Used car: max 5k

[rosebud]

is this a good deal?

http://www.trader.ca/powerpage/details.aspx?vlotid=1617798&adid=6600830




this civic, 1 yr warranty

http://www.trader.ca/Search/Details.asp?mknm=&Region=100&subcategory=&CAT=1&ADID=6626135&ADS=6626135%7C

[kleptodathief]

both r fugly carz but id take the civic over that contour...how many klicks on the civic?

[Chookman]

IIRC, Edmonds Used Car guide says the Ford Contour is an "orphan car" and you should always steer clear of them.

An orphan car is one that had a limited production run and didn't last very long. This causes the company to drop support for the car and makes some parts difficult to obtain.

[dasaylay]

Also can you cope with driving manual? The civic is 5spd, and some people prefer not know drive manual. It's up to you and your preferences.

[SkylineR34X]

Warranty is BS. There's usually a deductible and activation fee. It also restrcits what you can claim, how many times you can claim, and how much you can claim. Don't fall into this. For 5K don't expect too much, I would rather save abit more and get something abit more in the 7-8k range. In reality, if you buy a car that's 5k, anything can go wrong and it could potentally cost you couple of Ks to fix them.

That being said, Civics and Corollas are generally pretty expensive. But do look into them if you can find one cheap, as they are usually quite reliable. As well, maybe accords? integra? tercel?

[Billa-786]

If you are limited to your price range, then perhaps you are better off buying private rather than at dealers. The only problem with that is playing the waiting game. Stay away from cars that are known to have issues. Definitely away from mystique/contour.

[ashhabib]

IIRC, Edmonds Used Car guide says the Ford Contour is an "orphan car" and you should always steer clear of them.

An orphan car is one that had a limited production run and didn't last very long. This causes the company to drop support for the car and makes some parts difficult to obtain.

That would be wrong, get the contour. The engines were used in the Focus until 2004 and the Cougar until 2002 and there is a plethora of parts available as the Focus was the worlds best selling car for 2 years

[leung_jai]

Go for a corolla/camry with the best mileage u could find in the 3000-3500 range...then use another 1000-1500 for the following parts to be replaced..

Timing belt+water bump
rotors
battary
alternator
brake pads (if required)
spark plugs
shocks+struts(if required)

Then this car should last u a while...

Stay away from accord/civic cux their engines and trannies are more likely to die..

[professionaldude]

I would say go with NISSANs Mostly with their Nissan Altima From 1996-2000.
That's a relaible car, my cousin got 1 last year No Problems so far even though it's 1998 but Engine and body is still in great condition.
Goodluck:D

[NorthYorker]

Being generally positive toward domestics, I would avoid 10 yo Contour. Contours don't age gracefully (I wonder, does it have anything to do with Contour being developed by Euro Ford as Mondeo, with typical European lower mileage requrements and more clement climate) and tend to spawn whole lot of gremlins in electrical components, which are almost impossible to cure. Mechanically car is OK (although I heard about nasty habit of eating front suspension parts as so much potato chips, developed by some older Contours), but cars today are as much computers as they're mechanical toys.

If you want cheap Ford, look for Taurus of same vintage (should cost about the same too), as well as you may score some luck with 1999 Escort for really cheap, and Escort was a hidden jewel of the used car market, depreciating like stone and soldiering on like jap car. Or look for some bigger GMs (anything but Cavalier and, to a lesser extent, Malibu) or Chrysler Intrepids.

[gherikill]

Hyundai Elantras are good used car buys as well as what the previous poster said about domestics.

[weedb0y]

I would say go with NISSANs Mostly with their Nissan Altima From 1996-2000.
That's a relaible car, my cousin got 1 last year No Problems so far even though it's 1998 but Engine and body is still in great condition.
Goodluck:D

One year is no indication of reliability. I have seen GMs from 1991 still on the road with minimal maintainence while everyone on this board is boasting that GM is crap. I have had great experience with them and I have spent more on my current Acura then I did with my GMs in the past.

[weedb0y]

Hyundai Elantras are good used car buys as well as what the previous poster said about domestics.

It is wiser to get a 1999+ GM as opposed to the korean brand as Hyundai greatly improved their overall line up around 2002-2003.