What's the best car out there for under $5k

[JD@af]

:ylsuper :ylsuper :ylsuper GLAD I FOUND THIS THREAD!!!

I think it may be just about time to part with my beloved 1985 Mercury Marquis. The latest bout of drama has been that it has been running like crap for almost the last two weeks. Erratic, slow idle, and a major loss of power (think driving 15 mph on highway uphills - speed limit 65 - in the shoulder with flashers ). Having already troubleshot water in the gas tank, checked the distributor and rotor, replaced the aging spark plug wires and spark plugs, the problem has been located to a bad computer, that is only sending the electric relay to one of two fuel injectors, so cutting my fuel supply in half. My garage has had the car for about a day and a half; tomorrow they will get back to me with pricing for both new and used computers for the car. If the cost is too high, I may have them scrap it.

Long story short, if that happens, it will be time to locate a new beater. I'm hoping to pick something up for about $2,500 to $3,000; but differing from the choices listed above, I have my Integra for speeding and tweaking - I'd prefer my second car to be slower, more stable (traction control or even AWD would be nice). My first choice would probably be a Buick Century. One of the most (perhaps THE most) reliable cars GM ever produced, has an "adequate" V6, is large, quiet, comfortable, not a car to be ogled by would-be car thieves, and I actually like the idea of FWD for better handling in snowy conditions. Of course, another good option would be a Subaru Impreza or Legacy, with AWD.

Other suggestions that I like are the 92-93 BMWs, and of course older Honda Civics. Ideally, I would get a 1995 and up BMW, as '95 was the year they introduced their excellent traction control system. But, '95 and up BMWs are also still very expensive, relative to my ideal of $2,500 to $3,000. If I can get a '92-93 for $5,000, I can certainly pick up a late 80's to early 90's model for exactly the price I want :sun:

One reason I tend to bring the Marquis in to have work done on it, rather than just do what I can myself, is that I hate working on it. But a Honda, on the other hand, I would love working on. Even though I would like a car different from my Teg for a different driving experience, it is still a good idea, and I know a lot more about the Hondas than I do about Fords, and just about anything else out there as well.

Well, enough of that. If anyone has any other suggestions, I'd be very much obliged. Thanks in advance-

-JD

[banchi105]

The reason I think BMW
is because I have seen a few of them with about
110k miles on them (93-94) years ( the newer body style)
for about 5-6000 and i thought that would be a nice next car for myself.
Ill have to wait & see though.
Good Luck!

[Chris]

How about a nice MR2 supercharged for cheap.
But if you want winter capabilities, then maybe a 323 GTX (88-89), they have AWD, 132 hp (180 is about $1000 away), and you should be able to get one under 3 grand.

[THE4TH]

i changed my mind get a teggy, or an old lude