Older Vehicle with Good Gas Mileage?

[AnjieNet]

With the several other vehicle threads out there today, thought I'd throw this one out too for some help on a bit of research.

DH drives a 2002 Chevy Suburban with 295,000+ miles on it. Great vehicle still going strong but gets horrible gas mileage, about 14 mpg. We are looking at getting an older vehicle for his daily commute, figuring we'd come out ahead in the long run with gas savings.

We are looking at 1990 or younger vehicles that we could pick up for around $3000 +/-. What do you have that gets 30+ mpg? We've looked at Honda Accord and Civics and they seem to be a good bet. Any others?

 

[thomas998]

1990's
Geo Metro XFI 53mpg highway
HONDA CIVIC CRX HF 47mpg highway
Suzuki Swift, Pontiac Firefly and all otehr Geo Metros tied with 45mpg highway

You could also look at a Volkswagen Jetta or Golf... the older the better for mileage.

The big issue you will have is finding one that is not going to cost a lot to get running dependably.

 

[AnjieNet]

1990's
Geo Metro XFI 53mpg highway
HONDA CIVIC CRX HF 47mpg highway
Suzuki Swift, Pontiac Firefly and all otehr Geo Metros tied with 45mpg highway

You could also look at a Volkswagen Jetta or Golf... the older the better for mileage.

The big issue you will have is finding one that is not going to cost a lot to get running dependably.

That's our fear. Pick one up for a couple of thousand and then a week later have to put a couple of more into it to keep it going.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

We recently bought a 1993 Honda Accord Sedan with 103,000 miles for $1,300 on Craigslist. We're a Honda family and, while DH isn't a mechanic, he knows Hondas. We'd been watching used Hondas for a while and this was the first one in that price range that didn't have close to 200,000 miles on it. It's not the prettiest vehicle, but it is mechanically sound and will be the perfect car for our oldest DD to learn how to drive with.

 

[katrina1122]

Look into subarus, they are famous for going 200,000+

I have a 98 outback wagon and am about to hit 139,000. It's had no problems except for some weird transmission fluke that took 4 different places to figure out, they were all shocked by the problem as it was only at 76,000 miles at that point so we replaced it. I love that car! Plus the AWD is such an added bonus in the winter and rain. Gets good gas mileage too.

 

[thomas998]

That's our fear. Pick one up for a couple of thousand and then a week later have to put a couple of more into it to keep it going.

In trying to avoid bad cars... always do the carfax to make sure it hasn't been totaled in the past... avoid any car that looks like it would appeal to a young boy... go with a 4 door over a 2 door they aren't as sporty looking... Also learn to do a few tests on your own when you look at the car...

One thing for manual transmission car is to put the emergency brake on and then hold the clutch in put it in first gear and slowly let the clutch out... if the clutch is starting to wear out you feel it slip... if it is in good shape it will try to move the car which it can't and the engine will die.

open the radiator cap before the car is heated up, then start it and look for any bubbles, any bubbles is a sign that it has a head gasket blown or cracked head both major expenses.... another sign is a sweat smell in the exhaust which is caused by burning anti-freeze.

look at the color of the oil on the dip stick if its black then it hasn't been changed when it should... if they skipped changing oil on a high mileage car you can bet it will be wearing out quicker than on a car that they kept the oil changed when they should.

Good luck in your search... and I might stay away from the volkswagens because they can be very expensive to fix.

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

For ease of repair by most shops, I encourage you to get a 1996 or newer vehicle. The updated OBD 2 system makes it easier for shops to fix it in case your check engine light comes on.