What car for $2500?

[midnight armadillo]

So, if you needed a sedan for a 12 mile each way highway commute, had to rely on it for 18 months, what would you get? Transmission type is not important...

[Cooley Hurd]

1. ...an older Honda Civic.

Great on gas, and they run indefinitely (I ran mine up to 250,000 mi).:thumbsup:

[Cornjob]

2. A Geo or Chevy Prizm/Corolla is a great choice

Super reliable, well-made, car. The Prizm is a corolla.

Cheap to buy & maintain.

[intheflow]

3. Neither of these cars worked for me.

Just something about the way they were designed, I had blind spots when I drove both of these cars as rentals.

Personally, I have to recommend Toyotas or Saturns. I've had both and they were both great. The Toyota died when a boyfriend of mine ran it into the ground--told me he was doing regular maintenance on it but didn't. My Saturn has 169,000 miles on it, and though it rattles and shakes, and burns a quart of oil if driven for 8-hours straight, I think a 12 mile commute should be no problem. My commute is about 300 miles r/t 2x a week, and it's performing admirably.

[midnight armadillo]

4. Yeah, I was thinking an older civic or corolla

Maybe a mazda protege. I just need something trouble free...my Subaru needs a rebuilt transmission and I don't have the money for that, so I'm planning on selling it and buying somebody else's problem ;-)

[Wilber_Stool]

5. Volvo

Most bang for the buck of any used car.

[B Calm]

6. I have a 1990 Buick LeSabre. Very dependable & 28 mpg

[B Calm]

8. I might add this model has a stainless steel muffler that never wears out!

[LiberalEsto]

7. Toyota Corolla!

We have 3 Corollas. One is 16 years old, one is 13 years old, and one is a mere 8 years old.

When we bought the first one, my brother was working at the parts counter of a Toyota dealership. He said they almost never saw Corollas in the repair shop, because they were so well-made and reliable. Corollas are great cars.

But don't get snookered into buying a "Toyota certified" used vehicle. They are overpriced and not necessarily in great shape. We bought a 2001 Camry that was "Toyota certified" and had to replace its transmission within a year.