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New car/ need suggestions.

buffblazer

buffblazer

1/2 ton status
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Well I'm looking at a new job and the commute might be a little long. Also it puts me 3 hours from my girl so seeing her on the weekends will be my main thing.

I already have my duramax and I really don't want to keep putting miles on it. Plus the cost if diesel and get 18 MPG doesn't help the funds.

I'm looking at spending between 3,000-6000 on a car that is good on fuel but also comfortable to ride in ( 6ft 230)

I love my Chevy's but would take opinions on everything other than dodge.

So what's good? What gets good Milage is good to 200k without major repairs and is comfortable?

Thinking of vehicles 95 and newer that get at least 27 mpg.

Thanks in advance
 
I had a 99 or 00 saturn for my 100 mile daily commute. AC, cruise control, CD player, power windows and a manual trans. Got 30mpg at 80. Burned a little oil with 160k on the clock, but was a great car mechanically. Mine was the SC2, so the 2 door with the third suicide door in the back. I'm 6'2 and 250, the fit wasnt uncomfortable, I didnt mind spending 2 hours a day in it. If you want quality and refinement look elsewhere, but if you want a reliable reasonably comfortable commuter I would look for a used saturn. Mine had been totaled and had 120k on the clock so I paid 3k for it when it was 6 years old. Sold it for 1500 a few years later, never had a problem with it.
 
Don't rule out old Volvos. I've got over 180k on this one and you'd never know it. Easily mid to high 20s if you can keep your foot out of it (but the turbo is so much fun). Old 740 or 940 turbo for rock solid reliability and cheap/easy to repair/maintain. Or a 95-97 850 non-turbo manual trans for even better mileage. My buddy has one of those with almost 400k on the clock, original engine/trans, only on it's second clutch. The 850s get a bit more pricey to repair when you get into the OBDII era.

I'm 6'1" and 220. Fit very well in all of the above cars.

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My 98 malibu which had the 3.1 would get 30 mpg out on the highway and about 26 in town.

The 3.1 will need the intake manifold gaskets done but alot have already been done.

It was a comfy car, I am 6'2" and overall a big guy.

I sold my car with almost 300k on it
 
Its hard to beat a 93 up civic or 94 up accord(5spd) for a daily driver. I bought my S-I-L 97 civic 4dr 5spd for 2400.00 3 years ago Its got 255k miles on it now and all we've done is clutch and timing belt.
 
Yah I agree with the Honda thing except they are not comfy for big guys, even some accords bring the suck.

Thats the reason I will never consider a VW diesel, would love one for the motor but hate it every time I got into it
 
I'm 6'1 245 and I fit ok in the civic, alot better in the accord, But I really like the Mazda 3 my wife had when we got married. I could let the seat all the way back and could barely get the clutch in. The 3 will be top on the budget though since they didn't start making them till 04.
 
IMO, any late 90's, early 2000's GM car with a 3.8 would be an awesome choice. My mom had a 97 Buick Century with a 3.8 and that was a super nice car. Got something like 30+ mpg's on the highway and mid 20's in the city. I'd have to say the 3.8 is one of, if not the best V-6 GM ever put out.
 
snuffy74 said:
IMO, any late 90's, early 2000's GM car with a 3.8 would be an awesome choice. My mom had a 97 Buick Century with a 3.8 and that was a super nice car. Got something like 30+ mpg's on the highway and mid 20's in the city. I'd have to say the 3.8 is one of, if not the best V-6 GM ever put out.
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Agreed, the supercharged 3.8 in my grand prix gets 28-30 mpg easy, I have even pulled out 32 once, on the highway.

My buddy had a 3.8 in a bonneville got 30 mpg on a regular basis on the highway
 
What about cavaliers? I am seeing lots of them for around 3k with under 150k miles on them and they look decent.

Supposedly get mid 30's but not sure if that's true or not.

Really liking the diesel jetta's just ain't sure Im really wanting to use up
All my spending money on one.
 
Cavaliers are your typical econobox throw away car. At 150k they are very near the end of their life expectancy. I'm sure someone will pipe up and say 'I had one and beat the crap out of it till 250k miles' but that's a rare bird. I will say though, a Cav at 150k miles makes a pretty good compact derby car. They are tough little buggers.
 
I have known alot of folks with cavaliers and I tend to agree, if they are well taken care of they can last well past 150k but there is alot of little stuff that will go wrong, interior pieces breaking, things falling off, fasteners getting loose.

They seem to run good but develop all sorts of annoyance problems.

The bigger GM cars are on the same level but seem to last longer than the smaller cars.

I picked up an 89 grand prix for 400 bucks and put about 20k on it before it lost the trans, it had 350k on it when I bought it. Nice car too.
 
gm with a 3.8 or a ford with a 3.0. Expect 25ish with the 3.8 and 27ish with the 3.0
 
Cruz89K5 said:
I had a 99 or 00 saturn for my 100 mile daily commute. AC, cruise control, CD player, power windows and a manual trans. Got 30mpg at 80. Burned a little oil with 160k on the clock, but was a great car mechanically. Mine was the SC2, so the 2 door with the third suicide door in the back. I'm 6'2 and 250, the fit wasnt uncomfortable, I didnt mind spending 2 hours a day in it. If you want quality and refinement look elsewhere, but if you want a reliable reasonably comfortable commuter I would look for a used saturn. Mine had been totaled and had 120k on the clock so I paid 3k for it when it was 6 years old. Sold it for 1500 a few years later, never had a problem with it.
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I'll second this. If you can get by on a cheaper-end commuter, Saturns are worth a look. Their resale value is lower than you would expect. They're all over the local craigslist at really reasonable prices.

My cousin bought a Saturn wagon new in '95 and still has the damn thing at nearly 250k miles. I borrowed a '94 SC2 with a manual trans for a few months when I was staying in NY with family, and it wasn't a bad little zinger. Decent gas mileage (27-30 mpg), too. Never had any issues with it.
 
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