Good car for college, around $5K

pontman43

pontman43

New member
I am looking for a good, reliable car for college in a little less than a year. I wanna get it now so I know what I need to fix and I can get the most of it paid off. What I am looking for is, not horribly ugly, 4 doors or pickup, good gas mileage, under 100K miles and cheap.

What I am looking into is:

Saturn SL1 & SL2 & SW1 & SW2 (96-99) fairily cheap, reliable (from my experiences with them) and decent looking (MPG?)

Mazda Millenia (98) Looks good, and V6 (reliability? MPG?)

Cant really think of any more, but suggestions are welcome.

Thanks
 
I know you might not want an "econobox" but the last version of the Tercel is great. My fiance's 97 is running over 100k miles with just regular services. Anything you need to do to this car you can do yourself. She regularly gets 34-36mpg hwy. Then there's my stock response... Honda Civic. Parts are cheap and plentiful, maintenance is easy and fuel economy is pretty good.
 
I'm not a big fan of J-bodies, but I see enough cavaliers and sunfires around to realize that they're good commuting cars.



Why not throw some money into one of these?



06SirrusLtd_Car_l.jpg




You can still detail it :)
 
My stock response is is the honda civic also you couldn't ask for a better college car, very reliable, very cheap to fix, great mpg.



Or I vote 1991-1994 MR2 hehe but I'm a little biased.
 
Yup, another vote for Honda Civic and only Honda Civic, and BTW I'm a GM/Ford truck guy so that's saying soemthing. The Civic is simply the most reliable car on the road for the money, and the new styling is quite stylish. I had my mom step up into an accord and the family loves it. So Civic if you hung up on the money, but the Accord if you don't mind spending a little extra. We tested both and the Accord drives sturdier and it more comfortable.My neighbor had 180k miles on his Civic and he recently bought an Avalanche because he fell in love with mine, anyhow, he still got 2500 trade money for that thing, amazing! The dumb dealer gave him more than he was going to sell it for, lol. I got him the internet deal 400 bucks under employee discount on the Avalanche (25k) so it was bare bones for the dealer, then he inquired about the trade. Anyhow, the dealer wanted it because they are so popular for resale. My sister=in-law had a protege and it was very reliable too, but I didn't like the way it drove personally. It felt like a go-cart to me.

Oh damn Pont I just noticed that's you what a bummer, I could have got you into that Civic, my neighbor even works down there near you, well in Pittsburg or there abouts. I'll keep my open for you. Where you going to college?
 
1995-1999 maxima. Mileage seems to vary alot though. I get 27 mpg highway (well, rural really) and was recently able to get 29 driving like a granny. However, I've heard of people getting less than 20mpg. I don't know why.



You might also want to look into protege's. They're fun little cars to throw around. Not very powerful, but they handle nicely IMO. I like burlyq's comment about not liking them because they feel like a go-cart...that's exactly why I DO like them :D.



For cheap and reliable but not much fun you could look at the chevy prizm...it's essentially a corolla only cheaper because it doesn't have the name. The older version of this was the geo prizm. I think they were made until 1997.



The civic is a good choice, but they tend to be rather overpriced, and I don't really care for how they drive. I wouldn't say they are any more reliable than the prizm (at least not much) and they're more expensive.
 
Burlyq said:
Yup, another vote for Honda Civic and only Honda Civic, and BTW I'm a GM/Ford truck guy so that's saying soemthing. The Civic is simply the most reliable car on the road for the money, and the new styling is quite stylish. I had my mom step up into an accord and the family loves it. So Civic if you hung up on the money, but the Accord if you don't mind spending a little extra. We tested both and the Accord drives sturdier and it more comfortable.My neighbor had 180k miles on his Civic and he recently bought an Avalanche because he fell in love with mine, anyhow, he still got 2500 trade money for that thing, amazing! The dumb dealer gave him more than he was going to sell it for, lol. I got him the internet deal 400 bucks under employee discount on the Avalanche (25k) so it was bare bones for the dealer, then he inquired about the trade. Anyhow, the dealer wanted it because they are so popular for resale. My sister=in-law had a protege and it was very reliable too, but I didn't like the way it drove personally. It felt like a go-cart to me.

Oh damn Pont I just noticed that's you what a bummer, I could have got you into that Civic, my neighbor even works down there near you, well in Pittsburg or there abouts. I'll keep my open for you. Where you going to college?
Click to expand...

Oh well, its OK. I am going to go to DVC for the two years then transfer to a four year, not sure what college yet though. I want to go into accounting I think.



As for the list, I scratched the saturns after hearing from my mechanics that they have a lot of weird, expensive to fix problems. So the new list is,



Honda civic (although really hard to find with low miles, under or right around 100K perferably)

Mazda Protege

Toyota Corrolla (what my mechanics rec. due to low maintnance costs, reliability, gas, cost) probably at the top of my list do to being able to find one with under 100K faround $5K

Older Honda Accord (my family has had a 92 since new and now has 150+K and still runs great!, plus after market parts are cheap and plentiful)



Another thing I have to consider is insurance, so its needs to be 4drs. Insurance for me, a 17 year old male for a new civic (what I was originally looking at) was $500 a month (full coverage, needed because of loan), more than the car payments!!!!! And for a 92 accord is was like $200 a month! These quotes were through esurance and I have no points, but one claim last year (hit in parking lot). Most of my money is going to insurance, now I see why people drive w/o insurance!
 
I was a business major but dropped out of the business program after I took an accounting class, it was horrible. Take an accounting class at the JC before you comit to that as a major. Better yet become an electrician, I am having my spa wired and the guy is getting 950 bucks for about 6 hours labor tops.
 
Burlyq said:
I was a business major but dropped out of the business program after I took an accounting class, it was horrible. Take an accounting class at the JC before you comit to that as a major. Better yet become an electrician, I am having my spa wired and the guy is getting 950 bucks for about 6 hours labor tops.
Click to expand...



Really?! Was it intro level financial accounting? I'm taking that right now and loving it :woot:
 
I'd agree with the Civic. They're nothing fancy, but they're cheap, reliable, and fun to drive.



On a side note, I took Financial Accounting here at KU....... twice in a row :hairpull It was an okay class, but it was the finance and marketing classes I took my first year in the B-School that made me switch my major from Business Admin. to Economics.
 
Your best bet is something boring like a Cavalier, Corolla, etc. Last thing you need in college when you are studying is a car you are passionate about and an easily modded Honda is probably not the way to go. I had my Chevelle in college and because I bracket raced on weekends, I had to work full time to pay for mods and my grades suffered because of it.
 
Scottwax said:
Your best bet is something boring like a Cavalier, Corolla, etc. Last thing you need in college when you are studying is a car you are passionate about and an easily modded Honda is probably not the way to go. I had my Chevelle in college and because I bracket raced on weekends, I had to work full time to pay for mods and my grades suffered because of it.
Click to expand...



Scott makes a good point, and certainly something to consider. On the other hand, depending on how much you really enjoy working on cars, there might be a huge void when you get to school with nothing to tinker on (probably not your first semester, but when things get settled in maybe). I know before I had my GTO here, I daydreamed all the time about it tucked away 6 hours across the state in my garage at home. Depending on how busy your schedule is going to be, having a car to either modify or detail could be your saving grace on those boring days where your friends seem to be doing something on their own. I know I was bored out of my mind when I had a car I didn't really care for here. Now I spend an afternoon a week detailing my car, and it's a great way to clear your head.



OTOH, you can detail ANY car and clear your head. I just find it's much more rewarding when detailing something that you are going to directly benefit from (non-monetarily speaking, of course).
 
I got a '99 Taurus when I started college two years ago.. it only gave me one real problem which was a DPFE sensor which needed to be replaced and gave the check engine light. Otherwise it made it through everything, even two winters without getting stuck in the snow or sliding all over the place (with winter tires). Lots of room for anything, big trunk.. Either 140 or 200 horsepower engines can get 20 mpg in city if you drive conservatively.



It doesn't really get more boring than a Taurus though.
 
I have a friend with a 2004 Cavalier. She doesn't particularly like it. It just isn't a good car.



And when she said "I'm glad we were in your car and not mine" when we were in the accident, it put things into perspective.
 
Have you thought about the mazda 626? I didn't, until I found mine, I love it. I drive econo friendly most of the time with a 4cyl and 5 speed I get around 32 city, and 37 highway. Cavaliers/Sunfires are great as far as dependability, and pretty safe *I know several people involved in accidents with them*, but don't expect acamzing economy. The protege, has great handling, decent pep, and great economy. Same for corollas, albeit and little more boring. A 2003~ kia spectra would give you mid 20's mpg, and also give you a huge warranty. You might want to check insurance for even an older civic, because they are on the most stolen list in most states. Good luck!
 
Scott, great point! One reason I was looking into Hondas a little more is because of modding. But now that I think about it, your right. I think I need something to want to detail, not mod. I dont really want to get sucked into working in college, which I am right now, working 30+hrs a week, going to HS full time and trying to detail cars on the side, very busy and when baseball comes...its going to be worse! I have been thinking more and more about colege and really want to do good. Corolla is sounding good.



Burly, Good point on the classes. I will definetly take your advise and try claseses in the JC because its cheaper and easier. Thanks.



Unsane, another good point, although I currently work at a auto shop so it wouldn't cost too much for me. Thats one reason why I want to get it soon, while I'm still at my job.



So, I'm mainly thinking Corolla or Toyota pickup (older), but mainly corolla. I have found many 96-99 Corollas with under 100K for under $5k. I have also found some older ones with under 150K for under $2K, which I will have in a couple of weeks, so there would be no need for a loan and it would be cheaper for insurance.



Thanks again for all the great advise on the car choice and college!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top