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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 836
  
Location: Southern Pennsylvania | I had my first wreck last Sturday. I'm fine, but my car is in pretty bad shape. If (and only IF -I LOVE my car) I need to get something else what would you recommend at this point in my life?
I'm in my first year of college. I just started driving last summer. I have NO credit built up. I got my first bank account in October. My parents are willing to help me, but I'm honestly very upset that they need to help me. I was going the speed limit (if not below) when I hit ice and the car started to drift to the side. I slightly edged it toward the center. Instead it started sliding toward the other lane (I was over the line at this point). THEN, I panicked and jerked the wheel toward the right and slid off the road. Anyways, should I get a "beater car"? (I do NOT want something new, but I'm hesitant to get something ummm unreliable?). IF my car is "fixable" I want it, but if not where should I start searching? What should I be thinking about (building credit, longevity of car, price limit, etc.) ?
*My stepfather is a mechanic so that helps costs and the search for a reliable car, but I still want to have my own knowledge going into this "adventure".
Thanks everyone and Merry Christmas. 
Edited: I have one job (since I started college) alongside that I'm starting another higher paying job with more hours in a few weeks.
Edited by SunnyGotMeGood 2013-12-15 10:53 PM
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 Total Germophobe
Posts: 6437
 
Location: Montana | A 1995 to 2005 Chevy Cavalier. Not the most luxury car out there, but if you get one with a 2.2 liter 4-cylinder engine, and a manual transmission (preferably), they are nearly indestructible. My dad has one that has nearly 300,000 miles on it, and he swears by them. They get good gas mileage, and are generally relatively inexpensive to purchase and repairs and maintenance on them are inexpensive as well. Also, if you do wreck it or bump it, parts (bumpers, fenders, what have you) are inexpensive as well. We've bumped our's three times, and I once shot the roof of it (long gopher hunting story  ). Definitely worth looking into. The Ford Focus (again preferably a manual transmission) the same way, very good cars.
Glad you weren't hurt, and good luck if you end up looking for a different car.
Edited by mtcanchazer 2013-12-15 11:03 PM
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 836
Location: Southern Pennsylvania | mtcanchazer - 2013-12-15 11:48 PM
A 1995 to 2005 Chevy Cavalier. Not the most luxury car out there, but if you get one with a 2.2 liter 4-cylinder engine, and a manual transmission (preferably), they are nearly indestructible. My dad has one that has nearly 300,000 miles on it, and he swears by them. They get good gas mileage, and are generally relatively inexpensive to purchase and repairs and maintenance on them are inexpensive as well. Also, if you do wreck it or bump it, parts (bumpers, fenders, what have you) are inexpensive as well. We've bumped our's three times, and I once shot the roof of it (long gopher hunting story ). Definitely worth looking into. The Ford Focus (again preferably a manual transmission) the same way, very good cars.
Glad you weren't hurt, and good look if you end up looking for a different car.
Thank you. My stepfather had two very old subarus at one point. They were ugly as sin, but you couldn't kill them. So yes this is what Im looking for . I guess I will be doing a lot of research on cars during Christmas break haha. To bad I won't be researching something I'm interested in such as diesel trucks and LQ horse trailers.  |
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Red Bull Agressive
Posts: 5981
Location: North Dakota | Not an expert, but I love my jeeps! I've met many old ones like the Grand Cherokee's that just keep going and going. And my '02 Liberty has served me well. That was $5000 but some of the older ones you can get cheaper. I've heard Subaru's are good for longevity. No personal experience, but I knew a guy that drives one with almost 400,000 miles on it. I found my car on craigslist. If you know what you're looking for you really can find a good deal. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 836
Location: Southern Pennsylvania | cavyrunsbarrels - 2013-12-16 12:10 AM
Not an expert, but I love my jeeps! I've met many old ones like the Grand Cherokee's that just keep going and going. And my '02 Liberty has served me well. That was $5000 but some of the older ones you can get cheaper. I've heard Subaru's are good for longevity. No personal experience, but I knew a guy that drives one with almost 400,000 miles on it. I found my car on craigslist. If you know what you're looking for you really can find a good deal.
I'm concerned with gas mileage with jeeps. My family previously owned one. It was very reliable, but the gas mileage was terrible. I could be remembering wrong so feel free to correct me. Are there certain models/years that are better in that area? |
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 Expert
Posts: 1482
Location: on my horse | Had a Subaru outback station wagon... BEST CAR EVER! Maintenance was a bit more expensive but it rarely needed it and I beat the living hell out of that car and it just kept going strong and got 25-28 mpg. I wish I would have kept it actually, only weird thing about the subs are they have a very sensitive check engine light even though generally nothing is wrong so if you go to look at one and the light is on don't panic just check and see what codes it is throwing and go from there.
Good luck and glad you're safe! |
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 Midget Lover
Location: Kentucky | Focus. You can get one cheap, they last forever, and they get great MPG. |
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  More bootie than waist!
Posts: 18425
Location: Riding Crackhead. | SunnyGotMeGood - 2013-12-15 11:15 PM cavyrunsbarrels - 2013-12-16 12:10 AM Not an expert, but I love my jeeps! I've met many old ones like the Grand Cherokee's that just keep going and going. And my '02 Liberty has served me well. That was $5000 but some of the older ones you can get cheaper. I've heard Subaru's are good for longevity. No personal experience, but I knew a guy that drives one with almost 400,000 miles on it. I found my car on craigslist. If you know what you're looking for you really can find a good deal. I'm concerned with gas mileage with jeeps. My family previously owned one. It was very reliable, but the gas mileage was terrible. I could be remembering wrong so feel free to correct me. Are there certain models/years that are better in that area?
Edited by CYA Ranch 2013-12-16 7:46 AM
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Hungarian Midget Woman
Location: Midwest | honda civic.... they are pretty reliable and are cheap to fix when they break
just make sure it's not one that's been modified with turbos and junk |
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 Veteran
Posts: 222
Location: Texas | If you want something you can't kill get an older. 90s model f250. We have had two and they run better then our new trucks. You can't tear them up and I always feel safer ( who knows if it's true) with my big trucks. Little cars scare me. They can be ugly as sin. But they are durable! |
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 Regular
Posts: 56
Location: Nor'Dakoda | I would recommend a Pontiac Bonneville. They're a little bigger so it's not like cruising down the road in a pop can, I felt safe in mine, if you get the 3.8 engine it will go forever. I had a 1994 and it ran FOREVER. Those 3.8's are tough to kill. Got good gas mileage and didn't use a drop of oil at 238,000. I sold it to a highschool kid and he drove it for a looooong time after that too. We all know how hard teenage boys usually are on vehicles!
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 Party Girl
Posts: 12293
Location: Buffalo, Wyoming | I have had 2 Hyundai's and will probably never get a different brand of car unless it was a killer deal! My dad and his wife have had 4 or 5 and will never have anything else.
I bought my car new in 2007 and it has just under 110,000 miles on it and I have never had anything majorly wrong with it.
My first one was a 1993 and I totaled that car 3 different times. 2 times we bought it back and had it fixed. That car was a trooper!
I should add GREAT gas mileage. I have an Elantra and it gets about 35 around town.
Edited by UTAHCANCHASER 2013-12-16 9:51 AM
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 Lady Di
Posts: 21556
Location: Oklahoma | My daughter graduated in 2010 and I had a 2006 Nissan Altima that I was driving, so I gave mine to her and bought a new car for myself. She's put well over 100K miles on it and we've had to do very little to it other than put tires on it and change the oil. It rides good, has lots of room and can run forever on a tank of gas. It's also a bigger, heavier car, and like someone mentioned earlier, is more durable than the smaller cars. She's slid it off the road more than once and it always has been fine after it's pulled out. I think she's going to buy another one when this one wears out.I would recommend them. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 836
Location: Southern Pennsylvania | I just wanted to say Thank you again. I appreciate the advice!  |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 836
Location: Southern Pennsylvania | I might not be getting a different car so soon! My baby 'should' be repairable. The driver side door and mirror is a mess, but overall I think "she's" going to survive. Thank you everyone. I will still use this advice in the future (hopefully not for another 5+ years!). Thank you everyone 
BTW: my current vehicle is a 2000 Toyota Highlander (V6 w/ 4WD) . I feel very safe with it and have O.K. gas mileage.
Edited by SunnyGotMeGood 2013-12-16 11:37 AM
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Broke college students first car?