What's the year/mileage/price sweet spot for an econobox that you don't want to work on?

Brand new Versa or Mirage with a manual transmission is under $13k with a warranty. In 5 years when the warranty is up if you get $3k for it then it cost you @$160/mo, figure $200 including insurance.

For my commute I would almost save that much in gas, especially with the Mirage if it gets anywhere near it's advertised mpg.

There's financing to consider too. I just got preapproved for a loan on a new car at 1.6%. Best deal for used car loan was @5%. From a payment standpoint that means a 5-year loan on a $12k new car would be less a month and less interest overall than 3-year used car loan for $7k used car.

91 Integra. Duh.

http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/200x-classifieds/the-mighty-integra-1500-your-lechumpchallengedd-chariot-awaits/76320/page1/

I have to agree with the Oldopelguy. Towards the end of 2009 we bought a 2010 Versa Hatch. It must have been a loss leader car because it has a 1.6 instead of the 1.8 everyone else has. Air, cruise, 6-speed, tilt, Aux plug for MP3, am/fm disc player, power windows and locks- pretty decent equipment for a low budget car. Total out the door was $11,995. It served as Mrs.Minis run around town car, yet was plenty comfortable for a few long trips. The 35-37mpg highway and 32-34 around town makes up for any lack of grunt it may have. It has provided 45,000 miles of trouble free transportation, with only oil changes and a set of tires I replaced when the OEMs were looking thin at 35K. I'll have to consider another when it's time to get rid of this one.

IMHO, Berk beaters. I buy nice used cars private sale for the right money and flip em after a year or two, I try not to get out of the mileage sweet spot for selling (somewhere <80k), I end up driving way nicer cars than beaters for reeeaaaly short money or less (sometimes I make a little). I detail them up nice and fix any issues while I have em, very few surprises.

carbon wrote: IMHO, Berk beaters. I buy nice used cars private sale for the right money and flip em after a year or two, I try not to get out of the mileage sweet spot for selling (somewhere <80k), I end up driving way nicer cars than beaters for reeeaaaly short money or less (sometimes I make a little). I detail them up nice and fix any issues while I have em, very few surprises.

That was my suspicion. You just have to have the cash for the higher buy-in.

The money you are willing to spend is what matters. If I was going to dd something I'd want something that $2k couldn't afford.

Take a look and see what Subaru's and Toyota's are going for, both are insanely reliable and a 2007 and up Yaris can go forever.

But I never saw the point in buying cheap cars and needing a new one every few years. I bought my dd Yaris in 2006, right when they came out. After stripping the rear interior and adding an aftermarket suspension it is fun to drive, and I get 40+ mpg, which is so fun to torture people with. Filling up once a month is wonderful.

OSULemon. It's not necessarily cash, and making the payments on a car you're not upside down in can be like putting that $ in the bank, just becomes liquid asset when you sell it.

why wrote: The money you are willing to spend is what matters. If I was going to dd something I'd want something that $2k couldn't afford. Take a look and see what Subaru's and Toyota's are going for, both are insanely reliable and a 2007 and up Yaris can go forever. But I never saw the point in buying cheap cars and needing a new one every few years. I bought my dd Yaris in 2006, right when they came out. After stripping the rear interior and adding an aftermarket suspension it is fun to drive, and I get 40+ mpg, which is so fun to torture people with. Filling up once a month is wonderful.

And (honestly) I'd rather drive a 91 integra or 86 Crx with 10 times the miles than a 2012 Yaris. I had a 30,000 mile Yaris as a rental, and wanted to blow my berkeleying brains out after about an hour with it. Same goes for the 2012 Versa rental with similar mileage.

YMMV.

poopshovel wrote:

why wrote: The money you are willing to spend is what matters. If I was going to dd something I'd want something that $2k couldn't afford. Take a look and see what Subaru's and Toyota's are going for, both are insanely reliable and a 2007 and up Yaris can go forever. But I never saw the point in buying cheap cars and needing a new one every few years. I bought my dd Yaris in 2006, right when they came out. After stripping the rear interior and adding an aftermarket suspension it is fun to drive, and I get 40+ mpg, which is so fun to torture people with. Filling up once a month is wonderful.

And (honestly) I'd rather drive a 91 integra or 86 Crx with 10 times the miles than a 2012 Yaris. I had a 30,000 mile Yaris as a rental, and wanted to blow my berkeleying brains out after about an hour with it. Same goes for the 2012 Versa rental with similar mileage. YMMV.

I agree. Maybe I should be looking at enthusiast cars that are normally fair-weather garage queens, also.

I have no issue with the Miata, but it's uncomfortable for others to ride in at the moment. Maybe if I sort the suspension and fix some cosmetic stuff, it'll solve my problem.

My dd price range is about $800-$2000. I usually budget $300 to clean up any PO neglect, change all the fluids/filters, a new set of spark plugs and drive the snot out of it. I've tried the nice vehicle with a payment, and found out they need to get fixed too. And as for leasing, HA!

ProDarwin wrote: I was ready to dismiss any talk of a lease, but at 12k/year, that first deal is 0.10/mile in depreciation + fuel and insurance costs... that's actually not bad at all.

Depending on your drive - if there is a mileage limitation in that lease, and you put as many miles on it as I do, you could be pretty well berkeleyed by the mileage charges.

I've been using a 1997 E36 as a DD, got around a 100 mile commute. Got it with over 100,000 miles on it, put another 100,000 more on it so far, and it hasn't worked out too badly from a maintenance standpoint. The key was finding a well maintained example.

But I have been thinking I may need a car with a real back seat soon.

cost you @$160/mo, figure $200 including insurance.

Who gets full coverage for $40/mo? Does this have anything to do with the first word of your username? I think for me the difference between minimum liability coverage and full coverage is about $80/mo PER CAR.

I ran the numbers and keeping MINIMUM liability coverage, state inspection ($14.50/yr) and registration (~$55-60/yr) on all my cars would cost ~$8500/yr. 7000+ of that is MINIMUM liability insurance.

The great irony is that since liability only covers things i do while driving, and i cant drive more than one car at a time anyway, 92% of that $7000+ bill is basically a legal form of fraud.

Vigo wrote:

cost you @$160/mo, figure $200 including insurance.

Who gets full coverage for $40/mo? Does this have anything to do with the first word of your username? I think for me the difference between minimum liability coverage and full coverage is about $80/mo PER CAR. I ran the numbers and keeping MINIMUM liability coverage, state inspection ($14.50/yr) and registration (~$55-60/yr) on all my cars would cost ~$8500/yr. 7000+ of that is MINIMUM liability insurance. The great irony is that since liability only covers things i do while driving, and i cant drive more than one car at a time anyway, 92% of that $7000+ bill is basically a legal form of fraud.

Depends on the area, really. We have full coverage on the Cherokee and MSM, both with a pretty low deductible. Then minimum on the MX6 and Escort.

It's $126/month. That's two drivers, 4 cars. If we took $80 off for a difference between minimum and "full," we'd be well into the negatives.

I only have liability on my cars, but the add on to get full coverage is only on the order of $30/mo. It's just not even worth that much to me to cover my own stupidity on my cheap ass cars. I am over 30 and have a perfect driving record and a huge number of policies with the same insurer so that might help.

Not an "econobox" but i'd say any 2000-2006 or so full size GMC with the 3.8

I paid $5000 for mine in 2007. I have since put 100k miles on it and it gets about 27-29 mpg on my 130 miles a day commute. I did replace the shocks and struts a month ago

I agree completely on the only driving one car at a time and the rest being bs. I had an old girlfriend who had a personal liability policy that covered her driving other peoples cars and have been trying off and on for years to get the same thing set up for me to drive my own cars.

I'm almost 40, so not that old, and my quote yesterday for full coverage on a new Mirage was $145 per 6 months, or @$25 a month. Cheap car makes the insurance cheaper too, since they are out less in the event of a loss, and I can afford a $1k deductible. Similar full coverage on my truck and wife's forester is $45-65/month. Liability costs for the cars are within pennies of the $12-15/mo I pay for my liability only cars but the cheaper new car comp and collision are half what pay for the more expensive used cars.

Well this thread just reinforces my long held opinion of berkeley insurance companies and berkeley the asshats running Texas' government (and regulatory regime). I mean, don't get me wrong, it's nowhere near the level of bend-me-over as living as a car enthusiast in California, but it definitely makes it hard to justify toeing the line and staying fully legal.