ok , I shoulda been looking already , but not going to get into that.... some guy WAS selling a 1999 Mercury Sable which is a good car.... right ? well doesnt matter cause he sold it already , but told me he had other cars for sale also which was a turn off for me ( this is one of those guys that buys cars all the time and sells them ) so I was a little leary .... anyhow he shows me this 2000 Ford taurus with less miles ( only 106,000 miles ) and he wants $1900.00 for it , it is a little sluggish which I found complaints from people about that and the transmission issues no tranny issues for me please , I just sold a van that cost me total like $10,000 in the course of 7 years because of bad trannys ( long story ) all the people who complained about this year Ford almost all said the same thing - TRANSMISSION PROBLEMS ! There was alot of good thing said too , so what kind of American car I should look at with the best results and or share any past expieriences before I jump into the buy a car thing.... Thanks in advance

Bryan

 

I would actually prefer a pre 2000 car for they were real good back then , and I only have about $2000 at the most right now to spend but need to do this or my wife has to wake the kids up at 11:00PM to pick me up everynight from work..... that aint gonna work The car doesnt have to be Ford either , but definetely not any Mopar product.

 

Be thankful you didn't get the Sable or Taurus.

Look at Buick's. IMHO they depreciate badly because back in the 90's their target buyer
was the retiree market of 60+ years old and that also meant they were driven lightly.
Not really......even Honda's had craptastic slushboxes in the 90's.
Chrysler had the major recall on Ultradrive FWD transmissions

Both my Parents late 90's Ford's blew their transmissions early.
That was their one Ford experience.....Escort and Ranger both low mileage.

 

1998 Buick Century for $2500
The 3.1L was a workhorse and lasted a long time.
http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail...5&aff=national

1995 Buick Century for $2999
http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail...5&aff=national

I STRONGLY suggest a CarFax because in Chicago these shady Corner dealers have
salvage cars with different odometers in them. I've caught them and they plead ignorant.

 

Let me just say that $2k just does not buy alot these days! The Taurus nor the Sable back then were not any better or worse than anything else back then!

I would rule all the foreign cars out unless you can get proof the timing belt had been replaced!

Buy something from an older private individual, go with a Towncar, Grand Marquis, any old buick, Pontiac, etc... See where I'm going with this! Most will have low miles and driven very little, but the maintenance would have been done like clockwork!

Good luck!

 

Get yourself a stick shift Saturn. They are cheep, easy to repair, and when it breaks you're not out to much and you go get another one.

I like oldcutlass's idea of a big old car that an old person would drive. Not beat on and maintained well. Plus it's a big old car and a ball to drive. Unless of course you are far from work and need some economy. Hm, enter the aforementioned Saturn.


Mike

 

every time this comes up i always recomend the 90-92 Toronado Trofeo'. if you look hard you can still find nice ones with around 100,000 miles for under $3000. they handle great and over 30MPG.

 

thanks guys ..... yea im as paranoid as it gets right now , because of what I went through with the Chrysler mini van we had . I told my wife if we dont find a car soon , im gonna buy a late 60's vista wagon ..... I know that wont break down , it will just bleed your wallet at the pump.

 

As someone else said, a Saturn. I had a 95 SL2 and it had 194K miles on it when I sold it and while it had a few rattles and beat up interior, it ran great, got good mileage, and was super reliable. They can usually be found pretty cheap.

 

Be wary of anything used for car service. They were usually rode hard & put away wet.

 

I forgot about these. Totally agreed.

My Uncle picked up a late 90's low mileage Saturn 4 door for $400.
Now his Durango is parked and this is his daily driver to work to save on gas.

The nice thing about the older Saturns is they were plastic bodied cars.
No rust, and they still look great......for a Saturn anyways.

 

An old Lexus will be like a new car! believe me, I own one!

 

People spend a lot of money to not spend a lot on gas. How much is your peace of mind worth?

 

Hey - you and I are on the same page it seems!

 

I have a 99 Taurus I bought for $700. It needed a rack and pinion ($500). Car had 119K on it and the owner had bought it new. I got a file folder with everything that had ever been done on the car. Have had it over a year now and havent had any issues! Plus gets mid-20s mpg.

 

I picked up a 99 Ford Contour a while back. It had 74K on it, but with the Duratec V6 with a 5 speed trans. It has served me well so far. In the past 3 years, it needed a fuel pump (which is why the previous owner wanted to get rid of it), brakes, serp. belt, tires and an O2 sensor. I replaced both upstream O2 sensors. Otherwise, gas and regular oil changes and it has been an excellent car.

I know this is an Olds forum, but honestly, this has been one impressive Ford. As a daily driver, I couldn't ask for much more.

 

Standard practice on buying any used car with a timing belt;

Fit an OEM standard new one ASAP. Then you know its good to go for however long it is until it should be replaced again, just like changing the oil, plugs, filters and anything else that might cause damage if left too long.

If the belt hasn't been changed according to recommended schedule but hasn't failed no harm will have been done. These belts keep the engine properly timed unless they fail either by stripping teeth or snapping. Just about every belt equipped engine will be wrecked by timing belt failure nowadays.

However if the belt hasn't been changed as recommended in the service schedule it might indicate the car hasn't been properly maintained.

It's not a difficult job on most cars, this weekend I'm changing the belt on my girlfriends diesel Peugeot, a 3 hour job, most of the time to do the job is taken up by removing covers etc. to gain access.

Roger.

 

I bought my dads 98' Mercury Sable wagon in 02' with only 8K mi on the clock, then to a friend with 95K mi, and he's still driving it. Virtually no problems with the Duratec engine or "N" tranny. Maybe check the Taurus club site for more info. I agree on the Buicks, as known a few with 2000 LeSabre's, and the 3800 pushrod engines seem to go forever.

 

I like the idea of the old Merc's or Crown Vics. When my daughter was born in 93' I bought an 86' Grand Marquis for $2500 from my neighbor. It was his fathers car and he could'nt drive any more. The mileage was low and the car was solid. I drove it unitl 2001. Other than tune ups, oil changes, brakes and shocks it was very dependable.

 

Either a BMW E30, Volvo 240, or pre-1990 Mercedes. Plenty reliable with a little more attention to maintenance, reasonable on gas, and yet still fun to drive. (Mainly for the Bimmer)
But honestly, the Vista Cruiser would be the best!