Thread: Shopping for a "new" car. Seeking input/suggestions.

I'll try to keep this as brief as possible. I don't really want to sink anymore money into my current GTP. It has 177k miles on the original motor, trans and s/c, every single body panel has a sizable dent/rust on it (neither front door opens all the way because they're catching the fenders), and the driver side rocker panel has COMPLETELY rusted through (which was the kiss of death for me). Needless to say, I feel dumping any amount of money to keep this thing going (and it currently needs a lot of things to be reliable/safe, including a COMPLETE suspension overhaul) is throwing money down the drain at this point. SO, I desperately need another car, BUT.....I just got laid off my job of 17 years.......AGAIN.....so funds are very limited. That's why I applied, and luckily got approved for a Citi Dividends card with $0 annual fee, 0% interest for 18 months and a $6k limit, so my goal is to put the purchase of the new car on the card if possible (dealer should be easy, obviously harder with a private seller unless they're willing to take PayPal). This way, I have 18 months of interest free payments, during which time, I can hopefully land a decent paying job. So I'm shopping for another car, but am having some trouble finding one that fits all my current needs. My budget is $5kish (might go a bit higher for the right car, but don't want to max out a brand new card right away). I need something that is:

A. At least an '01, or newer (would prefer my new car not be older than the car it's replacing)
B. Has some room inside (either a midsized+ with trunk space, or a wagon/hatch) because I will be doing a lot of junkyarding with it.
C. Gets as good MPG or better than the GTP (for the same reason as above).
D. Reliable (I understand this will be an older car, and things will break, but the less often they're known for doing so, the better).
E. Relatively cheap/easy to fix/find parts for.
F. At least SOMEWHAT decent looking. I know you can't get all the above into a jaw-dropping body style, but I at least want something I don't mind looking at everyday.

I know, I know. It's a pretty tall order to cram all this into one car, let alone one that's around $5k, but there's got to be SOMETHING out there that will work. Of course, my first preference is another '01 GTP Special Ed, but they're hard to come by period, let alone in clean condition and low mileage. So I thought about an '03/'04 Pontiac Vibe (yes, I kinda don't mind how they look), but from what I've found, they're a bit more expensive for the year than I anticipated. Otherwise, everything else fit the bill. I've been tossing around the idea of possibly an '04/'05 Saab 9-3 or 9-5. Found a few nearby that are priced pretty damn cheap for the year/miles, but I'm just worried about cost of maintenance/parts with those. The top contender at the moment is the Mazda Protege5. I will most likely be taking a look at this one shortly:

2003 MAZDA PROTEGE 5 AUTOMATIC LEATHER NO RUST CLEAN IN AND OUT

I was hoping for under 100k miles, but we'll see what condition it's in. I don't know too terribly much about Mazdas of this era. I know there were some crank walk issues for certain years of a certain Mazda motor, but I don't recall which. Having talked to a few people about them already, they're supposed to be pretty reliable.

Anyway, any input on that car, or any other suggestions are more than welcome and appreciated.

My sister had one of those! It was oddly insanely reliable. She never gave it an oil change..maybe once or twice in the several years she had it. She drove the **** out of it, and didn't take care of it at all..and it refused to give up. Last time I seen it, it sounded like a helicopter. She sold it to someone she knew and it's still running like a boss to this day.

hmm another GTP?

Originally Posted by sLpGPGT

hmm another GTP?

he is looking for a "good" used car. think he is done with GP's for a while

My dad had a 03 Protege that they bought off the lot in 2004ish, thing was a beast, never really had any problem with it, great gas mileage around 33-34 freeway but he had the 5 speed manual sedan.

For that car its a ford in a mazda'a body, the engine is a 2.0 from a ford focus and has tons of FoMoCo markings all over it.

If you go that route, make sure the timing belt has been done, they are suppose to be done at 90,000 miles. My dad sold his just last year with like 85k, so we didnt have to do and bought a 2012 mazda instead.

Other than that they are just normal maintence and good all around cars. $4200 seems like a good deal with how clean it is and the new tires. We were only able to get $5000 for ours with alot less miles and new tires.

Maximas...my brother in law as well as my buddy has one and they have around 170k or so and no major work has been done. Very reliable cars.

If it is a maxima make sure it has the 3.0 VQ engine. Very reliable my boss drives one that has never been maintained the car is in crap shape but with 277k miles the engine runs.

Thanks for the input, guys (and gal)

Originally Posted by sLpGPGT

hmm another GTP?

Already covered...

Originally Posted by RareGMFan

Of course, my first preference is another '01 GTP Special Ed, but they're hard to come by period, let alone in clean condition and low mileage.

Originally Posted by Fraschy

My sister had one of those! It was oddly insanely reliable. She never gave it an oil change..maybe once or twice in the several years she had it. She drove the **** out of it, and didn't take care of it at all..and it refused to give up. Last time I seen it, it sounded like a helicopter. She sold it to someone she knew and it's still running like a boss to this day.

That's good to hear! I'm hearing a lot of positive reviews on reliability. *Note to self: NEVER buy a car from Fraschy's sister!*

Originally Posted by Fivefingerdeathpunch

My dad had a 03 Protege that they bought off the lot in 2004ish, thing was a beast, never really had any problem with it, great gas mileage around 33-34 freeway but he had the 5 speed manual sedan.

For that car its a ford in a mazda'a body, the engine is a 2.0 from a ford focus and has tons of FoMoCo markings all over it.

I knew it was a Ford motor, but from what I read, it's the FS motor which Wiki states was only used in the '93 - '97 Ford Probe? Doesn't list anything about the Focus.

Originally Posted by Fivefingerdeathpunch

If you go that route, make sure the timing belt has been done, they are suppose to be done at 90,000 miles. Other than that they are just normal maintence and good all around cars. $4200 seems like a good deal with how clean it is and the new tires. We were only able to get $5000 for ours with alot less miles and new tires.

Yeah, they're surprisingly cheap for what seems like a decent, reliable car. I think most people (myself included until recently) forget this car exists. The only things I've found to be common on these cars are the belts (obviously more maintenance than an issue of they go bad), coils, dirty/bad EGR (causes rough idle), motor mounts and stabilizer bar endlinks. Also have to watch out for rust, especially behind the rear wheels on the fender. Other than that, I really can't find anything bad about them other than a handful of oil and coolant leak complaints (anticipating this with any 10+ year old car, though).

Originally Posted by atj8

idk how you feel about maximas but my cousin has one and he bought his at 85k and its over 200k now. he does alot of highway. Still running strong and no major issues.

Originally Posted by REDCOMPG

Maximas...my brother in law as well as my buddy has one and they have around 170k or so and no major work has been done. Very reliable cars.

Originally Posted by buickman104

If it is a maxima make sure it has the 3.0 VQ engine. Very reliable my boss drives one that has never been maintained the car is in crap shape but with 277k miles the engine runs.

I actually looked into getting a Maxima and wouldn't mind one. Decent looking car, roomy, a bit of power, and can get one fairly loaded with options. The only problem is they're a bit pricey around me.

Don't forget about taxes and registration fees. $$$

sorry bout the job loss, i lost one about 8 years ago because of a corporate buyout and the facility i was at was shut down

Honda bro

really, there slow but they require little maintenance, and they're really well built

Haha! My sister has an awesome car now, she actually does oil changes in this one! :P

^ lancer tell her go big or go home aka EVO

Originally Posted by REDCOMPG

^ lancer tell her go big or go home aka EVO

Nah, it wasn't necesarry for her. The GTS was good enough! The Evo was nearly twice as much anyways..and she had to have a car THAT DAY. :P

u can find a acura TL for 5 6k, not the 04 or 03+ ones ovviously but there decently quick and pretty nice lookin, not to sure about reliabilty tho

actually now that i think about it, you should buy a saab.

OK, OK.....I think I might have found a serious candidate if this thing is as nice as it's described and looks in the pics. I like the exterior design (by wagon standards), I like the interior, looks like plenty of cargo room, from digging around a bit, it appears to get almost exactly the same MPG as the GTP, it's an '04 so it's newer than my car, it has under 100k miles, and being a Florida car is a huge plus. Only thing is.....I'm a bit worried about what maintenance and repairs will cost on something like this.

2004 Volvo V40 773-865-9071

Off the top of my head I heard of rear brakes going through pads and rotors pretty fast, rear calipers seizing up and ac blower dying prematurely. Mattnadian should chip in more, I know he scours them internets for volvo porn.

OK, I think I might have a winner this time. It looks like with some shopping around, I can get a lower mileage '06ish Saturn Vue, and I think that covers everything I'm looking for.

It's obviously going to be newer than my car.
It would definitely have plenty of room.
It has a 250hp 3.5L DOHC Honda motor, so decent ability to get out of its own way.
Gets surprisingly good gas mileage given the weight and power output.
They're not great, but decent looking IMO (I've always kinda' liked them :hsugh: ).

Only thing I'm not sure on is overall reliability. I know I'll have to deal with the timing belt, and those are always fun, but anyone know of any issues outside of this?