I need a little help...

[niky]

A Protege 5 would be a very nifty steer with lots of living space, but I doubt you can find one in your price range. At least if you're not in a very hot state, you won't experience too many electrical niggles (Proties have hot engine bays).

Actually, a Cavalier may look like crap, but it's likely cheap to run and cheap to fix, so it's not too bad. A Chevy Prizm would be even cheaper... you get Corolla guts at dirt cheap prices.

 

[GT4_Rule]

A Protege 5 would be a very nifty steer with lots of living space, but I doubt you can find one in your price range. At least if you're not in a very hot state, you won't experience too many electrical niggles (Proties have hot engine bays).

Actually, a Cavalier may look like crap, but it's likely cheap to run and cheap to fix, so it's not too bad. A Chevy Prizm would be even cheaper... you get Corolla guts at dirt cheap prices.

Geo Prizm you mean, right?

Actually, how about looking into '90s Accord? Theyre bulletproof.

 

[Wolfe]

Actually, a Cavalier may look like crap, but it's likely cheap to run and cheap to fix, so it's not too bad.

For the Cavalier, "cheap to fix" is more pertinent.

Geo Prizm you mean, right?

Nope. The Geo name was discontinued and Prizms became Chevrolet Prizms.

 

[Joey D]

For the Cavalier, "cheap to fix" is more pertinent.

Cavaliers are point a to b cars, there isn't much wrong with them, they are just cheap, slow, and pretty boring. Point a to b car.

 

[GT4_Rule]

Cavaliers are point a to b cars, there isn't much wrong with them, they are just cheap, slow, and pretty boring. Point a to b car.

Spot-on.

 

[BMWteamPTG]

oh man...great input all...

when i said "protoge5???" i meant, hmmm...never thought of that.

i did loive my olds but it did die...and hard.

id love to get an E36 BMW man...but insurance rates are whatd kill me i think.
ill look into it. and no, RWD wont be a problem considering i drove my dads impala for the entire winter

any more guys??? i appriciate anything

 

[GT4_Rule]

Any Japanese compact are good, but I think the price will kill you on some models.

- Integra
- Escorts
- Protege (avoid 1995)
- Tercel
- Contour
- Thunderbird (not the SC engine)
- Malibu (avoid the 2.4L Quad 4 engine)
- Accord
- MX-6/626
- Altima/Maxima
- Or any other large cars, as they depreciate quickly

Those models I listed are all "Average" or "Above Average" in reliability as designated by APA in Canada.

 

[franz]

I recommend Protege as well ... since I own one
It's not necessary to get a Protege5
the sedan versions are pretty good as well
and the trunk space is even better than Pontiac G6
however if your town is a bit bumpy
you may wanna stay away from protege
because the suspension is a bit sporty than the competitors

 

[GT4_Rule]

I recommend Protege as well ... since I own one
It's not necessary to get a Protege5
the sedan versions are pretty good as well
and the trunk space is even better than Pontiac G6
however if your town is a bit bumpy
you may wanna stay away from protege
because the suspension is a bit sporty than the competitors

Which, if thats what you want, BMWteamPTG, then go for it!

Honestly, Im thinking about getting a Protege too when I have license - theyre nice little cars!

 

[Perfect Balance]

If you say RWD isn't a problem, then I would go for a 240sx (extremely biased) If you get one of the older ones for around 2000 bucks, you can drop an sr20det in it for around 1500, and the rest could go to mods, or just restoring it to a newer condition. Or even an 3rd gen RX-7. I want to learn to drift in the future, so these are my choices, but i'm just giving you my input.

 

[jbrennen]

Or even an 3rd gen RX-7. I want to learn to drift in the future, so these are my choices, but i'm just giving you my input.

I sold one of those last summer in the Mid-Atlantic region, so I'm a little familiar with the market for those. You'd be very lucky to find one that could be a reliable daily driver for under $10K. Engines and turbos are prone to failure, and replacements are definitely not cheap. There are also only a handful of places in the area that can properly diagnose and fix problems with the motor. At this point, with the newest USDM RX-7s being 1995 model year, I wouldn't really recommend one to anybody as their only car. (Heck, I bought mine new in 1994 and sold it in 2005, and during that entire time, it was never my only car...)

Note that I love the 3rd gen RX-7, and don't intend to put the car down in anyway. Mine was a daily driver from 1994 to 2003, and you don't drive a car for 9 years unless you like it a fair bit. But at this point, with the age of the cars and the fact that most Mazda dealers are totally incompetent to work on them, I wouldn't recommend one to a college student on a budget, even if you did find one under $10K with no obvious problems.

 

[GT4_Rule]

....or, in fact, I wouldnt buy any car that had limited sales. Some noticeable examples:

- 3000GT
- Supra
- RX-7 (as jbrennen says correctly)
- to an extent, Eagle Talon
- MR2

 

[Wolfe]

To summarize jbrennen's post: If you intend to purchase and drive an FD RX-7 as a daily driver, make sure you have your city's bus routes memorized.

 

[Jay]

From my personal experience rotaries are more reliable than most people make out.



*Edited out longer post*

 

[194GVan]

thanks alot guys. great ideas so far. i appriciate all of your help.

she had a little of 90,000 miles on her, so she was still pretty new.

what about pontiac grand ams???

here is my car...https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showpost.php?p=2213160&postcount=1536

Just a little insight, I knew someone that had a grand am gt, probably about the same year as your alero, and right around 100k miles her engine crapped its pants too. She was also not finished with the payments.

If you want a good reliable 4 cylinder car, youre better off with a japanese brand because they are generally just as cheap to repair as a domestic and Ive seen many running strong at 175k mi +.

If your open to V8s, Chevy 350, Ford 302 or 351, Dodge 318 are all pretty reliable engines. I have a Chevy 4.3L V6 in my van, 165k miles still going strong, never smokes. Its basically a 350 with 2 cylinders cut off.

Just my 2%