my lady 04 accord its an awesome car but she doesnt like the 110 plus miles a day i put on it, i dont like 4 bucks a gallon and having to drive a large truck to the city...so im thinking CHEAP commuter. i know honda, nissan, toyota are all great but what else. my choices right now are 1. saturn, very cheap around here, a ive seen them go for lots of miles, friend had one, just beat on it, still ticking... 2. Old BMW 3 series, a few guys are work have them and love um...put a ton of miles on them, good on gas and fun to drive...any suggestions

 

Diesel VW Rabbit or Caddy(rabbit pickup) can still be had for a reasonable price and get 45-50 mpg. Plus you still get the diesel fix. Not anything to race with, but great mileage.

 

I finally broke down and bought a '91 Accord with around 200K miles on it. Not sure how much as the speedo and odo don't work. Bought it for $700 bucks on Craigslist. I figured that 4 or 5 tanks of fuel for the truck would have it paid for. I'll run it till it pukes, sell it for parts and get another one. I finally realized it was stupid putting $140 every week and a half to run 10 miles to work (It is only 5 if I don't use the expressway but I went further in the truck to save on start stop and to run it faster and longer than it would in a 5 mile drive). Also I work 3rd platoon and finding a spot in the garage to park the truck @ 2pm is a bear. And I don't worry about getting a $700 bucket dinged and scratched like the $40K truck. So far about $40 lasts 2 weeks or so. I love to drive my truck but my pride is just too expensive time to humble down. Truck gets truck duties and an occasional pleasure ride.

Hondo

 

110 miles/day is quite a bit! We have a couple folks where I work who do 120/day. You would like to enjoy your drive I'll bet, and an older Honda would let you do that. But if you're thinking 3-series, I've owned two of them, and when they run right they are really really right. Guess it depends on how handy you are, and how much you enjoy working on your car. The Honda would be a lot less manintance overall, but the 3-series is worth the work if you find a really well-cared for one that has NOT been modified. Join BMWCCA.org once you buy one, there's tons of support for these cars. I would encourage you to avoid the 4-cylinders as they really are inferior to the I-6's, and the 2.5L I-6 gets as high as 34 mpg interstate if you use the cruise and drive moderatly (5-speed e-36 here).

As to Saturns, every one I've been aware of (4-cylinder, Pre-Ion small cars) stars using oil after 100k, and head gaskets tend to go. I would look elsewhere.

If it's any consolation, a co-worker just bought a 2006 Impala SS prior to starting here. at 38.5k, the transmission siezed up, about 2.5k before his warrenty expired. He gets 22mpg on hi-test, runs 90 miles a day. His fuel cost for March? $590.00!

 

Hondo you purchased a good car. Prior to my ctd, I drove a 93 Honda. Never broke down on me, an auto and consistently got 28/33mpg. I think 200k+ miles and the thing ran great. Make sure you have changed the following:
timing belt, water pump, cv axles, radiator(factory plastic one breaks) and probably breakes/rotors. Right now, I wish I still had mine because it was such a good car.

 

supposedly mine has new cv shafts, timing belt and clutch (5 speed) I know it has a new fuel tank. It needs brakes and rotors. It is either burning a little oil or it has another small exhaust leak that I have not been able to find. It ain't pretty but the engine runs smooth and quiet and all of the gears and clutch seem to be good. Now if the tires don't fall off hopefully I get at least a year out of it.

Hondo

 

Maybe an older GM car with the 3.8 V6. I am driving an 87 Olds 98. It hasn't been driven in a while, but when it was driven regularly, it got over 25mpg. All I had to do was pay for plates and insurance and a few small parts (02 sensor and used mass airflow sensor). My dad bought it about 10 years ago or so and drove it for a while and then my aunt drove it for a couple years. Price was right and it saves me about $125 a month, since I only put about 900 miles a month on my truck doing non truck work.

 

I have 21k on my rig since the beginning of September. Way too much at 4.39 a gallon. I went on craigslist and bought a 96 VW GTI. It's a 6 cyl stick, I get about 24-26 in the city and 28-32 on the highway. I gave $2000 for it. It runs, drives, gets me where I need to go...and it doesn't feel like a spike strip being shoved up my **** when I fill it up.

 

I have a 1997 Pontiac Grand Prix GT 4 door I picked up for under $3000. Has the 3800 in it and I get 32 on the hwy with it and still have enough ***** to make some cars cringe when I put my foot in it. Should be able to find one cheap that just needs minor repairs if you watch the newspaper. Otherwise I used to have an old plymouth laser with a 2.0L 4 cyl and 5spd that used to get 30 to the gallon when I drove the miles you did to work everyday.