Economic daily driver: under $1000

[Dumc87]

Curious what some of you fellas believe to be the best beater car for a daily driver that averages +30mpg

I can turn a wrench or two, so I figure any suggestion would involve some degree of mechanic ability.

I'd personally like to find an Infiniti G20 for under a grand, or a VW TDI not-beetle lol

 

[skyactiv]

A Cavalier with a stick. Parts are cheap and easily found at the Autozone and salvage yards. FYI, this is 2017.

 

[901Memphis]

For $1000 it's hard to pick a specific make and model to buy, it's more of finding the best car you can for that much which is hard

That being said any late 90s 4 cyl with the manual transmission would be a good starting point. Nissan Altimas and Sentra are good up up til they changed the body style around 2001-2002 they'll start getting expensive.

 

[Vern_in_IL]

Anything under 1k is going to be at least fifteen or twenty years old!

 

[drtyler]

Since you're in Florida, I would say working A/C is a must.

Chevy Cobalts are pretty good little cars, not uncommon to see them in that range.

 

[javacontour]

Originally Posted By: Vern_in_IL
Anything under 1k is going to be at least fifteen or twenty years old!



Or have lunar module like miles on it.

 

[901Memphis]

Ford focus or Saturn might be viable

 

[gabriel9766]

Paid $1,800 for my beater (taurus in my signature) with 146.6k on her. Needs a new thermostat, p.s pump has small leak and ac clutch rattles. And VCG seeping. All can be done in a days work.

 

[Ramblejam]

Best beater car? Sounds like what I was looking for. Made a post on it awhile back.
Won my '02 Saturn @ auction from Copart (in North Carolina) for $150; was a AT&T fleet car. Just passed state inspection before I purchased it. 33 MPG on last fill-up (running around town), and easy to work on. They're known to suck down oil, but with Mobil 1 HM 10w-40 in the sump, I've yet to add the first drop after 1,000 miles.

Just watch this link. It has all the filters already applied; vehicles listed will change on a daily basis: Copart

Good luck!

 

[barkingspider]

Geo or Chevy prizm 5 speed manual. It is basically a corolla, will run forever, 36-40mpg, parts are cheap, maintenance is cheap.

 

[RichardS]

I'm not sure what part of Florida you're in, but here in Central Florida, lots of relatively low mileage (for 15 year old cars) old person grocery getters.

You'll have to seriously hunt around, but you'll surely find some kids wanting to offload it after they've moved mom/dad into care facilities and such that meets your need of under $1k.

Let us know what you end up with!

 

[Dumc87]

Originally Posted By: javacontour
Originally Posted By: Vern_in_IL
Anything under 1k is going to be at least fifteen or twenty years old!



Or have lunar module like miles on it.



And? lol

Jeep Grand had 272K miles on it when I got it last year. Runs like a champ

 

[Dumc87]

Originally Posted By: RichardS
I'm not sure what part of Florida you're in, but here in Central Florida, lots of relatively low mileage (for 15 year old cars) old person grocery getters.

You'll have to seriously hunt around, but you'll surely find some kids wanting to offload it after they've moved mom/dad into care facilities and such that meets your need of under $1k.

Let us know what you end up with!


I would think that is something I could find, but here in Orlando/Kissimmee, not a whole lot of that going on that I see lol Lots of broken(ish) Honda's though.

 

[Dumc87]

Originally Posted By: Ramblejam
Best beater car? Sounds like what I was looking for. Made a post on it awhile back.
Won my '02 Saturn @ auction from Copart (in North Carolina) for $150; was a AT&T fleet car. Just passed state inspection before I purchased it. 33 MPG on last fill-up (running around town), and easy to work on. They're known to suck down oil, but with Mobil 1 HM 10w-40 in the sump, I've yet to add the first drop after 1,000 miles.

Just watch this link. It has all the filters already applied; vehicles listed will change on a daily basis: Copart

Good luck!


Shoot yeah, I'd drive a SatyWaggy for $150 lol

I legit am looking for a beater because my daily drive to work is about 80 miles round trip, and I'd rather not put excessive miles on my Matrix. My dad drives a few days out of the week, and we just sold his car, so I'd rather him take care of the Matrix for now. Plus I feel weird in a car that doesn't have something wrong with it LOL

 

[ram_man]

Saturn s series

 

[Need4racin]

In florida, especially south florida you can find all kinds of low mileage cars for cheap. My absolute favorite the towncar/crown vic/grand marqs. But 30+ mpg would have to be a saturn S series. That or a buick lesabre 3800 can get 30 mpg on the highway. 01-05.

 

[Dumc87]

Originally Posted By: Need4racin
In florida, especially south florida you can find all kinds of low mileage cars for cheap. My absolute favorite the towncar/crown vic/grand marqs. But 30+ mpg would have to be a saturn S series. That or a buick lesabre 3800 can get 30 mpg on the highway. 01-05.


Checked out the Sarasota craigslist. A few interesting cars for sale. Basically looking for something that runs and drives, no blown head gaskets though. I wouldn't mind replacing a head gasket, but I know enough to know that's usually just the tip of the iceberg for a neglected car, especially if the car has under 150k miles.

The Saturns are appealing. Pretty cheap! The GM 3800 series motor seems to have a solid following. Not great city MPG but fantastic highway MPG.

 

[Nick1994]

What kind of commuting do you do?

My Camry gets 26-27 in mixed driving but pure highway is in the mid 30's. The 5SFE engines are rock solid.

Don't bother with a TDI. Your budget won't allow for the purchase of one and the repairs totally negate the fuel savings. Been there, done that, my Camry is FAR cheaper to daily drive than my TDI.

Just get out a simple calculator and calculate your fuel costs. Below is mine

Camry: 20,000 miles per year, 26 mpg, $2 a gallon is $1,538 per year in fuel costs

TDI: 20,000 miles per year, 38 mpg, $2.30 a gallon is $1,210 per year in fuel costs

The TDI cost me thousands of dollars per year in repairs just to save $6.28 a week in gas.

Gas is cheap, once you factor in the cost of registration, insurance, repairs, and all maintenance costs, it is probably cheaper to drive the gas guzzler or the savings are so small you might as well not bother.

 

[6starprez]

I'll be looking for something in this price range soon but it'll be for driving around town and take trash to the dusty landfill.

Kind of a weird statement you made but if you're used to driving cars with something wrong with them, what's wrong with the matrix and why are you saving it from excess miles? It's eight years old and you're putting HM oil in it @ 84k miles.

 

[supton]

30+ mpg might be tough to hit. At a grand it's more of the luck of the draw.

But you're in Florida, where it doesn't rust, so you could pick a vehicle and just keep turning wrenches. Something with a manual trans would be my vote, and something dirt common. Corolla, Camry are tempting, but I suspect a Saturn will be cheaper all around. Just get a manual.