[objennasweene]

1998 Sunfire. 195,000 Miles. Its always done me right, but apparently the transmission needs fixed. Not a huge issue, but it must be fixed, and the labor is going to be killer. So, spend $800 on fixing a car with 195,000 miles that seems pretty good other than that, or trade it in and buy something 2004 or newer with less than 35k miles, assuming they'll give my sorry ass a loan?

I was thinking of getting something like a Hyundai Elantra, or a Chevy Cobalt.

[Flieteewell]

Buy a used civic, fit, corolla, or matrix.
honestly I am amazed that the sunfire lasted that long... World record.

[objennasweene]

Buy a used civic, fit, corolla, or matrix.
honestly I am amazed that the sunfire lasted that long... World record.

I am too. Its been the best car I've ever owned. This and my 89 Mazda 626 have been the 2 best cars I've ever owned. The worst would have been my 2001 Celica. Which is why I'm trying to keep my next purchase cheap. I have a repo on my record because of that piece of trash.

Maybe I'll get lucky and find a civic with like 50k miles or less for a cheap price. I found a 2006 elantra hatchback for $9,800. Has 35k miles on it. I wish this had happened a month or two. Between my tuition reimbursement and taxes I'd have like $4k to put towards a car. As it stands now I've got nothin.

[nikolapegayyyaasss]

Get another car, that mileage is killer. So its the transmission now, then it will be something else, then something else etc.
Theres always a bargain 2nd hand, just put some effort into it and get some people with experience to help you out.

Also what about the Hyundai Tiburon instead of the Chev Cobalt ?

[objennasweene]

Also what about the Hyundai Tiburon instead of the Chev Cobalt ?

I found 2. One of them says on the carfax the tranny was replaced, but that was when the first owner had it. Still.. dunno if I want to buy a car that already had to have the transmission replaced.

I found one for $9k. 48k miles, 5 speed manual. I love hatchbacks. Assuming I could get financed I would totally make the 2 hour drive to go get it. I sent the dealership an e-mail asking them for a copy of the carfax report. Wonder if they would take my car as a trade in. Most places take anything on a trade even if they only give you a few hundred bucks.

Also found a Mazda6 S for about $10k as well. 38k miles. Only issue I found was that it was originally a rental car. A little hesitant about buying a rental.

Kinda interested in the tiburon. Edmunds gave it good reviews, and so did owners.

[Ferkilort]

Here's another vote for a civic. I'd not go with a cobolt. Everyone i know that has driven one has hated it. Just an uncomfortable car to drive.

[Suentiend]

i agree time for a new car because right now its kinda on the verge of self destruction.

how about a 05 scion tC?

[Dertrioz]

Tibby, not Cobalt. Cobalt is poor interior quality. It is a great car, but offers one of the worst interior quality. Hell, the Aveo has better interior quality then the Cobalt does!


What kind of car are you looking for? 2-Door, Coupe, 5-Door? So up to 10k is the budget as well?
Compact, mid-sized, subcompact?

You can get so much for $10k.


I would add a vote on the Tiburon, but only in V6 form, as even the V6 is still slow.


Could get an older, used BMW 3-Series. Heck, even the M3's fall into the $10k price range.
Might be able to find a new slightly used new Focus. I really like these things. Corolla's are poo, Honda's are hit and miss, and the Civic is a miss, Fit is retarded, but I love the Focus and I love the Sentra. Both of which you can find for $10k on the new models with low miles.
100% vote for whatever you buy on a Subaru. You can never go wrong with a Subaru. Subaru's are great all a round, great resale value, great vehicles, awd, ect.
Newer Volvo S40's and V50's? S60's even? Lincoln LS, Ford 500 (great cars), or you could have the best fun you will ever have by getting a Crown Vic or the Mercury edition. Ok fast, big, great economy (we got 24mpg average on a rental) and people will get out of your way asap! Mercury for $10k has a model that has a 300hp 4.6L V8.
Same goes for the Impala, which you could get the SS model.
Dodge Charger V6?

There is just so much out there for $10k!


Myself, we were about to get a new car. Escort got into a wreck, so we were looking around. I found a 2000 Volvo V40 w/ 75,000 miles for $5.5k. I am sure it could be dropped well into the $4k range too. 1.9L w/ 160hp. Stock makes 8.6psi, and the 2000 is able to push up to 17psi on a stock turbo.
I love wagons and small cars, plus economy which this one makes at 30mpg average.
Then also found a Mazda 929, which uses a 3.0L @ 200hp for the same price at the same miles but like a 1992, that was also sweet.
Myself, it would have been one of those two, because that is all that was really in our area for that price range, with low miles.

The Volvo is awesome though because stock it can make some serious numbers. 2001+ though changed turbo's that could only push up to 14psi. Still very good numbers.




Just get a Subaru!

[codecouponqw]

195,000 miles on a Sunfire?!? My 95 got to 100,000 miles and decided to strand me and attempt to kill me multiple times. If you could charge a car with attempted murder... [thumbdown]
Oh, and I wouldn't get the trans fixed. I did that on that car...never again. $2500 later, I could have just put a down payment on something else. As it is, I got rid of the car less than a year later, after the brake lines busted and almost got me killed.

[Pdarassenko]

I wouldnt fix it unless you cant get financing approved and dont have a choice.
Ive seen a Sunfire at auction with 240k. I didnt bid but I think it went for 450.00
In any case trade it in bad tranny and all(thats your down payment), often times we mark up your trade-in value to make it appear as equity going in but we also add that back onto your purchase price.

[SimSlim]

I'd dump it. You'd probably get more money from parting out the car and selling the remainder for scrap than as a non running car. That is if you have the room to have a junk car in your yard for a while...

As far as cheap cars just get something that is simple, easy to work on and cheap for parts. Don't get an older BMW or pretty much any old Euros.

They may be under $10000 but you will get killed on insurance, parts and labour. My 92 GTi is singlehandedly draining my wallet.

[ggdfgtdfffhfyj]

If you push it to 12K you could get a lower-end e46 BMW 3-series. Best car I have ever owned.

[mesZibeds]

I know multiple people with cobalts and never a single problem out of them. Interior is quiet as a mouse. The ecotec 4 banger is a mighty fine engine.

[Vedun*]

I'd buy a new trannsmission and see how far it goes. I'm at 223,956 miles and running like brand new. It is a Subaru though,but I'd bet you'd easily get another 60k miles out of that if you take care of it.

[objennasweene]

i agree time for a new car because right now its kinda on the verge of self destruction.

how about a 05 scion tC?

I was looking at one as well. There's a very nice (slightly riced) 05 Scion Tc for $12,000. Its 200 miles away in Kentucky, but it might be worth it. The upgrades I noticed were new headers, strut bar, air intake, and the exhaust didn't look stock either. Normally I'm hesitant of buying riced, but the way the car looked in the photos it wasn't just some hot rodding kid, whoever owned it appears to have actually cared for their car. Cars are fine being driven hard, as long as you know how to drive.

Unfortunately the tiburon I was considering turned out to be riced out and abused. Needs a bit of work. Even if they fixed it up I'd worry that whatever kid owned it before drove it as his first manual. Which means the clutch and the tranny probably took a lot of abuse.

Looked at the cobalts. Read some reviews. They seem to be good little cars, pretty reliable, but pretty much everyone says they handle like crap. Cute car, but I spend an hour a day in my car. I don't want something I don't like to drive. Unless I can get the upgraded model, which I've heard is quite a bit better to drive.


My options locally are really limited. I'm thinking I might just save my cash and put 50% down half a year from now and get what I want rather than settle for something I may or may not like, as my used options right now are pretty slim. The engine in my sunfire runs great. Zero oil leaks/burning. If I can wait out this 9 weeks I have $1300 in reimbursement coming from work, and I can use my excess student loans (about $1000) as well. So in 9 more weeks I'll have $4800 + whatever I saved from my paychecks. Even with my less than superb credit they wouldn't turn me down with a 50% down payment.

I'd like to get a tiburon, because I LOVE hatchbacks and I've heard great reviews on them. But right now I just can't find a decent used one. I did find ONE in columbus ohio. 4 cyl GS model, under 50k miles, $9k. The rest all have odd things on the carfax or look a bit abused, like the one locally at 40k miles has already had the tranny replaced. That could either be good, or bad, but I don't think I want to take the chance.

On the bright side I get to come to work at 5 AM in the morning! The wife works 1st shift, so I get up at 4:30 (instead of 7:45 like I'm used to). At least my boss was kind enough to let me work this wacky shift so that my wife and I can share a car while I worry about fixing mine.

One worry about fixing my sunfire is that if they're wrong, and it turns out to be worse than it is, it'll just be an even bigger headache. It still drives though. For now. Maybe I'll just see if they'll take it for some sort of trade-in value. Worst case scenario I call the local junk car buyer and get a few hundred for it.


And yeah, I won't get a BMW. I had one once. Cooling went out, and it ended up just being a nightmare. IMO unless you're a mechanic and hardcore into BMW's, or you're well off and can buy a new one with a warranty, its totally not worth it.


Also: often times we mark up your trade-in value to make it appear as equity going in but we also add that back onto your purchase price. I've been told that I shouldn't mention a trade-in until I've negotiated the price down a bit, and then tell them that I want to get rid of my current vehicle. I've heard from a few people that's the best way to get them to push the price down towards their minimum. Does that actually work? I'm hoping I can get a good deal with the auto industry being crap, and lots not pushing enough inventory out the door. Used cars aren't selling to well apparently, because the deals on new cars are so good.

[Pdarassenko]

I've been told that I shouldn't mention a trade-in until I've negotiated the price down a bit, and then tell them that I want to get rid of my current vehicle. I've heard from a few people that's the best way to get them to push the price down towards their minimum. Does that actually work? I'm hoping I can get a good deal with the auto industry being crap, and lots not pushing enough inventory out the door. Used cars aren't selling to well apparently, because the deals on new cars are so good. It can help, but I will usually just tell them, fine if you want me to submit it to the lenders with $200.00 down(actual value of the trade in) I will but they will TD it right away.
Lenders will cut the sale price anyway as they wont loan a penny over retail value unless your credit is very strong.

[Dertrioz]

Seems like you really want a Tibby.

Go get yourself a Tibby, though try and get a V6. The V6 is already slow enough for what these things cost brand new, and I know that the I4 is only going to be extremely lack luster.



Though, I just did a quick search on ebay, and found a used transmission with 100,000 miles with a 30 day warranty for $200. (came off the 2.4L)
You might be able to find something better, as I did a 2 second search.

Either do the labor yourself on a good weekend with a buddy and save hundreds, or take it to a shop with the transmission and have them put it in for a few more hundred just for labor. If the engine is fine, and no leaks, no oil or coolant leaks, no engine light, save a TON of money and get a transmission put in there. I wouldn't worry about anything else major going on. I would save the money and just get the transmission put in. That car will end up lasting you at least another 60,000 miles, and I would even bet that 300,000 miles would come easy on it.

Then just think of it this way as well, say your engine does for some reason blow a rod, or the timing belt brakes, or even a valve brakes, a new engine off ebay is only $300. That isn't a huge dent at all, and way smaller then what you are willing to put down on a used car.




Though, if you are tired of that car, I would actually try selling it. I think that you could get WAY more for it that way, even with a bad transmission. People will know that this is an easy and cheap fix, and find themselves a deal and you will get yourself a bit more cash other wise.
Heck, yo could replace that transmission yourself, and then put a for sale sign on it as well. I am not sure though what the kbb is on that, so I am not sure if that would be worth it or not doing the labor yourself.




I know for me, next time anything happens to our Escort, I am going to fix it up and then sell it. ("New" used transmission and engine only cost $200 if I do need to do that) Then buy something for like $5k as the Escort doesn't have the safety ratings that I want for my family.

[objennasweene]

Yeah, I like the Tiburon because its a hatchback. I don't drive fast, never bother passing people, so the 4-cyl really makes more sense anyway.

Also found a couple real nice Mazda6's for around the same price. Wouldn't mind one of those either.

The problem is that I don't want the hassle of dealing with a car loan, talked to some banks and my rates will be a bit higher with my credit and the current credit situation. I might just fix my tranny and hold out for another year or so and save up the cash to buy a car without any loans.

Neither myself, nor my friends, have the mechanical skills to repair a tranny. I'd probably just get mine fixed up at a shop. The issues, according to the last transmission specialist I talked to, are pretty easy to fix. My car shifts fine. The engine hasn't ever leaked a drop of oil. The only thing is that at 200,000 miles you never know what else might go out.

The issue is a cracked gear tooth. As soon as I let off the gas you can hear it. I thought it was a wheel bearing at first, but check that and its nothing in wheel. Goes away the instant you give it a little juice.

[nikolapegayyyaasss]

Yeah, I like the Tiburon because its a hatchback. I don't drive fast, never bother passing people, so the 4-cyl really makes more sense anyway.

Neither myself, nor my friends, have the mechanical skills to repair a tranny. I'd probably just get mine fixed up at a shop. The issues, according to the last transmission specialist I talked to, are pretty easy to fix. My car shifts fine. The engine hasn't ever leaked a drop of oil. The only thing is that at 200,000 miles you never know what else might go out.

The 2.0L is fine, my friend had one, and its got adequate power.

I agree that at 200k miles, theres lots else that can go wrong.

[Jon Woodgate]

I would maybe go halfway and find a car with half the milage of your current one for say twice what the tranny would cost to get fixed

Big loans for cars is a bit silly imo.