What's A Good $4K'ish Car?

[MMMMMM]

I am thinking of moving up from my long-standing practice of buying $1200 cars and driving them for a year or two.

I like big comfortable solid reliable cars, and don't give a hoot about the gas mileage. K-cars and crap like that are out, but I'd rather not foot the excessive parts/repair bills on Lincolns or Caddies if and when they need fixing. I also don't like Fords much.

Front passenger room matters; the back seat could be just enough for groceries;-) I recall like 18 years ago being surprised at how roomy the Accord's front seat was, so the car doesn't acually have to be a boat provided the front interior compartment is pretty roomy.

Benchmarks: Camry is too small to be really comfortable in the front passenger compartment. Town Car is just great but I don't absolutely have to have that much room. Solidity and reliability = very important. Also prefer something that handles at least a bit better than an ocean liner. Can't stand cars that have the indented wheel wells that encroach in the legroom area.

Suggestions?

[AtlBrvs4Life]

5th generation accord. 94-97. I own one and the quality of the car is great for the price. It is my first car and I've been driving it for over 3 years without any major problems. The front seats have plenty of room and the back seats aren't horrible.

[Ray Zee]

give a hoot about mileage and what you save will get you a 6000 or so car that wont have a bunch of repair bills and take your time to deal with them. but that aside any toyota or honda is the way to go for older stuff that works.
or maybe a pickup truck. thats all i have owned mostly for the last 30 years. lots of room and safe.

[Mark H]

MMMMM Look at a Buick LaSabre or Park Ave. Ivve got two both over 200 k miles. Engines and transmitions never touched. 26 and 28 MPG hiway. Most comfortable cars ive ever had. I cant say enough good about them
Mark H

[MMMMMM]

The reason I don't care about mileage now is because I am not traveling, and have everything needed within 4 miles of where I live. The casino is 7 miles but I hardly go there anymore since playing online so much. I might visit relatives or friends at a bit more distance but not very often.

All that aside, is a 6K car more than 50% better than a 4K car in terms of repair bills? Not doubting that your advice is good, just trying to clarify. Also, I have thought of getting a pickup, what kind would you recommend? I'd want a shell for it or at least the capability to add a shell, and a vehicle rugged enough to take camping once a year.

[Sponger15SB]

2002 Kia Rio

[Yeknom58]

Kia...hahahahhahahahahah....

[Ray Zee]

m, i have four ford pickups right now so thats my answer. chev. is just as good. dodge is fixers delight. generally the more you pay the better car. but also after about 120,000 miles cars and trucks start the real money drains. and worse the constant time to get them fixed. i have a bunch of vehicles so i can do without something until its back. and i fix the small stuff myself. right now my ford dump truck is getting its clutch rebuilt as i blew it out taking a load of gravel way up in the boonies in steep roads. stupid but thats me. it was going to get me anyway but up there i had to do the tow thing and ride it down the winding mountain road in neutral for about ten miles. makes you know what shi**ing in your pants is all about.

[TobDog]

[ QUOTE ]
as i blew it out taking a load of gravel way up in the boonies in steep roads. stupid but thats me. it was going to get me anyway but up there i had to do the tow thing and ride it down the winding mountain road in neutral for about ten miles. makes you know what shi**ing in your pants is all about.



[/ QUOTE ]

Couldn't you sue the guy who owns the property, oh wait, that would be you. It could have been worse, it could have been in the snow and ice, right?
Woundn't it be easier to just get a van to live in?

[EVIL]

I recommend the Ford Crown Victoria.

Here is a link to a bunch of Crown Vic reviews:

Ford Crown Victoria Reviews (http://www.carreview.com/Midsize-Compact/Ford/PRD_235_1531crx.aspx)

[Zeno]

I think you should go for some kind of pickup. About a 10 year old model or so with an extended cab would be all you could get for 4k if you are lucky, you may have to pay more.

Get one with a bench seat and with the area behind the seats you will have plenty of room.

The other alternative is to get a Van. Not a minivan but an older short cargo van. Big space in back and sliding door etc. with lots of room and good for camping also. Chevy use to make a small cargo van. Look for one.

-Zeno

[aslowjoe]

when not playing poker I receive my income for buying and selling cars wholesale. Best car to buy. 1990-1997 Honda accord. Next best most of the nissan and toyota 4cyl's.
Joe

[SpaceAce]

[ QUOTE ]

Benchmarks: Camry is too small to be really comfortable in the front passenger compartment.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow, how big are you? I drive a 2001 Toyota Camry and I am 6'5"ish and well over 300lbs. Then again, I am almost never a passenger.

SpaceAce

[MMMMMM]

I am 6'1" and 260 and find the Camry to be less than comfortable. If I had to drive it for any extended distances I would go nuts. Same goes for the Taurus, but then maybe I just don't like the Taurus seats and the unnatural position they force my back into. I don't remember for sure about the Taurus as it's been a while.

When I had a Crown Vic it was certainly roomy enough but it sucked in snow travel, you could easily slide off the road in a good snow in one of those things. Other than that the Vic was pretty good and I liked it, it was old but I took it X-country to LV and back.

[astroglide]

or maybe a pickup truck. thats all i have owned mostly for the last 30 years. lots of room and safe

safe? every pickup i've driven has handled terribly in snow/ice/rain (weights in the bed only mitigate it slightly). lord knows what happens if you get tapped on the sides of the bed while driving at a decent speed, i think it would be bound to spin out.

[AncientPC]

[ QUOTE ]
or maybe a pickup truck. thats all i have owned mostly for the last 30 years. lots of room and safe

safe? every pickup i've driven has handled terribly in snow/ice/rain (weights in the bed only mitigate it slightly). lord knows what happens if you get tapped on the sides of the bed while driving at a decent speed, i think it would be bound to spin out.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's pretty situational I'd think. Here in TX it drops under 70F during the daytime maybe 3 or 4 weeks out of a year.

[HUSKER'66]

[ QUOTE ]
I am 6'1" and 260.....

[/ QUOTE ]

My first suggestion is to keep your current car and buy a bicycle. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

If that's not an option, then you can find a Accord for the range your willing to pay.