Best/Coolest car for $6-7k

[Simon S]

here is one car you should cross off of your wish-list:

1977 Ford Fucking Mustang

.

[JasonC]

here is one car you should cross off of your wish-list:

1977 Ford Fucking Mustang

.

me and my dad looked at one of thoses that had 3,700 act.miles. but we could not bring our selfs to buy a mustang II (glorified pinto)

[KenC]

Stay away from the W210 (96+ E class); they were relatively problematic until about '98, which puts it out of your price range.

what sort of problems did they have?

[DEV0 E30]

Mustang II's are forgotten by everyone for a reason, ick.

I'd go for the lowest mileage/newest Honda. They aren't very cool, and I'd get an Accord over a Civic because they feel more like "grown up" sort of car.

So obviously you don't want an E30. I mean if you found the best condition one you could and took care of any problem spots that may develop you would still probably have money left over to put in your bank account. Just don't mod it.

[Funkmasta]

Ken, a few that come to mind...

J
Infiniti G20t, I30 (I30 may be a little big for where you live)
Acura 2.5TL (might be a little big for where you live)
Maxima - good car, but not really a fan.

G
E36 - craigslist is the ONLY way to go, the good ones dont last more than a matter of hours. If you can find one below bluebook, youre good.
VW MK3 Jetta TDI low miles, MK4 high miles
E34 - Good prices, 535i is basically indestructible, the weak point is the auto trans. I have not seen a 535i fail below 250k (overheating aside). May be too big for where you live as well.

[Funkmasta]

Plus parts for the E36 and E34 are fairly inexpensive. :D

[MOTOREN]

I'd stay away from any Audi's if you're looking for something that won't nickel and dime you to death.

If you want reliability, buy the newest/lowest mileage Civic you can find.

+1

We've had 4 civics and they have been perfect, my dad's last one ('82) had 400,000 miles on it before he decided the body had too many holes in it...

'73 2-dr, '82 1300-cc 3-dr, '87 4-dr (no p/s, really good handler for what it was....got rid of it at about 250K b/c too small and gas mileage had dropped to 40 mpg), '96 3-dr dx (no p/s...current car)...all stick of course

then again a civic is no more than a DD

[KenC]

I'm not getting a civic or accord, or a corolla or camry.

[MOTOREN]

I'm not getting a civic or accord, or a corolla or camry.

Which mean's you're not dead...good...I was not sure at which level of appliance you would be interested in...

[Funkmasta]

I'm not getting a civic or accord, or a corolla or camry.

No love for the G20t?

[mikeedler]

the answer to this question is way to easy!!!
A 2000 S10 extended cab.finished
to damn easy. dont have to haul all the broke asses around, and always have a place to put the cool car parts you find.

[KenC]

What are the problems that the 96 and 97 E-Class Benzs have?

[Fred]

Fred,

I respect your opinion but I disagree with you on the cost of parts. In the event you had to replace a major part on a Maxima you would pay no more than you would for a comparable BMW part. I realize expense is relative but if you go to a Nissan parts counter you will be charged list price as you would if you went to a BMW parts counter. There are several OE Nissan parts discounters on the web that will do much bettter than list and the same exists for BMW. If you go this route you will find parts at very reasonable prices. I've owned 2 Maximas and I've never had to buy a part I paid through the roof for.

With that in mind, +1 for the Nissan Maxima. It does not have the soul of a BMW but it is extremely reliable. Our E30s are highly engineered cars and for this reason require more maintenance than a Maxima would. You will not be replacing a major component often.

I have a '96 SE. It has 170k miles. It still has many original parts, including the t-stat, water pump and tranny! I swear the engine runs as if it had 20k. No joke. Smooth, quiet and at 190 HP and 205 ft-lbs of torque you have a nice amount of power. Its VQ engine has been praised over and over and has won several accolades including Ward's Auto World "10 best engines" for 11 years in a row.

If you want a car that is dependable that offers "spirited" driving with no hassles, consider the Maxima. I say at least test drive one (preferably a 97-99 + 5 sp) if you like this generation.

The Maxima is a good car, no question about that. I guess I've been surprised at parts because everyone says these cars are supposed to be so cheap to maintain and it's been my experience that certain parts (referring to OE brands) are quite pricey. Replacing all the motor and transmission mounts really killed me. There aren't very many Nissan discounters out there, compared to a million BMW discount e-tailers. If you need an OE replacement part, where are you gonna go? Courtesy, Nissanparts.cc, or Mossy. That's it. And Nissanparts.cc never ships out 50% of their orders.

Ken, the early W210 E320s had the same problem as the W124 E320s (leaky head gaskets, water pump failures) and a few common W210 issues like failing rear window regulators, bad blower motors/resistors, leaky differentials, and failed electronics (mass air sensors, crank sensors, seat belt sensors). The M112 V6 engine is actually very stout and reliable and those E320s are among the most reliable Mercedes ever made. That's a relative statement, but if I were to recommend a Benz a V6 210 is the way to go.

[ping65810]

I think the general build quality of the e30 is actually better than the w124 cars, but then again, mine was an 86 300E that had seen severe duty its entire life, and was a beater.

[325iCabrio]

What are the problems that the 96 and 97 E-Class Benzs have?

They had similar problems as early '90s Benz's, but without any real redeeming qualities to balance them out. All Benz's from '93 to '97 had defective engine wiring harnesses, and they will go bad. They were made out of a biodegradable rubber/plastic that degrades too fast. To replace one costs about $500-$600 for the harness, and another $600 for labor unless you do it yourself. They usually fail around 80,000-120,000 miles. Once it's been done you never have to do it again--the replacement harnesses are made out of real plastic/rubber and don't disintigrate.

Another problem the '93-'97 Benz's had was the cylinder head gasket in the six cylinder engines. They will fail eventually, and the cost to repair them are anywhere from $1200-$2000. They usually fail in the 100,000 mile range.

The '96 and '97 E classes were completely redesigned (except engines) from the W124 Benz, and that wasn't a good thing. They don't have as good of highway tracking at high speeds, nor is the quality and workmanship of the interior to MB standards. Plus there were many new gizmos and technological stuff put in the W210 E class, and they cause more problems than they're worth in the earlier models. Generally, the car feels cheap compared to your expectations of a Benz. Plus, you never want to buy a first-year model of a car anyway.

You can avoid the head gasket problems by going with the MB V8; they didn't have any problems and are competely bulletproof. As far as the wiring harness, higher mileage cars usually have had it replaced, so that's a repair you can avoid. Or, alternately, you can always call a Mercedes dealer and they can check to see if it's been done--more than likely it was a dealer fix. You can also tell by looking at the wiring harness itself--if you're really interested in a Benz, I can find you some pictures of bad wiring harnesses for comparison.

The '98 models had a new 18 valve SOHC V6 and a redesigned wiring harness, so they don't have the problems of the mid-'90s models. Plus the '98 models had an improved interior and build quality. But they're more expensive--I really doubt you could find a nice one for $6-$7k. But, if you look for a pre-'93, you can avoid all of the problems too--they are a different version of the inline six MB engine and don't have the head gasket or wiring harness issues.

Don't get me wrong; the C and E class of the mid-'90s were good cars, but they had their problems. Other than those two things mentioned, the W202 ('95-'00 C class) and the W124 ('86-'95 E class) are built like tanks and will hardly ever give you a problem. They paint and interior are much higher quality than an E30, and I've seen many original 15-20 year old Benz's that look brand new. But the earlier W210s ('96-'02 E class) weren't up to Mercedes quality, so that why I'd avoid them. If you don't like the way old-style Mercedes drive, go with a '96-'00 C class; I've driven all of them and they drive the most modern.

Hope that helps, and if you have any questions, PM me. Here's a great site to research anything you'd ever want to know about almost any Mercedes model: http://www.benzworld.org/forums/.