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Used car advice

snake said:
My daily car is almost done,I love my 71 and hope I do not have to sell her,Cindy and I are not well off .it's bean 8 years since we had to look for a car,I don't know what's good or bad out there.i can only afford another cheep car 2010 to 2016 year.my mom died 2 weeks ago and she left me a little money maybe 15 grand or less I have to wait till her estate is settled,I may be forced to sell the 71 .so if you could help me on my car search thet would be great.we do like the mini van for grandchildren to fit in.i was looking at a 2013 grand caravan but I found out most yeas caravan have head and valve train problems.i am lost and very stress out .thanks for taking the time to read my post.cheers Don.
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Toyota. I bought a new 2000 Camry, V6, 5-speed manual. Still have it with 375,000 miles. Timing belts replaced every 100,000 and oil changes every 3000 miles. Original clutch replaced at 340,000. Best car I have ever owned.
 
themechanic said:
I'd be surprised anything in the great white north used for daily driving and over 5 years old us not totally rusted out.
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Maybe in Ontario, but here in the west coast area you don't see a lot of rust and 25 year old cars and trucks in good shape are common. Yes we had rust in the 70s but we don't get much snow any more.
 
You say you want something to haul around the grandkids. I highly recommend the Honda CRV 2015 or 16 or if necessary maybe a couple years earlier. Big enough, AWD and reliable as the sun coming up. If you can find a Lexus ES300 03 or newer - another phenomenal, reliable car. I still have the one I bought new in 03. Have never put a dime in it ex regular maintenance. You can pick those up for $5k for a good one. probably less. Most Lexus owners take very good care of their vehicles - just observe them on the road and you’ll notice that. Check around the retirement communities
 
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Photon440 said:
Maybe in Ontario, but here in the west coast area you don't see a lot of rust and 25 year old cars and trucks in good shape are common. Yes we had rust in the 70s but we don't get much snow any more.
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There is a daily driver 2004 Toyota 4Runner here with about 375,000 K if not more. Very minimal rust. Lots of 80’s trucks and cars that will still pas a safety inspection.
I didn’t think you got very much snow in the first place.
 
GetX'd said:
You say you want something to haul around the grandkids. I highly recommend the Honda CRV 2015 or 16 or if necessary maybe a couple years earlier. Big enough, AWD and reliable as the sun coming up. If you can find a Lexus ES300 03 or newer - another phenomenal, reliable car. I still have the one I bought new in 03. Have never put a dime in it ex regular maintenance. You can pick those up for $5k for a good one. probably less. Most Lexus owners take very good care of their vehicles - just observe them on the road and you’ll notice that. Check around the retirement communities
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My daughter loves her ’06 CVR, much more than I do. I found it for her several years ago. It was low mileage and in nice shape overall. One of the features she wanted was a side opening rear door for hauling her dogs around. This was several months before she was moving to Miami so got the best extended warranty. It was a good thing I noticed the oil consumption, being the dad. She lived in her college apartment yet 75-miles away. When our girls would visit, I was checking their oil, tires, etc.

On the Honda oil was 2-qts down. No leaks, smoking, contamination, etc. There began my daughter alert to check her oil when getting gas. Kept at least an extra qt of oil in the stowage compartment with funnel, towels, and the training on how to check it. Next visit checking the oil, down over a quart. Trip over to her place, down over two-quarts. I warned her of the danger running the motor dry, you DON’T want this to happen! Along this route was taking it to a dealer near her. Hmm, nothing to tell us, they changed the oil and said come back in a 1000-miles.

Meanwhile I did some checking finding dozens of complaints about oil consumption on this vehicle. Inherently bad rings. Some were bitching about this should be a recall. Called the dealer and they started putting a qt of trans fluid in suggesting it going forward. Worked my way up the Honda chain about this and they said a qt of oil every 1,000 miles is – normal. I begged to differ saying I don’t recall any vehicle I had sucking a qt per 1k miles. I drive my 63 Plymouth 1200 miles a year and NO loss of oil. No matter – normal. Aha, so by the time it’s due for an oil change, it will have consumed ALL the oil if not adding a qt every 1000-miles! And that platinum warranty I bought? Deftly excluded rings unless there was a distinct cause...crap rings it was born with – not covered. She’s still driving it; but adding oil every thousand miles, if she doesn’t forget. Last trip here, now living 220-miles away, yep, put in two qts. Sweetheart, when did you last check the oil again? Lol, I know it had to be 2,000-miles ago. She loves her CRV and hope she doesn’t need a new motor if this one seizes up.
 
Ron H said:
My daughter loves her ’06 CVR, much more than I do. I found it for her several years ago. It was low mileage and in nice shape overall. One of the features she wanted was a side opening rear door for hauling her dogs around. This was several months before she was moving to Miami so got the best extended warranty. It was a good thing I noticed the oil consumption, being the dad. She lived in her college apartment yet 75-miles away. When our girls would visit, I was checking their oil, tires, etc.

On the Honda oil was 2-qts down. No leaks, smoking, contamination, etc. There began my daughter alert to check her oil when getting gas. Kept at least an extra qt of oil in the stowage compartment with funnel, towels, and the training on how to check it. Next visit checking the oil, down over a quart. Trip over to her place, down over two-quarts. I warned her of the danger running the motor dry, you DON’T want this to happen! Along this route was taking it to a dealer near her. Hmm, nothing to tell us, they changed the oil and said come back in a 1000-miles.

Meanwhile I did some checking finding dozens of complaints about oil consumption on this vehicle. Inherently bad rings. Some were bitching about this should be a recall. Called the dealer and they started putting a qt of trans fluid in suggesting it going forward. Worked my way up the Honda chain about this and they said a qt of oil every 1,000 miles is – normal. I begged to differ saying I don’t recall any vehicle I had sucking a qt per 1k miles. I drive my 63 Plymouth 1200 miles a year and NO loss of oil. No matter – normal. Aha, so by the time it’s due for an oil change, it will have consumed ALL the oil if not adding a qt every 1000-miles! And that platinum warranty I bought? Deftly excluded rings unless there was a distinct cause...crap rings it was born with – not covered. She’s still driving it; but adding oil every thousand miles, if she doesn’t forget. Last trip here, now living 220-miles away, yep, put in two qts. Sweetheart, when did you last check the oil again? Lol, I know it had to be 2,000-miles ago. She loves her CRV and hope she doesn’t need a new motor if this one seizes up.
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You’re referring to an 06. I’m not. I owned one a couple yrs newer than that and never put a drop of oil in between changes. I bought used and kept if for about 9 years or so. Never a lick of problems - oil or anything.
 
Ron H said:
My daughter loves her ’06 CVR, much more than I do. I found it for her several years ago. It was low mileage and in nice shape overall. One of the features she wanted was a side opening rear door for hauling her dogs around. This was several months before she was moving to Miami so got the best extended warranty. It was a good thing I noticed the oil consumption, being the dad. She lived in her college apartment yet 75-miles away. When our girls would visit, I was checking their oil, tires, etc.

On the Honda oil was 2-qts down. No leaks, smoking, contamination, etc. There began my daughter alert to check her oil when getting gas. Kept at least an extra qt of oil in the stowage compartment with funnel, towels, and the training on how to check it. Next visit checking the oil, down over a quart. Trip over to her place, down over two-quarts. I warned her of the danger running the motor dry, you DON’T want this to happen! Along this route was taking it to a dealer near her. Hmm, nothing to tell us, they changed the oil and said come back in a 1000-miles.

Meanwhile I did some checking finding dozens of complaints about oil consumption on this vehicle. Inherently bad rings. Some were bitching about this should be a recall. Called the dealer and they started putting a qt of trans fluid in suggesting it going forward. Worked my way up the Honda chain about this and they said a qt of oil every 1,000 miles is – normal. I begged to differ saying I don’t recall any vehicle I had sucking a qt per 1k miles. I drive my 63 Plymouth 1200 miles a year and NO loss of oil. No matter – normal. Aha, so by the time it’s due for an oil change, it will have consumed ALL the oil if not adding a qt every 1000-miles! And that platinum warranty I bought? Deftly excluded rings unless there was a distinct cause...crap rings it was born with – not covered. She’s still driving it; but adding oil every thousand miles, if she doesn’t forget. Last trip here, now living 220-miles away, yep, put in two qts. Sweetheart, when did you last check the oil again? Lol, I know it had to be 2,000-miles ago. She loves her CRV and hope she doesn’t need a new motor if this one seizes up.
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My niece has the same motor in an accord, it liked its oil too. The problem isn't necessarily " bad" rings.. often it's stuck rings. That's why they suggested atf.
My suggestion is pull the plugs, pour in about a half cup of seafoam in each cylinder and let it sit overnight. Next day crank it and let the crap blow out ( put a rag on top) put it back together
Hers literally stopped using oil.
I'm doing another one for a customer soon.
 
GetX'd said:
You’re referring to an 06. I’m not. I owned one a couple yrs newer than that and never put a drop of oil in between changes. I bought used and kept if for about 9 years or so. Never a lick of problems - oil or anything.
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Yes, I know. I’m sure Honda fixed it. After all the hassles and worries for my kid living far away in Miami for a couple years wanting to keep hers, despite my wanting to get her something else. Lol, I’m still pissed at Honda by the way they treated me plus giving me their complete BS story. My last words with someone on a lofty rung there was my thank you very much with a promise “I’ll NEVER buy another or recommend a Honda.” Since then, have owned two Hyundai’s having been the most trouble-free rides I’ve had. My other daughter has our first one yet with 235,000 miles on it, still reliable, needing no added oil btw changes.

Hey, I’m not doubting your words at all, the Hondas you’re suggesting may be just superb. My thing is I hold long grudges.
 
Help with appliance shopping.

9281CE02-3E8A-49B0-A457-5E1F6772502D.jpeg
 
I couldn't agree more blah, blah, blah. What's your choice of colour? We have white, grey, silver, or black.
 
V8: check
RWD: check
5 star crash rated: check
0% depreciation: check
Honda/Toyota reliability: check
Under 9 grand: check
Cheap to insure: check

IMG_20231105_140445683_HDR.jpg
 
My '04 LeSabre has 262,000 miles.

I have spent about $500 per year on maintenance for the 9 years I have owned it...brakes, struts, coil packs, a/c comp, wheel bearings, plugs, serpentine belt...all minor stuff.

I fix things when they break.

I have a local shop do my work. I save my time for my race car and Coronet.

I do a Florida trip every year...3500 miles round trip.

It's comfortable, reliable and good on fuel... Up to 29mpg.

Last year I averaged 82 mph on the trip south.

Buy one from an older couple that took care of their car.
 
My advice is still the same; Grand Marquis.


 
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