Looking for $1000 or less car for father in law

[sillysod]

My father in law has a beater hyundai that he uses to get back and fourth to work.

He has a nice car that he uses to go around town etc, but the trucks going in/out of the yard at his work place completely covers all the staff vehicles with dirt daily.

So basically I am trying to help him find a replacement for his dying hyundai.

Critera:
- Must be reilable, when it's -20 out and he gets back from out of town it needs to start.
- Must not require a lot of work. I am not interested in doing head gasket or something. Minimal "tail lights dont work" type stuff is cool
- Prefer manual transmission.
- As long as there isn't out of control rust its a little bit of rust isnt a big deal.


I am thinking of looking at Cavaliers mostly, anything else that would be suggested?

[sr20s14zenki]

http://calgary.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-cars-trucks-Great-car-W0QQAdIdZ293286217

Any honda accord, civic, are reliable. Also toyota corolla, tercel, or pretty much any toyota car.

I personally like the civic for a DD because there are like 20 of them at pnp, any part you could ever need is there.

i never plugged in any honda i owned.

cavalier=garbage.

[revelations]

^ what he said
Dont buy american cars for that price.

I'd recommend a 1992 Mazda B2200 pickup truck. Small and tough. Not hard to find 300,000km on these vehicles.

I sold mine at 275,000 kms and it was in great shape.

No CV boots to worry about and easy to work on (only regular maintenance).

[sillysod]

Thanks guys,

My concern with the imports is that they will do what this one is doing and start burning oil. The hyundai has 170,000kms on it and burns oil like a mother. ALso the frame has rusted right through in spots.

It is not a car from out East he had it since new.

I was thinking domestic because I rarely see them burning oil or completely rusted out to the point you can reach through the door. Normally when I see something pouring blue smoke out of the tailpipe it an asian vehicle.

Or am I completely off base here? :confused:

[Rat Fink]

.

[S2kpwr]

Originally posted by sillysod
Thanks guys,

My concern with the imports is that they will do what this one is doing and start burning oil. The hyundai has 170,000kms on it and burns oil like a mother. ALso the frame has rusted right through in spots.

It is not a car from out East he had it since new.

I was thinking domestic because I rarely see them burning oil or completely rusted out to the point you can reach through the door. Normally when I see something pouring blue smoke out of the tailpipe it an asian vehicle.

Or am I completely off base here? :confused:

BINGO.
I always disagree with people saying Toyota corolla is reliable. Well mine burnt oil crazy (When I was driving to Edmonton, I always had to stop at RedDeer and poured at least 2L of oil) and already required head gasket replacing at 180,000kms.

[masoncgy]

1995+ Cavalier/Sunfire are fine for $1,000 cars... it's their predeceasors that were real problematic.

My wife's 95 Sunfire went almost 400,000km on the original engine & transmission ... she only got rid of it because it was looking pretty beat... and still sold it for $600 in good running condition.

You still see 10-15 year old Cavaliers on the road all over the place... that speaks to their durability... they're a fine pick up for cheap. Very basic cars, cheap parts, easy to fix.

I'd rock one for a cheap get around beater, no question.

[tehwegz]

domestic are POS, I know some can be just as reliable but I still dont trust any car made in America. On top of that they look like s***.

American cars these days are only starting to look half-way decent because they copy everyone else. At least Japan/Germany are doing good economically where as the U.S. is in shambles. Furthermore, GM/Chrysler had to be bailed out not once, but twice.

Furthermore Hyundai is Korean, and Toyota and Honda are Japanese. There is a world of difference between the two, at least at that time.

If a Honda/Toyota is burning oil, chances are it was probably poorly maintained and has mileage well over 300k. Besides, any car can burn oil.

I recommend a 90-95 honda accord. not as boring as a toyota and not a tin can like a civic, cavalier, etc.

[masoncgy]

It's a $1,000 beater, who gives a shit what it looks like... lol... :rofl:

[triplep]

I don't think it matters what kind of car you buy, if it wasn't maintained properly it is going to burn oil regardless. Case in point, owned a 91 Corolla, and it was totally fine, mind you it only had 180,000km. Family had a 89 cavalier station wagon, and it ran great, no problems at all, the engine was super clean, the only reason that it went to the dumps, was because it was parked outside, and the rust just ate through it.

I think the most important thing you can do is try to buy a car that looked like it was properly maintained, and if the people have service records the better. Like any car, even a new one, if someone doesn't maintain it (oil changes etc) even after 20,000km it can run like shit, only good thing is that it would still be under warranty.

[sillysod]

Fink, not opposed to giant boat, they seem to be the only automatics that last anyways. Just would want something with EFI.

It seems there are quite a few domestics for under 1000 including 95+ cavalier/sunfires. Most appear to be 2 door but it doesn't matter.

tehwegz, its for a 55 year old man that drives it to work and back, it's going to probably get washed once a year. he is not going to be trying to impress teh ladiez wiht his sic whip.

He has owned only Asian import cars and has a nice new Altima coupe, he was looking at cheap imports and I suggested that I look around a little for him before he buys something. He will get whatever I find for him.

Again thanks guys for all your input. If someone comes across something too feel free to PM me.

-SS

[sr20s14zenki]

Burning oil is more how a car was broken in.

if you break your car in like a pussy....as per manufacturers reccomendations, it WILL burn oil early on in life. If you dont break it in hard, the rings never make a proper seat to the combustion chamber walls, and the result is blowby, and oil consumption.

So to all you guys with new cars....dont be afraid to load it up a hill, and coast down a hill with it in a higher gear. This helps to seat the rings before its too late and the walls glaze over. Beat it up...

:D

oh and btw, older hyundais are NOTORIOUS for burning oil, and for rust.

[sillysod]

I dunno we have a few service vans that are over 300,000kms and none of them burn oil. Come to think of it the only company vehicle we owned that burnt oil was a Toyota T100 I had many years ago. And it started burning before 200,000kms.


I have 250,000kms on my A4 and i broke it in gently and kept it stock till it had 170,000kms on it when I put the big turbo kit on it. It still doesnt use any oil.

I personally would buy an older Asian or German car and fix it myself before I would buy a Cavalier. But its not a car for me.

[revelations]

Burning oil happens for many reasons, not just how the vehicle was broken in.

Valve seals are another cause as rubber deteriorates with heat and time.

[sr20s14zenki]

Originally posted by revelations
Burning oil happens for many reasons, not just how the vehicle was broken in.

Valve seals are another cause as rubber deteriorates with heat and time.

sorry, i meant its one of the top reasons IMO. Of course there are other things that can cause it as well. My bad.


http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

thats just one guy that backs my theory..there are many others :D

controversial i know.

[Hakkola]

Early 90's Volvo 740GL, reliable, and when something goes wrong it's easy and cheap to fix.

[Sentry]

Originally posted by sr20s14zenki


sorry, i meant its one of the top reasons IMO. Of course there are other things that can cause it as well. My bad.


http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

thats just one guy that backs my theory..there are many others :D

controversial i know.
No man I agree.

On a fresh motor I start it for 5 minutes to burp the coolant, then turn it off and change the oil to get rid of debris, then it's ready for the dyno/to be beat on.

[rob the knob]

2 cars, 2 insurance, 2 everything

why not car wash more often? unless car is is like corvette 2011 then who cares unless dump truck giving love taps to car?
Originally posted by sillysod


He has a nice car that he uses to go around town etc, but the trucks going in/out of the yard at his work place completely covers all the staff vehicles with dirt daily.