Recomendations on a used car

[97RangerXLT]

Need to replace my daily driver. I have a 1994 Intrepid with almost 193,000 miles on it. it is rusting out, headliner is coming down in the back, the driver's seat has a rip in it. To seal the deal, some asshat hit me in a roundabout last week and did 900+ bucks in damage to the car.So I am looking at saying the hell with it and replacing the car rather than having it fixed. for mechanical it needs a front wheel bearing, struts all the way around, 4 new tires and the radiator has a small leak. A/C does not work either.

I have had this car since 2003, when my wife (at the time girlfriend) bought the car with only 60,000 miles and it looked and drove pretty decent,even the a/c worked) I feel that I have got her fair share of money out of it.

in 2006 she swapped me for my 1994 Olds 88 because the intrepid had an intermittent engine miss and since she was in springfield and I was in Charleston at the time, she needed a reliable car... well The internmittant miss only plagued me twice, and then went away and has never came back, but I never got my Olds back... it was sold in 08 when we bought the 09 Charger...(that is a whole other story of aggravation...

Anyways, this Intrepid has served me well and I do like the car for its comfort. (yeah a Dodge, I know)

So I am looking for a medium to large size car to replace it. any suggestions?

Pluses that I would look for: Good gas mileage, easy to work on, thinking hatchback or stationwagon for utility.

My budget is $2500, I am looking for a car with maybe 100k or 130k on the clock

in the short list thus far is the early 2000's Ford Taurus wagon
I have considered a Ford Escort Wagon but not sure on those.

Thanks for listening to me ramble...

AJ

 

[Grey_04]

i took your city and snooped on craig's list a little.. it's to bad you couldn't come up with a little extra cash someplace. I'd snag this up..

http://indianapolis.craigslist.org/cto/2867789055.html

 

[97RangerXLT]

yeah, if she would take 2500, that doesn't look too bad Freestar's don't get all that great gas mileage tho, one of the requirements I have of it is that it will be going to IL every other weekend so I would like it to get somewhat decent gas mileage.

believe it or not that Intrepid gets 29 all day long on the highway, and I have gotten 32 out of it before

AJ

 

[Grey_04]

that was just a quickie glance at craigs list. I'm glad i'm not out that way there's a few I'd be scoping out myself.lol

 

[badmts]

I really like your Taurus wagon pick.At the risk of sounding too morbid-watch the death notices/obits for low mileage cremepuffs that need to get sold fast.

 

[exbass94]

Crown Victoria. You can get 26-28 mpg out them. They're roomy, comfortable cars that are extremely reliable and run forever.

 

[killj0y]

the hardest part will be finding an older large car with decent gas mileage. But a crown vic or something similar sounds about right. Do you have a preference in brands (besides ford trucks obviously)

 

[Beef52751]

have you considered a focus hatchback??? just a thought since you mentioned an escort wagon

 

[Grey_04]

check out old police auctions for a (well maintained) crown vic.

 

[kryptonitecb]

I would recommend a Toyota or honda all day for someone on a budget. Easy to fix, reliable, cheap, low maintenance. You can find one in good shape for what you have saved up.

Sent from the road while ignoring traffic

 

[adsm08]

I was gonna recommend a Fusion until I saw the budget.

 

[wei]

Mid to late 90s Toyota Corolla. I recently sold mine at 142k for $2300 because I wanted a truck. Absolute breeze to work on.

 

[RICO9]

I just bought the wife an 03 Mitsubishi Mirage for $2400. mileage is good, fairly roomy, it drives like it's brand new, and I couldn't find a bad review on it.