$5000-$6500 new car

[ace13 0]

My husband and I are needing to replace a car. We are looking to spend $5k-6.5k. What should I get? We are wanting something reliable that we could drive for another 5 years or so. It can have up to 100k miles, but we really don't want to start with much more. I am kind of afraid of American made high mileage cars and am leaning toward foreign, but then you have to get older with more miles. Hmmm.

Who loves their car and would recommend it?

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Honda civic

edit

consumer reports says:

$4,000 - $6,000

Acura CL ‘97-98; Integra ’97; TL ‘97

Chevrolet Prizm ‘99-00; Tracker ‘99

Ford Crown Victoria ’98; Escort ’02; F-150 ‘97

Honda Accord ’97; Civic ‘97-98; CR-V ’97; Odyssey ‘97

Isuzu Oasis ‘97-98

Mazda B-Series (2WD) ’98; Millenia ’98; Protegé ‘99-00

Mercury Grand Marquis ‘98

Mitsubishi Galant ‘00

Nissan 200SX ’97; 240SX ’97; Altima ’98; Frontier ’98; Maxima ’97; Pathfinder ’97; Pickup ‘97; Sentra ’97, ‘99

Saturn SL ’99; SW ‘99

Subaru Impreza ’98; Legacy ‘97-98

Suzuki Grand Vitara ‘99

Toyota Avalon ’97, Camry ’97; Celica ’97; Corolla ‘97-99; Echo ’00; RAV4 ‘97-98; Sienna ’98; Tacoma ‘97

$6,000 - $8,000

Acura CL ’99; Integra ‘98-99; RL ’97; TL ‘98

Buick Regal ‘00

Chevrolet Prizm ’01-02

Ford Crown Victoria ‘99-01; F-150 ’98; F-250 ’97; Mustang (V6) ’98; Mustang (V8) ’97; Ranger (2WD) ‘98-00

Honda Accord ‘98-99; Civic‘99-00; CR-V ‘98-99; Insight ’00; Odyssey ’98, ’00; Prelude ‘97

Hyundai Accent ‘04

Infiniti G20 ‘99-00; I30 ‘97-99

Lexus ES ‘97

Lincoln Continental ’98, 00; Town Car ‘99

Mazda B-Series (2WD) ‘99-00; MPV ’01; MX-5 Miata ’97; Protegé 01

Mercury Grand Marquis ‘99-00

Mitsubishi Galant ‘01

Nissan Altima ‘99-00; Frontier ’99; Maxima ’98; Pathfinder ’98-99; Xterra ‘00

Saturn SL ‘02

Subaru Legacy ‘99

Toyota 4Runner ‘97-98; Avalon ‘98-99; Camry ‘98-99; Corolla ’00-01; Echo ‘01-02; RAV4 ’99; Sienna ’99-00; T100 ‘97-98; Tacoma ‘98

Edited April 9, 2007 by LuckyStrike

[ivona 0]

I second Honda Civic

[mawilson 2,133]

Do you want a "chick car", a "guy car" or "neutral"?

[Dr_LHA 3]

My husband and I are needing to replace a car. We are looking to spend $5k-6.5k. What should I get? We are wanting something reliable that we could drive for another 5 years or so. It can have up to 100k miles, but we really don't want to start with much more. I am kind of afraid of American made high mileage cars and am leaning toward foreign, but then you have to get older with more miles. Hmmm.

Who loves their car and would recommend it?

Don't buy American cars used, in my opinion. They're great when they're new, but once they get to be 5-10 years old (the realistic age for a $5000 car), they start costing too much money to maintain.

IMHO You can't go wrong with a Honda. I've owned both a Civic and an Accord and they're super reliable, safe, fuel efficient cars, not to mention fun to drive.

[Flames9_RN 358]

I was about to quote consumer reports, but I was beat!! Toyota's, Honda's (acura) all are good used cars, BUT all depends how they were drove!! look for abuse and one would want to see the maintanence receipts if possible and ensure the VIN # all match up (on engine, inside, etc) For that type of $$, one can get a dependable car, just shop around,and if your having doubts, walk away

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

I am a big fan of the Toyota Corolla - I have bought 2 used and they never gave me any problems even well past 100,000 miles and got great mileage

[Dr_LHA 3]

Carfax is your friend when it comes to checking out used cars. Worth the money.

[Jasman0717 9]

Honda civic

edit

consumer reports says:

$4,000 - $6,000

Acura CL ‘97-98; Integra ’97; TL ‘97

Chevrolet Prizm ‘99-00; Tracker ‘99

Ford Crown Victoria ’98; Escort ’02; F-150 ‘97

Honda Accord ’97; Civic ‘97-98; CR-V ’97; Odyssey ‘97

Isuzu Oasis ‘97-98

Mazda B-Series (2WD) ’98; Millenia ’98; Protegé ‘99-00

Mercury Grand Marquis ‘98

Mitsubishi Galant ‘00

Nissan 200SX ’97; 240SX ’97; Altima ’98; Frontier ’98; Maxima ’97; Pathfinder ’97; Pickup ‘97; Sentra ’97, ‘99

Saturn SL ’99; SW ‘99

Subaru Impreza ’98; Legacy ‘97-98

Suzuki Grand Vitara ‘99

Toyota Avalon ’97, Camry ’97; Celica ’97; Corolla ‘97-99; Echo ’00; RAV4 ‘97-98; Sienna ’98; Tacoma ‘97

$6,000 - $8,000

Acura CL ’99; Integra ‘98-99; RL ’97; TL ‘98

Buick Regal ‘00

Chevrolet Prizm ’01-02

Ford Crown Victoria ‘99-01; F-150 ’98; F-250 ’97; Mustang (V6) ’98; Mustang (V8) ’97; Ranger (2WD) ‘98-00

Honda Accord ‘98-99; Civic‘99-00; CR-V ‘98-99; Insight ’00; Odyssey ’98, ’00; Prelude ‘97

Hyundai Accent ‘04

Infiniti G20 ‘99-00; I30 ‘97-99

Lexus ES ‘97

Lincoln Continental ’98, 00; Town Car ‘99

Mazda B-Series (2WD) ‘99-00; MPV ’01; MX-5 Miata ’97; Protegé 01

Mercury Grand Marquis ‘99-00

Mitsubishi Galant ‘01

Nissan Altima ‘99-00; Frontier ’99; Maxima ’98; Pathfinder ’98-99; Xterra ‘00

Saturn SL ‘02

Subaru Legacy ‘99

Toyota 4Runner ‘97-98; Avalon ‘98-99; Camry ‘98-99; Corolla ’00-01; Echo ‘01-02; RAV4 ’99; Sienna ’99-00; T100 ‘97-98; Tacoma ‘98

Definitely go with the Consumer Report tips!

[Henia 11]

Do you want a "chick car", a "guy car" or "neutral"?

[Jenn! 918]

My '95 Accord has 150K miles and is still going strong!

[MPGGPM 0]

Anything that has the words "Toyota" or "Honda" written on the back of it.

[BelwinMills 0]

Toyota I love mine and runs great .

[Ban Hammer 13,337]

Don't buy American cars used, in my opinion. They're great when they're new, but once they get to be 5-10 years old (the realistic age for a $5000 car), they start costing too much money to maintain.

interesting. my camaro is a 96, and what i've replaced on it is the following:

front brakes and rotors late 1999 (dang autobahn speeds )

replaced a wire that was rubbing on transmission, shorting out and blowing the turn signal fuse early 2002

left window control unit mid 2002 (quite a bit of use did it in - like $20 to replace)

rear seal on driveshaft at the differential late 2003 (autobahn speeds did that too i think )

battery in mid 2005 (yes the original lasted that long)

water pump in mid 2005

left window motor mid 2006

rear bearings late 2006

and 2 sets of tires from tirerack.com, along with the usual wiper blades and such.

overall maintenance cost of the above is about 2k usd, excluding the tires and wiper blades.

it now has just over 100k

of course, the vin does start with a 2, i'm partial to canadian made cars

[mawilson 2,133]

Buy American, people! Foreign cars are best left to foreigners.