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

[Xist]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

How tempted were you? You would have had one of the most stylish, unreliable $1500 cars here!

I was barely adequately motivated to share it here.

However, back when I used my vehicle as an office, I laughed at the idea of getting a broken-down luxury car and using that as an office. I could sell everything under the hood!

Honestly, I wondered about running power to it so I could run the vent, lights, and at least charge my phone.

[Xist]

"Averages 38MPG-45MPG!"
Again, how is an average a range? Does it average 40, but they will acknowledge going as low as 38, and they once got 45 downhill?

Also, how is that good for a Prius?!

It has several recent repairs, which doesn't suggest reliability.

"Combo/Instrument Data Cluster goes dark sometimes but periodically will come back on."

[...]

"We recorded the exact mileage a couple of days ago at 213,441 miles when the combo/instrument cluster came back on."

It sounds like it only works properly sometimes.

They mentioned a place that quoted $750+ to fix it, but you can replace 2 capacitors yourself.

Haven't we discussed this?

I cannot find anything.

"No accidents showing on CARFAX and no accidents since we've owned it. Check Engine Light comes on-and-off due to Catalytic Converter and most likely needs replacing."

I remember that one! Nope!

[At least it is still there]

https://phoenix.craigslist.org/nph/c...293493223.html

Nonrunning red salvage autotragic 2005 Insight in Tucson "It runs need battery & charging unit."

2001 Honda savic lx - $1,200 "2001 Honda Civic LX 5 speed AC running in excellent condition new clutch new battery good tires 150 k miles."

That probably already sold.

By the way, my Accord hit 220,000 miles on Sunday. My Prelude barely had more than that when the transmission went out and I blew my Civic's head gasket at the same mileage.

[Xist]

Unspecified miles, but they don't specify much: "98 Toyota Corolla . Great A-b or beginner car . Runs great $1500." I don't know if you can see it in a private Facebook group, so here are the pictures:

Bad plate and no license paint

It was in an accident?


I asked what kind of transmission it had and the seller responded "Automatic" immediately.

I think that I would ask more questions if it were a Civic or an Accord, but I can't really use Toyota parts on a Honda.

I think the 3-speed is rated 24/30 and the 4-speed is 25/33, but the manual is 27/34.

https://www.facebook.com/commerce/li...5913260007700/

The pictures aren't necessarily big enough. I cropped them so you could see it better.

[Xist]

They are asking $1,588. Sue me! https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/d...8494/overview/

[freebeard]

Sue me!

Nothing prevents you starting a $1600 beater thread.

[Xist]

There is already a $1,500 - $7,000 thread!

Besides, hopefully you could negotiate down at least $88!

This silver Prius looks good from the pictures they posted, although it has 275,000 miles. They don't say that the CC was stolen, just that they have a code for a bad cat.

Those shouldn't affect drivability when they go bad, unless they are plugged, so that is my best guess. People talk about chunks breaking loose, but if it is just clogged, maybe it could be acid-washed, but the aftermarket one wouldn't fit in a pot, what about a 10-foot system?!

Would the resonator be harmed by piping hot acid through it?

I understand that you could use old dishwasher parts!

This is an aftermarket one:

The cat is part of one welded unit that extends up to the engine bay.

Somehow this one is only $109! It says that it is made in Canada and "Not Legal for Use in California & New York, USA."

Weird how that seems to be missing a dozen places.

It also has a one-year warranty, while the Federal government requires 30 months.

Someone posted a video where he installed an exhaust system after his cat was stolen.

He bought it from someone parting out his Prius.

When I search Facebook Marketplace for "Prius part" within 10 miles I see 12 posts without scrolling--in Mesa, Phoenix, Tucson, New Mexico, and Texas.

None of those are within 10 miles or 100!

One specifies "No catalytic converter" in the title and six in the ad. If you do a basic search there is a Notify Me button. I set a notification for a Civic HX, but when I started searching for Insights it just shows Hondas. When I specified 2000-2006 the Notify Me button went away, and only one Insight showed up, from over a month ago, with an autotragic, which is bad, and they already sold the cat.

As for this Prius:

2006 Prius hybrid for $1,500.

The hybrid battery and 12 volt battery are both good.

Good tires

The car drives, but poorly. The light code says it's the catalytic converter.

Until recently, it was a daily driver. We bought another hybrid.

https://phoenix.craigslist.org/evl/c...302785309.html

A shop said that if an aftermarket works, it will fail at some point, definitely sooner than an expensive stock one would. They asked if the warranty is good enough for you.

[MetroMPG]

$1000 for base 2014 5-speed ... "needs starter"





Description & pics indicate it's lived a hard life so far!

Is that a gunshot hole in the rear door? There's a closer up pic in the ad. Maybe he was angry and shot it when the original engine went bad! If I was going to shoot my car in a fit of anger, but still actually needed to be able to drive it to work, that's where I would shoot it. Horizontal shot, not down (fuel tank).

Driven 156,000 km = 97k miles

Manual transmission
Only 25 k km on engine
new windshield, front shocks
needs a starter

Located in Quebec - unfortunately waaay too far outside my beater radius.


FB: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...8890118463682/

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by Xist

Those shouldn't affect drivability when they go bad, unless they are plugged, so that is my best guess.

That happened to my parents' car when I was a kid. Result was low power.

[Xist]

There is only one picture and a short and meaningless description. For some reason they put 20,000 miles.

x20,000 miles?

200,000?

2,000,000?

It is an autotragic, so I consider it a parts car, but you do you: https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...08217367252820

As I have posted elsewhere there is a dealership in the next town selling a 2006 Prius for $1,400, although it would probably have $400 in taxes and fees.

I also wonder if it has a bad transmission, but the place where I took my first Accord has a replacement with 137,000 miles for $200.

[MetroMPG]

They probably mean, "20,000 miles since the last oil change."