Anyone have a favorite older car they would recommend?

[me&thegals]

I loved our Saturn (LS?) It was very basic car, very nonluxurious, but it never broke down and consistently got 40 mpg. Actually, DH now has it for the farm car and it's still running 16.5 years after we bought it.

 

[mississippifarmboy]

I can't recommend anything, but the best vehicles I ever owned were;

1991 Chevy S-10. Had over 500,000 miles on it when I sold it and had never had ANY engine work done on it and I changed the oil once a year whether it needed it or not. Drove that thing everywhere, from Mexico to Alaska. Toughest lil thing I ever seen.

1976 Dodge van. Another tough truck. Had I think around 350,000 miles on it when an old wooden bridge fell out from under me and dumped it in a creek. Towing guys wanted too much to get it out, so far as I know it's still there.

I've owned several Ford Mavericks, Mercury Comets, and Ford Pintos. All were ugly as sin but tough as nails.

Right now we've got a Dodge Durango. Good truck but tough on gas, will pull a trailer and the four wheel drive is nice working around the farm. We also have a Jeep Liberty. Very good on gas but worthless otherwise. Like driving a cigar box.

My favorite truck was a mid 1970's king cab Ford. Terrible on gas, ugly as could be, but I still miss the beast. It suited me.

 

[ducks4you]

I gave my daughter my L200 Saturn Sedan, 2001 model, for Law School. It has 215,000 miles on it, and has had minimal work done on it. Certainly, the engine just keeps humming. They made a GREAT car, and many say that it was worth more$ than we paid for it.

 

[heatherlynnky]

I should probably update this. I ended up with a 1993 volvo 940. I love it. The mileage could be better but is tons better than my van or an suv would be. All the kids can fit. It can tow some and it came with a tow package. We paid 1200 for it and the mechanic is impressed. He would like it when we are done with it I think. Its a solid car and it can get up the big steep hill we live on. I think we bought the tallest in for miles and miles around. I am looking forward to testing it on snow and ice covered roads but even in heavy rain and some pretty stiff winds it didn't even shake a little. Its just solid. I think if I could manage another one like this a bit newer I would do buy one again.

 

[gram2bri]

DH and I have had great luck with Buick products. We always buy them used. He bought a used LaSabre in the mid 90's and drove it until about two years ago, when we gave it to our son, who drove it for another couple of years,and then we sold it to someone else! They are roomy and would hold six people just fine! I drive a used Buick Century and never have trouble with it. It would be a bit tight with six people, but it could be done. Good luck!

 

[rhoda_bruce]

I have had very good luck with old Oldsmobiles. I happened to come into 2 of them, over the years. Once I bought 23 years ago for 250....must have been at least 12 years old, at the time. It worked perfect, except I needed to sweet talk it to reverse for me....so I pretty much was fine so long as everywhere I went, I could either park on an incline, so reverse possible, via gravity or that no need for reverse was necessary.
I also came into an 18 year old Olds when my grandparents decided they needed a new car. It was almost exactly the same story as above, except I didn't pay a dime for it. I regret selling it, because it still worked and I love my grandparents so much, but I didn't need it, it was taking up room and I could use the cash.
It sounds like I got 2 lemons, but in truth, they both served me well. If you can find an old Olds, with a working transmission, I'd go for it.
Anyway, thats my experience.

 

[rhoda_bruce]

I should probably update this. I ended up with a 1993 volvo 940. I love it. The mileage could be better but is tons better than my van or an suv would be. All the kids can fit. It can tow some and it came with a tow package. We paid 1200 for it and the mechanic is impressed. He would like it when we are done with it I think. Its a solid car and it can get up the big steep hill we live on. I think we bought the tallest in for miles and miles around. I am looking forward to testing it on snow and ice covered roads but even in heavy rain and some pretty stiff winds it didn't even shake a little. Its just solid. I think if I could manage another one like this a bit newer I would do buy one again.

Glad you are settled, but its not a bad thread and it might help someone. In this current economy, I don't want to be someone who would have to buy anything new and finance it. All my current vehicles are going to be driven into the grave and replaced with the cheapest route. I even have a back-up truck, with no plate or insurance, parked in my yard that we just use on the farm to complete some of our heavy work, that I can put back on the road, in a pinch.
Really....glad you started the thread.

 

[heatherlynnky]

We always buy used and for smaller vehicles we have done fine. My big issue came when we had our 4th child. Finding a good vehicle that holds all of us is a bit of a challenge. If anyone can get their hands on a Honda Accord those things drive forever. We bought one cash for 3500. My husband drives roughly 120 miles a day 5 days a week. We are on 5 years now that we have owned it. Great car. We have put almost nothing into it. just regular maintenance. Find one that has been gently driven and not souped up by some idiot who didn't know what he was doing and you will have a gem.

If you ask my mechanic he will say Honda, VW and Volva. Those are his favorites and what he owns himself. He is like us. He never buys new. So to him older is better. That and older cars are easier to work on yourself.

 

[piglett]

i like to get a 1995 or older car/truck
the reason is the newer OBS2 computers that the feds said had to be in all of the
1996 & newer cars & light truckscan be a real paid.
the silly computer turns your check engine light on
you take the thing to the shop & they say something like
(well it could be just this 1 thing .......or it could be 3 or 4 other things)
they can't really tell till they start putting parts on the thing (parts you get to buy)
it's just plain silly
so i drive a 1994 toyota corolla with 257k on it
i put about 200 miles on it every day & it runs & runs & runs
33mpg isn't all that bad either



good luck all
piglett

 

[Mattemma]

My moms toyota corolla ran far better than my nissan sentra ever did.Over the years it needed a lot less work.Right now I have a prius that dh bought without my input a year ago.All I can say is hey it's new.

I keep telling dh I would love to get a vehicle that has no electronics and could run on homemade bio fuel if needed.Mainly though no electronics.Dh is into that stuff and the prius is like a robot on wheels.

Lol,on the check engine light. Dh had issue with that in his freestar van and ford truck. Stinks to pay $75 just to get a dx. Now,with his truck I do like it(SEMI) since it reminds me of the furnace, and you can look up the flashing light number to let you know what the problem is.

Glad the OP found a good vehicle!