Old vehicles with good gas mileage

Figured I would throw this out there and see if anyone has ideas I haven't thought of.
I am going to buy a cheap beater car, I have an awesome 97 Tacoma 4x4 and want to drive it less around town, and so many climbing destinations you don't need more than a car these days. I was looking into an old TDI VW, but could save a couple thousand buying something cheap as in 1500-2000 as I am very mechanically inclined.

I've been looking at a honda civic or something similar and was curious if anyone had experience with other cars to look for.
Criteria old enough there are used cheaper ones available (probably older than mid 2000s-mid 1990s), great mileage 30+ and more is better, manual trans only and a hatchback is a plus.

I am looking to avoid something really old like the 1980s vw rabbits and such, driving semi comfortable would be nice.

Thanks in advance for ideas.

honda civic, toyota corolla/tercel are known reliable cars, easy to repair with good gas mileage

just be aware that on older cars the timing belt and water pump may need to replaced, so look for that ...

if you can find one with lower mileage, theres sometimes older folks who sell them who dont drive them much, youre laughing

;)

How many miles do you think you'll drive with the second vehicle? I bet when you're done buying a second car, paying insurance, and fuel it will be less expensive to just drive your truck.

I had a '95 Honda Accord which had a problem with the speedometer/odometer failing but otherwise was a very good car. I should have had the issue repaired but chose not to at the time because I simply didn't have the spare cash. I can't remember what the MPG was but it was a little better than the '03 Subaru Impreza I drive now, which gets 31 on the highway. Now doubt a Corolla or Civic would be even better with that regard.

Research has told me that Honda and Toyota both build good passenger cars back in the '90's (already mentioned) as did Subaru (95 was a bad year btw, something about the new engine with the old drive train, but I can't remember specifics). If you live somewhere that AWD wouldn't be beneficial, I'd stick with Honda or Toyota. Back when I lived in the UK, Nissan was also considered very reliable, but that may be different this side of the pond. I suppose you could also look into the domestic side of things because any older vehicle will need parts replaced sooner or later, and I've been informed that domestic parts are usually cheaper. Just a thought.

Toyota Echo could be a good option too.

Thanks for the info,

I figure I'll drive 12K+ on a different car which will save about 1000-1500 bucks in fuel, additional insurance is 20 a month plus registration. I also just rebuilt the top the engine on my truck at 260K miles and want to save it for hunting and climbing trips that need 4x4.

Anyone had a Ford Focus wagon?

I had a '99 Toyota Corolla. I bought it with 90,000 miles on it sold it with 250,000 miles on it. I drove it to Alaska and back from California, where it averaged 29 miles per gallon. I drove it all over the US. I took it on rough dirt roads and on many, many climbing trips. I slept in it for probably a year worth of nights.

All it ever needed was the occasional set of tires and oil changes; nothing else. Extremely reliable car.

I have a ford focus hatchback. It's pretty ideal for a climber and handles everything but real off road. Have had to repair a few things but overall pretty reliable.

F250 diesel. Gets 19 empty. Gets 15 towing 7 Priuses with 3 Boulder NIMBY's in each. Goes off road no problem. Throw a 2000 lb camper in the bed and hardly notice it. Pulls 10,000 lbs with ease.

Efficiency is a relative term.

Greg D wrote:F250 diesel. Gets 19 empty. Gets 15 towing 7 Priuses with 3 Boulder NIMBY's in each. Goes off road no problem. Throw a 2000 lb camper in the bed and hardly notice it. Pulls 10,000 lbs with ease. Efficiency is a relative term.

Hell ya! And here I thought all outdoorsman-like people drove little trucks.

I have a Tacoma for road trips, and a 91 Civic for around town. The Civic is a complete beater, but will not die, and the insurance is almost nothing. It gets about 36 on the highway and 30 in the city. We did destroy the computer ($500 repair) on it about 15 years ago when we struck a rock with the undercarriage (apparently only Canada manufactured Civics had the computer in that location).

Adam Floyd wrote:Thanks for the info, I figure I'll drive 12K+ on a different car which will save about 1000-1500 bucks in fuel, additional insurance is 20 a month plus registration. I also just rebuilt the top the engine on my truck at 260K miles and want to save it for hunting and climbing trips that need 4x4. Anyone had a Ford Focus wagon?

Here's the CL listings for Vegas: lasvegas.craigslist.org/sea…

I think you need to drive the civic for three years straight (12K/yr) to break even. The list of $2K Honda Civics is pretty rough.

I actually have a '97 Nissan Sentra I'd be willing to sell for $900. She's got about 235,000 miles and gets about 35m/g. Manual transmission. She's not a looker but she runs well. I am in NC though.

toyota corolla, end of discussion.

ccanez wrote:I actually have a '97 Nissan Sentra I'd be willing to sell for $900. She's got about 235,000 miles and gets about 35m/g. Manual transmission. She's not a looker but she runs well. I am in NC though.

It's not generally worth driving 5,000 miles round trip (Vegas to NC) to buy a $900 car. I mean, we're talking $700 just in gas...

Adam, I'm in a similar boat as you, but you have to put a ton of miles on the beater to make it a worthwhile purchase. Once you consider consumables (tires, oil, brakes) and the risk of repairs, it starts to look like a really shaky proposition. I half-suspect the best plan might be to get a good 7-10 year old car that will have low depreciation. More capital investment (maybe $8k?) but much lower risk of repairs. If you can recoup most of the investment by selling it eventually...

At least for me, the worst part is I really rack up the miles on ski trips and such, where I would drive the Tacoma no matter what. I would primarily drive the beater around town, to work, making it even harder to leverage MPG savings. So at least for me, a cheap motorbike or bicycling might save the most money, even if I always take the Tacoma when I go climbing. Aside from the cheap purchase price and phenomenal MPG, bicycles and scooters and such can be repaired with duct tape and tongue depressors.

Patrick Shyvers wrote: It's not generally worth driving 5,000 miles round trip (Vegas to NC) to buy a $900 car. I mean, we're talking $700 just in gas... Adam, I'm in a similar boat as you, but you have to put a ton of miles on the beater to make it a worthwhile purchase. Once you consider consumables (tires, oil, brakes) and the risk of repairs, it starts to look like a really shaky proposition. I half-suspect the best plan might be to get a good 7-10 year old car that will have low depreciation. More capital investment (maybe $8k?) but much lower risk of repairs. If you can recoup most of the investment by selling it eventually... At least for me, the worst part is I really rack up the miles on ski trips and such, where I would drive the Tacoma no matter what. I would primarily drive the beater around town, to work, making it even harder to leverage MPG savings. So at least for me, a cheap motorbike or bicycling might save the most money, even if I always take the Tacoma when I go climbing. Aside from the cheap purchase price and phenomenal MPG, bicycles and scooters and such can be repaired with duct tape and tongue depressors.

Beaters are never worth the price if you're trying to save money for fuel on a second vehicle. People come out of the woodwork to add anecdotal stories about how they only had to put in gas and drive their '90 Carrola. Oddly, every beater car I've ever had (carrola, impreza, etc) required maintenance; tires, breaks, alternators, etc. The OP has to drive 36K miles (3yr*12K) just to break even on fuel alone for what he planned to invest. What are the odds that in three years the beater won't need maintenance, scheduled or otherwise? Odds are the offered $900 car will cost AT LEAST the purchase price in maintenance alone to keep on the road for three years. The cheaper the car, the higher the maintenance.

The purchase price isn't the only cost to factor. Depreciation, maintenance, insurance, opportunity cost on the capital, etc. Plus, you have to bee seen driving that piece of junk. If you were actually saving money it would be ok but you get to look like a loser while losing money on the deal.

I have had a bit of everything from 3 diesel ford 4x4s to station wagons(one I built a system and ran on waste vegetable oil). I was mainly just looking for advice on models as I want to stop driving my Taco so I can save it and stop driving it around the RR loop daily as BFG all terrains are more expensive than little car tires. Tacomas seem ridiculously expensive as mine has gone up in value since I bought it several years ago and I get notes from people trying to buy it regularly.

I also have access to a full shop and wholesale parts, so the repairs part is minimal and I work seasonally as a wildand firefighter and guide some in the winter, so I have time to tinker. They key to shitty cars is two so you can drive one to the parts store.

I am leaning towards a two door hatchback ford focus, seems they aren't too hard to find cheap and have the space I am looking for. Thanks folks.

I bought a 97 Saturn sw2 3 years ago and couldn't be happier. The car gets 34mpg fully loaded with 2 ppl, 2 dogs and a months worth of camping and climbing gear. Its a station wagon, so long enough to sleep in, plus lots of room for gear. Saturn is GM, so even though the company is out of business its still easy to find the occasional part. I haven't had any major issues with it and I'm at 215k miles. I've taken it up "4wd only" roads in NM and UT and crossed small creeks in it. Its the best car I've ever owned hands down!

Jeep cherokee for roadtrips,
98 VW TDI for kicking around town or heading to crags.

If you can find a MKIII TDI in decent shape, go for it. We get
45mpg.

91 Civic hatchback manual is the perfect combination of good mileage, reliability, low cost (1-2k depending on condition), and easy to find cheap parts. If you can keep the body from rusting out, it will last forever.

A friend of mine bought an '89 or '90 Honda CRX that has a '91 Acura Integra motor in it. I think he paid $1000-ish. Did a little work to it and has since driven it across the country twice. I rode with him from Leavenworth, WA to Echo Summit near Lake Tahoe, CA and we averaged over 40mpg. Great car to bomb around in.