In need of car advice

DanicaFreak

DanicaFreak

She's crazy.
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I am in need of car advice here. I am in a situation where I need a reliable car for under $3000. I was raised to believe that anything high mileage should be foreign is this still true? Also 5speed or automatic?

As well remember I live in the rust belt-lol. So I know I have to check the frame, etc.

I have done a lot of searching and subaru outback seems like a good choice for me.

Any others i am missing?

Snow gets heavy here, FYI.
 
DanicaFreak said:
I am in need of car advice here. I am in a situation where I need a reliable car for under $3000. I was raised to believe that anything high mileage should be foreign is this still true? Also 5speed or automatic?

As well remember I live in the rust belt-lol. So I know I have to check the frame, etc.

I have done a lot of searching and subaru outback seems like a good choice for me.

Any others i am missing?

Snow gets heavy here, FYI.
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Given the last detail about the snow you’d be hard pressed to find something better than a Subaru Outback or Forester since they’re AWD. If you go that route, given the price rage it’ll be up there in miles so make sure they timing belt has been replaced! I cant stress that enough as it’s a $1000 repair/headache you don’t want to deal with.

“Everybody in here in Vermont drives a Subaru with bald tires”, so I’ve been told a dozen times on the chairlift. Lol.
 
antman12 said:
Given the last detail about the snow you’d be hard pressed to find something better than a Subaru Outback or Forester since they’re AWD. If you go that route, given the price rage it’ll be up there in miles so make sure they timing belt has been replaced! I cant stress that enough as it’s a $1000 repair/headache you don’t want to deal with.

“Everybody in here in Vermont drives a Subaru with bald tires”, so I’ve been told a dozen times on the chairlift. Lol.
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Correction. It’s the HEAD GASKET that is problematic. Apologies for getting that wrong originally.
 
IMO, on any VW/Subaru/Audi, both timing belts and head gaskets are suspect. They are VERY high end, very-low-tolerance, high-maintenance engines. And again given the budget, they will be very high miles.
 
If you can live with front wheel drive instead of all-wheel drive, in that price range it’s hard to beat a mid-2000’s GM sedan with the 3.8 V6, preferably a Buick as they’re likely to be lower in miles and well maintained. You can find early to mid 00’s LeSabres on Craigslist and FB Marketplace all day with decent miles for $2-3K.
 
ToyYoda said:
If you can live with front wheel drive instead of all-wheel drive, in that price range it’s hard to beat a mid-2000’s GM sedan with the 3.8 V6, preferably a Buick as they’re likely to be lower in miles and well maintained. You can find early to mid 00’s LeSabres on Craigslist and FB Marketplace all day with decent miles for $2-3K.
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The 3.8 actually has a known bearing issue. The 3800 in my mom's firebird had to be replaced due to it. Apparently there's a TSB for it but not a recall. It's a 90* odd-fire V6 that uses a balancing shaft in the lifter valley rather than a split-pin crank. It is better than the 3.4, however.
 
Magnethead said:
The 3.8 actually has a known bearing issue. The 3800 in my mom's firebird had to be replaced due to it. Apparently there's a TSB for it but not a recall. It's a 90* odd-fire V6 that uses a balancing shaft in the lifter valley rather than a split-pin crank. It is better than the 3.4, however.
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Your level of expertise on these matters far surpasses mine, so I take your word for it. As for the 3.4, I had a Lumina Z34 with one of those. Yeah, not a great engine.
 
ToyYoda said:
Your level of expertise on these matters far surpasses mine, so I take your word for it. As for the 3.4, I had a Lumina Z34 with one of those. Yeah, not a great engine.
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www.edmunds.com

Details of GM's 3800 Model Engine Recall | Edmunds

GM recalled 1.4 million cars with its 3800 model V6 engines. This is less than 6 percent of the 25 million examples of the V6 installed in GM vehicles between 1975 and 2008.
www.edmunds.com

Also known for intake manifold issues.

The typical reason for bottom end failures in the 3800 is due to one of the most common issues, intake manifold gasket issues. When the lower intake manifold gasket fails, it dumps coolant in to the lifter valley. If not caught immediately, it causes pitting and other unkind havoc on the bearings. While the issue may have been detected and repaired, the engine damage remained never the less undetected, and rears its head sooner then had the gaskets not failed
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Thanks for all of the replies.

yeah I will prob end up with a honda or a toyota.

I'll let you know what I end up with.

I REALLY want a 5 speed as I know manual transmissions have less things to get messed up

It will likely be by Nov or Dec.
 
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I don't know much outside of Chevy and Dodges that we've always owned

(Except avoid the dodge dart with any method possible)
 
Magnethead said:
I don't know much outside of Chevy and Dodges that we've always owned

(Except avoid the dodge dart with any method possible)
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MAGS?

Any experience with the dodge charger 3.5 or the hemi? what about their AWD? is it out of the trucks?
 
DanicaFreak said:
MAGS?

Any experience with the dodge charger 3.5 or the hemi? what about their AWD? is it out of the trucks?
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We sold our 2005 hemi with 297,000 miles. My 2014 currently has 130K. Car AWD is similar to that of many others, front is primary drive and rear is auxiliary output of the front transmission. Not sure if it uses a viscious coupling or not, i would think so.

3.5 is a decent econo-engine, i haven't seen any issues with it that come to mind.
 
Magnethead said:
We sold our 2005 hemi with 297,000 miles. My 2014 currently has 130K. Car AWD is similar to that of many others, front is primary drive and rear is auxiliary output of the front transmission. Not sure if it uses a viscious coupling or not, i would think so.

3.5 is a decent econo-engine, i haven't seen any issues with it that come to mind.
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great info on the durability of the hemi! thanks. I didnt plan this purchase I want something I can afford but it also performs as good as possible. With the snow up here a RWD only is not gonna cut it.
 
more advice needed.

@Magnethead
@BobbyFord

anyone who knows cars?

I will be getting a V6 Toyota with 248,548 miles not KM, on the clock. Do you recommend synthetic motor oil be ran in this high mileage engine?
 
I would use whatever, synthetic or refined dinosaur oil, that's it's running now.
Also check and see if that V-6 needs to have the timing belt serviced meaning, replaced every X number of miles.
 
DanicaFreak said:
more advice needed.

@Magnethead
@BobbyFord

anyone who knows cars?

I will be getting a V6 Toyota with 248,548 miles not KM, on the clock. Do you recommend synthetic motor oil be ran in this high mileage engine?
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If it were mine, I wouldn't get in very deep with repairs or maintenance. Do the cheap stuff, oil and lube and at the first sign of big buck problems go get another hooptie and either sell of junk the current one. My dad did that for years. He could have afforded new or very good, but he got a kick out of doing it that way. He had a 600$ Honda one time for example, a northern car that you had to hold on to the passenger door if you opened it or it would almost hit the ground, all rusted out. He got a lot of miles and laughs out of that thing and saved a ton of money doing it that way.
 
StandOnIt said:
If it were mine, I wouldn't get in very deep with repairs or maintenance. Do the cheap stuff, oil and lube and at the first sign of big buck problems go get another hooptie and either sell of junk the current one. My dad did that for years. He could have afforded new or very good, but he got a kick out of doing it that way. He had a 600$ Honda one time for example, a northern car that you had to hold on to the passenger door if you opened it or it would almost hit the ground, all rusted out. He got a lot of miles and laughs out of that thing and saved a ton of money doing it that way.
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SOI - it is SUPER cheap, like 600.
It needs rockers repaired--seen the pics, looks not too bad
Needs ball joint and a strut.

Its the Sienna Van. 2002.
I had one before with this amt of mileage and I miss that van--a girl ran into the back years ago.
 
DanicaFreak said:
SOI - it is SUPER cheap, like 600.
It needs rockers repaired--seen the pics, looks not too bad
Needs ball joint and a strut.

Its the Sienna Van. 2002.
I had one before with this amt of mileage and I miss that van--a girl ran into the back years ago.
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Rockers don't make it go down the road unless some areas of the north they make a person have to fix what the government screws up. I'd do the ball joint and unless the strut was super bad screw that, if it doesn't hurt it going down the road. Check your fluids and drive the wheels off of it, just don't fall in love with it. If a person wants decent wealth, most people think they have to pour a larger stream into the top of the bucket to overcome the water that is draining out the bottom. Another way is to slow down the water coming out of the bottom and you don't need so much water on top flowing in. Screw what the advertizers are telling ya all day long to buy this, buy that. Pay cash for the van, ya don't have to buy a ton of insurance or pay a big wad of taxes and use the money you saved to go out and have a good time. You won't have a hard time sleeping at night trying to figure out how to make the car payment.
 
what they said. I cant help on the engine advise, some of these newer engines just wont hydraulically work with old school thick stuff. 5W20 is thick by today's standard; 10W3o or 10W40 is syrup....
 
StandOnIt said:
He had a 600$ Honda one time for example, a northern car that you had to hold on to the passenger door if you opened it or it would almost hit the ground, all rusted out. He got a lot of miles and laughs out of that thing and saved a ton of money doing it that way.
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Yeah, that Honda for you...well older ones. Drain train awesome but the body is letting you down.
 
Good choice with the Toyota. They are a 4 letter word among most NASCAR fans but they are built like tanks and will last forever if you take care of them. I've had 3 in a row and can't imagine going with any other brand
 
If I get it, I'll post pics. Then you can tell me how crazy I am. I had one yoda van that had this amount of miles on it and it ran smooth as butter
 
buddy would not move on $900 price. Van needs a boost, has been sitting on asphalt for 2 months. Pretty much all lights on dash are on. runs smooth, new engine at with 200K KM 40K Km ago.

I think this is a pass.

My adventure continues to find a cheap vehicle I wont hate to drive lol
 
DanicaFreak said:
buddy would not move on $900 price. Van needs a boost, has been sitting on asphalt for 2 months. Pretty much all lights on dash are on. runs smooth, new engine at with 200K KM 40K Km ago.

I think this is a pass.

My adventure continues to find a cheap vehicle I wont hate to drive lol
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Why not look for a car that is mechanically sound for the next few years. 5K will buy you a nice car even if you get it on credit it won't take long to pay off and you will have piece of mind about it's durability.
 
Clutch said:
Why not look for a car that is mechanically sound for the next few years. 5K will buy you a nice car even if you get it on credit it won't take long to pay off and you will have piece of mind about it's durability.
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Good idea, but $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$


I need something under $1000

:(
 
DanicaFreak said:
buddy would not move on $900 price. Van needs a boost, has been sitting on asphalt for 2 months. Pretty much all lights on dash are on. runs smooth, new engine at with 200K KM 40K Km ago.

I think this is a pass.

My adventure continues to find a cheap vehicle I wont hate to drive lol
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probably a good reason it was sitting. Good call.
 
StandOnIt said:
probably a good reason it was sitting. Good call.
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Another avenue for a cheap car is what some of the Mexican's car dealers use when they run U.S. cars across the border is a car with body damage. Their reasoning is that it was running and driving when it was wrecked. You might be able to find one that needs minor bodywork, nothing major, but they aren't that saleable when they have dents and dings. Something else, you might look around and see if there are city auctions in your area. They have city auctions around here twice a year and a police crown vic with around 100 thousand miles go from 800 to 1200$. Hey they aren't that pretty but they have a lot of life left in them.
 
StandOnIt said:
Another avenue for a cheap car is what some of the Mexican's car dealers use when they run U.S. cars across the border is a car with body damage. Their reasoning is that it was running and driving when it was wrecked. You might be able to find one that needs minor bodywork, nothing major, but they aren't that saleable when they have dents and dings. Something else, you might look around and see if there are city auctions in your area. They have city auctions around here twice a year and a police crown vic with around 100 thousand miles go from 800 to 1200$. Hey they aren't that pretty but they have a lot of life left in them.
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YES!!!! auctions are a definite thing. I have a line on a car for 700. 2006, subie forester. 146Km on clock, blown timing belt. Get some new heads and good to go.
 
DanicaFreak said:
YES!!!! auctions are a definite thing. I have a line on a car for 700. 2006, subie forester. 146Km on clock, blown timing belt. Get some new heads and good to go.
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I wouldn't be caught dead at what they call dealer auctions. Most of the vehicles there have serious problems. What I was talking about are city vehicles with city maintenance. I'd check parts and labor on all of that work. It's a common problem with the 06 model
 
What about a 2007-2011 CR-V? Those K-series engines are bombproof at stock power levels. Not to mention they made millions of those damn things, so there's plenty of parts around.
 
shark77 said:
What about a 2007-2011 CR-V? Those K-series engines are bombproof at stock power levels. Not to mention they made millions of those damn things, so there's plenty of parts around.
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as long as the frame has cleared the factory recall....
 
Got a car. 2006 subie Forester. Got it for $500. Needs the timing fixed/heads and a good cleaning.

IMG-1492.jpg
 
Good luck with the purchase. Looks like the body is decent. Hopefully the engine will not be an overly expensive fix and will give you many years of reliable service. Always liked the Subaru Forester. In this part of Florida, mostly everyone who lives in Vermont, Maine, NH, and other far northern states have Subarus.
 
Whizzer said:
Good luck with the purchase. Looks like the body is decent. Hopefully the engine will not be an overly expensive fix and will give you many years of reliable service. Always liked the Subaru Forester. In this part of Florida, mostly everyone who lives in Vermont, Maine, NH, and other far northern states have Subarus.
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Thanks so much - I will report back the work that was needed and the cost.
 
StandOnIt said:
It's a gamble, I hope it pays off. I follow a guy on YouTube that has one that he overlands all over Washington and Oregon with. The 4wd ones are pretty capable off road.
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it only has 113,000 miles on it. Its a US car.
 
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