Car for friend advice

rangerdanger

TreeHouser
Joined
Apr 25, 2008
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Lexington, KY
So, me and a few friends are all going to chip in to get a car for the friend who's having the baby. She's been through some tough times and we're all just trying to help her out and are in a position to do so. Budget is about $6k, needs to be a 4 door, something that's family friendly, would like it to get good MPG, and be reliable. I was thinking something along with lines of a Toyota Camry or Corolla, maybe a Honda Civic. Are any of those good choices? Just looking for a bit of advice from anyone who has experience with them, or what you guys would recommend if not any of those.
 
You can't go wrong with a Toyota Corolle IMO.
There is a reason it is the most sold car ever.

My wife drives a 16 year old one, no problems ever.
 
Ford Taurus late 90's .One of the highest ratings in it's class .

Fact Tom just recently picked up a super clean 99 Taurus for I think 2500 bucks,original owner .3 liter 24 valve v6 engine which gets around 25 or so MPG maybe more depending on how you drive it .
 
Get the toyota corolla Ranger it really is a fantastic car when it comes to reliability and you can source parts anywhere in the world. Very good on gas. Very kind of you and your buds for helping this young lady out in her time of need, very nice indeed.
 
I don't know anything about the corolla. I do know that Toyota makes a top shelf vehicle. Absolutely awesome trucks.
 
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  • #9
Thanks guys. Yea, the first thing that popped into my head was Toyota haha. And yep, feels good helping good people out. Looks like I'll be looking into Corolla's than.
 
I could easily see Daisy from "The dukes of hazzard', in a Mini Cooper. Like to see her get out of one too. :)
 
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  • #13
Man, I'd love a mini coop, my GTI is close performance wise to a mini, it's in the same class as one. Gonna work on some upgrades for it in the next few months here, VW's in general are supposed to be good cars to tune up, the GTI's, Jetta's, and Golfs at least.
 
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  • #14
BTW, what mileage should I try to look for? Most in my area that are$5500 and under have around 130-160k miles. That too much for the price?
 
The less miles, the better. There isn't really a target mileage range to be after. The closer towards zero, the better.
 
Its a balancing act between low miles and newer. Sometimes, an older car with lower miles is good, but remember that all the rubber parts, gaskets, etc, have aged, along with the paint, and parts that wear from use such as the steering components, of course the engine and transmission and brakes, even if it has low miles. A higher mileage car will have worn some of the parts more, but less weathering and salt exposure.

Buying an inspection from a reputable mechanic is a sound investment before dropping a bunch of dollars.

Reading consumer reports and doing a some googling can pay off, too.
 
Low mileage isn't always the best, especially if the vehicle has done lots of short trips. Owned by an old lady who only used it to drive 2 miles to town and back every day sort of thing, the engine hasn't even got warm and it's already stopped, constantly running on a rich mix etc.

I would go for newer but higher mileage with good service history personally.
 
Well if the young lady is such a red white and blue girl why would you think she'd be so in love with a freakin Toyota .
 
I could easily see Daisy from "The dukes of hazzard', in a Mini Cooper. Like to see her get out of one too. :)
Daisy isn't the well rounded young lady she used to be .She'd have a tough time squeezing in a Mini Cooper these days .Shall we just says she's matured somewhat and leave it at that .
 
Well if the young lady is such a red white and blue girl why would you think she'd be so in love with a freakin Toyota .

I read this more as a need for transportation thing, than a car to be in love with thing!
 
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