help me find a car!

[arthursimone]

my trusty station wagon has betrayed me by throwing a piston. It was the worst of times, it was the worst of times.


if anyone has any leads whatsoever on anyone selling a car, let me know. If there's anyone crazy enough to take a painting or two as partial payment, let me know. If anyone has a haunted car they need to get rid of, let me know. If anyone wants to play Morgan Freeman to my Jessica Tandy, let me know.

[themoss]

yes miss daisy....I may be able to help.
it would be cash though...no art...they philistines.

[arthursimone]

hmm, has anyone ever bought a salvage car?
I called a place that says the only thing needed on most of them was 'body work.' is that their way of saying there's a zillion things that need replacing?

[mcnichol]

You need to go to one of those police auctions and get a drug lord's car. that way you can get a tricked out grand torino or something for like $5. and potentially a secret compartment full of blood money.

blood money = second car

[improvstitute]

You need to go to one of those police auctions and get a drug lord's car. that way you can get a tricked out grand torino or something for like $5. and potentially a secret compartment full of blood money.

blood money = second car

there is one of those places on South 183 before you reach Montopolis (if you are heading south). They have lots of property (cars, etc) for sale and it is open to the public. I am not sure how much they cost, but it would be worth investigating. All cars are guaranteed to come with either blood money or blood blood.

On a side note, the word blood looks weird - prob just me

[DollarBill]

It can be tough to find a cheap, salvage, or auction car without knowing what you're doing. There are places like "lemon busters" who'll inspect a car for like 100 bucks or something, but it sounds like that'd be a large percentage of the price of the car. How much are you looking to spend?

[arthursimone]

How much are you looking to spend?

Somewhere between 25 and 30 dollars




though I might have to go up by another 3-4000 bones

[sara farr]

Search "cheapest car" or "nano".

[DollarBill]

dude, you can get a great car for 3 grand. it may take some time, but be patient. look in the classifieds and at www.autotrader.com and at the auctions and the other places people listed. If it will ease your mind you can always have a "lemon busters" place take a look at it, or just a mechanic that you trust. Someone in the AIC might have one that they go to. I've heard good things about "groovy automotive".

I guess my advice would be to look for an older car with less miles. Like I'd take a '97 with 75,000 miles before a 2000 with 100k on it. Of course it all depends on the condition. I know I'm not much help from chicago, but if you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to try and answer them. Good luck. Cars are cool.

[erikamay]

here is the consumer report's recommendations for used cars in various price ranges based on reliability:


LESS THAN $4,000
Chevrolet Prizm ‘98; Tracker ‘98
Ford Escort ‘99
Geo Prizm ’97
Mazda Protegé ‘97-98
Mercury Tracer ‘99
Subaru Impreza ‘97
Suzuki Sidekick ‘98

$4,000 - $6,000
Acura CL ‘97-98; Integra ’97; TL ‘97
Chevrolet Prizm ‘99-00; Tracker ‘99
Ford Crown Victoria ’98; Escort ’02; F-150 ‘97
Honda Accord ’97; Civic ‘97-98; CR-V ’97; Odyssey ‘97
Isuzu Oasis ‘97-98
Mazda B-Series (2WD) ’98; Millenia ’98; Protegé ‘99-00
Mercury Grand Marquis ‘98
Mitsubishi Galant ‘00
Nissan 200SX ’97; 240SX ’97; Altima ’98; Frontier ’98; Maxima ’97; Pathfinder ’97; Pickup ‘97; Sentra ’97, ‘99
Saturn SL ’99; SW ‘99
Subaru Impreza ’98; Legacy ‘97-98
Suzuki Grand Vitara ‘99
Toyota Avalon ’97, Camry ’97; Celica ’97; Corolla ‘97-99; Echo ’00; RAV4 ‘97-98; Sienna ’98; Tacoma ‘97

[DollarBill]

I was looking at erica's list and it reminded me that I was gonna suggest something like a crown vic or the mercury equivalent (the grand marquis). The good thing about them is they mad A LOT of them. And cops use 'em and taxi companies use them. WHICH MEANS, there's a ton of parts out there for them, WHICH MEANS the parts are cheaper and shops are very used to working on them. Basically I'm just saying maintenance is cheaper for them, but of course you're gonna spend a lot less on gas with most everything else.

A tiny little toyota pick-up truck pretty much can't be beat for overall utility and durability, while still maintaining good gas mileage. And of course people love their civics/integras. But they'll forever be locked in disagreement with the corolla people.

If wanna spend a little more then I would get a mid nineties Diesel Jetta. Pretty reliable, VW style and comfort, and 48 mpg (yeah FORTY Eight) without the steep hybrid price tag. Cars are cool.

[arthursimone]

the little Toyota and Nissan pickups are very very attractive, especially considering that there are a zillion of them locally, which brings their price tag down. I need the ability to haul paintings and building materials around, but not to the degree where I need a truck.

The thought of a minivan isn't terribly appealing.

Which leaves me with station wagons, which I really really like having.
I'm very tempted to just bite the bullet and finance a nice used Subaru Legacy wagon, since I've always wanted one. On the other hand, I'm finding a 99 Ford escort wagon for only half as much.

I'd take the ford in a second if not for the fact that Consumer Reports rated my '98 escort wagon as an excellent car, and here it is dead at 149K miles, even after I thought I took good care of it and had it worked on regularly.

Still, those subarus look great.

[York99]

http://www.policecruiser.com/

They've often been through a lot, but hey, you look like a cop! No more speeding tickets!

I'm serious. My friend got one. It had some trouble after a while, but he is a damn maniac and probably had a lot to do with it. Those things are fun to drive in. It might be my next car.

[DollarBill]

I'm very tempted to just bite the bullet and finance a nice used Subaru Legacy wagon, since I've always wanted one.

Don't forget that subaru also makes the legacy/wrx in a wagon, and from what I've read, they're EXTREMELY fun to drive.

[arthursimone]

i've ruled out a truck
or a subaru; I can't really justify the need for 4WD
flirted with the idea of financing a recent Scion or Toyota minivan

getting real close to heading to San Antonio to pick up this:
1993 Toyota Corolla DX wagon
one owner, 76,810 miles, $3900