Top 5 cheap cars to start with?

[War_Wagon]

Originally Posted by Gealii

Those exist all the cheap 1s i find are autos with 300k miles on em

Yup, generally if you find a cheap one it's a CVT. The differences between a CVT and a 5 speed model make it so it's not worth trying to convert a CVT into a stick car. They are still good for an automatic car, but they are a different animal from a 5 speed one.

[darcane]

I would add late 90's Nissan Sentra ('96-'99?) with the base engine they get good mileage. And they are cheap, simple cars.

[War_Wagon]

Sentras are dirt cheap and decent for the money. Just make sure you check for worn out CV joints. Every single one I have ever had has needed CVs, but the good news is the axles are cheap to replace.

[RedDevil]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

Any random Kia might be had for cheap, and they're actually good.

Ah, -1 on that one... I've seen my old neighbor 3 houses on go raving mad over his Kia, he bought it new with a 3 year warranty and spent a lot of time getting fixed for all kinds of problems during that warranty - all paid for, of course - but thoroughly eroded his faith in the car, but he could not sell it for more than a third of the sticker price - less than 3 years old!

I did rent a Kia Shuma to tour the Azores island of Flores. The car was mediocre, to put it nicely. Nearly left me stranded because it could not climb a hill in reverse. Had to roll it down an ever steeper grading road to a rocky beach to find a turning point; finally turned it around in a ditchlike alley, covering the inside with mud in the process by a spinning wheel (we had the windows open... bad mistake!)

I want a Kia for my hearse, I bet that protects me from dying

[gone-ot]

The FIVE attributes for a cheap FE vehicle:

1. Small CID engine.
2. Diesel instead of gasoline engine.
3. Light weight vehicle.
4. Aerodynamic vehicle.
5. Realistic speed/load expectations.

[darcane]

Originally Posted by Old Tele man

The FIVE attributes for a cheap FE vehicle:

1. Small CID engine.
2. Diesel instead of gasoline engine.
3. Light weight vehicle.
4. Aerodynamic vehicle.
5. Realistic speed/load expectations.

I'd agree except Diesel typically means high resale and therefore no longer cheap...

Also,
6. Reliable.

If you are constantly spending money fixing it, it is no longer a cheap car. For that reason, old Kias and Hyundais are out.

[Ryland]

Originally Posted by cRiPpLe_rOoStEr

Any random Kia might be had for cheap, and they're actually good.

I poked around under the hook on a friend Kia, replacing belts, changing a few light bulbs, changing filters and the car was hell to work on.

[Mad Adder]

VX and HX seem to be hard to find, but I am seeing a few of the older Hybrids...


School me on hybrids. Hard to work on? failure rate? Expensive to fix?

[radioranger]

Just found 2 last gen 5 speed escort on hartford craigslist for 1000$ look good on first view, mine gets 41 easily ,

[Mad Adder]

Ford Escort? Do they still have the head gasket leaking problem in the later generations?

I'm looking for max bang for buck with the possibility of light mods to increase mpg.