Marioshi

Anyone know of a good reliable car under 5000 dollars for a college student to drive to and from school/work? He currently has a 1995 Nissan Maxima that has been on its last leg for years. Main considerations are reliability and economy. Would be nice if it could last him a few years after school. He is currently a junior. Looking for specific recommendations (year, make, model), especially cars that people have personal experience owning. Just throw it out there, there are no wrong answers!

mosesbotbol

Toyota Corolla, whatever you can find that is nice. It's an icon of reliability.

TerminatioN

Hard to beat a Civic for a cheap, reliable DD.

Bullwings

Toyota Corolla:
-Put in gas
-Change oil
-put in more gas
-Change tires
-Put in more gas

Oh, i forgot to mention. drive. done

Also, it's not a civic so you don't have to worry about people stealing it and doing all sorts of other stupid f@#kery that they do to Hondas.

It's not exciting, but it's reliable, cheap, and works extremely well for point A to B. Combined gas mileage is usually in the low 30s.

robhoy

If he wants a Honda and is an "enthusiast", you can get a VERY nice CRX for well under that price point. They're low maintenance up to ~150K miles, cheap to fix when they do have problems, and get 35 or more MPG. And they're lots of fun! The only worry is, as the previous poster mentioned, theft. But full insurance coverage on them is cheap.

Marioshi

What do you guys think about the CRV? Seems like there are a lot of them out there with a ton of miles. Typical Honda reliability? Would be looking at an early 2000s model with over 100k miles.

deepbluejh

The CRV basically has a FWD Accord powertrain so should be super durable. I wouldn't hesitate to buy one if I needed the space. If I didn't, then Civic all the way.

EastS2k

older civics and rollas all hold their value very well, meaning that you get less car per dollar then say a used non-popular brand. You could pickup a decent elantra with a stick for under 3k.... 5k will get you a pristine one.

berny2435

stock civics, accords, 1-2 owner with maintenance history. can't go wrong.

rob-2

Where are you guys finding civics with <200K for $5K?

I think in his budget he's going to be getting some domestic.