Poor Girl's Car

[roosterk0031]

No way to replace it if she(you) think the car's good for 12+ months after replacing the tranny for less money. $150 per month is pretty cheap car, if she makes it to 15 month, that's 100$ month, 3 dollars per day. I'd say replace it (trannY), a 99 isn't that old, 27 mpg isn't that bad if she's not doing 150 miles per day. Get her thinking about a 40 mpg replacment like a Cobalt, and finish teaching her how to drive a manual so she has the ability to choose what tranny she wants.

I have a 250,000 malibu, 262,000 stratus, neither worth $500 to anyone else if I'm lucky, but I couldn't replace them for with as trustworthy cars for $2500. Dang $1200 Altima isn't paying off quite so well until I can get it's fuel consumption figured out.

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Originally Posted by darcane

Dump the car and pick up a '95-'99 Nissan Sentra with a manual (not the SE). If she can't drive a manual, learn. Automatics in small cars are, in general, not very good.

The 2000-2006 Sentra, with the 1.8L engine, is also a good option. It's often pointed out as one of the less pollutant vehicles of its class

[War_Wagon]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

I'm having my fiance drive my Jeep Liberty while the friend drives a POS 1998 Pontiac Grand Prix. Long term, I really want to sell the Jeep, Grand Prix, and Protege and get 2 good cars. I can do a zero-interest loan for the friend, so I don't mind buying the car and getting paid back later. Still need to get the future wife something better (more fuel efficient, reliable, safe). I'm considering an electric since we will be a 2+ car family and I might be able to charge at work for free.

Soooo....you are interested in buying some eco cars, and are within driving distance of Vancouver?? Ah, step into my office and have a cigar, do I ever have some deals for you!! ha ha

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by War_Wagon

Soooo....you are interested in buying some eco cars, and are within driving distance of Vancouver?? Ah, step into my office and have a cigar, do I ever have some deals for you!! ha ha

I actually live in Vancouver... Washington. When I tell people I work in Vancouver, they assume BC. Just shows how lame the U.S. city is when people assume you work in the Vancouver that is 300 miles away instead of the one that is 15 miles away.

If fuel prices and exchange rates are any indication, I'm guessing there are no deals to be had in BC. Besides, I wouldn't wish this difficult buyer on any friend of Ecomodder. I'm also a forum member of Slickdeals and Fatwallet.

EDIT: LOL, just saw your Tracker CEL post.

[redpoint5]

Well, the same friend needs another car again.

As a quick update, I sold her Mazda, My Jeep Liberty, and my wife's Pontiac Grand Prix many years ago.

This friend was given a 1999 Lexus EX300, but today it was rear-ended and pushed under a truck. It was showing signs of transmission wear and she described the final shift as "hard".

She follows people too close in traffic and uses the pedals as on/off switches. Even when nobody is on the road, she'll alternate between heavy acceleration and backing completely off the throttle, often causing a downshift and then an upshift.

So she's hard on transmissions.

Assuming she has $4,000 to work with, what car would you recommend? A manual would hold up better, right? I'd be concerned about syncros and clutch though as she is an aggressive shifter. You think a Prius drivetrain would hold up to constant on/off acceleration?

[Daox]

I do think a Prius trans would hold up well. Everything is 'buffered' by the motors, so there is no shock loading that can go on. MPG will surely suffer quite a bit with on/off type driving. But, at least you're starting with a higher bar than most. The 2nd gens are notorious for being reliable too.

[Frank Lee]

She should ride a Hardley- sounds like she'd be a natural for that.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

She should ride a Hardley- sounds like she'd be a natural for that.

She hates loud noises. Maybe riding a Hardley would cure her inability to maintain a steady throttle position.

[me and my metro]

I know of a high mileage Prius that uses quite a lot of oil like a quart every 500 miles. I think it is an 07 or 08 and it has 200k miles. Just saying my 200k mile Saturn doesn’t use any.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

Assuming she has $4,000 to work with, what car would you recommend? A manual would hold up better, right? I'd be concerned about syncros and clutch though as she is an aggressive shifter. You think a Prius drivetrain would hold up to constant on/off acceleration?

For that money I would buy a second generation Prius. I've had 2. The 2005 I sold when it was 12 years old with 145K miles. The 2009 was 10 years old and had 116K miles. Both were boring but dead reliable. Neither burned oil between 10K mile changes. Both returned 45 mpg in mixed driving.

The only thing require besides routine maintenance was changing the valve for the thermos. It costs less than $100 to do yourself and is technically easy just unplug a connector and loosen the hose clamps. No need to drain the coolant per the service manual. (It helps to have small hands though) The dealer will want $400.

The taxi guys get 300 - 350K miles on them with the original battery.

The Prius "eCVT" is just a single planetary gear set that connects the motor to the wheels. To accelerate the electric motors feeds in torque as required.

For $4000 she should be able to get a clean example with less than 150K miles.