Location: South Carolina

Heard late 90's-early 00's Japanese cars were pretty nice, although some Honda's suffer from pretty iffy transmission issues.
Elderly owned cars are also a possibly + is it worth it at all to look around various used car dealerships?

Things I really need out of this car: good gas mileage, easy/cheap to repair, safe, anything else a first car driver would need. (Optional, defintely NOT needed) If at all possible, it would be nice to have an option to make it into a weekend driver, but this is if and ONLY if it can be met without sacrificing any of the needed stuff.

Am currently in no rush to get a car, just curious to see what my options are as of right now. Why not save even more for a even better car? Well, I really need an emergency fund + money for car repairs, so that's as high as I'm willing to go.

Anyone got any good ideas?

Hard to go wrong with a Camry.

That and the Corolla seem to be REALLY good about reliability. Most seem to be pretty cheap, although I should probably keep saving - one for unexpected repairs 2, incase I come across a REALLY good deal.

Nonetheless, tyvm for the suggestion!

I'd get a 3500.oo and save the rest..
I'd also look at the high theft list before buying..
as insurance is high for new drivers.. and even if you are going with basic coverage no theft coverage.. if it goes missing you are out that cash.
I'd look at buicks with a 3800 v6.. as most are older folks owned and well taken care of, run forever.. and are not on thief's radar..

quote Originally posted by E.Furgal: I'd get a 3500.oo and save the rest.. I'd also look at the high theft list before buying.. as insurance is high for new drivers.. and even if you are going with basic coverage no theft coverage.. if it goes missing you are out that cash. I'd look at buicks with a 3800 v6.. as most are older folks owned and well taken care of, run forever.. and are not on thief's radar..

True. From what I've been told, Honda's are often stolen in the city areas, and with my town being the way it is - Buick's/elderly owned cars are another great avenue for me,

Thanks for letting me know about the high theft list, never really considered that.

Lastly, also good idea. Gives me bit of a cushion for repairs/college fund.

I usually recommend Honda or Toyota to others, especially women. I just did that about an hour ago to a customer thats looking to trade hers that I just fixed from a minor crash. Whatever they get, make it something inexpensive to fix as they will prob break things more than average.

I have to agree with the "Buick with a 3800" comment.
Used Buicks can be had for peanuts, and the 3800 engine is pretty much bulletproof. It's why they are so cheap in the salvage yards... They frequently outlast the cars they are installed in.
Find one 1997-98 or later. They will come with the Series II 3800. It's a better design. A decent HP increase over the earlier engines, in a more compact package.
Some of them came with 3100s, but they are pretty much underpowered with that engine, and not as reliable.

Insurance should be inexpensive as well. Since Buicks used to be considered "old folks" cars, few of them were driven hard or crashed.

I was going to suggest a G6, too. The later the better.
Mine is a 2010 GT, ex-rental car, purchased three years ago with 41000 miles. Now has 85000 miles and has been quite reliable.
Had to repair a broken wire on the MAF sensor, three tire pressure sensors, and a brake job. Oh... and a battery and battery cable.
I have the 3500 engine, which is what most of them have. Get a 2007 or later. The 3500 was redesigned for 2007, for better performance and economy, due to VVT.

The 2008 and later Malibu is essentially the same car. (The slightly earlier ones are similar, but don't look as nice.)

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 01-19-2017).]

The Malibu seems like a great package to me. My Mom has an '05 Malibu with a 3.5Land it requires very little maintenance and still runs and drives great at nearly 200,000 miles. It also hasn't started to rust which is amazing to me since Michigan salt is tough on car bodies. I did have to put a steering rack in it, but it was inexpensive and easy to do.

Get a Fiero will ya!!!

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1987 Fiero GT T-Top
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2017 Kia Forte S

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My first car was a '69 Chevy Kingswood station wagon. 350 V8/TH350 tranny. Now, THAT was a combination you couldn't kill. Wish I still had that car.

My 2008 Pontiac Grand Prix with 3800 engine and 43K miles when I bought it cost me $7800. It now has 70,750 miles and Kelly Blue book says it is worth $5500. It gets about 31-33MPG on the highway and it is very comfortable. I will list it on craigslist for $5500 so I vote to buy a senior citizen's car because it probably doesn't have many miles and most likely it has been cared for. The bargains are out there.

quote Originally posted by E.Furgal: I'd get a 3500.oo and save the rest.. I'd also look at the high theft list before buying.. as insurance is high for new drivers.. and even if you are going with basic coverage no theft coverage.. if it goes missing you are out that cash. I'd look at buicks with a 3800 v6.. as most are older folks owned and well taken care of, run forever.. and are not on thief's radar..

Yep.

quote Originally posted by RWDPLZ: Hard to go wrong with a Camry.

Second that.... 98-01 are the most reliable and can be had very cheaply.