Looking for a commuter car that is fuel efficient, reliable, and low priced.

[Bill7]

Hi - I'm looking for suggestions for an ultra low priced, fuel efficient, reliable commuter car with perhaps 120k miles that could handle a 150 mile roundtrip daily commute of easy highway driving with the cruise control set to whatever the speed limit is for 3 days a week commute.

I was thinking about late 1990's / early 2000's Toyota Corolla / Camry or Honda Civic / Accord vehicles which could be hidden gems with a lot of reliability left in them.

Would anyone know what are the good years / reliable engine choices for them (and also the ones to avoid). I don' t want the years that have issues with chronic oil burning / sludge or bad transmissions.

Also, would anyone know what year would be too old where part's availability would be a serious problem?

My goal would be to keep the car for 5+ years, and take the car to very high mileage with good maintenance (5k/6 month OCI, 3 OCI with HPL EC 30 to gradually clean out the engine), 4 gradual "do it yourself" transmission fluid drain/fills to restore the health of the transmission, etc.

 

[cheesepuffs2]

Buy the cleanest Camry you can find at whatever your budget is.

 

[redhat]

I have a probably very different opinion, but still truthful (MPG wise).

C5 Corvette. It will get 30mpg on the highway and check all those boxes. Only thing is it'll probably be a bit more costly than a Toyota. You probably could pick up a 120-150k C5 in OK shape for 8-10k (maybe?).

I have been looking up F-bodys and have cars on the mind.

 

[simple_gifts]

Be mindful that certain Camry/Scion/ models have oil burning I4 covered by a TSB (circa 2009); Not everything they make is worth buying

 

[Bill7]

I have a probably very different opinion, but still truthful (MPG wise).

C5 Corvette. It will get 30mpg on the highway and check all those boxes. Only thing is it'll probably be a bit more costly than a Toyota. You probably could pick up a 120-150k C5 in OK shape for 8-10k (maybe?).

I have been looking up F-bodys and have cars on the mind.

Be mindful that each day the car would be parked in a free "park and ride" at the bus station while I'm at work, and I didn't want a type of car which might be a theft temptation, as the parking lot is in a decent neighborhood but still it's an average area in terms of crime.

 

[gabriel9766]

Need to find u a 12-18 focus. I love them it’s always been my second car. Yea people complain about the dual clutch but if you drive it hard you don’t have problems and can get 30+ mpg easy

 

[Bill7]

Be mindful that certain Camry/Scion/ models have oil burning I4 covered by a TSB (circa 2009); Not everything they make is worth buying

I got the idea from a friend at work, who uses a high mileage 1994 Toyota Camry XLE I think for his commuter car.
It's one of those cars which can easily go 300k to 500k miles, even with questionable maintenance, but parts availability is likely a problem.

I was thinking 1997 to 2007 year range, something reliable and fuel efficient. 4 cylinder is a must for the fuel efficiency.

 

[BrendanC]

7th gen accords are cheap and reliable. just might have to do motor mounts and deal with a little oil burning.

 

[Bill7]

Need to find u a 12-18 focus. I love them it’s always been my second car. Yea people complain about the dual clutch but if you drive it hard you don’t have problems and can get 30+ mpg easy

Wow, that's thinking outside the box. A Ford Focus. I do regard Ford as the best of the 3 US automakers in terms of reliablility.
My perception (correct me if I am wrong), is that Ford, GM, Chrysler were always good at building big heavy vehicles, but they could never build a reliable small car. Maybe I am too old and thinking about the Ford Pinto / Chevy Vega / Chrysler Neon.

 

[supton]

I got the idea from a friend at work, who uses a high mileage 1994 Toyota Camry XLE I think for his commuter car.
It's one of those cars which can easily go 300k to 500k miles, even with questionable maintenance, but parts availability is likely a problem.

I was thinking 1997 to 2007 year range, something reliable and fuel efficient. 4 cylinder is a must for the fuel efficiency.

Just lost a ‘99 Camry and I’d buy one in a heartbeat (presuming I could find a rustfree one that wasn’t stupid expensive—they’re not made of gold). Parts availability wasn’t a problem, although I was open to mailorder, and often did. And have other vehicles to drive if one goes down.

Very dubious of the 2002-2009 Camry’s due to the first couple years losing head gaskets due to pulled head bolts out of the block; the latter few years (ones approved for 5W20?) tended to burn oil. I’d avoid, but others will point out, most of the problem ones are gone now, and if you just need for a few years, can tolerate a bit of risk, and can get for a cheap enough price… hard to beat. Again, plenty of parts, plenty of mechanics, and relatively easy to work on.

Big question: what is rust like where you are?

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Consider an Echo. Small on the outside, but it has lots of space on the inside.

 

[supton]

Need to find u a 12-18 focus. I love them it’s always been my second car. Yea people complain about the dual clutch but if you drive it hard you don’t have problems and can get 30+ mpg easy

When I asked about those not too long ago, I was told “don’t walk, don’t run, flee from these.”

 

[addyguy]

Cobalt or Pontiac G5, cleanest one you can find. I do a similar all highway commute in one, and they get good mileage and are cheap to maintain.

 

[Graham Piccinini]

If Civic or Accord - a manual transmission is the way to go. Click here to see an unconventional, but effective way to revive the worst Honda Civic automatic transmission. Be ready to replace motor mounts and CV axles, a very common thing in Hondas of that age. Distributors and idle air control valves can be a PITA to troubleshoot. So maybe consider a k24 Accord of mid 2000s. In any of them: Valve adjustments, valve adjustments, valve adjustments.

Camry of the early 2000s (up to 2006?) is best with a V6 in my opinion, assuming there is no sludge visible. The 2.4L of that generation had stretching head bolts, and that engine in the next generation (2007+) Camrys has severe oil burning issues. Fixable with week-long Berryman B12 Piston soak. Also 2007+ Camry V6 or Avalon do go through transmissions, if ATF isn't changed often. 20-30K miles is a good interval, not more.

Corolla is a great option, as are its hatchback twins: 2003-2008 Toyota Matrix and 2003-2008 Pontiac Vibe. Automatics are fine in those. Manuals are actually more prone to issues somehow, usually clutch issues. Automatics last a while if neglected, or last forever when maintained. Great thing about Matrix and Vibe is that they can have AWD, while still delivering 26MPG city and 32MPG highway. FWD does about 2MPG better across the board. I had both FWD and AWD autos. Supposedly the 5-speed manual can touch 40MPG.

EDIT: I'm gonna throw one more in the mix... It's ugly, but... A Toyota Echo. I just recently saw one with clean title, in great condition, with less than 140k miles, 5-speed manual sedan for only $2400. It has the nearly immortal 1NZ 1.5L engine, and some owners claim getting 40-45MPG highway. It literally hits your every criteria: "a commuter car that is fuel efficient, reliable, and low priced." Here it is if you're interested.

 

[Bill7]

Just lost a ‘99 Camry and I’d buy one in a heartbeat (presuming I could find a rustfree one that wasn’t stupid expensive—they’re not made of gold). Parts availability wasn’t a problem, although I was open to mailorder, and often did. And have other vehicles to drive if one goes down.

Very dubious of the 2002-2009 Camry’s due to the first couple years losing head gaskets due to pulled head bolts out of the block; the latter few years (ones approved for 5W20?) tended to burn oil. I’d avoid, but others will point out, most of the problem ones are gone now, and if you just need for a few years, can tolerate a bit of risk, and can get for a cheap enough price… hard to beat. Again, plenty of parts, plenty of mechanics, and relatively easy to work on.

Big question: what is rust like where you are?

Rust is not an issue. I own 4 2006-2007 Odysseys. No rust on any of them, so I would assume I won't need to worry about rust too much with a 5th car.

 

[Bill7]

If Civic or Accord - a manual transmission is the way to go. Click here to see an unconventional, but effective way to revive the worst Honda Civic automatic transmission. Be ready to replace motor mounts and CV axles, a very common thing in Hondas of that age. Distributors and idle air control valves can be a PITA to troubleshoot. So maybe consider a k24 Accord of mid 2000s.

Camry of the early 2000s (up to 2006?) is best with a V6 in my opinion, assuming there is no sludge visible. The 2.4L of that generation had stretching head bolts, and that engine in the next generation (2007+) Camrys has severe oil burning issues. Fixable with week-long Berryman B12 Piston soak. Also 2007+ Camry V6 or Avalon do go through transmissions, if ATF isn't changed often. 20-30K miles is a good interval, not more.

Corolla is a great option, as are its hatchback twins: 2003-2008 Toyota Matrix and 2003-2008 Pontiac Vibe. Automatics are fine in those. Manuals are actually more prone to issues somehow, usually clutch issues. Automatics last a while if neglected, or last forever when maintained. Great thing about Matrix and Vibe is that they can have AWD, while still delivering 26MPG city and 32MPG highway. FWD does about 2MPG better across the board. I had both FWD and AWD autos. Supposedly the 5-speed manual can touch 40MPG.

Thank you for that very detailed info, it's very helpful.

 

[Wingo]

Cobalt or Pontiac G5, cleanest one you can find. I do a similar all highway commute in one, and they get good mileage and are cheap to maintain.

I was looking at a Cobalt recently for a beater, don't really know much about them. They mostly list for so cheap I was wondering if that little ecotec tended to fail often?

 

[Graham Piccinini]

Thank you for that very detailed info, it's very helpful.

No problem. I also just updated that post with one more candidate.

 

[supton]

Rust is not an issue. I own 4 2006-2007 Odysseys. No rust on any of them, so I would assume I won't need to worry about rust too much with a 5th car.

No rust underneath? No location is listed, so I’m not sure how to read this—I see plenty of cars listed on CL and elsewhere, that say “rust free” yet I am quite sure if I were to do my usual inspection, by starting underneath, I may have a very different opinion.

My 2011 Camry could have had the paint polished up and listed as rust free… yet I had repaired one rust hole in a wheel well already, and the exhaust was quite sketchy looking. And heat shields were falling off.

 

[ATex7239]

I think you may be going about this somewhat backwards.

What is going to be available and “reasonable” in your area may be different from others. In Texas where I am at there are a lot of trucks and no rusting issues. So a truck (though not as fuel efficient) might be a better option. Further up north there might be more cars or 4x4’s available but rust will be a concern. Regions can vary considerably. A base model, extended cab pickup probably wouldn’t get much attention on in crowded parking lot. Well probably not any more than a base model sedan anyways. I would rather have well priced and reliable truck with worse MPG than an over priced and less reliable car with better MPG. On such a long commute I would prioritize reliability over MPG unless I could be absolutely certain to get both in one vehicle. Being stuck on the side of the hwy 100 miles from home after a full day’s work would not be fun…

Maybe look for vehicles for sale in your area which suit your requirements and post them on here for feedback from the crew. Otherwise this will just be one long thread of you should get a Camry, Accord, Crown Vic, C5 (??? - LOL) etc. Everyone already knows all the usual suspects. But what is actually available in your area?