$5k to spend on a used car

[Burnsside42]

Some people I know swear by Saturns' reliability, but I've no 1st-hand experience.

*Raises Hand*

I driver one as my daily driver - third one I've owned. All have been the 1.9L DOHC engine. 2 Auto's and this one's a manual. I love them for what they are.
My current Saturn - 2002 SC2 5 Speed


Our last Saturn - 1998 SL2 Auto

[nordwulf]

Ford Focus? I used to have one a long time ago and it was fun to drive. Parts should be easy to get and it seems cheap to maintain. I don't know about the reliability.

[Hirsch]

I had a 96 Saturn SW2 that I used as a delivery vehicle. 5spd, 1.9L with well over 200k miles showing. It handled well enough and it was the epitome of the old adage that it's more fun to drive a slow car fast than it is to drive a fast car slow.

I was thinking Focus, but the first generation don't have a real good reliability record. The first Focus's (Foci?) were not the same as the European Focus.

[Shazam]

Jeeps? Probably too expensive for one that doesn't need a lot of fixing.

Small pick-ups? I would have loved one in high school. Something like an S-10. Might not be the coolest looking car out there, but super practical.

I don't know how much a CRV or RAV-4 sells for, but they are very reliable, relatively slow, and safe. Again, not the coolest, but any free car is the coolest car if you ask me.

Or a Scion tC seems to fit the high school kid criteria pretty good. Reliable, sporty but not too fast, stylish (not for me, but high schoolers seem to flock to them), and pretty cheap.

[Hirsch]

He had an s-10, sold it because he wants more seats.

He definitely wants a car, but he's got car ADD(like most of us). One day he's looking at Civic's and the next day he's looking at Nissan Xterra's.

[SaabKen]

Or a Scion tC seems to fit the high school kid criteria pretty good. Reliable, sporty but not too fast, stylish (not for me, but high schoolers seem to flock to them), and pretty cheap.

He had an s-10, sold it because he wants more seats.

He definitely wants a car, but he's got car ADD(like most of us). One day he's looking at Civic's and the next day he's looking at Nissan Xterra's.

So, again, the criteria includes $5000 budget and at least 2 seats. And it sounds like he has no vision of what type of vehicle he really wants (which might make it even easier for Jay to help guide him onto the right options). Maybe some other considerations/questions need to be answered first:

• what sort of driving does he do ? For school, work, other ?
• what's he gonna be doing in 3 or 5 years ? Is depreciation important ?
• fuel economy a consideration ?
• local servicing (dealer or indie) nearby ?
• special weather/handling capabilities needed ?