what car would you recommend in the 2-2500 range?

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Hipnotic_Tranz
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what car would you recommend in the 2-2500 range?

Post by Hipnotic_Tranz »

I'm thinking of selling my Supra and am wanting to get something "newer" I'm tired of the small things breaking on it. I'm thinking I could sell it for $2-2500 but am curious if I can get anyhting better with that kinda dough? Would it be better just to keep it and fix all the small annoying problems I have with it or buy another car?

And if you think I should get another car, what would you recommend in that price range?
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Post by EvilHorace »

As it stands, that's a tough call because there's many choices but $2500 doesn't really buy you a nice, newer car these days unless you luck out or know someone.
What'd be better is if you looked through local papers or lots, see what's available for that money and then if you still want opinions, post a few selections that you've found and we'll give you opinions. Chances are good that for that kind of money, any used car will need some work so you might not be better off in the end.
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Post by wvjohn »

1987 ford econoline? hehe
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Post by Hipnotic_Tranz »

econoboxes, hehe.

I'd really like to get another supra in nicer condition, I really hate putting a lot of money into this one when it doesn't even have that great of a body (sure, it ain't bad but it ain't great either) Mechanically the car is pretty good, we've had some small things like hoses go out, slave cylinder, nothing real expensive that would cause me to want to sell the car right away. But as it stands, it's about a $2500 car and when that rust starts to show through again, you can drop that down to $1500. Bondo only covers rust, it doesn't stop it :(

So thats where I'm at right now. I'm torn on wheather I should keep it and fix it up the small problems I have now or get another car that has unknown problems. As you said, for about $2500, there are a lot of choices, but chances are they'll need work. THe way I see it, any used car probably needs about $1k of work--why else would the people be getting rid of it? :)

I dunno, I guess I could always keep this car. Not like I've had any major trouble, just tired of the leaky window, bad window molding, bad window adjustment, shotty interior (well, nice for a 19 y/o car) the 1q. of oil a month, the slowly leaking break fluid, squeaky breaks etc. But I guess you'll get some of these small mechancal problems with anycar :-/ Hmph.... The two biggest thing are the squeaky breaks (only squeak 'till you use 'em a couple times--cheap pads?) and the leaky window. How in the hell am I ever gonna convince a date to only go out with me when it's sunny?

I'm now thinking I shouldn't have spent all this money on my computer/HT. I could have a real nice supra :)


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Keep it, fix it.

Post by EvilHorace »

It took me several years to finally debug my older Volvo turbo wgn to where I want it to be and I work on them daily for a living, have all the special tools and dealer parts price discounts too. The car wasn't well maintained by the original owner when I bought it in '94 but after many hours and a bunch-O-bucks, the car's like new again with (only) 212K miles and I'm planning to keep it at least another 10 yrs as my daily driver, go anywhere car as the newer cars simply don't impress me at all, especially considering what they're selling for new.
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Post by Hipnotic_Tranz »

Yeah, the price of new cars is rediculous considering how much it actually takes to produce one. I was talking to my parents about it and they said I could possibly get a load for two reasons. (1) so I can get a decent car in the $4k range [after I sell mine] and (2) so I can start getting credit. Sounds like a good idea to me but I can't seem to find a car I like in the $4k range.

If it's new, I want something sleek that would just be nice to cruise in, doesn't even have to be really fast (I don't want it to be a dog though). I'm kinda tryin' to stay away from 20+ y/o cars cause it gets hard to find parts (my '82 supra is hard enough around where I live). I started lookin' at some old stangs from late 60's to early 70's but all those are beaters in need of a restoration. Then I looked for some newer cars like the dodge stealth and the base model of that is about 7k which is out of my price range again. Seems all I can find are some crap econoboxes and I want more than that. So I go back to thinkin' maybe I'll just keep my car, get that loan and fix 'er up (but I also hate spending so much money into a car I don't fully like) I'm torn. I'll just have to pick up a trader and look through to see if there is anything better out there, cause I truely don't know
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Post by EvilHorace »

After buying my 'stang, my 17 yr old son has also wanted a 60s-70s muscle car but I've explained to him that yes, IF one's found that's affordable, it'll need ALOT of work to restore it and that requires serious money and alot of auto experience if good results are to be had. He can't afford a car like that, most people can't unless you've got spare garage space, alot of time and alot of "burn money" to throw at it.
If my son ever lands a semi-decent job, I too might consider helping him get a loan as I'm more than tired of fixing his nasty POS hoopdies all the time. He's on his 3rd car in his first 6 months of driving, now driving a nasty '91 Festiva (a Kia) that he got from a friends dad for $75 (didn't start due to electrical problems, still has electrical problems but starts) but his debt to me is now over $300 and it still needs more work. I truely hate old junkers :( .
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Post by renovation »

take that money and use it as a down payment and get a new car !
or look for a older dodge neon ! you should be able to find something like that and have the local repair shop check it over before you drop a ton in it !
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Post by CaterpillarAssassin »

I bought an 89 Cavalier Z24 with 94000 miles in mint conditon for 2300 dollars. No major stuff has gone wrong, its fast enough (tops our at 119mph), lots of torque, and they got style. All I've had to do was put in a new muffler (which i did a high flow one), and do a tuneup. These cars are great and will last forever with good maintnance. It turns alot of heads too. There like damn...nice car.
here are some pics...

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Post by 2724 »

?
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