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Honda swaps are incredibly easy. Lots of people swap out the d-series for the more powerful b-series engines with these 88-00 civics so the d-series swaps are plentiful and inexpensive. Also, there is probably 100 different aftermarket short shifters for these cars too. The thing you need to worry about with hondas is theft. Even the stock ones get stolen regularly. They are expensive and hard to find but I got lucky and got my 1993 si w/ 112k for $2,000 back in 05'. |
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I'm stuck on the NA diesel 1.6 VW's - Jetta - Golf - Rabbit - Caddy. That's my favorite with the turbo-ed 1.6's coming in second. I prefer the A2's best out of the group too.
Believe it or not my brother GAVE me a SL2 Saturn ('01) and I gave it away. The tranny case was cracked and it kept leaking from the front pump seal. The guy I gave it to last year has put a ton of miles on it and it still ticks on. |
shoulda just JB welded it shut... its whats preventing leaks on my transmission tailshaft housing on my chevette.
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My transmission case got holed last year and I JB Welded it. Didn't leak, but 15,000 miles later, it just crapped out, (oil pump died) possibly related to the incident that holed it, but the JB weld is doing good.
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I made a motorcycle crankcase out of JB Weld when I was 12 - Honda 250. Case was about 10 inches long and the hole in the case was 6 inches. I built up the case using big to small washers layer on each other. Drove the bike until I was 16 and got my car license. |
I love JB weld. Despite my employee's best efforts nothing I've ever fixed with JB Weld has ever broken again. I've heard of cases where JB Weld was used to fix cracked engine blocks.
-Jay |
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i was quite surprised at some of the choices the OP made, but hey to each their own:p all i've ever heard about saturn is avoid like the plague. if you're sticking with older vehicles (which it looks like) then yes hyundai is a joke...however their newer cars (after 2001 mainly) are actually very very reliable and still cheap too. i'm looking into a newer 5-spd accent myself:)
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the one and only saturn we owned blew a piston or dropped a valve at 140K miles...96 saturn SC2 auto tranny. one of the cyl had zero compression and would blow oil all over while running
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There are a lot of people on here who swear by their Saturns also. My only experience with them has been what I have seen in junkyards...usually '90s Saturns with 200k+ miles on them. Seem to hold up really well, from what I've seen.
All types of cars have had problems...and I remember a time when a car that went 140k miles before self-destructing would have been considered a really rugged car! I don't recall for sure (I was about eight years old at the time-about 45 years ago), but I don't think our '54 Buick had near that many miles on it when something holed one of the pistons (I do remember the piston with a big hole in the top). A junkyard piston, and a set of rings and bearings (maybe a valve job while it was apart) and we were on the road again. I have had disappointing experiences with Corvairs, a Chevy Luv (Isuzu) truck, and Chrysler mini-vans with Mitsubishi engines. That doesn't make them bad cars...(well, maybe the Corvairs), just my bad luck, along with the baggage of their previous owner's treatment, and in a couple cases, my own ineptness or use of a faulty tool. |
yea back then a car with 80K miles was considered high...
ive heard of the s-10's going for 200K some 300K + without ever having the head off (known valve cover gasket leak tho but doesnt take more than an hour to replace) |
I have over 150,000 on my truck, and I consider it "just broken in". When the dealer checked it over durring the 150,000 mile service they said that they could see no major faults with the truck, and that it ran just as well as a new one.
-Jay |
I add another vote or a Cavalier/Sunbird. I just did a best of 40mpg in my 01Cavalier. It is a base model with a 5 speed. I have owned a 99 Saturn SL which would do better mpg but it was not as confortable. I would say that parts for the Cavalier/Sunbird are very inexpensive and very easy to find. There are tons of these cars around so they are cheap to buy also.
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I'll second the Mistubishi Mirage as well as the Dodge Colt and Eagle Summit as the sleepers of the bunch. Can't be anything wrong with a car that has gone 256K without a tear down. I should know. i just bought a cherry of a 95 Eagle Summit DL 1.5L. 35mpg isn't anything to scoff at for a car this old.
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My Solara is the first Toyota that I have owned. During the first year, the electrical motor on the passenger side window did have a problem and was switched out. The mechanical reliability so far have been excellent.
I am planning to keep this car as long as possible, there are some (actually a lot) people who say Toyota is among the top in reliability, while some say otherwise. I will see for myself with my sexy Lara. ================================== I can vouch for the reliability of the 95 Civic 1.5L LX auto sedan though, from the year that my family bought it (1995) till the year that we sold it (2003) @160,000 miles, there has not been a single problem with the electrical or mechanical area. The only thing that needed changing was the hub bearing. Great gas milage but small gas tank though. |
You're right. Cavaliers (& Chevy parts in general) are cheap to buy. Look at this interesting one I just saw on my local Craigs List...
https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/n...947901922.html Its a loaded 98 Cavalier Z24 5 speed Convertible with 139,000 miles for $1,200. (And its ScanGauge compatible!) Who says FE can't be cheap & fun? -Jay Quote:
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exactly the Z24 has the 2.4L 4 banger that has some getup to it.
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i'm just tickled that his top 5 were not...
1 honda crx 2 honda civic vx 3 honda insight 4 honda civic hybrid 5 honda fit |
BTG, sometimes the internet transcends its patterns. :)
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On the mirage. That fact is wrong. Mirages,colt,summits. Are all the same. And the years are from 93-99.. 93-96 are 4th gens, and 97-99 are 5th gens.. Both still come with 1.8s and 1.5s...
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https://translogic.aolautos.com/2010/...l-feels-chilly
does anyone believe this? if so, it could be put in the top 5 eh? |
We'd all post some amazing numbers if we could drive the optimum speed for economy on a banked track for an entire tank.
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yup, but i still find it difficult to believe.
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Not me. I bet I could do at least 10% better.
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do you beleive this??? :D :D :D |
i'd tend to lean more towards believing that one, yes. i doubt the mustang drivers used P&G, but if they did, well that would explain it.
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No need for P&G. A banked track is as close as you are going to get to driving in straight line, and they were likely at the lowest speed for the top gear. Just need to set the CC.
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Re: My Top 5 Cars: Economy & Reliability
3 years later, would anyone like to update their top 5?
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Re: My Top 5 Cars: Economy & Reliability
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I got my 95vx for 1300. it had 150k on it. The rear brake light was broken and it looked like it had been parked for quite a while. The t-belt had been done. I spent a day and about 200 in parts fixing it up... Plugs, wires, radiator had a small crack, antifreeze, oil, filter, rear window shocks, air filter, etc. Basically everything was there. I need to spend about 300 more fixing the slight body damage around the taillight. Great car. Great mileage |
Re: My Top 5 Cars: Economy & Reliability
I know old thread. I picked up an old VW golf 2 door 1.8l gas not diesel for 500 with almost 300,000 miles and still get 40MPG on the freeway with it with no mods. I have done maintenance on it but it's been more like normal stuff. Replace clutch, brakes, oil, all the regular stuff.
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Re: My Top 5 Cars: Economy & Reliability
sorry it was an 85 golf
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Re: My Top 5 Cars: Economy & Reliability
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Possibly the worst and dumbest thing I've ever read about cars, reliability, value, and quality. One look at consumer reports, and the cars on the road alone would indicate that. It is very typical for me to buy a toyota for $2000, drive it 100,000 miles, and junk it for $200-$300. My cents per mile, including EVERYTHING, for ownership is typically in the 20 to 30 range, sometimes less than 20. Currently own three late 80's toyota camry wagons that have a combined 850,000 miles and all of them run great, go 100 miles per hour if asked (stupid, but possible), and have good life left in them. Reports of Saturns that go into the 200,000 mile range? I suppose a few, but that's standard and normal for a toyota. Sure a few toyota's suck, and i'[d never buy a mr2 or a tercel, but overall, they are the cheapest cars to buy and own. I see new cars on the side of the road all the time, and over nearly 1,000,000 miles, i've had to get towed exactly 1 time when a timing belt, with 150,000 miles on it, broke. Even when alternators went, the car still drove hundreds of miles with not electronics or lights being used, as the ignition used next to no juice. Sure, these were older simpler cars, and today it would be different. Now, you can drive a prius 500+ miles on less than 12 gallons of gas making it the cheapest car to own on the road. Toyota's reliability and durability are legendary and i've seen it first hand. Never paid more than $3000 for a car, never driven one for less than 100,000 miles, rarely have expensive repairs, and regular maintenance is inexpensive and easy to do. |
Re: My Top 5 Cars: Economy & Reliability
please use caution and be careful in generalized assertions especially in a first post..."worst," "dumbest," and "consumer reports" are not well received here but...:welcome:
the post was obviously well thought out and documented as such. certainly the "toyota" comments were less objective and more subjective...but based on the poster's experience. if you had read the entire thread, you'd find that several members agree with his top picks, tho not necessarily in his chosen order. cheers, BowTieGuy...the anti-bully |
I have actually owned 4 out of 5 of the top 5 picks as commuters before I would put them in this order.
1. 1998 Saturn sl2, it does the best on the highway, Ownership from 100,000-144,000, 40-42mpg, $1250+$400 (maintenance), sold for $1500, total cost $150 2. 1996 Honda civic hatch with a VtecE swap (this is the most expensive cer I had to put together out of the 5), currently own@ 116,000(rebuilt has 28 miles on it, lol, just swapped) total cost so far $4600. I was getting 36w/ D16Y7, the new motor I just built was mean for 50+mpg, we should see. 3. 1998 Suzuki swift, 130,000 -160,000, $2000+$200, 38-42mpg, sold for $1800, total cost $400 4. 1996 Mitsubishi mirage, 89,000-120,000, $2800+ $600, 34-36crashed it... Insurance paid $1,900, total cost 1,500+ tow and junk... Lol They are all good cars to commute in as long as you maintenance them, I have had a 1993 Toyota MR2 myself I was my toy and it costed an arm and 3 toes thfor maintenance because it has to be in prefect condition. But as far as reliability goes, toyotas are good cars as well we had a Scion xb, drove it since brand new and have 0 issues until the day we sold it, and when we sold it it was still running like new. All and all, a basic car is a basic car, as long as you take care of them, they will last. I currently own a 2008 Mazda 5(for the kids), a 2008 Audi a4 wagon( for me), and the civic. They all have different purpose but as far as MPG, Honda is "king"!!! |
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I switched from petrol to diesel a long time ago, as a gallon of petrol will send one car 25 miles, while the sake diesel engined model can travel 50 miles on a gallon of diesel.
Is diesel twice the price of petrol in the States? Why no diesels in your list?! I used to run old diesels on heating oil - this then gave me a theoretical mpg of 150 (based on cost!). These were large 4 door saloons, Nissan Bluebirds the figures relate to. |
I was confused too by why the US has very few diesels. There are several reasons, one is that fuel is cheap so they don't really need economical cars, 30 MPG is fine for most people. Two, they have no Road tax out there, no carbon dioxide based taxes so people can afford to drive big high emitting cars. And three, their emission standards focus more on nitrous oxide rather than carbon dioxide which diesels emit slightly more of, even though there are plenty of ways to reduce this now. I still find it laughable that they find burning billions of gallons of extra fuel and oil and emiting thousands of tonnes of carbon dioxide a good alternative to fuel sipping diesels though! ;)
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