between $2-3000

gas mileage has to be better than 15mpg

has to seat at least 3

i have no motorcycle endorsement

manual transmission preferred

please no "pull me over please" vehicles

etc

[Edited on July 19, 2005 at 9:22 PM. Reason : DAMN GOOD GARAGE THREAD]

[Edited on July 19, 2005 at 9:23 PM. Reason : I WILL CONSIDER CHEAPER CARS TOO]

7/19/2005 9:21:24 PM

4 cyl toyo 2wd truck...what happened to the Camry?

7/19/2005 9:24:02 PM

early 90's honda accord

7/19/2005 9:27:52 PM

hah colter how did you know

dave i still have the camry but i think im gonna sell it

7/19/2005 9:29:09 PM

sentras make good dd's.

cheap, easy to work on, great gas mileage.

did I mention cheap?

7/19/2005 10:42:08 PM

yeah, the Toy pickup is a good idea.

7/19/2005 10:45:03 PM

1g dsm turbo

7/19/2005 11:10:29 PM

i had a saturn for a while. i think it was a 94 sc2. it wasn't going to turn any heads, but it was a great daily driver. five speed, 30+ mpg, and not all that ugly. i bought it for around $2,000 about three years ago. With the way gas prices are, I wish I still had it.

7/19/2005 11:11:32 PM

^^i think the idea of a daily driver is to have something that you DON'T keep pouring money into in a non-stop quest to make it as fast and unstreetable/unreliable as possible.

7/19/2005 11:31:41 PM

if you have some self control, a 1g dsm can be a dead reliable, fast (high 13sec.), efficient, and fun dd. i personally don't posses that self control to not modify the piss out of things, but some people do.

7/19/2005 11:45:43 PM

yeah, i was going on the assumption that if you need another car as a daily driver, it's probably BECAUSE you don't possess that self-control you're talking about.

7/19/2005 11:55:38 PM

toyota camry 4cyl.

7/20/2005 12:01:01 AM

a late 90's Saturn SL2

I got my 97, 5 speed, electric locks and remote entry for 3500 (3 years ago)

I have put nearly 45K a year on it and over 3 years I have spend a grand total of 1000 dollars on upkeep, including two full sets of tires. The starter blew out the wiring in 2003 and I gota new motor mount and serpentine belt a few weeks ago.

Other than that, not a single damn problem and I get 34-42mpg. If you get an auto with Cruise Control, they push 45mpg on the highway.

7/20/2005 6:34:15 AM

5.0

7/20/2005 6:41:34 AM

i forgot NO FORDS PLEASE

7/20/2005 7:24:39 AM

Early/mid 90's honda civic hatchback may be a reliable vehicle for that price range

7/20/2005 9:39:07 AM

Quote :

"1g dsm turbo"

I know few guys in the raleigh area sellin some for that price range. But I'd have to say that they are a little too unreliable to be considered as DD's. Nissan altima's are good DD's, if you can find a manual. They are reliable for the most part. If you can find a good 240sx, they are great. But it might be "pull me over please" vehicle. Both the 240 and dsm may attract ricers, so you've been warned.

7/20/2005 9:40:58 AM

Quote :

"15mpg"

As long as it's not an Stupid Ugly Vehicle you should be able to get over 15 easy

7/20/2005 9:55:31 AM

or a big block oldsmobile

7/20/2005 9:58:36 AM

I third the Saturn. I have a 96 SC1 and even though it does burn some oil, I get 35mpg and in the 5k I've put on it in the last couple months I haven’t had any problems. There's a lot to be said about a $500 car that I wouldn't hesitate to drive cross country. The biggest draw back however, is that it is weak as shit, I mean k-cars pass me.

Not to mention, they usually aren't beat to shit due to the plastic panels and ten year old paint doesn't fade due to the plastic, so they are cheap, good looking(kinda), and reliable. Really can't ask for anything more from a DD.
~~that's my 2 cents~~

[Edited on July 20, 2005 at 10:58 AM. Reason : plastikracing]

7/20/2005 10:39:44 AM

One of my best dd's was a Toyota 2wd x-cab truck. Good mileage. Versatile. Reliable. And quite fun to drive with a manual tranny.

7/20/2005 10:40:16 AM

^^ yeah, the only thing mechanicaly wrong with them is that the high milages one have oil problems, but that should be expected. pretty damn reliable for something so damn cheap

7/20/2005 10:50:21 AM

Quote :

"As long as it's not an Stupid Ugly Vehicle you should be able to get over 15 easy"

yeah, because no suv's get over 15mpg.

Quote :

"But I'd have to say that they are a little too unreliable"

ok expert, what's so unreliable about them? let's look at this from a logical standpoint:

1. the majority of the people who are on an automotive message board are going to have modified cars, and drive them hard. two things that don't add reliability to anything.

2. these cars are going on 11-15 yrs. old. anything with that amount of age is going to do some nickel and diming at least.

i won't argue that there aren't more reliable cars out there, but they're pretty damn solid. not to mention 10 times more fun than any boring as hell accord or something.

7/20/2005 10:55:50 AM

^ true, my parents Hyundai Santa Fe gets almost 30 mpg. its like a 2.7l v6 or was it 2.8. I donno, they don't let me drive it much. Its a really nice DD.

As for eclipse's, they are awesome cars. easy to mod and get tons of power for little investment, but they are a bit higher maintence then other cars. If you don't take car of it well, it'll be on the side of the road more times then you are able to count. And they are known for being babies. Once something brakes and you fix, something else goes wrong right after that. But DSM's are a odd breed. Half the ppl I know who have them say they are very reliable cars, but the other half, something is always wrong with. Nothing ever in the middle.

7/20/2005 11:05:22 AM

i know!!!

7/20/2005 11:25:02 AM

Quote :

"Hyundai Santa Fe "

eh, i guess that's technically an suv. if you count things that that, then there are a number of suv's that get better than 15mpg. here's a few "real" suv's that get better than 15mpg off the top of my head:

4 runner
trooper
diesel liberty
diesel excursion (which i might add, is the biggest suv made, thanks)

there's probably more.

7/20/2005 11:34:20 AM

explorer? how bout a bronco? go OJ style, make sure no black gloves are in the glove compartment

7/20/2005 11:45:02 AM

thats funny that the 2.7 in the santa fe gets better mileage than the same engine in a tiburon

7/20/2005 1:28:23 PM

Saturn. Best bang for the buck in terms of DD.

7/20/2005 1:39:34 PM

fuck Saturn

get a early 90's accord. Best DD's you can get, no doubt

7/20/2005 1:46:57 PM

i highly doubt even a v6 explorer gets 15+ around town. i know for damn sure a bronco doesn't.

7/20/2005 1:54:56 PM

Quote :

"Other than that, not a single damn problem and I get 34-42mpg. If you get an auto with Cruise Control, they push 45mpg on the highway."

manuals get better gas mileage than automatics.

Don't buy a Saturn. I'm sure you knowledgeable enough with cars to know that yourself though

7/20/2005 2:05:51 PM

Unimog!!!!

7/20/2005 2:43:56 PM

unimog on veggie= zero fuel cost

7/20/2005 3:04:10 PM

im not getting a god damned saturn

7/20/2005 8:13:39 PM

'90ish honda civic

7/20/2005 9:05:09 PM

you've always worshipped jsquared so here is your chance to be just like him.

7/20/2005 9:16:09 PM

is between $2-3000
infinite mpg
seats 2+ one on the bar if necessary
has manual transmission
wont get pulled over
is not a ford or god damned saturn.

cant beat it

7/20/2005 9:16:26 PM

must have 4 wheels and an internal combustion engine

a 1g DSM isnt out of the question, playing with a turbo might be fun and its not like I dont know how or dont want to work on whatever I get

i liked my old CRX, it was a really good car but since I have the money to get a 91-93 accord it is a definite possibility- just as good a car as an EF or EG civic and well, I just always liked them

7/20/2005 10:15:26 PM

a few hundred bucks in parts, and you've got a solid high 13 sec. car. mid-low 13's if it's awd. this is simple crap too, like an mbc, exhaust, etc... nothing that's going to terribly degrade reliability. get one with the t-belt done, you're good to go. a genuine mitsu head gasket replacement would be a plus also, but not entirely neccessary if you're keeping it mild. or, do that stuff yourself. 100 bucks in parts and a saturday. i beat the ever living crap out of mine at 18psi for ~8-10k miles until some lady pulled out in front of me.

7/20/2005 10:21:18 PM

where can I look for one of them

they dont all have the penis shaped shifter like the laser does do they?

actually I know where one is with a good non turbo engine but the body is busted

[Edited on July 20, 2005 at 10:33 PM. Reason : gg me]

7/20/2005 10:32:27 PM

check out carolinadsm.com and dsmtrader.com in addition to the regular classified places. no, not all of them have that shifter. my laser had a "normal" one.

7/20/2005 10:55:14 PM

but you know what im talking about

7/20/2005 10:57:21 PM

4th gen ('90-'93) Accord. You won't regret it.

You'll find plenty of endorsements of these, but just for my personal one, my dad drives a '91 LX that has passed 190,000 miles with no major problems, and once some service gets done (due for a timing belt before 195K and needs a motor mount replaced) it should be golden for a long time afterward.

7/20/2005 11:44:51 PM

this thread needs to be closed.

YOU DONT FUCKING TURBO AND TINKER ON A DAILY DRIVER.

That's the whole fucking point.

You should have said: what kind of project car that I can drive to work should I buy next?

Quote :

"fuck Saturn get a early 90's accord. Best DD's you can get, no doubt"

Except that fixing ANYTHING on that accord will cost 2-3 times what it will on the Saturn. The regular maintenance is more expensive. It'll last longer, but you will end up paying a LOT more.

Quote :

"manuals get better gas mileage than automatics. Don't buy a Saturn. I'm sure you knowledgeable enough with cars to know that yourself though "

Yea, but an Auto with Cruise Control gets HELLA better mileage on long trips.

And it's funny, because damn near every person I have ever met that owned a used Saturn loves it. They are super fucking cheap, reliable, easy as hell to fix and keep up, and have tons of room.

But then, this isnt really a thread about buying a A to B car.

7/21/2005 2:18:58 AM

Quote :

"Except that fixing ANYTHING on that accord will cost 2-3 times what it will on the Saturn. The regular maintenance is more expensive. It'll last longer, but you will end up paying a LOT more."

you dont know what the fuck you are talking about, that much is obvious

7/21/2005 3:34:58 AM

please show me otherwise. if you can show me that honda / toyota parts are cheaper than saturn parts, I'd switch cars without a second thought.

And im not talking about junkyard diving either, im talking about buying new replacement parts.

Not to mention that the saturn costs a considerable amount less to buy in the first place.

7/21/2005 5:22:16 AM

i assure you i know more about these cars than you. saturns are shit compared to hondas. i dont care how good of a car it has been for you, or the other guy up there, the point is its a fucking hippie car designed to put around town all its life and thats all it is good at. i gaurantee that the way i would have to drive the saturn it wouldnt last anytime at all, and the honda would take it and keep right on going...

7/21/2005 7:20:27 AM

yeah.. the point is that you wont have to replace stuff as much on a honda...

my sister had a saturn.. i drove it once and hated it. no power at all.

7/21/2005 9:49:36 AM

yay! I'm glad Saturns are only meant to put around town...cause that's what a DD is OMG. The twin cam is much better, plus EXTREMELY easy to work on. But, it's ok cause you don't like Saturns and that's fine, it was just a suggestion.





















FUCK SATURN!! for being cheap to operate

7/21/2005 11:45:00 AM