Hello! Mandar here. I am not very active anymore but I thought I would take a little time to create the beginning of a guide of good cheap, used cars and my semi-professional opinion on them, as well as some facts and pros and cons of each, as well as popular choices. I realize I am a lot older than most of the people here, and have been a gearhead since a wee lad. Thought I’d toss some of my knowledge and experience in here for folks foraying out into the new world of driving, looking for used vehicles.
I’ll break it down for you folks.
So as a preface, your best bang-for-your-buck for some cheap used cars are going to lie within the mid to late 90s to early/mid 2000s.
That is some of the best reliability that can be found in regards to a time-period span.
To give a quick answer, in my honest and overall unbiased and pretty insightful knowledge on cars and how they work, your best bet is 1995~2008.
My specific reccomendations are as follows:
2001-2006 Toyota Camry, and Corolla, and Lexus vehicles of this year bracket: Very reliable overall. Electrical issues and interior quality can be hit or miss, but as old 4 cylinder imports go these are very reliable and more reliable than most American cars. This is coming from an American mechanic.
Things to watch out for: Transmission issues, leaking gaskets, timing belts and chains. I do not recommend getting v6 or v8 versions of these unless its toyota’s 5.7 liter. Their v6 and v8 engines are high maintenance machines in regards to the timing system. This is a common issue on imports. Every 100-150k they need a timing belt or chain which can be a horror story if they jump timing. Keep an eye on it. Otherwise they are pretty solid.
2000-2005 Buick lesabre, Park Avenue and Pontiac Bonneville
Better than the above mentions overall. They do have more hiccups as opposed to the imports, such as AC leaks and other comfort hiccups like that but the engine and transmission are superior. A little fun factoid on the Lesabre, it has factory-inserted sound deadening in the doors and in other random places to optimize road noise but it also provides a great natural acoustics environtment and sound isolation. If you want to put a high dollar sound system in it and love mids and highs, this car is EXCELLENT for that. I own one.
No timing chain etc to worry about, it is very strong on these cars. Engines are better than than what the toyotas have. They can last pretty much forever and can take ungodly punishment in terms of engine/drivetrain.
Weaknesses are the transmission could use a transmission cooler. Their cooling solution is not great out of the factory.
These cars also ride and absorb bumps extremely well, very strong frames and thick rubber bushings.
Any Saab from around 2000 to 2011:
These are a bit costlier than the aforementioned options, but if you want something cheap with ok reliability and more fun factor, get one of these. Very easy to make power out of these vehicles, for only about 400 bucks you can push an additional 20-60 horsepower out of them. However, these cars can be prone to electrical issues involving the ECU system. Parts are also very expensive, this option is more for enthusiasts who have a bit more money at their disposal.
Saabs are very safe, however.
The Saab 9-5 from 2010-2011 is the most expensive option in this entire list, but is to this day one of the safest cars on the road. Very good modding potential as well but can be expensive to maintain.
Panther platform cars (crown vic, grand marquis, lincoln town car, etc)
These cars are generally very reliable. Very similar to the Lesabre I mentioned but is easier to work on and just as cheap parts-wise.
This car has a good towing capacity of around 2k Ibs, and has a slightly stronger transmission than the Lesabre/Park Avenue/Bonneville and is also stronger than the imports. However, this car does not ride or handle as well as the other options and fuel economy is middling. These cars also do not fare well in crash testing unfortunately in case you care about that. These cars have virtually no side-impact protection.
I will continue to update this as needed and as I gather knowledge in the field.