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erysdren
@erysdren

i don't really know how to preface this post so i'll just get into it. for most of my life i've been driving a rusty old Ford Explorer from the year 2000, my family's first vehicle. in 2021 and 2022 my main car was a 1996 Jeep Cherokee XJ, a beautiful vehicle that felt great to drive, despite it nearly falling apart from under me several times. unfortunately i had to sell the jeep for money, and i was back to the Explorer in 2023. i'm telling you this so maybe you'll get an idea of the type of cars that i enjoy driving.

i hate to say it, but i think the Explorer is reaching the end of its life. i do enjoy driving it, its got nice visibility and can go off-road when i need it to. the rear interior space is also really handy for hauling friends and furniture when i need to.

i've thought about getting a later 2000s or early 2010s Jeep, or maybe a small pickup truck, but i really don't know what is most suitable for cost and reliability. one specific car i've got my eye on is a Chevrolet S10, but that'd probably be too expensive to find secondhand in good shape.

i'm barely hanging on financially, so my price range is gonna be quite low. given some time i could scrape together about $5k, which i know severely limits my options.

anyway this post is a rambling mess. if you have any advice for searching for secondhand vehicles to replace the one that i have, i'd love to hear it!


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in reply to @erysdren's post:

I've picked up 3 things over the years having to deal with mostly beaters:

  1. Look up how to deal with the dealers first. If you don't think you can stand up to one, get a friend to shop with you. Mooooost of them are bastards (there ARE occasional cool ones) - but it's the kind of behavior sales encourages.

  2. IF you're willing to budge much on make, model, or room? Get a Corolla or a Civic. They're high-efficiency-low-vroom, humble, cheap... and practically indestructible maintenance-wise. For the price point (even up-front), if you find a good one you're looking at it lasting 5 years or more. The only major drawback I've found is they're easy to steal, and can be vulnerable to targeting to that reason.
    (Edit: Ok I see the implied preference for Jeep and other outdoors-y type vehicles - There's probably 'some are better than others' models to watch for there too, but I'm not the enby to ask ^^'

I think older Fords, like 90s fords, fit the bill here? But don't quote me on that. )

  1. IF you can, see if you can find a community hookup. Like an actual friend-of-a-friend, not a craigslist offer. A queer fucker with a hand-me-down is going to treat you A LOT nicer than someone doing this specifically for money.

the three cars I've had in my life were a 92 Chevy S10, a 98 Jeep Cherokee, and a 2015 Honda Civic!

By far the honda civic has been the best handling, most reliable, and most fuel efficient

The S10 I remember something was fucked where it would make an agonizing groan when I turned and it really hated to turn. Some kind of bearings got replaced at least once but it didn't help. The thing turned like a boat and loved to fishtail in the winter. It was constantly having some kind of problem and breaking down

The jeep cherokee was pretty okay! it drove better than the S10 at least. 4WD was nice for the snow, but in all other regards I like the honda civic better. The jeep's gas tank floaty got messed up so it never showed accurately how much gas I had which stranded me more than once. It kind of guzzled gas. at some point I totaled it driving in a blizzard

I have no idea if any of that's helpful or even relevant! maybe mildly useful tiny anecdotes for you though

if you don't have to deal with snow or don't need a bug hauling truck bed, big recommend the honda civic. steering radius is great, gas milage good, reliable. parts are supposedly easy to find for civics, but I haven't needed any work on mine yet to find out

general used car advice imo-- the extended warranty is never worth it. looking up car history on something you're serious about buying is worth it. Try to get a loan from your own local credit union or bank-- the dealer will really want you to get a loan through whoever their partner bank is and will lie through their teeth to get you to take it. I don't know much else though on that end of things

So I'm guessing a 4 door SUV type with light offroading for $5k. 04 and 05 Subaru Forrester usually go for that amount, at least around Seattle. A Honda CRV might also be good, also around the same age (04, 05, etc). Also check out the Toyota Rav4.

If you want a 4 door shitbox in the same shape as an SUV. The scion xb or toyota matrix will probably do you right. they won't go offroad but will do most things those car types do: which is haul things and haul people.

For small pickups around that price the Mazda B2000 is pretty solid, I know someone with one and it hasn't given them any issues thus far.

I'd suggest finding an early-2000s/late-90s manual F150 or Ranger with "the body crack". It's a known issue, very common, these models develop a crack and/or break apart on the body after so many years, and most trucks that have it happen to them, have no other issues and have good engine life otherwise, and with a confident welder and a hundred or so bucks, you might save a grand or two on one of those.

also a good one: 2G RAV4.

I used to have a little Hyundai Accent, 2010 I think, that was one of those โ€œcompact minimal featuresโ€ vehicles like a Honda Fit or Toyota Yaris. So, no power windows or power locks, it had A/C thankfully, otherwise nothing special. It was a trooper! Very reliable and efficient, and shockingly effective in the snow. It was involved in an accident so thatโ€™s why I donโ€™t have it at the moment; but it was a very good car.

Incidentally my current car is a VW Passat and dear god absolutely do not. They will suck your wallet dry.

For reliability, I cannot recommend both Toyota and Subaru enough. You could not pay me to buy a Jeep, or another American make. The RAV4 is popular for a reason. Subaru's Crosstrek or Forester are also a great value.

Given your monetary limit... Get a used Subaru wagon. Comfy, easy to drive, plenty of space, and they handle rough road conditions like nothing else. If you don't need to go off-road as much, a Scion xB might be a cool pick.

some suggestions based on personal or second-hand experience:

  • the old reliables: used Toyota Corolla, Camry, Avalon, etc. made 10-20 years ago. Honda Fit and older Honda Civic are good alternatives.
  • any older Subaru (Legacy, Forester, Outback, non-performance Imprezas), but ask about the headgaskets if it was made between 1996 and 2009. if the seller doesn't explicitly say they've been repaired/replaced, stay away; you do not want to be the one to find out what a head gasket leak or failure looks like
  • pickup trucks in general are getting crazy prices, I see 15 and 20 year old F-150s and F-250s get absurd prices because they're just that in demand. finding one within your budget will be a pain but only because the prices are inflated. it is POSSIBLE to find a good one but you'll need to keep looking and you'll need a good eye.
  • stay the FUCK away from a modern Jeep, especially a used one, they are less reliable than I am when I'm high. (generally unfortunately true for most modern Stellantis vehicles, that's chrysler/dodge/jeep/ram/fiat/alfa romeo, but used Jeeps in particular are problem magnets)
  • at your budget, avoid German-made. VW is a problem magnet, used BMW/Audi/Merc are maintenance hounds, and don't listen to the people who ride in Beetles or VW vans; they're enthusiast vehicles, just a budget version of that.
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