elude

well im looking for a beater car now, and just curious what everything thinks is the best, most reliable car out there under $2000..

tough budget, but i figure there might be some good catches out there.. any brand, any car..

thanks

VTEC_Junkie

for that price i'd only consider any early to mid 90's honda or toyota.

aklucsarits

91-94 Nissan Sentra. They are plentiful, super cheap, pretty peppy, and pretty much unbustable. You should be able to find ones for under $1000. They are so inexpensive and readily available, if anything major breaks, you just throw it away and buy another one.

EDIT: Also parts for them are pretty cheap from the dealer primarily because Nissan still sells this same model new in South America.

Andrew

b0mbrman

[QUOTE=elude,Aug 14 2005, 11:44 PM] well im looking for a beater car now, and just curious what everything thinks is the best, most reliable car out there under $2000..

tough budget, but i figure there might be some good catches out there.. any brand, any car..

thanks

s2kthekiller

1 gen crx and mods, 1800 pd and some hp

shaundesjardins

I agree, a CRX or a 1989-1991 CIVIC Si in good shape and you'll have an easy to fix, reliable and fun to drive car. I owned a 1991 Civic Si and it was a blast. Especially when I put a b16 in it.
Wow, that thing was pretty quick.

rockville

At that price it's completely a case by case basis. I had an at the time 10 year old Corolla that was a complete money pit (clutch, blew a head gasket, new radiator, lots of little issues). Some of the issues were simply due to age/mileage (clutch) but others were age/bad luck (head gasket).

Really at that price you need to carefully look at the car and see if it's in good condition. While I might guess that a Corolla would be cheeper to own than say a Ford Ranger, it really is case by case. Also consider things like just needing new tires, brakes or other service needs. Those little things can add up fast.

I would be just as inclined to consider an older Buick as an older Civic. Again, really check the car over carefully. Best of luck!

YBS1

If you'd like something a bit more versatile I'd suggest a Suzuki Sidekick/Geo Tracker. 4WD with a bit of utility, seem to take a beating with no ill effects and on the plus side (if you're buying used anyway) they don't retain their value very well.

artur1976

Get an 85-89 mr2. Fun to drive and very reliable. The 4age engine will last u 300k miles with no rebuild.

rockville

While I agree that those Toyota 4 pots were good motors, it was a 4A-FE (I think) that blew it's head gasket in my Corolla at 185,000. Not that it's shameful or anything but I wouldn't bet on the reliability of the average 15+ year old car. The 4A-FE was the narrow head, lower power version of the 4A-GE. Good little motor and thanks to it's iron block it was able to handle some abuse. Either way in general terms newer would be better. Good maintenance would also be a plus.

I've owned older, high mileage Toyotas. Perhaps they are better than older, high mileage other cars but they are hardly reliable.