Car News Articles

Alice, I haven’t forgotten about you–unfortunately, I had more than 20 prospective cars open in different web browser windows last night when my browser crashed. So, after sobbing for a few minutes, I had to start over again.

This post will be my broad suggestions for Alice, some specific listings, and my response to the various interesting things you guys have found.

Broad Suggestions:

Alice’s criteria were:

- max of $4,000
- four-door hatchback or wagon
- automatic (though she’ll learn a stick if necessary)
- reliable
- good fuel mileage
- fun and zippy, but doesn’t have to be fast

My first thought in response to those criteria were the tall wagons that were popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s, all of which should be easily buyable for $4,000 or less. My favorite of this class is the Dodge Colt Vista (two generations, older and newer), the older generation of which I Car Lusted. These were also available as Plymouths and Mitsubishi Expos; they were all made by Mitsubishi so should have Mitsubishi reliable. In other words, they’re not quite Hondas or Toyotas, but they’re much better than Dodges of that era.

The other prime mover in that class was the Honda Civic Wagon. There’s the older model and the newer. I’ve known two people who owned the older generation of Honda Civic Wagon, and they were deeply, deeply in love with their cars. They have all the goodness of the Civics of their eras, with a little bit of added weight, but with lots of space and four doors.

Nissan had their own version as well; the older generation was the Stanza Wagon, and the newer was the unfortunately-named Axxess. I don’t know as much about them.

Alice, with the exception of the Colt Vista, these cars test even my famously broad automotive aesthetic tastes, but they seem to fit your needs. The good news is they’re typically not very expensive and are extraordinarily useful. The bad news is they’re hard to find; I didn’t find any anywhere near you. But if you like these and are willing to be patient and/or drive a little, I’m sure you could find one.

There are a bunch of other workable four-door hatchbacks and wagons out there, of course. The really perfect choice for you, I think, would be a first-generation Acura Integra four-door. They share the sweetness and reliability of their Honda Civic cousins, but were considered a premium product at the time, a smooth and comfortable sports coupe that just happened to have four doors and a hatchback. They were attractive, comfortable, and were available with an automatic.

If you’re feeling particularly adventurous, you could get an AMC Eagle, though I’m not sure I’d recommend it in your position. Honda made a very nice Accord wagon in the 1990s (older and newer), but they are rare and expensive. You can find Toyota Camry wagons from time to time, but they also are rare and expensive; unlike the Accord, they are also eye-wateringly ugly. That means something coming from me.

Ford sold a four-door Escort wagon in the 1990s; while they’re not inspiring cars, they shared quite a few parts with the Mazda 323 and were solid cars. The Mercury Tracer was mechanically identical to the Escort. Likewise, as Brian pointed out, Ford made a Taurus wagon (older and newer) that was an extremely solid car and that is typically undervalued for what it is. It might not be easy to find those for your price range, but it should be possible. There’s a 1988 wagon about halfway down this page in the Tell n’ Sell.

None of those are particularly exciting, but they do match your criteria.

Then there are the recent five-door hatches/wagons like the Pontiac Vibe, Toyota Matrix, Toyota Prius, Chrysler PT Cruiser, and Suzuki Aerio, but those are all too new to be readily available in your price range.

So, what did I actually find?

Mostly, a lot of cars that didn’t find your criteria. But, since they’re interesting, I’m posting them anyway, broken out by the ways in which they fail to meet your specs.

Two Doors

http://savannah.craigslist.org/car/674246324.html - I actually think this Nissan 280ZX is gorgeous. This was when the original 240Z had mellowed into a cruiser, which might actually be perfect for you, Alice. It’s hard to believe this car is nearly 30 years old, but if it runs well it might be a great car. It does have an automatic, a hatchback, and relatively roomy rear seats. There’s a similar ‘83 in the Tell n’ Sell.

Manual transmission, two doors

http://savannah.craigslist.org/car/689974211.html - This is a 1994 Eclipse, which was a fantastic sports coupe for its era. This one doesn’t have turbocharging or AWD, but it doesn’t like you need or want those features anyway. These were great handlers and reliable for sporty cars. This one sounds as if it has been fantastically maintained and is only $2,200. I saw a few other Eclipses of this era as well; the key is to make sure these cars haven’t been abused by a would-be race car driver.

http://savannah.craigslist.org/car/689863072.html - This is a 1995 Eclipse - same idea as the above car, but the newer generation. This one looks nice, but I’d beware of cars that give the mileage on the engine instead of the mileage on the car. There are other components that can fail or require maintenance besides the engine, and this kind of listing makes me wonder how many miles are on the rest of the car.

http://savannah.craigslist.org/car/688647558.html - another second-gen Eclipse.

http://savannah.craigslist.org/car/689675117.html - I’m a former owner of these third-gen Acura Integras and am a fan. My comments on mine are here, but like an Eclipse, the key is to make sure these cars haven’t been abused or too far modified by somebody who doesn’t know what they’re doing.  The price is good, though.

Not a hatchback/wagon

http://savannah.craigslist.org/car/683620956.html - You really can’t go wrong with a Honda Civic - they get good mileage, run forever, and are nice little cars. This one is pushing 200,000 miles, so I’d want to figure out how it’s been treated. If it’s been treated well, I wouldn’t necessarily be dissuaded by the mileage.

http://savannah.craigslist.org/car/682283830.html - Unlike the Civic, there are many ways you could go wrong with a Saab convertible of this vintage. Saabs tend to be basically durable, but require a lot of maintenance - but they also tend to be pretty interesting. And this one’s a convertible! I’d be intrigued by this, but approach with intense caution.

http://savannah.craigslist.org/car/676156148.html - I think Mochi Mochi mentioned this car; a Geo Prizm is basically a Toyota Corolla, which would be a fantastic first car. Of course, this one is a manual.

Meets no criteria, but I like them

http://savannah.craigslist.org/car/682679060.html - Okay, so it’s two door, has virtually no cargo room, no back seat, and has a manual transmission. On the flip side, these original Toyota MR2s are incredibly cheerful cars, light, fun-to-drive, fun, and with great mileage. And you could tell your friends you have a mid-engined sports car!

http://savannah.craigslist.org/car/670180755.html - The Honda Del Sol - like the MR2, but newer, softer, and less interesting.

http://macon.craigslist.org/car/685915366.html - Mazda Miata, in nice shape too. Like the Honda Del Sol, but a better sports car.

http://macon.craigslist.org/car/690035686.html - 1969 Lincoln Continental. Ooh, la la. It meets none of Alice’s criteria.

Horrible ideas

1986 DODGE SHELBY  Charger, turbo, 5spd, AC, gd int, needs paint & minor work $800 - From the Tell n’ Sell. This one prompted today’s Car Lust!

http://savannah.craigslist.org/car/674575885.html - Yeah, okay, it’s a hatchback. But nothing else about this Pontiac Firebird should appeal to you. It’s in Reidsville, though.

http://savannah.craigslist.org/car/667387063.html - Alice, this is completely and thoroughly irrelevant to what you are looking for, but if caught my eye anyway. This one has a completely horrifying walkaround video here.

http://savannah.craigslist.org/car/681426838.html - I think Cookie the Dog’s Owner mentioned this car. I’m intrigued, but let idiots like me make that mistake. Alice, run away, run away.

http://macon.craigslist.org/car/680049277.html - “Can be driven very short distances.” Love it.

Two more horrible ideas came from John Bono and Mochi Mochi. Bono submitted the Mercury Colony Park, and Mochi Mochi submitted a Jeep Wagoneer.

Stop it, you two. This is like smoking in front of somebody who is trying to give up cigarettes. I’m already on record with my Wagoneer obsession, and the Colony Park is completely fantastic. My “buy” neurons are firing wildly right now, and I think I need a cold shower.

Alice, does any of this help at all?

–Chris H.