And she doesn't want a focus. I know Ford makes some really reliable cars (within reason) and she is probably going to get something soon. So, my question is, What is your suggestion for a very reliable, no price is too low, economy car. Style is a plus, guys and gals, so she's not going to want a 87 Ford Aerostar. It can be a make other than ford. All i really need to know is make, model, price (aprox), reliability.

And for my own interest, what sort of upgrading/modding potential?

just found a '97 honda accord with 85k on it for 4,000 with PS/PW on autotrader.com, to find good cars for cheap i would look there, thats where i found my 1st car b4 i got the focus.

Used Mazda6? You can get it auto tranny or stick shift, 4 cylinder or V6, overall size somewhere in between kinda small and big enough, and it's only ugly if you look at it from the front. You should be able to get used ones from the earlier years pretty inexpensively now.

What's a price she's looking for?

civic, corolla, camry, accord.

Toyota Corolla.

I dunno, are those Fusions reliable?

fusions are very nice cars.. reliable... mmm time will tell, my dad just bought a brand new spanking 07 and he already had a tranny problem haha

civic, corolla, camry, accord.

yes one of these

Scion has reliable cars on top of that she can be in style with the 100 genuine appearance package for a Scion, probably something that there older sibbling toyota might want to do with there cars.

What's a price she's looking for?

Anything she can get for $20, a case of beer, and a handfull of gum wrappers. NO price is too low.
No, seriously, $500-$1000 would be ideal.

Right now she just needs pretty much anything that'll drive her to work. She works at luby's because there's nothing closer that she can walk to. She needs a car so she'll have more options for getting a better job...and saving enough for a downpayment on a decent car.

I'd say Ford Festiva..... Get on the Ground floor before Ford brings them back over here from the UK in 2009.....lol

malibu classics are pretty reliable and can be had for pretty cheap
oh yeah and zx2s

At that price, go for an early 90's civic. It will suck down gas when its in bad shape but it will take you to/fro without a worry. But thats about it lol

If you do get one of those make sure the belts are fresh, the factory ones suck.

I would go for a Subaru... they look good, and they have good upgrade potential. Subaru's are the most reliable cars in my opinion hands down. We have had a couple, one was traded in at 350,000 and the other sold at 200,000.

whats up cronus......id totaly go for the toyota corolla...my gf loves her's....i dig it too...when ever we have to travel we take her car...lol.....other than that a honda civic will do just fine.

cool cool. I was thinking along the lines of a honda or toyota. I also looked into subaru before, but was a little turned away by high mileage. 350,000, though?!??! Dear god. I just may have to get her to buy one of those. can anyone say AWD?

Hey, what's up strung! haven't seen you here in a while. There isn't a damn thing wrong with corollas. I drove a camry around for a while when i first got my license. There nice and cheap. durable too.

its all good pimp...high mileage with the price your talking about isnt that bad.....help your lady friend get the car she needs.....subaru,honda or toyota are all good high mileage cars.

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=227373848&dealer_id=4372776&car_year=1988&marketZipError=false&awsp=false&search_type=used&num_records=25&keywordsfyc=&make=&transmission=&distance=50&address=77429&default_sort=priceDESC&advanced=&certified=&max_mileage=&max_price=1000&sort_type=priceDESC&min_price=&body_code=0&end_year=2008&keywordsrep=&color=&start_year=1981&drive=&search_lang=en&page_location=findacar%3A%3Aispsearchform&engine=&fuel=&doors=&style_flag=1&cardist=11
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=224271164&dealer_id=100003&car_year=1993&marketZipError=false&awsp=false&search_type=used&num_records=25&keywordsfyc=&make=TOYOTA&model=&transmission=&distance=50&address=77429&make2=&default_sort=priceDESC&advanced=y&certified=&max_mileage=&max_price=1500&sort_type=mileageASC&min_price=&body_code=0&end_year=2008&keywordsrep=&color=&start_year=1981&drive=&search_lang=en&page_location=findacar%3A%3Aispsearchform&engine=&fuel=&doors=&style_flag=1&cardist=31

the second one is $1000 down

the second one is $1000 down

fixed

i'm in the same search, i need to find my gf a $2,xxx car by thursday... i've found plenty of corollas, accords, civics, and tercels in that price range... i just don't want her to end up stranded.... i was thinking of finally getting my svt and letting her use my zx3, but she's not the greatest manual driver, and i worry about her focusing more on shifting than on the road.. and i worry about my transmission

i'm in the same search, i need to find my gf a $2,xxx car by thursday... i've found plenty of corollas, accords, civics, and tercels in that price range... i just don't want her to end up stranded.... i was thinking of finally getting my svt and letting her use my zx3, but she's not the greatest manual driver, and i worry about her focusing more on shifting than on the road.. and i worry about my transmission

Well the Focus is one of the easiest manual cars I know, the stock clutch is very forgiving so I'm sure she could be better with alittle practice.

true, but i really think she'd be better off in an atx

It's sad to think that even on a Ford Focus site people still fall for the idea that all Japanese cars are more reliable [:(]

Just don't expect anything resembling a reasonable price when those "ultra reliable" foreign cars break down [wave]

Why doesn't she take that grand she has and make a nice down payment?

It's sad to think that even on a Ford Focus site people still fall for the idea that all Japanese cars are more reliable [:(]

Just don't expect anything resembling a reasonable price when those "ultra reliable" foreign cars break down [wave]

x2 x2

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=227373848&dealer_id=4372776&car_year=1988&marketZipError=false&awsp=false&search_type=used&num_records=25&keywordsfyc=&make=&transmission=&distance=50&address=77429&default_sort=priceDESC&advanced=&certified=&max_mileage=&max_price=1000&sort_type=priceDESC&min_price=&body_code=0&end_year=2008&keywordsrep=&color=&start_year=1981&drive=&search_lang=en&page_location=findacar%3A%3Aispsearchform&engine=&fuel=&doors=&style_flag=1&cardist=11
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=224271164&dealer_id=100003&car_year=1993&marketZipError=false&awsp=false&search_type=used&num_records=25&keywordsfyc=&make=TOYOTA&model=&transmission=&distance=50&address=77429&make2=&default_sort=priceDESC&advanced=y&certified=&max_mileage=&max_price=1500&sort_type=mileageASC&min_price=&body_code=0&end_year=2008&keywordsrep=&color=&start_year=1981&drive=&search_lang=en&page_location=findacar%3A%3Aispsearchform&engine=&fuel=&doors=&style_flag=1&cardist=31


Holy crap. That second one is only 2-3 miles from her house! That's pretty ironic.

AllAround01Focus: She doesn't even have that grand yet. She doesn't care what the car is, so long as it runs and has a/c. besides the car she REALLY wants is a 71 vw superbeetle...

oh well in that case, she's good to go.

I say if she's not dead set on a car particularly go for an 80s toyota pickup, those things will never die! Also look into early Isuzus.

I think the idea that japanese cars are more reliable comes mostly from the 80s and 90s imports. Back then parts were cheap (especially for toyotas). Today though, I'm willing to wager that most imports aren't really anymore reliable than anything else on the market, that won't stop me from buying them though. I think the modern domestic market sucks, but that's just my opinion.

Also, remember that camrys and carollas, although reliable, are among the top stolen cars in the country.

It may be too much but a Pontiac Vibe might fill the bill. It's a Toyota Matrix but the Pontiac name really drives the resale into the ground. I've heard they're very dependable, practical and are all around decent cars. Oh yeah and while they were in production, they were in the top 10 best mileage cars so your GF won't spend a fortune on fuel.

Unfortunately, the first year for the vibe was 2003 so a '03 with an auto and approximately 60,000 miles will still go for $7000 - $8000 which may be more than a Luby's Cutie can afford.

she does not want a focus!!! leave her
LOL

^^lol. I can understand her reasons for not wanting one. In the time we've been together my car has had the alternator, battery, clutch, flywheel, and stock h/u dye, wrecked it twice, CEL on and off a lot. PLUS when my car was in the shop for a new alternator and battery we got a rental focus...The battery died the day after we rented it and we had to get it jumped half a dozen times.

...Now do you see her reasoning?

Trust me, i love my focus. You have to face it though; they really aren't THAT reliable.

I say if she's not dead set on a car particularly go for an 80s toyota pickup, those things will never die! Also look into early Isuzus.

I think the idea that japanese cars are more reliable comes mostly from the 80s and 90s imports. Back then parts were cheap (especially for toyotas).

Tell that to my buddy who thought the same thing, but an 89 Tacoma 4 banger for $2,500, and almost immediately sunk $2k into the engine. Mind you, truck was only at 87k miles. Then, at 117k it suffered another $1850 in damages. Needless to say, he got rid of it

My brother had an 89 Ranger that he owned for 10 years. Beat the living crap out of it- drove it like a damn race car 24/7. In 10 years the only thing he ever bought was a clutch in year 8. Not too shabby for an AMERICAN Ford [woot]

I had a 1995 Tacoma for 11 years and I had to put a starter in it in year 10. It was still on the original clutch when I sold it. It's a great truck.

If your girlfriend is looking for something "cute" & reliable, then you may have luck with a Miata. I've seen them in all price ranges. If you take care of them, they will go for a really long time. I would not own one because they scream chick car, but they are a real hoot to drive.

It's sad to think that even on a Ford Focus site people still fall for the idea that all Japanese cars are more reliable [:(]

Just don't expect anything resembling a reasonable price when those "ultra reliable" foreign cars break down [wave]

I think what is more sad is people like you with probably no experience with foreign cars saying this.

I went through 2 Civics, and they never broke down. The only reason I got rid of the first one was because it had 203,000 miles on it and was starting to be beyond repair (not unexpected at the mileage). The second one I got rid of because I lowered it and never did get it aligned, and also never replaced brake pads or anything like that--all my own fault. Other than that, the only thing that ever happened to either of them was a hole in the muffler on the first one, cracked head gasket on the first one at like 180k miles, and a bad distributor on the first one somewhere in there too. All replacing original parts. NOTHING ridiculous like the stock tranny mount breaking driving my Focus off the lot, or the pressure plate alignment pins coming loose and breaking a hole in the bellhousing. From experience, Japanese cars ARE more reliable, sorry to say. Doesn't mean I don't LIKE my Focus, but if you want absolute reliability, most of the time it's elsewhere.

Peace.

id say mazda 3(hatch) or tc.

Ford Taurus. 1992-1996

get the 3.0 V6, NOT THE 3.8V 6 that needs a head gasket at every 100K

these cars are famous for being reliable. I have had 3 so far.

I paid $3,500 for one, and $1,800 for another one........cash.....lol...

at 100K the 2 main oil filled motor mounts will give. $150 a pop. That is about the only thing I know of on that car. I have beaten on one for a year and it took it all........we still have one as the family beater car, with the engine from the one I wrecked in it.....[hihi]

They aren't the prettiest cars in the world, but the trunk is HUGE, the ride is soft, and they go forever.