Let’s talk about crappy cars

[BottenFieldofDreams]

My old Exploder is approaching ‘push off cliff’ territory. I got all my $2000 out of it and then some, even if I hated every minute of it.

Our need for a second car is really quite limited. But we do need it. I’m not going to spend much money on it. It’s nice to have some space, so I’m thinking about repeating all my Explorer frustrations with an older Subarban or Tahoe. But I’m also thinking about Gramma’s Buicks (great value there) or 90s Lexuses and borrow my dad’s old loner truck when I need to move stuff around. Also considering a, gasp, minivan.

Fun isn’t a concern at all. I’ll have another motorbike soon enough. Comfort would be nice. AC was out this last summer—won’t do that again. I don’t care if I look like a soccer mom or a broke college kid (within reason). Really just looking for value.

Here’s a cool site I’ve used in the past:
https://www.dashboard-light.com/

Thoughts on throw away cheap vehicles?

[BottenFieldofDreams]

Over the summer my 9 year old nephew came in crying hysterically. He had backed a golf cart into the Explorer. Nice little dent on the passenger side front fender. I just told him it was the right car out there to hit. But he wouldn’t calm down until I at least went out there and looked at it, so I had to go have a look.

[CardsofSTL]

Over the summer my 9 year old nephew came in crying hysterically. He had backed a golf cart into the Explorer. Nice little dent on the passenger side front fender. I just told him it was the right car out there to hit. But he wouldn’t calm down until I at least went out there and looked at it, so I had to go have a look.

You should have kicked a bigger dent into it to show what you think of it.

[CardsofSTL]

I drove an old 1985 Grand Marquis. That thing had lots of room and better on mileage than you would think. I would lean towards something like that instead of a suburban unless you just really enjoy buying gas.

If you'd rather have an SUV my company always got a lot of dependable service out of the Nissans we used.

[heyzeus]

I sold my 2008 Accord last year After I hit a pack of feral hogs, the bumper was literally held on by zip ties. It was a great crappy car. Had it almost 15 years and was rarely in the shop.

But now I have an Accord hybrid and get 45 mpg, which ain't bad.

[BottenFieldofDreams]

Using less gas is great. I’m for it. But the second car generally becomes the pickup/dropoff and short hop vehicle. And the first car is a Prius so I can get away with some guzzling, if the tradeoffs are right.

[Popeye_Card]

So is this a thread for just crappy cars, or seeking the best car for a crappy price? Say, under $5-10k.

[CardsofSTL]

Using less gas is great. I’m for it. But the second car generally becomes the pickup/dropoff and short hop vehicle. And the first car is a Prius so I can get away with some guzzling, if the tradeoffs are right.

Well there's not being too concerned with fuel economy and then there's filling buckets of gas just so you can pour them into the storm drain. Suburbans are bad bad bad.

[CardsofSTL]

So is this a thread for just crappy cars, or seeking the best car for a crappy price? Say, under $5-10k.

Yes

[Richie Allen]

Funny, I'm looking for the exact same thing currently and am going through all the usual gas guzzlers trying to figure out what the best play is. I'm currently leaning toward a 2002-2009 Volvo, either wagon or SUV. For me, SUVs (even Mercedes, Porsche, BMW) are so identical looking (at least from a distance) that I'm drawn more to the station wagons. I've seen some Audis that I like. There are old Land Rovers that look cool. But I keep being warned that the repair costs are ridiculous, etc and think that I want something to last but then I remember how it's going to be used and wonder if I'm putting too much emphasis on reliability. Some Jeeps look cool from that era (boxy) but I'm not a fan of the company (Chrysler) at all. I hope the thread offers best bets in that price range but maybe also highlights ones to avoid.