Good reliable beaters? (something under $3k)

[TRAXX]

Im talking compacts/sub compacts. I know most people will say Honda Civic, but what are some of the more unassuming ones? Also, what are the ones that one should stay far away from?

I know reliability is going to be questionable for anything at that price point, regardless of the car, so perhaps another way to look at it is, something that has ample parts at the JY and/or cheap replacement parts.

[Wicked98Snake]

I bought a 98 cavalier for 1300 bucks back in '09, I've driven it back and forth to work and never had to do anything to it other than change the oil. It's ugly to look at but at least if I need to I can run into an idiot in traffic and be like "oops!" LOL

[mstng86]

^^ Same thing for me. My wife had a 97 cavalier when we got together. 32mpg and I never did a damn thing to it for the two years I drove it. The only problem was the top on it, it leaked like crazy.

[BP]

Any Corolla or Camry but you'll pay accordingly. Stay away from anything German unless it's an air cooled Beetle! I'd also steer clear of anything Ford with the 2.0 SPIF engine, the Aveo is a pile of crap and run from Neons.

[TRAXX]

Perfect. Exactly what I was looking for. I will relay to inquireing family member. Anyone else?

[NoClassic]

B13 Nissan Sentra

[5.0Thunder]

mom has an 01 neon with 210k and still runs like new with no modifications and routine maintenance. also gets great milage. my buddy is selling his ram to buy a hatchback civic for reasons similar.

[orphan Shelby]

Neons or even Saturns. Find ones that owners didnt treat them as disposable and maintained them somewhat

[slowyellow]

Miata's can be had for cheap. Only thing is if you get one and the ac is out, you will fry. Because with the top up it's like an oven, and with the top down... well, you get the point. But the one I had was lowered an inch from the previous owner and it handled like it was on rails. Kinda like the fat chick and the moped though.

[Pokulski-Blatz]

Jeep Cherokee.

[SaTx04Lightning]

KIA SOPHIA 1.8 liter!!!!! i cruise a 2001 model hatch model....things gets 32 mpg plus carhas lot of room inside.....pick one up for a couple of grand

[JC316]

Another vote for the Cavalier/Sunfire.

[Lason]

We bought my wife a '96 Camry 4 cylinder a couple years ago and the only thing about them is the motors are notorious for sludging up and I believe Toyota even replaced some motors do to it. Also the control arms are by far the worse design I have ever seen and the bushings need to be replaced eventually.

My buddy also had a 96 camry with the same motor and his motor went out. Ours is making some noise from the timing belt area so Im thinking its either the water pump or timing belt tensioner. Ill probably do a timing belt change in the next couple weeks.

[Mark04]

Mid 90's Saturns believe it or not. I see many on the road and my niece has one that she has severely neglected and it still starts up everyday. Those engines had timing chains instead of belts and seem to run forever.

[BP]

Mid 90's Saturns believe it or not. I see many on the road and my niece has one that she has severely neglected and it still starts up everyday. Those engines had timing chains instead of belts and seem to run forever.

The rings eventually stick from carbon buildup, it's worse in colder climates but they still have problems here. Decent little cars though and that engine has a lot of similarities to the modern Ecotec series. Run the hell away from any Saturn with a CVT though, especially the Vues. There is a reason they are dirt cheap. Don't buy anything with a CVT unless it's a Nissan or Toyota.

Anything with a Nissan 2.5 is going to have engine problems eventually as well. The engine itself is fine, it's the cats that don't get along with the PCM tuning and the throttle blade screws that come loose. The older Altima 2.4s have oil pump problems as well but nowhere near as bad as the 2.5s with scored cylinders.

Lason, they did have some sludge problems with the 5SFE engines but I think it was more due to the extended service intervals they were marketing than the engine design itself. Change it at the conventional 3k interval we are used to and they should be fine. That or switch to a semi-synthetic oil like Toyota dealers use now anyways.