Used car hunting.

[LillFilly]

I had a scare with my twenty-year-old 1997 Toyota RAV4. It turned out to be a small repair but I know the car is not going to last forever. I'm searching high and low for a good older used car and could use some opinions. I want something solid without a lot of computers preferably a Honda Subaru or Toyota, 4w drive, automatic, 4 cylinder. Also with the ability to haul cargo. I've seen a lot of used Chevy Trailblazers for sale but was told they run hard and eat up gas. My top option right now is a 99 Honda CRV with a hundred and Thirty-One thousand miles that's going for 1,500 because the driver's door is dented. Half the people tell me this is a good deal and have tell me that's too many miles. I did find an older manual Subaru in a town 2 hours away but that has not been inspected and it worries me. I don't want to have to take a loan but I don't know if I should poni up and get a newer car or just get a good beater. The outer looks of the car don't matter to me as long as it's in good condition.

[HYHYBT]

You'd be paying $1500 to go from an older vehicle whose history you know to one almost as old that's a stranger... and 1500 would go a long way towards any repair your RAV4 might need in the near future. It sure would be awful paying that for the CRV and then having it need major work in the near future anyway.

[wolfie]

Rule of thumb: count on a used car having a few thousand dollars worth of deferred maintenance (would YOU change the timing belt on a car you were selling?). If a car is working well except for a specific problem, it can even be worth paying more than the "book" value to get the problem fixed. I'd second the opinion that your current vehicle is a better bet than the unknown one.

[HYHYBT]

(would YOU change the timing belt on a car you were selling?)

Well, no, but I've never owned a car with a timing belt

[LillFilly]

Sorry, I'm not replacing this car rather I want to have a backup, at least a few years down the road maybe I can afford a newer car.

[Captain Neon]

My father was a detailer at a used car dealership when vehicles of this vintage were usually going to auction (10 years old) and drove examples of just about every car typical of the time. Part of his responsibilities as detailer was to drive the cars purchased at auction from the auction site to the dealership. IHHO, the Honda CRV was the worst car on the road at the time, and the Pontiac Grand Prix GT was the best.

[csquared]

rather I want to have a backup

I was tempted to post early that if you are looking at $1,500 vehicles, you should get two, just in case.

[LillFilly]

That's the problem everything I look up about the different cars is 90% of the people love them absolutely the other 10% hate them. So finding honest opinions is difficult.

[wolfie]

One model I consider to be a very good car which (if you can find them) goes fairly cheap (2nd generation Elantra station wagon - '96-'00), I wouldn't recommend to you for 2 reasons:

- 4wd was not offered
- Hyundai slushboxes from that time period didn't have a very good reputation

For people who want a real transmission and don't care about 4wd, they're good cars.

[Food Lady]

I'm on my second early-'90s Toyota Camry. Yes, I did just spend over 900 bucks to get the brakes practically redone, but it's old. That's going to happen at some point, especially if you live where they salt the roads. (Brake lines rusted out, among other things.) However, Toyota engines run forever. My last one would've gone a lot longer had it not been for an accident in which I was rear-ended while sitting stationary. That one was 20 years old, too.

[protege]

However, Toyota engines run forever. My last one would've gone a lot longer had it not been for an accident in which I was rear-ended while sitting stationary.

That they do. Up until last September, I had a 2007 Corolla. 104,000 miles on it, the body was a bit rough (hole behind the right rear passenger door, some hail damage to the trunk and roof, etc.) but ran like new. The only reason I got rid of it is that some uninsured asshole wrote it off. The car had been hit hard enough to push it up onto the sidewalk, and trashed the rear suspension, rear door, fender, bumper... So I went out and bought another Corolla, a 2013 S five-speed.

If I was to recommend a good used car, I'd go with the Corolla, the Honda Civic or Accord. All of them are plentiful enough that finding a good one shouldn't be a problem. Plus, parts are easily found.

[Food Lady]

I def. agree with Protege. Any of those are good. In fact, the dealer I went to for the repair had my car's clone, down to color and everything. Maybe I should get the other one as a spare.

[Captain Neon]

Given a choice between Toyota or Honda, I would recommend Toyota. I get more people wanting parts for their Hondas than I do for their Toyotas.