Since the price of diesel here shot up to $3.50 a gallon it's realy put a strain on the ol wallet. With me driving to school about 40 miles a day and running other errads it's becomming a chore to keep my tank full only working part time. Im now in the neighborhood for a small efficient commuter car.

Maybe some of you can point me in the right direction here. First off im not looking to spend to much more than a grand. I would like something that gets at least 30+mpg, must be a manual. Reliability would be nice as well(I know that realy all depends on who owned it before hand).I don't realy care about bells and whistles or what it looks like, as long as she drives and starts.

So I guess my question is, what little car should I be looking at? I've heard Mazda's/Honda's/& little Toyota's are great vehicles. Anyone here have any experience with them, any suggestions are appreciated.

btw, im not getting rid of my truck. Since winter is comming it'll be mainly put up in the shop. I'd hate to have a rust bucket within a couple of years with all the salt they lay down here.

 

I'd look for a later model Toyota Corrola.

 

An early 90s Honda Civic or Acura Integra would be a good choice. As would a Toyota Corolla of similar vintage.

I'm personally trying to find a beater little Honda whose engine I can rebuild to test some theories of mine. I want to see how much mileage I can get from an engine at 14:1 compression

 

Are these Corrolas easy to work on? Say the motor goes south, I can swap in a new one from say a wrecked car pretty easy?

It's safe to assume there are TONS of them around so parts should be easy to obtain and pretty cheap as well?

 

X2 - I got a great deal on a 99 Toyota Corrola back in Feb. I am getting anywhere from 34-38mpg with mixed driving. It is a 5 speed 4cylinder. Nothing to look at, I bought it with some body damage, which is why I got such a great deal, but it is saving me a ton of money and miles on the truck.

 

Geo Metro, Sweet

 

The corollas are very good on MPG. I have heard of high 30s with the 5 speed on the freeway. Also, a Geo Prism is the same thing as a corolla, but usually cheaper due to the name.

 

I just looked on craigslist.com and found a bunch of good deals. Anyone have any experience w/ the Mazda 626's? They seem to have some decent ones for sale for a real good deal.

I even seen a little pickup that Mazda made. That would be nice if it got atleast 25mpg that way I could still haul stuff if need be in the winter months. Maybe I could even stuff a 4BT in there.

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/car/444035998.html

Here is a 626 I was looking at.

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/car/440955455.html

 

I am going to get ridden for suggesting this but if you don't have honda/toyota deep pockets I would suggest a NEON,,,I have a 2000 Dodge NEON and I love it! I NEVER get less than 32mpg. on the highway I usually get around 35 and I have gotten as good as 38.5.. good little car with a bad past.. only my opinion. Good luck!

 

Im not going to ride you for your opinion, I appreciate it actually. I just don't think a Neon would be in my price range of $1000, not a decent one anyways.

My cousin & a buddy of mine had a Neon, I don't know much about them but they were not the most reliable cars(for them anyways). But there are alot of facotrs to be considered there.

I've also been looking at those Geo's. They look like nothing more then a bunch of tin, some rubber wraped around steel and a motor up front. Real simple.

 

This article was on cnn.com today: Smart Car

~Rob

 

80s Toyota Pick Up. My buddy has a '84 Toy Pick Up, he claims it gets 31mpg and I sware the truck can be taken apart with a screwdriver and ratchet set.

 

I know it has a reputation for being an older persons car but I'm going to look at a 95 Buick LeSabre this weekend as a commuter car. My wife has one and it gets 25 city and 30 highway and has a real good ride. I've been so impressed with this car that I'm looking at getting rid of my 95 avenger and getting a LeSabre.

 

kia's are real cheap too

 

I'll second the Neon, they are pretty decent little cars.

If you want to stay diesel, look at old Mercedes-Benzes. I just picked up the '85 Benz in my sig for a price within your budget. Fixed a couple fuel leaks and it purrs like a kitten. Runs pretty darn good once the turbo spools.