New Commuter Car - looking for advice/experience

[shockguys]

I had a '93 Corolla as my first car. That car has gone through absolute hell (me learning to drive, teaching at least 5 people to drive stick, all the clutch dropping burnouts and attempts to get air on back roads that come with being a teenage driver, 3 years of pizza delivery), and at about 200k miles it's still going strong being daily driven by my step brother. I can't speak about the quality of the newer models (see: the news) but that thing was a tank. I honestly had more fun driving that than the 04 VW R32 because I always knew that I could fix anything that happened to it for cheap.

 

[toypaseo]

So... how's the new car...?

 

[Paraphoe]

Love it. Picked it up Wednesday night, drove it to work Thursday and Friday. It's fun to drive, and the gas gauge has pretty much not even budged. It's in great shape, but I have a few concerns. It seems to sound a little rough at idle, and it may or may not be shifting a little hard. I suspect it's just me over thinking things, because I've never driven a 4-banger before, but I'm going to bring it to my mechanic this weekend to have him look at it while it's still under the 45 day warranty. The other small issue is when braking from highway speeds, the pedal doesn't feel smooth, kinda feels wobbly. If I had to guess, I'd say maybe it's a slightly warped rotor, but I'm not too concerned.

Overall, I'm very happy with the little guy. Here's some pics next to "big brother" - my fleet.

 

[paine]

heyy u gotta honda nice mann if u need any help with it lmk i know the ef's eg's and ek's like the back of my hand and i could use some exporer exp if u could anser a cuppla questions about lifting my truck i wouldb more than happy 2 help u out with ur car and i can find u ANY THING U NEED for ur car aftermarket/oem lmk



i just got rid of my 11 second eg coupe i loved that car like it was my son lol i traded it for a 01 ford explorer 2d sport with 71k miles and need some body lift help and was told u were the man to ask

 

[Paraphoe]

Sure man, shoot me a PM with anything you want to know and I'll do my best to help ya out.

 

[Paraphoe]

Gotta update this, should've a while back. I eventually took the car to my mechanic and he ended up not liking the way the engine sounded at all. I was hoping the timing was just a little off or it was something else top-end related, like cams, but no dice. He said what I was hearing was a bottom end knock. I was able to bring the car back and get my money back under warranty. The kicker is that the guy has it re-listed for $4300 ($900 more than I paid) with no mention of the bad engine the next day.

My search is ongoing and very, very frustrating. I thought I found one a few weeks ago that I liked, but when I ran a report on the VIN it turned out the dude had rolled the odometer back 60,000+ miles. Found another one that I was in love with and was actually on my way over to see tonight when I got a call from the dealer that it was sold. I'm mentally exhausted and still looking.

 

[alexk]

Are you still looking? Just wondering if you have at all considered the hyundai elantra? You should be able to get a lower mileage one in your price range and Ive never heard anything bad about them. My sister has an 04 that she uses as her commuter car. Bought new and now has 135000 miles and the only problem she had was a bent rim, otherwise just your basic maintence.

 

[01sport_31292]

Im telling you man... you should really look at a protege. I LOVE mine. Its at the body shop right now(some chick hit me) and I've been driving my brothers x, and man do I miss my mazda. They kick ass. You really should look at them. But then again this is going to be your car and what you will drive every day, so pick out what you will be happy with. IMO, I would stray away from a civic at your price range unless you wanna pony up some extra cash to get something newer. My sisters boyfriend has an 01 civic he picked up for 5 last year and that thing is a constant headache for him. I swear every other day something goes wrong, but then again it could just be one of the rare that arent so reliable. People tear the hell out of those civics and it really is hard to find one in good shape, but like everyone else has said, keep patient and it will come to you. It took me 3 months to find my mazda after my explorer was totaled. Good luck!

 

[Burns]

Well im glad your fleet gets great gas mileage lol


I almost got a car like this but didnt want to have to drive the explorer to wheel it anymore....So I spend more in fuel lol again

 

[Paraphoe]

It's gone, Jon. (See post 66).

Still on the hunt.

 

[dogfriend]

I would look at Toyota Corolla, Matrix or even Echo if you are willing to drive something that small. The current anti - Toyota press is undoubtedly lowering resale value, but these are good cars and less likely to be thrashed by a previous owner with the "tunerz" mindset.

 

[Paraphoe]

Anyone have any opinions on reconstructed title/salvage vehicles?

Looking at an 08 with a salvage title, only 20k on it, rebuild and he's asking around $9,000. I'd love to get an almost brand new Civic for less than 10K, but I'm obviously wary of the salvage past.

 

[dogfriend]

Anyone have any opinions on reconstructed title/salvage vehicles?

:thumbdwn:

Unless you did the work yourself, you will never know if things were repaired correctly. Could be potentially dangerous in the event of an accident, could have electrical gremlins if wiring isn't repaired correctly, yada yada yada.

 

[Paraphoe]

That's about what I figured. Wanted to get the car checked out by my mechanic, but I guess he would have no real way to tell those hidden potential problems.

 

[Paraphoe]

I got a PM the other day and realized I should probably update this. I finally found a Civic early June. 1998 Civic EX (power everything, sunroof, etc) coupe. Owned by a mechanic's son, only 86,000 miles on it. I was able to steal it for $3500. Every other Civic I found in that mileage range was going for $5500+. Only catch was that it was in a small accident and had a replacement black hood & bumper. Runs fine though, I love it. It's already saved me almost $400 in fuel.

Today I just painted the hood and bumper, and I'll link you to that thread shortly.




EDIT: Here's the thread: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2534096

 

[Paraphoe]

Here we are 7+ months later. The car is still running like a champ, has only needed a few oil changes and a coolant top off after the initial maintenance I had done. It's saved me over $800 in fuel and a lot of mileage and wear and tear on the Explorer. With gas now up over $3.30 and not coming down anytime soon, it's paying for itself exponentially quicker. I'm saving close to 11-12 cents a mile with the thing.

 

[IZwack]

- with the gas prices going up, I too am glad I kept the Civic (which unfortunately needs new wheel bearings sometime soon)

 

[Paraphoe]

Rock on, fellow Explivic owner!

 

[Maniak]

As another member of the Explivic club I can say the gas mileage really helps. Our 2000 civic hx is still getting an avg low of 36mpg and a high of 45mpg.

I haven't had to do much on it for the last 80k miles But It is time for some more maint. Timing belt, clutch (still orig), and motor mounts. The only real "repair" I've had to do is a/c compressor and I had a stuck injector.

I do still love to drive the X, but with 70 mile a day round trips for work it gets expensive fast.

~Mark

 

[toypaseo]

People give me $h!+ for keeping my Paseo, but it gets at least 2X or 3X the MPG of my Explorer. I can drive it like crap, and still get decent MPG.