As of now I want to pick up a second vehicle. Looking for something from 1990-1995 so it will def be OBDI, easier to pass smog. Can either be a car or small pickup truck.

Criteria I'm looking for:

4 or 6 cylinder na
run on 87
auto
fwd, rwd, awd I don't care
4 door if its a car
reg or extended cab if a truck
cheap mantenance / easy to work on
reliable and decent on gas

Ideally I would really like to have a small pickup that I can haul stuff around in and let my family use if they have to. But if it comes down to it I'll get another car which will still work out anyways. Looking to spend no more than $2000. Not looking to put any money into whatever its as I'll just be buying cheap oil and Kragen parts as far as maintenance goes. What would you guys suggest is a good bang for the buck car??

Help me pick out the perfect beater!!!

Some ideas I've been tossing around:

Nissan Sentra
Honda Civic
Toyota pickup
Mazda B-series pickup
Impreza L
Legacy
Camry
Corolla

and so on..

EDIT: BTW if you or someone you know is selling anything that fits in with the above plz let me know!

 

im pretty much in the same boat as you.

 

CL ftw.

 

I say a honda civic. they're easy to repair and cheap. hatchback should suffice your needs. CX VX or DX...

 

Sounds like you could use the pick up. I would go with the Toyota, they run forever.

 

werd, camry or corolla

 

Jeep Cherokee / Grand cherokee are the best beaters...

Get the 4.0L I6, very reliable gets about 19-20mpg on the highway(not the best, but not that bad). The V8 Grand cherokee is guzzler at 15mpg on the highway though.

4.0L cherokees have Japanese trannies that are shared with tacomas(toyota, think reliable, Aisin AW4) the motors are famous for being reliable. Very short car, easier to parallel park than a wrx, and you can haul crap and not worry about having a camper shell...

Not the smoothest ride though, but you probalby don't have to worry about flipping either.

I only buy cheap kragen parts for my jeep...ie. $15 for a brand new rotor!

 

Consider an 80s Volvo as well. They run forever and they're all over the place on Craigs. Put the right mudflaps and rally lights on it and it'll look ready for rallyx too

 

+1 for civic hatchback

 

I like accords, but I would actually say go for an camry since you want an auto. My generation accord 98-200? is notorious for having tranny problems.

But if you can get my gen accord with a stick, I say get it.... it's loads of fun at the track. I may be the underdog, but when a new m5 is flustered that he can't pull on me, it's undescribable. =) Whether other cars have bad drivers or not, the limit of a stock accord is amazingly higher then you'd think.

If you really want a great beater, get the older boxy integras. (Before the dc2 generation). They're just amazing.... There are guys beating decent drivers in our cars hands down. (But it goes the other way around as well)

Our cars are great, but these cars are pretty cool as well. If you track a Honda... beware of the valve adjustments... they aren't cheap.

About jeeps, I owned a 98 grand cherokee. Yes its true the 4.0l come with a toyota tranny, but watch out for all the rest! i replaced my water pump twice in three years on my 4.0l, great beater, but not exactly the cheapest. (oh yeah.. vague steering) I miss it =*(.

 

you can never go wrong with a Toyota Camry

 

Whats wrong with a Nissan Hardbody... I used to have one, treated it like crap and it still ran like a champ. One of my co-workers had one and drove it into a cement barrier, still drove it home, cleaned it up, ran it for 210k.

 

Hmm anyone ever roll around in a Geo Metro lol? Oh wait thats 3cyl isnt it?

The Jeep sounds like it would be fun but I doubt my mom would want to use it, too big for her.

What kind of experience have ppl had with small pickups?

 

i have a 91 civic hatchback 4spd MT with 114k on it all original for sale comming up soon once i get my RS back

 

toyota 2wd pickup truck... from 90-95... after that, they become the tacos... more $$$$