lol viperalley says buy a civic.
1995 chevy cavailer 106k 1700 obo 4dr auto runs great.
[quote=“tonymitss5,post:36,topic:36407"”]
What makes a car unreliable though? IMO if you have no major engine or transmission failure, a car is reliable. Replacing Tires, Brakes, Suspension compents etc, are all wear items, just because a car needs a ball joint at 100K miles doesn’t mean a car is unreliable.
There are lots of cars I would purchase for sub 5K dollars and drive to Cali and back tomorrow, without worry. I would say that is reliable.
On the other hand I would not get in a 1995 F355 I paid 70K for and drive cross country. How much one spends on a car means nothing on reliablility, how much one has spent on a car before one purchases said car (maint records, etc.) is a better indicator to most.
[/quote]
Reliable to me is drivable. If I want a “reliable” car, I want one that isn’t going to break down, leaving me struggling to find a ride to work/school/whatever it is that is so important you need reliable transportation. Once is fine, two or more times in a short period of time is unreliable.
Even if the alternator goes…sure, cheap (depending on vehicle), easy fix, but you’ve still got down time so you need to find alternate transportation. Cars sub $5k are there for a reason… ages, miles, rust, etc. Beyond your GENERAL maintenance (fluids, belts, etc.) you better allot some extra money to repairs that you are going to probably have to make.
That’s why I say, there is no such thing as a sub 4-5k car. Buy it for 2 and you most likely will see a couple grand in repairs. Just plan your money wisely when shopping in that range, that’s all I’m saying.
AGAIN, there are CERTAINLY anomalies. I at one point had a vehicle I bought for $4500 and never had to put a dime into repairs.
[quote=“Silver,post:43,topic:36407"”]
Reliable to me is drivable. If I want a “reliable” car, I want one that isn’t going to break down, leaving me struggling to find a ride to work/school/whatever it is that is so important you need reliable transportation. Once is fine, two or more times in a short period of time is unreliable.
Even if the alternator goes…sure, cheap (depending on vehicle), easy fix, but you’ve still got down time so you need to find alternate transportation. Cars sub $5k are there for a reason… ages, miles, rust, etc. Beyond your GENERAL maintenance (fluids, belts, etc.) you better allot some extra money to repairs that you are going to probably have to make.
That’s why I say, there is no such thing as a sub 4-5k car. Buy it for 2 and you most likely will see a couple grand in repairs. Just plan your money wisely when shopping in that range, that’s all I’m saying.
AGAIN, there are CERTAINLY anomalies. I at one point had a vehicle I bought for $4500 and never had to put a dime into repairs.
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Considering that a few other board members have posted similar success stories, perhaps if the OP is capable of inspecting a car and knows how to say “no” to what could be a disaster, it doesn’t seem as impossible to find a good car under 5k as you make it out to be.
In fact I really don’t think you know what you are talking about lol 
[quote=“sureshot!,post:44,topic:36407"”]
Considering that a few other board members have posted similar success stories, perhaps if the OP is capable of inspecting a car and knows how to say “no” to what could be a disaster, it doesn’t seem as impossible to find a good car under 5k as you make it out to be.
In fact I really don’t think you know what you are talking about lol
[/quote]
Lol…okay, we all have different experiences, so we’ll leave it at that.
Good luck with the test OP, and your first car!
I had a $100 1989 Honda Civic Wagavan and it was reliable.
“There are lots of cars I would purchase for sub 5K dollars and drive to Cali and back tomorrow, without worry. I would say that is reliable.” -tonymitss5
^this is being totally serious, but i’ve done that before, it takes 4-1/2 days lol
but really, its ur first car so u cant expect anything really nice for a lower price range, sometimes u luck out tho, one thing i recommend not doing is setting ur eyes on one type of car, especially when u have a price range, because it limits the number of reasonably priced cars, hell, my first car was a 1993 Cutlass Supreme (rust bucket), but it was my moms old car so who cares?
[quote=“Silver,post:43,topic:36407"”]
Reliable to me is drivable. If I want a “reliable” car, I want one that isn’t going to break down, leaving me struggling to find a ride to work/school/whatever it is that is so important you need reliable transportation. Once is fine, two or more times in a short period of time is unreliable.
Even if the alternator goes…sure, cheap (depending on vehicle), easy fix, but you’ve still got down time so you need to find alternate transportation. Cars sub $5k are there for a reason… ages, miles, rust, etc. Beyond your GENERAL maintenance (fluids, belts, etc.) you better allot some extra money to repairs that you are going to probably have to make.
That’s why I say, there is no such thing as a sub 4-5k car. Buy it for 2 and you most likely will see a couple grand in repairs. Just plan your money wisely when shopping in that range, that’s all I’m saying.
AGAIN, there are CERTAINLY anomalies. I at one point had a vehicle I bought for $4500 and never had to put a dime into repairs.
[/quote]
96, no rust, 103k… only major thing i had to replace was the lower intake manifold gasket that always goes on the GM 3100 motors not bad for 5 years. but if it ever did die, i always have the evo
You never know if it’s going to be reliable until you buy it. You should never ASSUME a sub 4-5k car is going to be reliable enough to drive to California and back, that’s just poor common sense. It could do it, it could not…but I PERSONALLY wouldn’t take the gamble by assuming that 2k was all I was going to have to pay on it. It’s good sense to allot a little more IN CASE.
And I did the Cali to New York drive in 4 days. 11 hours, 11 hours, 11 hours, 8 1/2 hours… and that was in a 93 Geo tracker that was leaking oil so bad I had to put another quart in almost every hour the last day.
I’ll sell you my '89 Audi 80Q for $1500. It’s AWD, and 5 cyl. Close enough to 6.
i have a 1995 honda civic dx with 100,400 miles i want 2,800 for it im in the falls if you wanna check it out just search for 1995 honda civic its the one labled 1995 hona civic dx 2dr blk
I failed for not looking before starting my parallel park and scrubing the curb while backing out of said parallel park, I take it again on thursday ><
anyways, yes my handle is referring to Fear Before the March of Flames
and yeah civics are looking better and better even though i originally didn’t want, if you compare to the world of airsoft they’re like m4s, everyone and their brothers have one, but they are good…
[quote=“FearBefore128,post:53,topic:36407"”]
anyways, yes my handle is referring to Fear Before the March of Flames
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ha, badass. good luck with your next test. oh and a civic is a great first car.
Spencer go on craigslist
Look for mid 90s Buicks with low miles
Grand prixs and bonnevilles with low miles
things like that.
A nice 95 lesabre will run you 2k and will last almost forever.
mines been to hell and back and still runs awesome
White 1994 Honda accord 4 door. Automatic transmission, 4 cylinder, 147k miles, had some front end damage that was fixed, Runs great
$1800 Firm.
if you want to fix a couple things I have a black 5 speed 89 bmw 325i i’d sell for $1900
who are uuu
^ PM HIM RETARD