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

[Xist]

Not counting this slightly-modified one from a month ago. The owner is asking $3,250.

The seller of one of the autotragics that I found knew what an HX was and made a big deal out of it, but again, it was an autotragic.

No, this winner has a 5-speed manual transmission, but a bad clear coat, bad clutch, bad AC compressor, the power windows don't work, bad battery, a split seam on the driver's seat, and the tires need to be replaced.

Someone put in a security system. That should probably be removed.

Someone also took apart the steering column.

Correlation is not causation?

"I didn't rob a bank!"
"You spent 10 years in prison!"
"Correlation is not causation!"
"They convicted you!"

I am guessing that the clutch went out and the owner let the car sit, then traded it in or sold it as-is. Someone else bought it and hopefully bypassed the security system, which would explain why they accessed the steering column, but the seller states that it doesn't run.

Then it was donated and put on eBay.

Is that because of the clutch, which they then mention, or could the security system be responsible?

I cannot find anything about that, though.

They state that the AC compressor doesn't function, but how could they test that if the engine didn't run long enough?

It is registered in California, but originally bought in Oregon.

Did Oregon allow lean burn? I know that California doesn't, but I cannot find anything about Oregon.

Can you register a lean-burn car in California at all?

"It appears to have all the standard equipment for this trim level."

Sure! Not counting the driver's fender, the aluminum rims, the headlights, the stereo, whatever goes next to it on that year, and the muffler.

Could the security system disable the windows, or just general electrical problems?

What did they do to the dash?!


It seems to have the stock exhaust manifold and catalytic converter. Those are hard to come by! Eric the Car guy says that Hondas don't like aftermarket CCs, but where do you even buy used ones?!

The battery isn't strapped in. It is sitting at an angle!

I figure the black cable that is tied up on the left is part of the security system. What about the red and blue one hanging down?


Maybe it would be fun to figure out the electrical problems. Maybe whoever tries will end up donating it again.

It was last registered in 2016 and passed smog 07/12/2017 in San José.

I lived there when I was a kid. My grandparents lived there the rest of their lives.

It had 200,435 miles, but it now has 230,845, so maybe it didn't sit too long.

It is currently going for $260, but there is about an 8% buyer's fee, at least $80.

[freebeard]

Definitely not a big bag of problems.

[Xist]

If this were in Phoenix and I could buy it for a couple hundred and pay a couple hundred to tow it home with a Penske then it might be worthwhile, or if it had a bad engine I could haul it to a junkyard, grab the good parts, and have them take the rest.

Maybe someone in the area will take advantage of this, but I am not paying $770.90 to ship it!

Nor am I driving a rental out with all of my tools and trying to fix it and driving it home.

Now we are at $1,115.90 for what? A parts car?

Hopefully the cat works, so I could claim that. The wheels are garbage. Maybe I could get a backup engine with 230,000 miles for mine with 220,000

[Xist]

Unfortunately, it is nonrunning, and an hour away. I think the mobile mechanic that I keep harassing lives halfway there. They claim a 2004 Focus, but the VIN says 2003. What do you think of this enigma? [Fixed everything with a broken red line]:

Replaced the belt, it started and ran for a second, then sounded like the belt got jerked off the car again, there was a really loud clanking sound, and it shut off. I killed the battery trying starting it again.

It has low mileage.

Tires and wheels are worth that much alone I'm sure.

20042003 Ford Focus $500

[mpg_numbers_guy]

Originally Posted by Xist

Tires and wheels are worth that much alone I'm sure.

But good luck selling them for that. On older cars it's hard to even beat $250 for a set of wheels and tires.

[Xist]

Sweet! Where can I find alloy OEM rims and tires for my Accord for $250? I have been looking for over four years!

Surely the Focus could be sold for parts and scrap, if all else fails.

I scheduled an appointment to look at it yesterday, but Mom scampered off, and returned an hour after I was supposed to be an hour away. I asked if I could see the car today and the owner replied "Sure! 8am or 2pm!"

Notaries and mechanics wouldn't open until 9 and I have clients starting at 2:30pm, so that didn't work. I suggested something and she asked "Why don't we meet up on Saturday?"

How many mechanics and notaries are open on Saturday?

So my first car was a red 1987 Honda Prelude Si. It was a fun car, but I needed to get a real inspection before I bought her. Two mechanics said "I only have the time to look at her quickly." Each of them found problems and said "Well, I wouldn't be afraid of her!"

That statement made me afraid. Why would a mechanic be afraid of a car? However, I wasn't a mechanic. I didn't know anything about cars!

At least one of them said that the clutch was going out. They showed me the receipt for the clutch they replaced two years earlier.

I replaced the clutch 3 times. None of them lasted 2 years.

Anyway, I bought the car with 150,000 miles, immediately replaced the clutch, brakes, and tires, and then when I nearly had 220,000 miles I hit the fuel tank covers in the bus yard parking lot. That ripped out some crossmembers under the engine and did other damage. A friend brought a friend of his. They looked at it and he just shook my hand and said "I'm sorry," but in a long list of times that Mom [and Dad] persuaded me to do something that I later regretted, Mom convinced me to drive my car, which didn't drive right, to our mechanic, who just said "My wife has done worse!"

So what? Did she wreck a car so badly that you couldn't identify it?

That was one of the helpful mechanics that declared he wasn't afraid of it.

I repaired one thing after another on that car before the transmission went out--not just through him. I think that I went to 3 different shops. Each time they only told me there was one problem, but as soon as they fixed that they found another.

One of those problems may have been unrelated to hitting the fuel tank cover and my parents' poor advice, although the car was clearly too old and prohibitively expensive to keep.

I had a power steering leak. I was struggling to keep the rest of the car working, so I just periodically added power steering fluid. Well, it soaked the rack and pinion. I went to get an alignment after hitting the fuel tank covers and they told me that I needed to replace the rack and pinion.

I don't know what damage power steering fluid can do, but when I had a leak in my Civic I didn't just keep adding fluid like my roommate insisted, I took care of it.

I think that an oil leak ruined the starter in my Accord, so not only do leaks always get worse, but they can damage other components.

Anyway, I drove that Prelude up here to visit Mom and Dad in 2004 and after about an hour, as I started to descend the big hill, I heard some kind of sound, which I wouldn't describe as a "Clunk," I turned off my stereo and my fan, but didn't hear anything else. I carefully drove to the first repair shop in Payson, maybe half an hour away, and the mechanic told me that my alternator seized and broke my belt.

They wanted $500 to fix it, but I was sick and tired of fixing up this car. I called Dad saying that I just wanted to have my car hauled off, get a rental, and ride my bike until I could afford another car.

He insisted on loaning me the money to fix my car and then when the transmission went out the old car with 222,000 miles had a bunch of new parts, including the alternator.

So, maybe the lady's alternator went out, killing the battery, and breaking the belt, but from what I can tell, it could be any of dozens of other things. I just don't know why they would prevent the car from starting.

I found many repair shops with pages saying that if your serpentine belt fails your car can totally stall and not restart, but all they said was that you need to have them fix it.

The belt powers the water pump, alternator, and power steering pump. The car might overheat and it might die once the battery died. No, the power steering pump really doesn't matter!

[Xist]

I tried again to schedule a time to see the Focus. The lady said that someone told her that it has a bad head gasket.

"So not sure if u want to waste your time unless u have another motor for it."

At least she wrote out "Your."

I have replaced two head gaskets and an engine with 111,000 miles may be worth saving, but with a bad head gasket on top of whatever prevents the car from starting and caused the serpentine belt to fail twice, but she still thinks that it is worth $500, because, you know, wheels.

How much would any of you pay extra for particular wheels? I don't think that I have ever seen Accord or Civic HX rims for less than $200, but I wouldn't pay $200 for them, and if someone had a Civic with steel wheels I cannot imagine they would negotiate down $200 for having the wrong wheels.

If I went to Discount Tire and asked for steel wheels with name-brand tires, how much do you think they would give me for these?

Car-part shows a junk yard with alloy rims for a 2003 Focus for $25 each, but somehow steel doesn't count when it comes to wheels.

I found aluminum wheels for $40-50 each, but 4 different junkyards have 1 each.

Have any of you tried negotiating at a junkyard? "You only have 1! What good does that do you?!"

So, I could have nice stock rims for $170. Decent tires would start at $350 and then good luck selling aftermarket wheels for $250, right?

It sounds like it would be cheaper to keep the aftermarket ones until the tires wear out!

That is the only picture that shows the wheels.

She went on and on about the perfect condition of the car. So what?! I would need to diagnose two major problems and possibly replace a couple hundred dollars'-worth of parts, plus the engine! Then we had this gem of a conversation:

Is her gender a disadvantage or an excuse?

Well, Kelley says that it would be worth $2,044 if it were in good condition. She kept claiming that it is in excellent condition--except, you know, for everything under the hood, and this:

That definitely looks like a case of passenger headlight: Broken!

She claimed that it was never in an accident. Mom pointed out that maybe her son kept it from her. Is it me or does the bumper right in front of the broken headlight look like it was hit?

Missing paint! That's not getting better!

She talked about how clean it is. I honestly can't tell. Even with Google: CSI all that I can see is a bit of dust, that the stereo is pushed in for some weird reason, and a cigarette lighter in front of the stereo.

"It smells like cigarettes?"
"Marijuana! My son is a pothead! HAHAHA!"

Great! I could get a contact high just driving it!

Are potheads known for meticulous car care?

What is to the bottom-left of the steering wheel, with that cable going into the door jam?

For the record, car-part.com says that there is an engine in Tucson with 133,000 miles for $745.75, so not $1,000 like I said, but with 20% more miles.

Let's say that it needs an alternator and a belt.
$500 car
$745.75 engine
$165.99 alternator
$031.49 serpentine belt
$085.49 replacement headlights
Total: $1,528.72

So, if nothing else is wrong, and engine swaps are quick and easy like this woman indicates(!) I could get a "$2,000" car for "$1,500."

[JSH]

Are you really expecting to get a car with no issues for less than $1000?

[Xist]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

I dunno if Honda's design silliness applies to the generation of Accord in question, but my 89 Accord required me to remove the axle to change the alternator out the bottom (only option). PITA. That alone is worth chopping a couple hundred more off the price.

Would you have paid a mechanic $500 for parts and labor? I spent a week replacing the alternator in my 1990 Accord, but that was the first time that I needed to deal with a stuck bolt, so I wonder if I could have made short work of that with my current tools and knowledge.

The alternator in the 1990 Accord is on top and in front. The guy from FixBook moved the cruise control out of the way, but that didn't look like a big deal.

However...

As I mentioned, I wonder if the Focus alternator seized and broke her belt, which happened to my Prelude. I told someone that Dad convinced me to pay $500 to have a shop replace that in 2004 and someone responded "They made a $400 profit off you."

My repair manual was for the Prelude and the Accord, so replacing the alternator in the Prelude was probably the same, or at least similar to the horrible job with the Accord.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by Xist

Would you have paid a mechanic $500 for parts and labor?

No. When I drove $300 - $1000 beaters I did all the work myself. Driving beaters went hand in hand with not being able to afford to pay a mechanic to fix my car.

Now I buy 3-4 year old cars for daily drivers so I don't have to worry about doing much besides routine maintenance.

I've had to do quite a bit of work on my Astro van but it isn't a daily driver so I can work repairs / upgrades around my schedule. (I have a pair of front shocks in the garage waiting on a nice day when I don't have anything better to do)


The biggest job I did on my own was replacing the engine on a 1990's 3.3L Caravan. It had a similar situation as your alternator where to remove one of the accessories you had to remove a half-shaft and also remove the ball joint to swing the hub out of the way. The engine swap took about 35 hours.