AAden From United States, joined Jan 2006, 813 posts, RR: 0 Posted (3 years 2 months 2 days 19 hours ago) and read 485 times:
okay guys i currently drive a 1990 f-150 extended cab. i love it to death but the gas mileage is down right horrible. So I'm looking for a car under 15k that gets good gas mileage and is reasonable good in the snow. I have no experience with cars whats so ever and, would greatly appreciate any ideas personal experiences or suggestions. thanxs
also if it could have a bit of quickness to it, an possibly a manual tranny that those would be pluses
by quickness I mean i want to be able to go 80 comfortably. I dont want to be the guy on the freeway that is struggling to go 60
Straight from Consumers Union/Consumer Reports as recomended used cars. These are all safe bets, Consumer Reports is dead on in their quality tracking. I have several friends in Northern Maine who own Subarus and they are excellent in the snow (all come with AWD).
Now, if you want to go new, try a Hyundai Elantra - uber high quality and excellent in the snow according to my cousin in Bangor who drives one.
(puts on flame suit for recommending a Hyundai on this board)
Now I hope you are not planning on going 80 in the snow. . .
NeilYYZ From Canada, joined Jan 2006, 2647 posts, RR: 5 Reply 4, posted (3 years 2 months 2 days 19 hours ago) and read 471 times:
An older perhaps mid to late '90's Toyota 4 Runner would do you well. They have both the V6 and V8. And they're great in the snow. It's a durable vehicle, I've seen tons of old ones running around Toronto, and they get a workout in this climate, good heat in the summer and freezing temperatures in the winter. And you'd be able to go 80 in it without a problem.
It may be too early to drink scotch... But it is NEVER too early to think about it...
AirWillie6475 From United States, joined Jan 2005, 2447 posts, RR: 2 Reply 6, posted (3 years 2 months 2 days 16 hours ago) and read 438 times:
Quoting NeilYYZ (Reply 4): An older perhaps mid to late '90's Toyota 4 Runner would do you well. They have both the V6 and V8. And they're great in the snow. It's a durable vehicle, I've seen tons of old ones running around Toronto, and they get a workout in this climate, good heat in the summer and freezing temperatures in the winter. And you'd be able to go 80 in it without a problem.
Forget the 4runner if you want to save fuel. It's about 19 mpg on freeway. Although, it has been the best car I have ever owned as far as the drive.
If I was you I would go with a Japanese compact car, you can't go wrong with those. Great all weather cars.
NeilYYZ From Canada, joined Jan 2006, 2647 posts, RR: 5 Reply 7, posted (3 years 2 months 2 days 15 hours ago) and read 428 times:
Quoting AirWillie6475 (Reply 6): Forget the 4runner if you want to save fuel. It's about 19 mpg on freeway. Although, it has been the best car I have ever owned as far as the drive.
This is very true, my old man has the V8 4 Runner, it's a great car to drive, and great in bad weather, but it does give your wallet a good cleaning out at the pump.
It may be too early to drink scotch... But it is NEVER too early to think about it...
RNOcommctr From United States, joined Jan 2001, 781 posts, RR: 6 Reply 8, posted (3 years 2 months 2 days 15 hours ago) and read 424 times:
Of the new so-called B-class cars, all around $15K, the Honda Fit seems to be the most highly regarded, with the Nissan Versa and Toyota Yaris also worthy of consideration.
LTBEWR From United States, joined Jan 2004, 9363 posts, RR: 7 Reply 9, posted (3 years 2 months 2 days 12 hours ago) and read 403 times:
Quoting RNOcommctr (Reply 8): Of the new so-called B-class cars, all around $15K, the Honda Fit seems to be the most highly regarded, with the Nissan Versa and Toyota Yaris also worthy of consideration.
That is good if want a new car, but they are quite small and quite a step down from a pickup truck.
Go to sites like Edmunds.com, Cars.com, vehix.com and do some research as to new and used cars/trucks in the price ranges you want to spend. They can also give you guidelines as to rebates, fair pricing you should pay, dealer traps to avoid, other consumer advice and connections to dealers and available cars.
As you may want a stick shift car, use the search functions on those sites to find cars with it. Many dealers have difficulty in selling new and used stick shift cars and few consumers want them and sometimes you can get a real good price. However automatic transmission cars while cost more are better on resale values and ease to sell. You could also check out E-Bay Motors for possible cars.
FlyingTexan From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 10, posted (3 years 2 months 2 days 11 hours ago) and read 389 times:
Quoting LOT767-300ER (Reply 5): Are you drunk....or homosexual that youre really recommending
I don't drink nor am I gay. That is a straight copy/past from Consumer Reports. Fits his price range. Those are recomennded used cars. High quality ones. Scratch the Miata. That car handles horrible in incliment weather. OTOH, small, front drive cars handle fine in snow.
Note the lack of GM, Ford, Chrysler products from that list. They must have poor quality.
Did you point out my post just because you do not like Asian cars or are interested in my drinking habits / sexuality?
AAden - if you have 15k and want new - a Hyundai or a Yaris or Fit like RNOcommctr pointed out. If you decide to go used - you'll get more bang for your $$$ - see that list. Just ignore the Miata and other rear drive cars. It was a simple cut/past but I knew someone high strung who has a fetish with low quality junk would get their panties in a twist.
Vikkyvik From United States, joined Jul 2003, 3805 posts, RR: 26 Reply 11, posted (3 years 2 months 2 days 11 hours ago) and read 388 times:
Quoting AAden (Thread starter): So I'm looking for a car under 15k that gets good gas mileage and is reasonable good in the snow.
It might be a tiny bit difficult to satisfy all three of those requirements to the extent that you want/need.
For new cars under or around $15K (possibly) and good gas mileage, I was looking at:
-Honda Civic
-Mazda 3
-Toyota....whatever their cheaper model is (Celica? I forget)
For cars with a bit more power, I was looking at:
-Scion TC - 160 HP/163 torque.
-Mazda 3 with 2.3 L engine - 161 HP if I remember correctly
However, I ended up buying an '02 Civic with manual transmission. Gets awesome gas mileage (32.5 average), and goes 80 with no trouble (you just have to understand that it's not gonna get there very rapidly). It's not the greatest car in the snow, but it does have ABS at least, and if you're as careful as you should be driving in the snow, you'll have no problem.
~Vik
The spirit of Massachusetts is the spirit of America!
2H4 From United States, joined Oct 2004, 8124 posts, RR: 65 Reply 12, posted (3 years 2 months 2 days 10 hours ago) and read 380 times:
AIRLINERS.NET CREW DATABASE EDITOR
Quoting FlyingTexan (Reply 10): OTOH, small, front drive cars handle fine in snow.
Acuras, Accords, Civics, and Preludes do indeed handle fine in snow. I've personally driven several examples in well over a foot of snow, and they performed great.
Also, the original post specified that the car must be only "reasonably" good in the snow. The aforementioned Hondas and Acuras easily exceed this criteria, making them perfectly valid recommendations.
But then again, perhaps they're simply not cool or manly enough for LOT767...
KaiGywer From United States, joined Oct 2003, 11112 posts, RR: 44 Reply 13, posted (3 years 2 months 2 days 8 hours ago) and read 354 times:
AIRLINERS.NET CREW CUSTOMER SERVICE & SUPPORT
Quoting FlyingTexan (Reply 10): Did you point out my post just because you do not like Asian cars or are interested in my drinking habits / sexuality?
I was gonna point out your post as well, however, I don't care about your drinking/sexual habits
As far as that list, the only one I would recommend is the Subaru Forester. Subarus are great in the snow, so you won't get stuck as much as one that is only "reasonable". My mother has the Fit (Jazz in Europe), and it handles well, but then again, she has studded tires, and don't get a lot of snow.
Never Underestimate the Power of Stupid People in Large Groups
Aer Lingus From Ireland, joined Mar 2001, 421 posts, RR: 6 Reply 15, posted (3 years 2 months 2 days 7 hours ago) and read 331 times:
New Car Time for me as well
I drive a banger which is a 1994 Opel Astra or known as Vauxhall in the UK or Holden in Australia. I got the banger in March this year and I didn't drove it until April because I decided to do a D Check on the car. The car had around 114,000 miles on the clock.
My D Check is something similar to a D Check done on a plane. The D Check took me 6 weeks to do.
For the D Check, I stripped out most of the interior including all the seats to inspect for any corrosion damage and holes. All the interior which was stripped out was cleaned.
The car then had all interior corrosion, holes treated and patched up. The exterior lights were all removed to have their insides cleaned.
All the visible exterior corrosion was treated and had a primer applied on 85% of exterior. I started to do a new paint job and after 1 week of spraying paint, I ran out of paint. I waited just over a week for the paint to arrive.
When the paint finally arrived, I painted the unfinished car and later found out that after it dried fully. The colour was slightly lighter than the paint that I previously applied. So the car now looks kind of weird. Then even worse when I applied the clear coat. I thought one coat of the clear stuff will do. So I sprayed the clear stuff heavily and then the clear coat layer lifted out the previous coat of paint and flowed down the doors.
Now the car looks like a zebra which I think is kind of nice actually.
5 months later the loose heat shield decided to fall off while driving on the motorway. During heavy traffic, there is a smell of burning rubber. Which I found out that the rubber of the HT lead was smoking due to the missing heat shield. I used aluminum foil to act as a heat shield and it worked.
Now 6 months later, almost 118,000 on the clock and due to the recent crap weather. The car decided to rust again.
Before I get another car around July/August next year. Is it worthed to renew the spark plugs as the car seems to be struggle going up hill. It takes almost a minute to accelerate from 40mph - 70mph on very slight up hill roads, around 20 seconds on flat roads.
Should I renew the timing belt or should I take the risk of destroying the engine by saving some money? The last known timing belt change was 70,000 miles.
50 litres of fuel would have a range of 300 miles which I think is OK.
The next car I intended to get is a long range, which can do longer missions and needs fewer fuel stops. Something which can do around 600 miles per 50-60 litre tank.
I intend to get something around 9,000 euro. Possibily a 1.3CDTI Corsa.
BA787 From United Kingdom, joined Jun 2006, 2596 posts, RR: 11 Reply 16, posted (3 years 2 months 1 day 9 hours ago) and read 277 times:
Quoting Mir (Reply 1): You might be able to find a decent used Subaru for under 15k. They're pretty good on gas mileage, and the AWD helps for the snow
Tke it from me subaru's are cracking, we've had ours for two years and it hasn't once let us down!
ThePRGuy From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 17, posted (3 years 2 months 1 day 9 hours ago) and read 272 times:
Get an AWD Volvo stationwagon
Over here they are called the XC70 and based roughly on the V70
Really nice motors, don't be put off by the 'Volvo' badge
Alternatively
An A6 Allroad is pretty good from Audi, powerful and great on gas
Thanks
PR
Boeing Nut From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 18, posted (3 years 2 months 1 day 8 hours ago) and read 261 times:
Quoting AirWillie6475 (Reply 6): Forget the 4runner if you want to save fuel. It's about 19 mpg on freeway.
Beat me to that one. It's a shame too because they are very cool vehicles IMO.
AAden, we had a '99 RAV4 for a while and it was a great car. It was not 4x4 capable but it handled moderate snow coverage (4"-6") beautifully. (front wheel drive) Mileage was very good at nearly 30, mostly upper 20's otherwise. I'm 6'3" and I was pretty comfortable driving it overall. Back seats fold forward for more space. Very decent cargo space. We managed to move a gas grill with it but it was pretty tight. They only con I can think of is beat seat room. For someone my size short trips are doable, but i wouldn't recommend it for long trips.
The only reason we still don't have it is that it went to my sister-in-law in New Mexico in a "family package deal" in which we had a new Prius land in our lap. I highly recommend the '99 RAV4, even without 4x4. Here's a link with more info. 1999 RAV4 IMO, don't bother with the two door, kinda "hokie".
Quoting LOT767-300ER (Reply 5): Are you drunk....or homosexual that youre really recommending cars such as a Celica, Miata or the Solara.
Are you that drunk you had to make such an asinine statement?
AvObserver From United States, joined Apr 2002, 2366 posts, RR: 12 Reply 19, posted (3 years 2 months 1 day 8 hours ago) and read 257 times:
Quoting FlyingTexan (Reply 10): Note the lack of GM, Ford, Chrysler products from that list. They must have poor quality
Not entirely true. Until recently, the Ford Focus was CR's top small car choice, only recently surpassed by newer models. A Focus with traction control is superb in snow. It may not be quite up to its Japanese competitors in quality but has average reliability and a well equipped NEW one can be had for $15K with Ford's generous incentives, something usually not true of a well equipped Civic or Corolla. Don't rule it out before checking it out, it's a great bargain. I had a ZX3 hatchback for nearly 5 years (before giving it to my niece) and it was - and still is - a great little car. Check out Ford's latest deals!
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