Hello everyone (and a request for car buying advice!)

[zippy97]

Hi all, I'm zippy. I'm located in South-Western Ontario in Canada. My previous experience in car ownership has been awful. As a dumb 20 year old I bought a 1986 Porsche 944, a 1985 Vette, and then a 2001 Jetta VR6. I was a young, stupid car enthusiast.

I paid $1,600 for a mechanic to do the work required for a safety certificate on the Porsche. Then it failed the check, and I was told it needed $3,000 worth of welding to make it ACTUALLY pass a safety. I didn't know that it was crumbling from rust underneath when I bought it.

The vette was also sold at a huge loss and I didn't even get to register it. The jetta lasted about 4,000 KM before the electrical issues were too much and I sold it.

So as you can see I have made terrible financial mistakes as a car enthusiast. Now I want to join some like minded individuals that love cars, but also like saving money

I finally have the money to buy another car. I really love Fords, so I was looking at the 1st gen and 2nd gen (North America) focuses. I think that's 2001-2011 model years here in Canada.

Can any fellow Canadians tell what me price range I should look at for a reliable car that could last for 100,00KM or more?

My dad's advice was to find something for $6,000 or so because "if you pay less than that you'll just have problems like you did before". I'd like to find a ford focus that I could have registered and on the road for $4,000 CAD or less, but I'm worried that any cheap cars will need thousands of dollars to pass a safety check.

Do you really need to spend $6,000 to get a car that will last for years? Is it wise to buy a car that doesn't come with a safety check? Is a ford focus an awful decision?

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I hope these questions are okay to ask. I understand this forum is about ecomodding, and I certainly do want to learn hypermiling techniques and save gas! . But first I need a small reliable car that won't make me bleed money...