First car at under $2000

I know that for under $2000 I won't be getting much, but I need something that'll do for a year and possibly a few long drives from Buffalo to NYC (400 miles), and from Buffalo to Albany (260 miles).

I want a manual tranny, even though I'm not experienced driving them, as I feel more connected with driving, a useful thing for someone whose attention can sometimes wander.

I've been looking at quite a few cars, and have heard good things about older civics and corollas, mostly in terms of mileage and reliability. I don't have any experience working on cars, though I'm handy and always willing to research and learn. Add to this that my next door neighbor is a mechanic and things get interesting, though to be honest I'd rather not have to do any real work on the car.

I've seen quite a few cars with replaced parts; is that a sign I should be wary of something?

Are there any alternative cars, American made or otherwise, that I might look into that would fall into that price range and that would still rate high on the reliability scale?

Any advice for me other than checking out the carfacts report and having the car looked at by a mechanic? How much can I expect a thorough looking at by a mechanic to cost?

Thanks for the help.

Steven Q.

Welcome to AF.:wink:

You are on the right track with those Japanese vehicles made by Honda and Toyota. Also consider the Accord. Any vehicle can last a year with the proper maintenence performed. Some need more maintenence than others, but those two makes are low maintenence. Saturn is an American make that is on the cheap side when it comes to vehicle price and are generally known for reliability, but they are better off maintained by yourself IMO. What I mean is some mechanics don't know the Saturn car very well and don't necessarily know what's best for them. Learning how to work on your vehicle is good knowledge and if your neighbor is willing to help you out on maintenence and/or learning, then even better. Replaced parts is a good thing to me. That means less parts to fix later on, and since you are most likely looking at older vehicles, its something you just may have to deal with.