskets and paint over your rust
You still end up with something that you'll never trust
A thousand dollar car, its life was through
'Bout 50,000 miles 'fore it got to you
Oh why did I ever buy a thousand dollar car

A thousand dollar car ain't gonna roll
'Til you throw at least another thousand in the hole
Sink your money in it, and there you are
The owner of a two thousand dollar thousand dollar car