prizrak
Forum Addict
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2007
- Messages
- 20,982
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- Car(s)
- 11 Xterra Pro-4x, 12 'stang GT
V6 Mustang convertible, that's what all girls drive 
If it wasn't for the 1st one, a Jetta would tick all those boxes. #3 and #5 are going to be hard to reconcile, though maybe a compact crossover like a Rav4?The car should:
1. be safe and reliable
2. have an automatic transmission
3. be a 4-door
4. be equipped with a decent radio (must have phone/music player jack)
5. be somewhat stylish (in 19-year-old girl-think)
6. get decent fuel mileage
7. cost less than $6,000
When you find me that 'safe and reliable' 4-door Mustang V6 convertible, let me know!V6 Mustang convertible, that's what all girls drive![]()
They are extremely safe in that price bracket because SN95 V6 is sloooooowWhen you find me that 'safe and reliable' 4-door Mustang V6 convertible, let me know!![]()
She and her friends all like the newer small sedans, although the color must be 'right'. I don't think that a crossover would make the cut.If it wasn't for the 1st one, a Jetta would tick all those boxes. #3 and #5 are going to be hard to reconcile, though maybe a compact crossover like a Rav4?
This one is almost undoubtedly a scam.No mileage listed has me concerned.
https://huntington.craigslist.org/cto/d/ford-fusion-v6-sel-model/6386094455.html
Possibility, but not really looking for something like this. Simple is better in this case. Small/medium size 4-door sedan, preferably FWD Japanese or Korean.This seems more promising. Blue seat inserts seem weird.
https://huntington.craigslist.org/cto/d/2010-ford-fusion-sport-low/6370928994.html
Skip the Accent. While it represents a lot of value for money when new, it doesn't change the fact that the thing is absolutely a bottom-feeder bargain bin car (albeit of a better caliber than a lot in the segment.) They seem to run about 130-140K, give or take, and then explode. This one's about to hit 100K. I'd run away from it because first, it's an Accent and second, it's about to hit 100k. You would be paying for a time bomb; another name for this platform is the most abandoned and police auctioned car in DFW, the Kia Rio.This is the first decent-looking prospect I've found. I'm not a big Hyundai fan and don't know a lot about them, except that my friends who have purchased them are NOT 'car people'. I do have on autocrosser buddy who has a Tiburon that he's turbo-ed and generally thrown gobs of money at without any good results, but that one really doesn't count.
So, any and all comments are welcome:
https://huntington.craigslist.org/cto/d/2012-hyundai-accent-gls/6387802177.html
SL
In the "boring econobox" category, I would skip the smallest class and go for the next one up - the Civic/Corolla/Focus class. I suggest looking at a MY2014-on Kia Forte as a leader in value for money and reputed driving fun. The related Hyundai Elantra from roughly the same era is a little bit less of a value, little bit less fun to drive, but a solid choice. Skip the Sentra, those things have had sporadic but serious problems of late and their sales have reflected that. Corollas are a safe choice (usually, except for those that had the 2AZ-FE engine) but often resale values are high for what you don't get. The Civic is a similar story. Run away from anything with a Mitsubishi badge.19-year-old female will drive the car to a local college.
It's not THAT far away, so she'll be living at home.
The car should:
1. be safe and reliable
2. have an automatic transmission
3. be a 4-door
4. be equipped with a decent radio (must have phone/music player jack)
5. be somewhat stylish (in 19-year-old girl-think)
6. get decent fuel mileage
7. cost less than $6,000
That's a pretty wide set of parameters, but I don't want to recommend anything that doesn't have a good track record. So far, I've found them a Sentra and a Corolla, both of which have been exceptionally reliable. This Accent just looked very clean...
Edit: For certain reasons, the car I recommend should be close to home, so I'm limiting my Craigslist search to the Huntington, WV one. I'm also looking at ebay & cars.com, but I'm mostly relying on Craigslist and local newspapers.
SL
if you get a 2 door, you don't have to be designated driver, cause no one wants to crawl in and out of your carWhen you find me that 'safe and reliable' 4-door Mustang V6 convertible, let me know!
Kids today are just different. I didn't know about the 4-door thing until we were doing the search that ended in their purchasing the Sentra. I found a really nice Honda Civic coupe - which was immediately shot down with: "Two-doors are soooooo inconvenient. I don't want my friends having to crawl over the seats to get in the back." Lesson learned and remembered.
SL
Oh, they don't have any external underfloor bracing from the factory. It's all accomplished through unibody revisions.They usually do help when it comes to convertibles. I'm looking through ads and I've yet to see a single one that has pictures of the underside showing what they came with originally.
Oh interesting. I remember seeing some front bracing on late XJS convertibles, so I figured they'd carry over onto the successors.Oh, they don't have any external underfloor bracing from the factory. It's all accomplished through unibody revisions.
No. The parent Series I-III and XJS had front top bracing in the engine bay from the factory even on the hardtops but the successors didn't.Oh interesting. I remember seeing some front bracing on late XJS convertibles, so I figured they'd carry over onto the successors.
The liners on that 99 were spray-in, not drop in. Doesn't make a lot of sense to rebuild, not with the Nikasil problem combined with the timing chain problem. LS swap can be interesting but you lose a *lot* of the features of the car like the CATS active suspension and none of the dashboard will work.GRtak;n3553732 said:Please remind me of why a 99 XJ8 with a bad engine is a bad idea. My nephew found one for cheap, and I don't think it will be cheap to repair which ever way we tried(stock, block need liners, or LS swap).