getting a used car

Nearly $5000 for that Honda is easy to beat. Go get a Buick LeSabre/Olds 88/Pontiac Bonneville 1986 onwards. They have the 3.8 V-6, which is a fine engine. They get 28-30 MPG on the highway. In town you'll get 18 MPG. They have tons of room. They're also cheap and you'll find plenty of them for under $2000. Spend the $3000+ you saved on a killer stereo, some rims and fix the car up completely as well as take a trip to enjoy it!

Things to watch out for on these GM FWD full-sized cars: The struts wear out and since they are pricey to replace, people let the situation go when they're just going to dump the car. It's around $500 for parts/labor and the 4-wheel thrust alignment to get the suspension so it doesn't bounce like a bowl of jello...LOL! If there is no receipt for a changing of the timing belt, get it changed ASAP. If it breaks, your valves will have a collision with the pistons. That's the end of the engine for all intents and purposes. The A/C will likely be using R-12 Freon so you will need to refit it to R-132. That should be around $200 unless there are more problems with the A/C system. The power windows can be getting slow...s..l..o..w.....s.....l.....o.....w....as the car aged, so if you can find a shop that knows how to service power windows, you can clear that problem up. The automatic transmission is small and light duty so check the fluid to see if it is brown and smells burned. If it is, avoid that car and when you do get one that the fluid is good in, put in a transmission cooler to preserve the transmission.

Hondas are not maintenance-free and their parts can get pricey, so when you buy one with lots of miles, figure you are going to have to do some things to get the car up to highly reliable status just as you would do for the GM American-made car. The deal is this: Hondas command an awesome premium over their actual transportation value while domestic sedans are at giveaway prices, so snag the domestic bargain and keep your debt down. There are no free lunches in the car biz but there can be some decent prices if you aren't stuck on certain brand names.

Rick

 
88 and 98 are to completely dif thigns though right?


and yea auto is boring as well. lol. Driving is boring period. I hate it. lol. Manual does make it fun for awhile but i guess u just get bored of everything.
Doesn't matter that they're different. I was simply implying I have knowledge of all generations, and could ( cuz I sold it )/can do any job on the car necessary //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif Out of every person who's owned a fourth/fifth generation Prelude with the tiptronic, there's been less than five or so on the forums that have reported a good standing transmission to date. That's why they had a recall on those transmissions. Not for any reason //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 
Nearly $5000 for that Honda is easy to beat. Go get a Buick LeSabre/Olds 88/Pontiac Bonneville 1986 onwards. They have the 3.8 V-6, which is a fine engine. They get 28-30 MPG on the highway. In town you'll get 18 MPG. They have tons of room. They're also cheap and you'll find plenty of them for under $2000. Spend the $3000+ you saved on a killer stereo, some rims and fix the car up completely as well as take a trip to enjoy it!
Things to watch out for on these GM FWD full-sized cars: The struts wear out and since they are pricey to replace, people let the situation go when they're just going to dump the car. It's around $500 for parts/labor and the 4-wheel thrust alignment to get the suspension so it doesn't bounce like a bowl of jello...LOL! If there is no receipt for a changing of the timing belt, get it changed ASAP. If it breaks, your valves will have a collision with the pistons. That's the end of the engine for all intents and purposes. The A/C will likely be using R-12 Freon so you will need to refit it to R-132. That should be around $200 unless there are more problems with the A/C system. The power windows can be getting slow...s..l..o..w.....s.....l.....o.....w....as the car aged, so if you can find a shop that knows how to service power windows, you can clear that problem up. The automatic transmission is small and light duty so check the fluid to see if it is brown and smells burned. If it is, avoid that car and when you do get one that the fluid is good in, put in a transmission cooler to preserve the transmission.

Hondas are not maintenance-free and their parts can get pricey, so when you buy one with lots of miles, figure you are going to have to do some things to get the car up to highly reliable status just as you would do for the GM American-made car. The deal is this: Hondas command an awesome premium over their actual transportation value while domestic sedans are at giveaway prices, so snag the domestic bargain and keep your debt down. There are no free lunches in the car biz but there can be some decent prices if you aren't stuck on certain brand names.

Rick
Thanks. Ive never seen u around but that was a good read. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

I dont think its a gay car. lol. I like it and i never like coupes. I guess this car is overpriced for the miles. Im going to look into those previously mentioned cars...

 
Thanks. Ive never seen u around but that was a good read. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

I dont think its a gay car. lol. I like it and i never like coupes. I guess this car is overpriced for the miles. Im going to look into those previously mentioned cars...
it isn't over priced for the miles just not worth it for the miles.

 
Thanks. Ive never seen u around but that was a good read. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

I dont think its a gay car. lol. I like it and i never like coupes. I guess this car is overpriced for the miles. Im going to look into those previously mentioned cars...
also i hate all those cars he mentioned except for the bonneville. buicks are lame and almost always that misreable old people gold/tan color scheme. however if you find a good deal on a supercharged bonneville that is a nice car for the money.

 
Ive decided im just going to drive around this weekend and see what i find. ill take pics and details and post here. Im an automotive noob so ill need someone with some type of knowledge. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 
also i hate all those cars he mentioned except for the bonneville. buicks are lame and almost always that misreable old people gold/tan color scheme. however if you find a good deal on a supercharged bonneville that is a nice car for the money.
Avoid the supercharged V-6's (Ultras, SSei's, a few of the Olds 98/88 series) as they burn premium instead of regular.

Buicks and Olds are "old people" cars but that makes them cheap and also if you get a "grandma car" that's been well-maintained, you make out on that end as well.

Olds Delta 88's will go for the cheapest of all since Olds got discontinued as a brand name.

Going upscale a bit with Park Avenues costs a lot more. Avoid them as they're the same car as the LeSabre other than a few goodies being standard like dual-zone A/C, automatic temp Climate Control and such. 98's can be had fairly reasonably since they're Olds. Bonnevilles come in all sorts of trim levels. For dirt cheap and also a chance to get away from power window costs, find the low trim basic Bonneville instead of the high-line SSe.

Watch the Craigslist for your area as well as the nickle ad sheets. Most people selling them cheap are going for the free ads instead of the standard newspapers or AutoTrader to sell their car.

One time I read the least-stolen car was a Buick LeSabre...LOL! If no one steals it, the cops don't hassle it, if it's economical, comfortable and reliable, what better way to go cheap!

Rick

 
One time I read the least-stolen car was a Buick LeSabre...LOL! If no one steals it, the cops don't hassle it, if it's economical, comfortable and reliable, what better way to go cheap!

Rick
hahahahah hmmmmmmm //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/drool.gif.b5e863e893038027711d4402f340dad0.gif

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp;?tracktype=usedcc&searchType=21&pageNumber=4&numResultsPerPage=50&largeNumResultsPerPage=0&sortorder=descending&sortfield=PRICE+descending&certifiedOnly=false&criteria=K-%7cE-%7cM-_9_%7cB-6000%7cN-N%7cR-30%7cI-1%7cP-PRICE+descending%7cQ-descending%7cZ-85323&aff=national&paId=267819578&recnum=242&leadExists=true

 
454's will **** gas like no one's business. Black vehicles in the Phoenix area means you'll have a VERY hot car in the wrong way...LOL! Those big block Chevy motors blew apart for everyone I knew who had one back in the day.

On the other hand if you want to go zoom-zoom and put in some boom-boom, it's a good price for a high performance truck, assuming the miles are right. Just be ready to deal with a HUGE gas bill every month.

Rick

 
Activity
No one is currently typing a reply...

About this thread

boltpride

10+ year member
CarAudio.com Elite
Thread starter
boltpride
Joined
Location
avondale, az
Start date
Participants
Who Replied
Replies
52
Views
1,120
Last reply date
Last reply from
SocMunky
1778763859842.png

Doxquzme

    May 14, 2026
  • 0
  • 0
IMG_20260513_214311575.jpg

ThxOne

    May 13, 2026
  • 0
  • 0

New threads

Top