Good cars for college

Student Lounge College Life
21

<p>I am actually in the same boat, so I've been researching used car market in the US for half a year now. My advice is: the more you research, the better car you're gonna get. Portals like autos.msn.com, autos.yahoo.com, edmunds.com, carsurvey.org are good for researching used cars. For local car listings check out cars.com and autotrader.com. Also, when you choose a particular model, you can try to look for fan club webistes with a wealth of info about the model, e.g. its troublespots, solutions, etc.</p>

<p>As of what model you should choose is solely up to you, but I cannot stress it enough -- stay away from American cars. They are poorly built and were designed with absolutely no sense of style. While Japanese cars (especially older Toyotas and Hondas) have little style in them, they at least have a good reputation for reliability, which makes them a good choice. I also think that 1999 Mitsubishi Galant is decent model with not too many mechanical problems.</p>

<p>As of myself, I am a European, so each time I see a Toyota, I think of LADA (check out Wikipedia, if you don't know what it is). It is not enough for me to have a car that will go forever, but has the same feeling as LADA. That's why I am considering buying a Volvo or a SAAB. SAAB 900 (the renewed version from ~95, I think) doesn't have too many technical problems. As of Volvos, a synonim of safety, 850s are great, not so sure about S/V70 (XC). Plus, all those Swedes are easy to fix yourself with a little technical know-how and a repair manual (I think I won't mind fixing my car). Another point about Swedish cars is that they are usually built to last. I wouldn't have another look at a Mitsubishi Galant with 150,000 miles on it, but for a Volvo with all the repair documents and good maintenance, 150,000 is not bad at all! It should be good for well over 200,000 miles, and some owners pull as much as 330,000 miles from a Volvo (not to say that you should be looking for one with high mileage)!</p>

<p>When choosing a car, make sure that it's been properly maintained, check the title history, take it for a test drive, and be extremely careful when checking the automatic gearbox, if you don't want to spend $2000 -- $3000 for repairs later. Finally, take it to a mechanic to see what technical problems it has/might have.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

22

<p>Check with your insurance company, because a coupe might have a higher rate then a sedan. (Sedans are considered family cars with mature drivers vs. coupes that supposibly have younger, less mature drivers.)</p>

23

<p>I would recommend a Crown Victoria Police Interceptor. The Civilian Versions are alright, but the PI's have heavy duty suspension, trans & oil cooler, and are usually a lot cheaper than the Reg. versions. Surprizingly the V8 gets decent gas mileage, around 20-22 average overall, and is fairly cheap to insure. Around here CVPI's that have around 98K and 2000-2002 are selling for 3-5Grand. Parts are fairly inexpensive and are plentiful. The fleet/cop ones are also govt maintained so they are usually in top shape. A few of my friends have one and have no problems with them. Only thing is, they have am/fm radio stock so you might wanna swap it out with a replacement that can be bought at walmart or ebay. Call your local police department and ask about them.</p>

<p>Also, look on carsurvey.org they have user-reviews for almost any car there is with any year and trim.</p>

24

<p>Ferrari F430</p>

<p>seriously though - I'd look for a VW diesel or maybe a ford focus. Also learn to change your own oil, it's easy and will save you cash. The police interceptor from the post above would be fun as hell in college though (I wouldn't want to pay for the gas for a ford V8) , you could buy a radar gun w/avaitors and go out with friends. Though if you ever pulled into a frat party people would scatter.</p>

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<p>go with the japanese/korean cars as they are much more reliable and parts are readily available...plus they have great gas mileage</p>

26

<p>Japanese cars... and about your Mustang want, what threw me off was the MPG, you don't need to have a car that consumes that much gas.. good luck!</p>

27

<p>Well, I think that a car of Korean brand is one of the worse choices that you can make. Firstly, they are disposable (i.e. after 20,000 miles or so, you can throw it out, cuz it starts to fall apart), secondly, they are just ridiculously cheaply made. So I think that a Honda, Toyota, Mitsubishi, maybe a Subaru would be way better choices.</p>

28

<p>stay away from Ford</p>

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<p>anything by honda/acura.</p>

<p>Stay away from ford, saturn, chevy and all that. They all suck.</p>

30

<p>A 2-3 year old Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic or Hyundai Elantra should do the trick.</p>

<p>
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Well, I think that a car of Korean brand is one of the worse choices that you can make. Firstly, they are disposable (i.e. after 20,000 miles or so, you can throw it out, cuz it starts to fall apart)

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<p>Sorry richy - but you are about a decade or two behind the times. Hyundai reliability is now very close to Honda and Toyota (in 2004, the Hyundai Sonata was rated the most reliable vehicle by Consumer Reports).</p>

<p>Actually, stay away from VW - their reliability is atrocious.</p>

<p>If you want to stay domestic - go for the Pontiac Vibe (the upcoming version of the Focus is supposed to be pretty good - but reliability is unknown for a new model).</p>

31

<p><a href="the%20upcoming%20version%20of%20the%20Focus%20is%20supposed%20to%20be%20pretty%20good%20-%20but%20reliability%20is%20unknown%20for%20a%20new%20model">quote</a>.

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<p>it's built on the same platform as the mazda 3 so if you wanted something like the new gen focus in the US (it's been out in europe for a while) you could just get an mz3 or an s40</p>

32

<p>I wish people would get over the stereotype of american cars being so shatty. Yes, there are several models that have reliability issues, but guess what? toyota and honda have problems too. I have a 93' Mercury Cougar V6 that I bought from a dealer for 2500$, had 95K on it, now has 115K, all parts original, except plugs/wires and I put in a Air intake and has never been to a shop (I do my own oil/filer changes), and I'm pretty hard on it too. My friend has a 99 Solara and with 77K miles, its been to the repair shop almost every other week for random stuff that goes wrong with it, and she doesn't even drive it roughly or anything. If you find a car, research it as much as possible, take it to several mechanics (private, not dealers) to get it checked over, check carsurvey.org, and check the carfax report. In my opinion, if you buy GM, the brake rotors warp really easily so I would get after market ones. I would also generally stay away from Pontiac, many of my HS friends had them and had nothing but problems. Ford is known for hit or miss transmissions, I think the vans and larger suv's have some issues, mostly being re programmable.</p>

33

<p>Caddy and Buick do very well in the reliability ratings - however, there aren't exactly too many college kids in the market for a Caddy or Buick.</p>

34

<p>NISSAN 300Z. What a joyride. Any car in the Z series is fun.</p>

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<p>ballin - not sure if your a college student or not, but do you pay for car insurance? A 300Z is a sweet ride, but there is no way an average college student can afford to buy a car like that and pay for insurance, I have a hard enough time paying for my 93' Cougar.</p>

36

<p>I wish I owned a 300z, i've a GSR. One of my friends has a 300z, indeed its a sweet ride. Yes, I'm going to be freshman this fall. And As for insurance, my parents pay that, duh !!!</p>

<p>btw, a 300z really isn't that expensive. You can find one for 5k, it'll have a lot of miles though.</p>

37

<p>if you're into drifting, 300z is the way to go. </p>

<p>*don't buy a 350z though.</p>

38

<p>i just picked up a 2003 lancer oz edition at a great price. so far, no complaints</p>

39

<p>If you have only $4-6k to spend, you will have to get an older model Toyota or Honda. However, at least those two brands will be WORTH that much money. S is driving a 1996 Toyota Camry with 90k miles on it. Recently took it in for the 90k mile service and had a full check up.</p>

<p>Those guys all said that a Camry that was maintained properly (don't skip recommended maintenance), could probably be counted on to last to 200k miles or even more. Not many American cars can last so long without ALOT of costly repairs.</p>

<p>When D got her first car, she bought a Honda Civic. ALthough it had 65k miles on it, it was well maintained (a 2002). We're hoping to keep it going for several years to come. My main concern when she got her 1st car was reliability as she's in college main miles from home (in Texas like you) so I wanted to eliminate that worry as much as possible.</p>

<p>I agree with posters who suggest research. I did do some research before we found D's car. Many websites will recommend the brands for college students already mentioned here--by far the most likely are Honda and Toyota. At least that's what I found when looking into it.</p>

<p>We drive a VW Passat and find the repairs tend to be more complicated and costly. While I also agree that Volvo is solid, I've been told by friends who have them that repair bills tend to be more expensive as well. </p>

<p>Our experience with Dodges, Fords, Mitsubishis, Hondas and Toyotas is that overall, we fared best with the Hondas and Toyotas in our family over the years.</p>

<p>Best of luck.</p>

40

<p>lancer is nice,but i think has about 120 hp,lol. Just go witha camry or acura/honda.</p>