We know a young woman who needs advice on buying a reliable, safe, used car to transport herself and 2 babies. Can't be a diesel because of severe asthma. $2500 budget seems to put her in the range of a 92 Accord 4 door for economy, to a 95 Crown Vic for survivability. She is in the low income catagory so reliability is essential.

Car will be driven only in southern California, so FWD isn't needed for snow. On the other hand, gas is $2.25/gallon, so economy is welcome. However, it will be driven in heavy SUV dominated traffic congestion, so a folded over tin econobox isn't necessarily the first choice!

Any suggestions would be welcome.

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John

2003 Firemist Red/grey leather SL 500
2015 Palladium Silver/black mbtex GLK 350
1987 Smoke Silver/burgundy mbtex 300E Sportline (SOLD)

Click to see 87 300E

Nissan, Yoda, or Honda in that price point should be just fine.

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1994 C 280 117.5k, White (Good as new)
1997 Toyota Camry 149k Miles (Not so pretty anymore)

1990 190e 2.6 95k (Sold-Should not have)
1981 240d Stick ??? Miles...sold

1999 Ford Taurus.

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You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

I had a '98 Taurus. It was pretty reliable. Did absolutely nothing to it for 80k miles except for regular 5k oil changes and two air filters. Brakes at 60k. That was it.

Be forewarned though. That thing is a boat. It's something like 197" long and has a huge trunk. The only drawback is those lousy drum brakes in the rear. I can't remember the last time I tried to change a pair of brake shoes. Messing with those springs and assorted parts is a PITA.

But it had a five star crash test rating.

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You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

Crown Vic / Grand Marquis. Lots of room for baby seats in rear.

Ours now has 205k, it's been inexpensive to maintain, 18/25 mpg or so.

Be carefull with the Taurus's though they have a reputation for eating trans every 70k miles. They have low resale for a reason.

For $2,500 she should be able to get a decent Saturn or something similer.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

In that price range, the imports are going to be POS. You probably need to find a decent Taurus. The Crown Vic burns too much fuel. I've been in this exact position and found a Crown Vic for someone at a price of $4K. It was an excellent vehicle and didn't need much. But the city fuel economy was miserable. I'm quite sure you can barely get 17 out of it.

Be quite careful in this price range. If you buy a vehicle that hasn't been maintained (and many of them are at this price for this reason) it will cost you a fortune.

in that price rage a corolla is going to be the most reliable thing she'll find, cost of ownership per year will be lower than anything else she'll find.

Accord or any of the other ricers.. in the mid-30s for gpm and most are rather trouble free... for the most part i'd stay away from front wheel drives.. maintenance can be a pita ($ too)... a decent WV can be had for that price... but then it's kind of a crap shoot on reliability...

I wouldn't go with anything american except maybe a saturn...

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72 W114/M130

RedMeat cartoon

she can probably get a late 80s/ early nineties compact import. corolla or civic.

id get a 73 BMW 2002

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'O=00=O'
bmw 2002.
long live the legend

mid 90's volvo 850 wagon

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Jennifer
90 350sdl

How about a Volvo 240? They are pretty reliable and really safe. Gas milage is ok, I believe

Buick Regal or LeSabre w/3800 motor, very tough cars, should be able to find one in the mid-90's w/around 100,000 or so on the clock, which is "nothing" for these.

Gilly

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Great idea. I think the Olds Cutlass and the Pontiac Bonneville also got this engine.

At a previous job, the company provided GM company cars, all with this engine. It was not uncommon for these cars to routinely go 250,000 miles.

My dad had a '92 LeSabre that was perfectly reliable. He got about 30 mpg on the freeway. Incredible.

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

Thanks for all the great input! This gives her a short list of what to look for - one of her contacts owns several car dealerships and has offered to help her find something, so now they know what models and makes to investigate. I would probably lean towards the Ford or GM suggestions, as I have always had extra expense outgo from the FWD cars I have owned - my Honda products ate CV joints and boots like candy, and seemed really hard on front brakes. The RWD domestics at least won't have front CV issues!

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John

2003 Firemist Red/grey leather SL 500
2015 Palladium Silver/black mbtex GLK 350
1987 Smoke Silver/burgundy mbtex 300E Sportline (SOLD)

Click to see 87 300E