Let me start by saying I don't give too much of a shit about "power" or even aesthetics that much. I know next to nothing about cars. I want a car that's solid, will last a while, and is good on gas (let's say...24-30 MPG). Preferably 4 door.

Price range is probably...4-6k. Used, obviously. I'm not trying to have a car payment.

Also, what's the best venue to buy a car? Craigslist? Ebay? The Wolf Web??? Feel free to share any good/bad experiences which might shed some light on the issue. I'm pretty clueless.

As far as whether my truck can be repaired or is worth repairing...I don't know yet. It's a 97 Ford ranger with 135k miles on it. You can see some of the damage here...as far as the internal damage I don't have a clue. The impact happened on the front right of the truck. It doesn't drive and started leaking oil immediately. That pipe thing is hanging down from the undercarriage, no idea what that is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8veqftzMPY

11/15/2011 2:57:26 PM

that "pipe thing" is the driveshaft i think

[Edited on November 15, 2011 at 3:03 PM. Reason : hard to tell in the video]

[Edited on November 15, 2011 at 3:04 PM. Reason : just find a camry/corolla/civic/accord on craigslist and roll on]

[Edited on November 15, 2011 at 3:07 PM. Reason : looked again and yeah, it's the drive shaft. you can see the U-joint.]

11/15/2011 3:03:08 PM

I was going to say that if its a 97 and doesn't run then I'm going to guess it's close to being totalled (the max worth Im seeing is like $3 grand). Time to start looking for an alternative beater to get you from A to B.

Sucks man, sorry it had to happen.

Quote :

"just find a camry/corolla/civic/accord on craigslist and roll on"

seconded!

11/15/2011 3:19:41 PM

Since you don't care, your best bet for reliability/gas mileage in that price range is going to be an early 2000's Honda or Toyota.

I'd probably stick to Craigslist and pick up some of the car trader mags in front of grocery stores, etc.

11/15/2011 3:25:28 PM

I hope that you are okay buddy! I would second a Honda civic... I find toyota vehicles to be quite boring, but they get the job done all the same...

11/15/2011 3:54:09 PM

what you need.... is a jaguar

11/15/2011 4:23:38 PM

Thanks, I'm fine. I've also said that once my truck kicks it I'd probably want to get a Civic or something like that...it just seems like there's such a variation in price. Seems like if I want to get a 4 door from early 2000s I could pay anywhere between 4k and 10k.

11/15/2011 4:25:03 PM

I'd go for a geo prizm of the 98ish vintage (rebadged corolla)

11/15/2011 5:59:26 PM

The truck really doesn't look bad. It'll almost definitely be totaled though. I'm guessing the radiator busted by the sand in front of it. Are the wheels straight? Could be a good candidate to buy back from the insurance co. for a few hundred bucks, drop in a junkyard radiator, fix the broken u-joint on the driveshaft, and drive it like you stole it until it dies for real (or give it to someone who will.)

Even if you don't want to fix it you might want to ask the insurance co. how much to buy it back after they total it. Someone here or on Craigslist might give you a few hundred bucks more to buy it from you. It'd be easy money since all you'd really have to do is go to the bank and transfer the title to them.

[Edited on November 15, 2011 at 6:30 PM. Reason : s]

11/15/2011 6:21:09 PM

Quote :

"The truck really doesn't look bad. It'll almost definitely be totaled though. I'm guessing the radiator busted by the sand in front of it. Are the wheels straight? Could be a good candidate to buy back from the insurance co. for a few hundred bucks, drop in a junkyard radiator, fix the broken u-joint on the driveshaft, and drive it like you stole it until it dies for real (or give it to someone who will.)"

11/15/2011 7:24:03 PM

looks like a lot of damage to have occurred in a 35mph zone.

11/15/2011 7:37:43 PM

I disagree. I was in a Forester that got totaled earlier this year and we were only going 25MPH before we slammed on brakes. I doubt we were going 15 at the time of impact and the other car was in the neighborhood of 30MPH, but it still totaled a $10.5k car. The car that hit us looked as bad as the one in the vid. Our car had impact to the front left fender and it destroyed the whole front end (both fenders, grill, hood, bumper, lights, etc.)

Cars are weak, but I'd rather the car soak up the impact than my body.

[Edited on November 15, 2011 at 7:43 PM. Reason : s]

11/15/2011 7:42:09 PM

^^ not to me

11/15/2011 7:44:43 PM

watch it again and look at the green car. the truck hit the shit out of the green car. i'm not saying the o.p. was going faster than the speed limit. it just appears there's a lot of damage to both vehicles for a 35mph zone. i see a shit ton of crashes so i usually have a good idea of the speed at impact. in fact, that's my engine company which is how i know the location. i'm not at work today, though.

[Edited on November 15, 2011 at 7:50 PM. Reason : -]

11/15/2011 7:48:53 PM

I vote for a Jag too.

11/15/2011 8:12:53 PM

That was a great video I enjoyed it

11/15/2011 8:54:53 PM

According to top gear crown vic is where its at.

11/15/2011 10:03:00 PM

Quote :

"the truck hit the shit out of the green car."

I did hit the shit out of the green car. I had probably 1.5 seconds to slam on the brakes and swerve to the left, but the impact was pretty hard. I would estimate I was still going ~25-30 mph when I hit the guy. He was just pulling out, so he didn't have much speed at all. Surprisingly (or maybe not), neither of our airbags deployed.

Quote :

"Even if you don't want to fix it you might want to ask the insurance co. how much to buy it back after they total it. Someone here or on Craigslist might give you a few hundred bucks more to buy it from you. It'd be easy money since all you'd really have to do is go to the bank and transfer the title to them."

Seems like a good option. We'll see what kind of damage was done, I'll post some updates.

[Edited on November 15, 2011 at 11:33 PM. Reason : ]

11/15/2011 11:30:20 PM

please tell me that silver/gold mercury? got a parking ticket while the cop was there

11/16/2011 1:04:18 AM

Nope, not that I saw. I mean, there wasn't a "No Parking" sign there or anything. I don't know if that matters.

11/16/2011 11:59:24 AM

e34

i almost wanna sell my e46 and get one

11/16/2011 2:22:15 PM

I want a clean e28...

at first i thought they were the ugliest thing ever... but its grown on me and i like it.

11/16/2011 2:27:45 PM

Quote :

"Nope, not that I saw. I mean, there wasn't a "No Parking" sign there or anything. I don't know if that matters."

cars are parked there every time we run a call to sunrise.

11/16/2011 8:23:29 PM

A post-2000 hyundai is also worth considering. They've scored as well or better than Honda in reliability tests since 2002.

http://www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/best-used-cars.html

11/16/2011 11:28:07 PM