$ 1,000 Vehicle Challenge

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A $1000 car in NY that actually runs and drives relatively safe and effectively?

Maybe as long as it comes with more than 6 months worth of state inspection left on it. Otherwise that $1K car is going to cost you $2K to get it to possibly pass inspection.
 
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Originally Posted by bullwinkle
Originally Posted by irad
If you have hills and snow only get a crown vic with a limited-slip differential. This is from my personal experience.
New enough for traction control and studded snow tires ain't bad either. My MGM actually does pretty well with GY Assurance Tripletreds. My vote is Cavalier, all the way, the older & less rusty, the better-they seem almost impossible to kill in the TBI years.

This. I'm a huge fan of the Cavalier. Have a decent amount of experience with them to know they're more reliable than the best of the best Japanese cars.
 
Originally Posted by Silverado12
Originally Posted by bullwinkle
Originally Posted by irad
If you have hills and snow only get a crown vic with a limited-slip differential. This is from my personal experience.
New enough for traction control and studded snow tires ain't bad either. My MGM actually does pretty well with GY Assurance Tripletreds. My vote is Cavalier, all the way, the older & less rusty, the better-they seem almost impossible to kill in the TBI years.

This. I'm a huge fan of the Cavalier. Have a decent amount of experience with them to know they're more reliable than the best of the best Japanese cars.


Z24 if I can find one that isn't rusted out!
 
Originally Posted by Quattro Pete
Since this is BITOG, Crown Vic, of course.


^^This.

End thread :^)
 
Chevy Astro/GMC Safari. You can DD it. Seats in, take the family. Seats out, haul plywood. Tow a boat/motorcycle/utility trailer. Has a sturdy V6 that can't be killed. Best of all, you can live in it down by the river!!!!
 
Older Honda Accord, Camry, Corolla, Civic. Any GM with the 3.8. Ford Taurus (if you really hate yourself). 3.5 Ford Ranger 5spd stick. Jeep Liberty 3.8. Nissan Maxima (if you can find one without the floor rotted out). Nissan Altima.
 
For a grand, I'd forget neato appeal and look for condition.
A really boring old Buick or Taurus owned from new by some now departed older person or someone forced to give up the keys is probably a good bet in something cheap.
You can find half-decent old Subies, Toys and Hondas for under two grand, but that would take some looking.
Not much out there for one big buck that runs and drives and is likely to continue doing so for a year without a lot of shade tree therapy, although if that's part of the plan then your horizons are almost limitless and include some Benzes and BMWs.
The thing is that most parts for these old crocks are cheap without regard to the badge on them, so if you're willing to put in some sweat equity, you really do have a lot of choices.
At my current age, this no longer appeals, although it once did, so I drive an '18 Accord Hybrid and Wifie has the '17 Forster.
 
So do you want foibles and traffic to your blog or do you want something actually reliable so you can just brag about how smart you are and how it didn't need anything?

When "Top Gear" drove across America for $1000, they didn't get a Corolla. They got a cadillac fleetwood, a camaro, and a dodge ram. Because it was funnier.

obligatory link to a car that, even with a few parts to pass inspection, was well under $1000. Same deal, same color.
 
Originally Posted by oilpsi2high
https://albany.craigslist.org/cto/d/northville-1994-ford-ranger/6971624175.html

Old V6 Ranger?


Yes, but you need to make sure the frame isn't trashed up there.

You will get more for your money from an Explorer or Blazer than a pickup. I paid $250 for my Explorer...I did put $1500 or so in it getting it back into shape, but if it had been a Ranger I wouldn't have gotten it for $250, probably more like $1K. It has been very reliable after fixing the immediate issues, and the 4WD works great.
 
Originally Posted by eljefino
So do you want foibles and traffic to your blog or do you want something actually reliable so you can just brag about how smart you are and how it didn't need anything?

When "Top Gear" drove across America for $1000, they didn't get a Corolla. They got a cadillac fleetwood, a camaro, and a dodge ram. Because it was funnier.

obligatory link to a car that, even with a few parts to pass inspection, was well under $1000. Same deal, same color.


Both. More traffic would be nice, but my goal is to tie finance into every post.

I want to show how you can be frugal driving something that's perceived as a "junker."

Once I have a year's worth of data, I'll compare it to the cost of a new car over the same timeframe.

I just do it for fun - I was big into LiveJournal back in the day. I think I made $ .06 (six cents) off of advertising so far.
 
Originally Posted by 01rangerxl
Originally Posted by oilpsi2high
https://albany.craigslist.org/cto/d/northville-1994-ford-ranger/6971624175.html

Old V6 Ranger?


Yes, but you need to make sure the frame isn't trashed up there.

You will get more for your money from an Explorer or Blazer than a pickup. I paid $250 for my Explorer...I did put $1500 or so in it getting it back into shape, but if it had been a Ranger I wouldn't have gotten it for $250, probably more like $1K. It has been very reliable after fixing the immediate issues, and the 4WD works great.


Here's a Blazer I found:

https://albany.craigslist.org/cto/d/albany-2001-chevy-blazer/6970377013.html
 
Well if you're going to get something fun, I suggest the 2004-2005 Mercedes E-320. Avoids the early problem in the 2003 year. Avoid the 2006 E-350, those have bad balance shafts. You'd have to pop the price up to 2-3k, but you can actually find them in decent condition, they just have high miles. The E500 too, those are cheap, but usually the problem with them is that the airmatic is blown so those are at least $300+ per corner to replace. They started using more aluminum in 2003+ so less rust issues. There's also the Mercedes S430 those would also be in the 2-3k range.

Or as others said, the cheap beater is a Ford Taurus. I'd search hard to find one with the Duratec engine, if there's a vin, the 8th digit is for engine and an S is the duratec, the basic vulcan was a U and the flex fuel was a 2. Last year for Duratec was 2005.

https://newyork.craigslist.org/fct/cto/d/westport-mercedes-e500-4matic-2005/6951997541.html

https://newyork.craigslist.org/fct/cto/d/stamford-2006-mercedes-benz-s430/6958054012.html

https://westernmass.craigslist.org/cto/d/pittsfield-04-mercedes-500/6966800123.html
 
05+ Focus with a manual should be fairly cheap to run, and parts are getting very cheap. The plan was to run my wagon for another few years with no major repairs expected but then my buddy smashed it at autocross... If I could buy another one for 2-3k I would, but the manual wagons are getting rare.
 
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Does NY still do state inspections? As in full safety, not just a tailpipe sniffer?

$1k here in MN doesn't buy you much, let alone something that would pass inspection (emissions, even). I can't imagine trying to find something that would, for that price.
 
Originally Posted by 14Accent
Does NY still do state inspections? As in full safety, not just a tailpipe sniffer?

$1k here in MN doesn't buy you much, let alone something that would pass inspection (emissions, even). I can't imagine trying to find something that would, for that price.


Yes. They don't use a tailpipe sniffer, at least not at the shops I've been to.

They do connect to your computer though if it's OBD2, so your CEL can't be on.

There's a list of crap that they're supposed to check. Most just check lights, etc. and maybe pull a wheel. If the CEL isn't on, they slap a new sticker on it.

I wish they'd check frames. I see vehicles every day that are definitely unfit for the roads.
 
If you could find a 4 cyl /5spd/ 2wd Ranger or any car with that drive train,.. 50 dollar cars were the beaters when I was a kid
grin2.gif
 
Pontiac Vibe which is basically a Toyota Corolla Matrix but no-one knows that little secret IMO. Try a Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, or Chevy Malibu/ Impala/ Buick of the same design. Your Best Buy will end up being a car you weren't really looking for but just fell upon a good steal. And you know you cannot be fussy about the color and will have to go by condition. Post a picture of the find and the price after you find the hidden treasure.
 
Originally Posted by Wolf359
Originally Posted by donnyj08
2000-2005 Ford Taurus 3.0 Vulcan.


Ugh, the Vulcan had 155hp vs the 200hp in the Duratec. At this age, they're probably the same price or a few hundred dollars more. The SEL and SE models were more likely to have the Duratec and there's always the Mercury Sable LS which normally had the Duratec in that trim.

https://jerseyshore.craigslist.org/cto/d/hazlet-2004-mercury-sable-ls-premium/6955458151.html


To be fair, the Vulcan and the Duratec feel practically identical around town. The Duratec makes more power, obviously, but it's at the upper end of the rev range. Most people would never notice, and the Vulcan is leaps and bounds easier to work on than the Duratec. Take the alternator, for example. Vulcan? Maybe an hour. Duratec? At least 3. Which would you rather fix in your "beater"?
 
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