Need your input: Beater recommendation!
Lexus Champion
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 2,485
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From: Park Ridge IL
The Mercedes-Benz 300E, I loved that car to death it has 250k and it moved like stink and ran as smooth as todays modern luxury barges. The 3l I6 is a bullet proof motor. The build quality on that car is superb!! Here is a perfect example of a propper Mercedes. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1992-...=p4506.c0.m245
Lexus Fanatic
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 94,422
Likes: 249
From: Virginia/D.C. suburbs
Yes, for a Camry of that vintage, unless you know the car's history with the previous owner, DEFINITELY go with the 4-cylinder......the 3.0L V6 was unforgiving of extended oil-change intervals, and had serious sludge/gel issues. If the V6 got regular oil changes every few months, it was usually OK, but too many owners neglected them.
CL Community Team
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 9,355
Likes: 605
From: IL
The Quad Four was designed by Oldsmobile in the mid '90s, whereas the Ecotec is based on the Opel Family II block, which began its life in the '70s.
Lexus Champion
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,979
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From: ca
get a VTEC Honda Civic EX. Don't worry about the timing belt, on the ones from the 90's they are SOHC engines making chanigng timing belts a breeze.
You get super reliable mid-30's MPG ride that costs next to nothing to insure (I pay 400 a year through AAA), registration is something like $50 a year and fillups are $20-$29 for 300 miles of travel. Tires dirt cheap, parts dirt cheap, but you'll never have to fix anything since its a Honda, I treat mine bad and still ticking! My friend has 230k on his and it runs fine.
Even when I get my Porsche I'm never going to get rid of my beater.
You get super reliable mid-30's MPG ride that costs next to nothing to insure (I pay 400 a year through AAA), registration is something like $50 a year and fillups are $20-$29 for 300 miles of travel. Tires dirt cheap, parts dirt cheap, but you'll never have to fix anything since its a Honda, I treat mine bad and still ticking! My friend has 230k on his and it runs fine.
Even when I get my Porsche I'm never going to get rid of my beater.
Last edited by toy4two; Oct 4, 2009 at 12:23 PM.
Thread Starter
Lexus Champion
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 2,183
Likes: 5
From: California
UPDATE:
Well, after a little bit of back and forth with the insurance company, she's getting $5k from the insurance company. That's about what I'd say the car was worth.
So I've been checking out a whole bunch of cars. Dunnojack posted earlier that there was nothing around that range worth buying, but I thought I might stumble across a gem. Well, there is just about nothing out there that would fit her requirements at $5k, save for an old Accord/Camry/Civic. And after checking out a few, she simply did not like any of those cars. I don't blame her. She decided to bump up the price a few grand to $8k.
I looked at old Integras, 3 series Bimmers, Infiniti I30's and Nissan Maximas, Mazda3s, Miatas, and Proteges, MB C and E classes, Camrys, Solaras and Corollas, Accords, Civics, and Preludes, VW Passats, and even Scion TC's. At $8k, you're still getting a 40k+ mile car, and many are just out of warranty. She didn't like any of these cars, and I wasn't crazy about any of them either.
We stopped at Lexus in Santa Monica, and I made her test drive an IS300. She loved it. I had previously thought about a 1st gen GS, but finding a good one with low mileage is difficult (much like finding a good, low mileage SC300 or 400 at a good price). I'd love to find a good 2nd gen GS with reasonable mileage, like this one I just missed in our classifieds ('98 with 80k miles, good maintenance including tie rods and ball joints: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/lex...es-cleann.html), but they're not all that easy to find. Perhaps an IS300 would be different...
Nope. Any IS around $8k will have 100k miles or more (it's common to find salvaged IS's around that price). I guess I shouldn't be surprised that Lexus vehicles have held their values so well. I'm sure, with a little time and perhaps a slightly greater budget, we'd be able to locate a good Lexus to buy. However, raising the price any higher defeats the purpose of shopping for a beater; heck, might as well get something nicer if you're shopping for something over $10k.
I finally located a very nice car at a decent price, so I've got a deposit on it. It's nothing close to what I thought she'd buy, but I really like the car. It's an Audi A6, 2.7 TT quattro with about 76k miles. It's been maintained well (already has a new timing belt/water pump and new brakes/rotors all around about 8k miles ago), and it's a very nice car for $7500. Sweet irony, Audi depreciation working in our favor.
I understand that the 2.7 engine is strong, but the turbos are prone to early failure if not maintained. Also, small cam seal and valve cover gasket leaks are common, but not a big deal. I have a friend who purchased a similar car a few years ago (except he paid 28k for an '04 in '06, a bargain at the time), and it's been relatively trouble free. This looks to be a good buy, and she'll be able to take the car with her if she moves to a state with poor weather conditions.
I'll post some pics of the car after it's purchased in about a week or two. She's still waiting for the settlement check. Until that time, please let me know if any of you locate a nice 2nd gen GS or IS at a reasonable price. Thanks everyone.
Well, after a little bit of back and forth with the insurance company, she's getting $5k from the insurance company. That's about what I'd say the car was worth.
So I've been checking out a whole bunch of cars. Dunnojack posted earlier that there was nothing around that range worth buying, but I thought I might stumble across a gem. Well, there is just about nothing out there that would fit her requirements at $5k, save for an old Accord/Camry/Civic. And after checking out a few, she simply did not like any of those cars. I don't blame her. She decided to bump up the price a few grand to $8k.
I looked at old Integras, 3 series Bimmers, Infiniti I30's and Nissan Maximas, Mazda3s, Miatas, and Proteges, MB C and E classes, Camrys, Solaras and Corollas, Accords, Civics, and Preludes, VW Passats, and even Scion TC's. At $8k, you're still getting a 40k+ mile car, and many are just out of warranty. She didn't like any of these cars, and I wasn't crazy about any of them either.
We stopped at Lexus in Santa Monica, and I made her test drive an IS300. She loved it. I had previously thought about a 1st gen GS, but finding a good one with low mileage is difficult (much like finding a good, low mileage SC300 or 400 at a good price). I'd love to find a good 2nd gen GS with reasonable mileage, like this one I just missed in our classifieds ('98 with 80k miles, good maintenance including tie rods and ball joints: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/lex...es-cleann.html), but they're not all that easy to find. Perhaps an IS300 would be different...
Nope. Any IS around $8k will have 100k miles or more (it's common to find salvaged IS's around that price). I guess I shouldn't be surprised that Lexus vehicles have held their values so well. I'm sure, with a little time and perhaps a slightly greater budget, we'd be able to locate a good Lexus to buy. However, raising the price any higher defeats the purpose of shopping for a beater; heck, might as well get something nicer if you're shopping for something over $10k.
I finally located a very nice car at a decent price, so I've got a deposit on it. It's nothing close to what I thought she'd buy, but I really like the car. It's an Audi A6, 2.7 TT quattro with about 76k miles. It's been maintained well (already has a new timing belt/water pump and new brakes/rotors all around about 8k miles ago), and it's a very nice car for $7500. Sweet irony, Audi depreciation working in our favor.
I understand that the 2.7 engine is strong, but the turbos are prone to early failure if not maintained. Also, small cam seal and valve cover gasket leaks are common, but not a big deal. I have a friend who purchased a similar car a few years ago (except he paid 28k for an '04 in '06, a bargain at the time), and it's been relatively trouble free. This looks to be a good buy, and she'll be able to take the car with her if she moves to a state with poor weather conditions.
I'll post some pics of the car after it's purchased in about a week or two. She's still waiting for the settlement check. Until that time, please let me know if any of you locate a nice 2nd gen GS or IS at a reasonable price. Thanks everyone.
Last edited by pvmike1; Oct 11, 2009 at 09:36 PM.
Thread Starter
Lexus Champion
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 2,183
Likes: 5
From: California
FINAL UPDATE:
Okay, so I know I had previously posted that she purchased a 2.7TT A6, but I had backed out of the deal. I did a little more research, and I found that the entire engine had to be removed in order to replace the turbos. The A6 was in great shape, but who knows how long the stock turbos would have lasted (the car had 76k miles); I've burned out turbos in less miles than that.
So it was back to the drawing board. I was almost going to settle on a low mileage Accord/Civic or mid/high mileage Scion, but I really wanted to find a Lexus. There were a few Lexus GS's that looked decent, but most had near 100k miles. Finally, I located an IS300 that fit the bill. An IS300 was her first choice out of the cars we tested: compact and easy to drive, reliable, and she liked how they looked. Although 2JZ's aren't the most fuel efficient, they're certainly reliable.
It's an '01 GGP with under 60k miles, purchased for about $9k from the original owner. Needless to say, she's happy.
Okay, so I know I had previously posted that she purchased a 2.7TT A6, but I had backed out of the deal. I did a little more research, and I found that the entire engine had to be removed in order to replace the turbos. The A6 was in great shape, but who knows how long the stock turbos would have lasted (the car had 76k miles); I've burned out turbos in less miles than that.
So it was back to the drawing board. I was almost going to settle on a low mileage Accord/Civic or mid/high mileage Scion, but I really wanted to find a Lexus. There were a few Lexus GS's that looked decent, but most had near 100k miles. Finally, I located an IS300 that fit the bill. An IS300 was her first choice out of the cars we tested: compact and easy to drive, reliable, and she liked how they looked. Although 2JZ's aren't the most fuel efficient, they're certainly reliable.
It's an '01 GGP with under 60k miles, purchased for about $9k from the original owner. Needless to say, she's happy.
Last edited by pvmike1; Nov 4, 2009 at 06:01 PM.
Thread Starter
Lexus Champion
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 2,183
Likes: 5
From: California
Auto. If she drove a manual then the S2000 would have been on the list of prospective cars (not very practical, but they're great cars).
The car came with all dealer service records since new. It was a little more than the other choices, but it was worth it. I'm still patting myself on the back for finding it.
The car came with all dealer service records since new. It was a little more than the other choices, but it was worth it. I'm still patting myself on the back for finding it.
