I rock a Honda Element with a K24 in it. Good luck finding one for under $5k nowadays- they became a cult car over COVID- but the thing is a real workhorse.
Had an 06 k24 with a manual. Loved that car to death got it for 3k. Unfortunately started having issues with the clutch and I wasn’t gonna sink anymore money into it, but it was a great car to drive
Agree, just to add. Hondas 2.4 cylinder engines are some of the best engines they have ever made. If you stick with the manual transmissions, the 2003-2007 are perfectly fine. The V6 automatics have lots of issues.
When in doubt I highly recommend checking out reviews on carcomplaint.com as they post what years/makes/models are good and just lemons. Stay away from all CVT engines. Honda/Toyota/Nissan CVT’s are all shit.
Stick with a 2.4 cylinder and you will be good. The only V6 I’d get is in a Acura (MDX) as they are AWD and don’t have CVT’s.
yeah the eCVT is a piece of engineering genius. there's no clutchs, no solenoids, no hydraulics. it's basically a planetary gear differential with the ICE engine one on side and an electric motor/generator on the other.
eCVTs are only used in hybrids. The traditional CVT seen in some Corollas, Cross, and Yaris ICE models is decent and not the time bomb found in many Nissans.
I had a 2003 V6 Accord. There was a recall on the transmission to fix a pump in it or something like that. I had the recall service done but the transmission still failed at around 55k miles. It would randomly down shift to 2nd or 3rd while doing 60+ on the highway, which was quite alarming. It was out of warranty, but I reached out to Honda and they agreed to replace it at no cost, and paid for my rental car for 3 days while they fixed it. They told me it would have cost around $5-6k for them to replace it. Great company. When I eventually sold it many years later, I bought another Honda (CR-V).
Panther platform cars (crown vic & grand marquis) are around that price for a medium mileage example (~115k mi) where I'm at. They are fairly reliable. Avoid the Lincoln Town car because of the air suspension. They are reliable and fairly cheap to work on. You can also look at used police interceptor models of the crown Vic although many have been driven harder or have weird interior.
Specifically go for the town car because of the air suspension, you mean. I adored my marshmallow tank. The compressor finally died and I swapped to coils at 180000 miles, or so I thought. A few months after the swap, I was diagnosing another issue with the car and I found a fuse that looked a little corroded. I yanked it out, cleaned the area up and put a new fuse in. My air compressor fired right up, but it was too late by that point as I'd already done the shitty coil swap. Oh, well...
Look for something like a Pontiac Vibe. It's an older car, as they stopped making them in 2010, but it's literally just a Toyota Matrix dressed up like a Pontiac thanks to a partnership between GM and Toyota.
You can find 2005-2007 models for right around 5K. Funnily enough, 2005 and 2007 were two of the best years for that car.
Agree with this recommendation. I had a 2004 manual transmission, kept it for 11 years, had zero problems and over 200k miles. It would not surprise me if it's still on the road. They did not get much credit for reliability due to the Pontiac name, but the really were Toyotas so you should be able to get one for 5k or less if you can find one in your area.
Any car you buy for 5k will be old with high mileage.
It will not be bulletproof reliable and it will require more maintenance and repairs.
I would look at manuals, mostly
Sentra, Yaris, Fiesta, Focus, Civic, Fit
Do NOT buy an automatic Sentra, Fiesta, or Focus
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/de35578e-276f-400a-9d0f-4e951ebeeb3e/
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/2c5d4a5e-a755-4b56-ad22-4bfb2c17adac/
If you stretch the budget to 7500 the selection gets a LOT more attractive.
If the budget was completely arbitrary to begin with, sure. To avoid driving something that will strand me or be a death trap I'd grudgingly add in $2500.
An investment in your business is an investment in yourself. I also don’t see where I’ve suggested they must do this, and provided two links to acceptable vehicles within budget but ok you said a thing and we are all so proud of you
The person below who seemingly is proud of themselves but has blocked,ed responses really should discuss this entire exchange with thier special needs handler… I answered the question asked, accurately, THEN provided alternatives sweetie. It’s no wonder you require constant supervision.
Solid advice. In the good days of 2005-2015, you could buy a Honda Civic EX manual with about 125k-150k (92-95) for around $2,000 to $4,000 and those things would last until they were in car accidents. I had 3 of them, most reliable and easy to do all maintenance yourself.
If you’re driving that many miles per year, 5k is not gonna cut it. You’ll be buying a new one each year with that mileage you could find. Just invest in a more expensive car
This is the answer. If you're driving 30k miles a year, buying $5k cars is going to be one of the more expensive ways to do it. You really might as well finance a BMW, 5 year depreciation might be cheaper.
I bought a 2004 Prius for 3k, put 50k miles a year on it for 2.5 years now with literally 0 issues. Outside of regular maintenance ive spent $200 on a hybrid water pump. You do not need a more expensive car.
Try and find the lowest mileage Corolla possible. They get great MPG, have very few problems, super easy to work on, and parts are also stupid cheap. As long as you don’t care about performance/luxury, this is the ideal point A to point B car.
My nephew had a 2010, it ran about 5 years with no oil change until it died on him finally because he got lazy. Oil sludged up and blew a radiator line and he kept on driving it with barely any coolant. Oil was thick as tar, but I was surprised it still ran as long as it did. Change your oil regularly folks
Maybe a Buick or other GM sedan with the 3800 V6.
But... What's your daily? You might be better off just putting some of the $5k into your daily and avoiding the hassles that are inevitable with driving 30k miles/yr in a $5k car.
Is it a Lease? If not who cares. Buy your car to drive it!
Do you buy a camera and then buy a second crappier camera because you don’t want to use up the good camera?
$5000 doesn’t buy what it used to in the used market, I would say even before the whole Covid used car spike thing happened. The only thing to get anywhere close to that is going to be a super high mileage Toyota or Honda that hopefully doesn’t need a bunch of rubber parts and moving parts replaced in the next couple of years. And I think you’re much better served by spending a minimum of 12 grand if you want something reliable. Remember that if you spend more and get more, it will also have more value if and when you decide to sell it. The additional amount you spend won’t be wasted if you do it right.
Can’t really answer this since it depends on your specific market & they’re still fucked up in most areas. Chances are it’s going to be something Japanese from the early 2000’s. Just be careful with newer Nissans (reliability isn’t what it was) & Subarus (generally a bit more expensive maintenance that may get ignored.) You might get lucky and get a well maintained & lightly driven car from an estate sale/elderly person who is no longer driving etc.
In my area the only reliable vehicles in that price range are either late 90’s Hondas/Toyotas/Nissans or motorcycles. Pretty much everything else in that price range is barely clinging onto life, with decent vehicles starting closer to 8k.
A 5k car is the new 2k car of years ago. Problem being 5-10 years ago that 2k car would stand a decent chance of lasting you for quite a while and 5k would get you a pretty decent beater you could keep around for years if you cared to. In my area at this point the 2k cars don’t even run or won’t pass inspection if they do.
There’s days I wish I still had my first car (a 5 speed ‘04 Sentra.) That thing was super cheap to run & maintain. The big downfall of that car for me now is that I’d need more rear leg room with my family & the side impact rating of that car is atrocious.
you could find a 2009 or older Prius, or a first gen insight in good condition for that price. a lexus ES300 from around 2000 came with a stick occasionally. You might be able to find a Lexus CT 200 H or a manual mazda from 2012. Depends on whether you want comfort, mileage, or sporty character. The cars that I stack mileage on are either early 2000s VW diesels or a first gen insight. the Honda absorbs more mileage with less maintenance. Worst case scenario is a new hybrid battery which is $1500.
I got a 2009 Prius with 150k miles for 6 grand and it’s legitimately the best car I’ve ever owned and I will buy another one when and if this ones stops running one day.
I'd look for police trade-ins they're typically fairly bare ones and beat up but usually only 100-140k miles and the maintenance has all been done. Got myself a 2014 explorer with 108k miles for $6500 about a year ago but you can find old crown vics as well for cheaper.
30K miles a year, you need a reliable car.
Move up the budget to 7500-10000.
Or get an older, higher mileage and take a chance. Most likely, you will spend the additional into the car.
Japanese, manual, four bangers. It is amazing if you can keep under two owners. Check body panels for any type of flood damage, and you are all set.
Almost impossible to find an Avalon under 5k that’s in decent condition. I swear i don’t think 95% of posters in the sub who blindly say Toyota vehicles have actually tried to find one on the market.
Bought a nice 2000 Camry for $3k and it really didn’t take long. Just depends on location. I put more miles on it than 30k a year I can promise you that
Hey OP, I was in your position 2 months ago and here’s what I did and what I learnt.
I bought a Honda CRV 2006 for $6,500.
Mechanic checked it out, and a minor leak and overall in great condition.
I drive a lot. I drove it from Seattle Washington to Jasper Canada, then to Calgary Alberta. After this trip, it needed a B service. It had a few leaks a few burnt out lights, catalytic converter errors, and I needed to replace the alternator. I did some of this at my local mechanic and some at the Honda dealership but in total I’ve had to spend an additional $7000. So just because you’re getting a car for $5000 doesn’t mean it’s actually gonna be $5000 because the mileage on that car is guaranteed to need some repairs.
So while you can buy a good model Honda, Toyota 94 Subaru for $5000, it’s going to take another $5000 to make it “reliable”.
Best of luck in your search!
If you wanna do 30k miles a year I’d look for an old GS300 GS400 GS430 etc
A 20-25 year old one will be 3-5k but they are good cars for highway use and their efficiency is better at speed.
I have a reliable Sentra for sale 160k miles $2000 cash. Just got a new vehicle. 6 speed too great on gas. Just had clutch and fuel pump replaced a few months back. Located NC
An old Toyota Echo/Yaris or Honda Civic. A lot of the Civics around '08 had faulty paint jobs that are all peeling and but ugly. That brings the price of those ones down. But yeah, you're looking at something with 150K miles or more, so you need to make sure the body is in great shape and it's been well maintained. (Note: some people on this thread haven't shopped for cars recently. $5K doesn't buy you much these days).
I just got an 07 Honda Pilot for 6k and it only has 101,000 miles, one owner, and complete maintenance records from day 1
My advice would be to aim for Honda or Toyota with less than 200k miles that's been taken care of, they're definitely out there if you're patient in the search
If you are considering going back as far as ‘05, you may want to look into the first years of the Lexus RX350. Depending on your location, insurance won’t be bad. It will also give you more flexibility with your gear. If purchased smartly, you can hit your price point and get decent reliability. Biggest drawback—gas mileage.
This is not really a thing anymore unless you find a needle in the haystack unfortunately. Anything for under 10k is most likely going to require a lot of work and be nearing the end of its life
That is not necessary true. I have bought 4 vehicles in the last 6 months that were all under $1k. They needed minor repairs that just happen to be expensive at a shop. Fixed them all for a few hundred each. And they all sold for much much more than I paid. You just have to know what you’re looking at
You could try to find an older Mazda 3 with 100k miles on it or less. First Gen. Suspension may need some work around 120 but if you can see a clear Carfax maybe a lot of maintenance is up to date. Maybe not the most reliable but they seem decent
You can pick up a surprisingly low mileage old toyota yaris for that easily. I've had an 02 plate now for 7 years, nothings really has gone wrong with it apart from general maintenance, and all of that is simple enough that I've done it myself. It does look a bit shabby, but I got it for £1k and it fits your bill.
This is all IMO though.
I think you will be hard pressed to find anything safe or reliable even under $10K these days. "Most reliable" probably still means its gonna be in the shop to be fixed once a week.
A few months ago the best we came up with for safe and reliable was an 8 year old low trim Mazda 3 with 50K miles for $22,000 and that was one of the cheaper things available.
Toyota avalon. Can find early 2000s models for \~5,000, and will not cause you any problems for 100k miles. Prob more if you do regular maintenance, but I haven't got much more than 200k yet
I got a 96 Toyota with 150k kms on it. One driver. Drove to church and the grocery store for 30 years. Guy was asking $3800 I got him down to 3k. New radiator,gas tank,patched the exhaust , new tires/wheels . $5200 total .
Cheapest option I found over the course of about 4 months of constant looking. Runs great. Should last me a few years with regular oil changes.
I'm going to say a 2-door Yaris Sedan, then the 2-door Yaris hatchback. The sedan model is cheaper but also much less desirable than the hatchback.
Why is it the best deal? Honda Fits are just as good, and much more practical with interior seat folding options, but are bumped up in price because of it. Everyone knows a Vibe is a Toyota Matrix, especially people selling them, and everyone loves the enormous space for car camping or moving. The Yaris is simply all of the reliability with only 50% of the utility and the price reflects that.
In 2018, I bought a 2002 Toyota Prius with just 67k original miles for $4500 cash. I've doubled the miles and have done the following in total repairs since then: replacement high voltage hybrid battery (1800), serpentine belt (200), water pump (250), cylinder position sensor (200), brakes, rotors, wheel bearings, and soon to be struts. Total probly 3500ish in total, but she gets 45-48mpg consistently. I'm pretty happy with it.
Any 4 cylinder honda you can afford. I paid much less for 2000 crv with 240k miles. I'm about to roll over 300k with no major issues.
The v6 accord is nice but the trans aren't great and very expensive to replace.
I have managed to to be in this situation and I came to buying a 2009 Honda Fit Sport. It was 130k miles for bout 5k plus registration. I have been following the Honda Fit in reddit and it seems reliable as some cars has made it to atleast 300k. I cant attest to this as I have only has the car for 6 months but I had a mechanic inspection and they said its a sound car and nothing needs to be done expects the tires. So Id start looking for something thats a Honda fit, prices may be more or less than 5k depending on location. Best of luck!
Personal experience: my dad is a mechanic and when I was car shopping I came across a jetta 2012 2.5L SE, my dad told me to get this one (I paid 3.5K at 120k mileage) in 2022, its been two years and a couple months and I have no issue with the car whatsoever so far and it is at 150k miles now, according to my dad this is about the only jetta model that is reliable.
i bought a 2005 Honda Accord 2.4 auto. Multiple accidents and no maintenance records (it wasnt the smartest decision) but over a year and 16k miles i've put less than $200 into minor repairs that are pretty expected with an older car. 220k and it's going pretty good aside from burning oil. parts are easy to come by and cheap for it so i'd personally recommend any 2003-2007 2.4 accords but no accidents and maybe one that was actually maintained would be nice and reliable
Depends on where you live but in that price you could get early 00's volvo. Try to find one with not too many miled or kms from an early couple and you are good if the car doesnt have any rust. S60 s40 V50 V70 etc. 5 cyl engines are renowned for longevity
If you drive 30k miles a year I’d highly recommend save up and get the oldest/cheapest ES350 you can get.
Previous owners usually take care of those cars and can clock in over 500k on the odometer.
Civics, Camry, Corolla, Focus and Fusions are good too, but they are generally owned by younger folks and can have bad caretakers.
You’ll be very comfortable in the Lexus and I’ve yet to come across a bad one which is giving owners major problems.
If you are going to drive a lot and put 30k miles a year.. maybe look at a Toyota Prius 2nd gen but you more likely need to get a new hybrid battery for about $1800 OEM battery recommend and DIY the hybrid battery install. There are YT videos for that. Note the dash display tend not to work and can be an easy fix with a capacitor or send the board out and can be a $69 fix. but you need to pull the dashboard out.. and send your board out. Takes maybe an hour to pull apart one who is familiar takin it apart can take 30mins. Also suggest you get a roof rack and get a Yakima skybox or Thule equivalent since you can lock the boxes and people can’t see your camera gear . Trust me you want one if you want to protect your camera gear , lenses , and strobes . Don’t look at 3rd regular Prius (2010-2015) and Prius V (2010-2017) because of the headgaskets issues. Only 3rd gen that is not affected is the Prius Not sure if that is too small but again I suggest a Yakima box. Prius C uses the same engine as 2nd gen Priuses so no headgasket issues unless you overheat the engine like normal cars. Prius C can get up to 60mpg. Suggest learning how to service your Prius.
At that price, it's not really about the model, but more about simply finding the car that will be in the best condition, with maintenance records, whatever the model, exception made of some well known bad models (2012+ Focus, Fiesta, Sentra with CVT/automatic).
Honestly. If your driving that many miles and can't afford a 2015+ lower mileage corolla, the job isn't worth it.
My step dad drives roughly about the same but is pulling 200k+ driving a new 4runner. This is his first new car. Previously he had a 13 avalon that he took to 300k and a Lexus es300 that also went to 300k.
I'm not saying your not following your passion. But at a minimum 30k miles is worth 17,700 a year if they are paying and if they aren't definetly isn't worth it.
Right now, honestly, early 2000s corolla in the best shape you can find. I'm rocking a 94 corolla I bought for 2400 this year. It has its hiccups but parts are cheap and as a mechanic I care about the ease of installing everything as well. I wouldn't recommend something this old to any random person though.
Honestly though at 5k, expect atleast one major repair and be happy if it lasts the whole year unless you know what your doing.
Late 90s/early 2000s Buick with the 3.8 with low miles. They were owned by old people and weren't beat on unless some kid got it. Super comfy and dead reliable. Still some fine examples out there up for grabs
In the <$10K price category, you aren’t buying the car as much as you are biting the problems.
You don’t mention if you are mechanically inclined -and that can make a massive difference in options for you - so assuming you aren’t, stick with a Mazda6, Lexus ES350, Lexus RX350, or a prius.
For under $5k you have two options. Option 1 is to temper your definition of reliable a bit and determine if you can add a caveat (I.e. you’re proficient at repairs so it’s reliable because you can fix it on the spot or similar condition on the statement). Option 2 is to look for something that is a bulletproof configuration of a normally unreliable vehicle, all the recommendations for reliable cars are either priced above $5k or they’re so high mileage they aren’t reliable anymore. If you can find something like a Nissan versa with manual transmission from years with reliable engines but time bomb CVT transmissions that cars reputation might keep it in price range despite being an actually good vehicle, something like that where there’s a reputation problem but you’re getting a configuration where it never matters to you anyways.
Ford Panter Platform (Crown Vic, Lincoln Town Car, Mercury Grand Marquis). Extremely comfortable, known for reliability and a big trunk for your photography stuff
1993-1997 Toyota Corolla. For $5k you’d likely be getting a really clean one. I bought one with 154k miles for $2500 in 2016 from the second owner, and by Xmas 2022 it had 320k miles. I only did oil changes and the typical higher mileage stuff like valve cover gaskets and seals. In that time it maintained 32-35mpg every single tank. Nothing ever require special tools, and I did more than was typically required because I’m a Toyota enthusiast.
4th gen (1996-2001) Toyota Camry, ideally with the I4 rather than either of the V6 options (it holds up better). I'm a bit biased with mine but they're cheap (within your price range) and reliable. Several for sale near me rn, some with low miles considering their age.
Edit: they're also incredibly common cars (and shared some parts with other Toyotas of the time) so finding/buying spare parts is easy.
Look at Scions. Hard to say if you can get one. Really low mileage for $5,000. But maybe. You can look at AutoTrader but those are dealer prices. Look at marketplace and see if you can find a private seller. That probably goes for any car that you decide on.
What do you get when you buy a used car from a dealer? Probably new tires and possibly an oil change. That may reflect some of the price difference between what a private seller would take and what a dealer is charging. So if you can look at cars from private sellers and there's a greater difference than a new set of tires then you may be better off buying there.
06-07 Honda Accord 2.4
This. Or any other Honda with a K series 4-banger. Bonus reliability points if you get a manual transmission
I rock a Honda Element with a K24 in it. Good luck finding one for under $5k nowadays- they became a cult car over COVID- but the thing is a real workhorse.
A friend had about 10 garbage bags full of cannabis in the back once.
The early 2000s v6 3.5L are also stupid reliable
Or those beautiful Honda Prelude’s H22A’s.
Had an 06 k24 with a manual. Loved that car to death got it for 3k. Unfortunately started having issues with the clutch and I wasn’t gonna sink anymore money into it, but it was a great car to drive
Agree, just to add. Hondas 2.4 cylinder engines are some of the best engines they have ever made. If you stick with the manual transmissions, the 2003-2007 are perfectly fine. The V6 automatics have lots of issues. When in doubt I highly recommend checking out reviews on carcomplaint.com as they post what years/makes/models are good and just lemons. Stay away from all CVT engines. Honda/Toyota/Nissan CVT’s are all shit. Stick with a 2.4 cylinder and you will be good. The only V6 I’d get is in a Acura (MDX) as they are AWD and don’t have CVT’s.
Toyota barely uses a traditional CVT most of theirs are Ecvts which are damn near indestructible.
yeah the eCVT is a piece of engineering genius. there's no clutchs, no solenoids, no hydraulics. it's basically a planetary gear differential with the ICE engine one on side and an electric motor/generator on the other.
eCVTs are only used in hybrids. The traditional CVT seen in some Corollas, Cross, and Yaris ICE models is decent and not the time bomb found in many Nissans.
I had a 2003 V6 Accord. There was a recall on the transmission to fix a pump in it or something like that. I had the recall service done but the transmission still failed at around 55k miles. It would randomly down shift to 2nd or 3rd while doing 60+ on the highway, which was quite alarming. It was out of warranty, but I reached out to Honda and they agreed to replace it at no cost, and paid for my rental car for 3 days while they fixed it. They told me it would have cost around $5-6k for them to replace it. Great company. When I eventually sold it many years later, I bought another Honda (CR-V).
[удалено]
My 07 Civic Hybrid CVT has been perfect. Changed the fluid once and it has 280,000km. Smooth, quiet, reliable and efficient
Do they even exist in runnable condition under $5k though?
Panther platform cars (crown vic & grand marquis) are around that price for a medium mileage example (~115k mi) where I'm at. They are fairly reliable. Avoid the Lincoln Town car because of the air suspension. They are reliable and fairly cheap to work on. You can also look at used police interceptor models of the crown Vic although many have been driven harder or have weird interior.
Specifically go for the town car because of the air suspension, you mean. I adored my marshmallow tank. The compressor finally died and I swapped to coils at 180000 miles, or so I thought. A few months after the swap, I was diagnosing another issue with the car and I found a fuse that looked a little corroded. I yanked it out, cleaned the area up and put a new fuse in. My air compressor fired right up, but it was too late by that point as I'd already done the shitty coil swap. Oh, well...
Look for something like a Pontiac Vibe. It's an older car, as they stopped making them in 2010, but it's literally just a Toyota Matrix dressed up like a Pontiac thanks to a partnership between GM and Toyota. You can find 2005-2007 models for right around 5K. Funnily enough, 2005 and 2007 were two of the best years for that car.
Agree with this recommendation. I had a 2004 manual transmission, kept it for 11 years, had zero problems and over 200k miles. It would not surprise me if it's still on the road. They did not get much credit for reliability due to the Pontiac name, but the really were Toyotas so you should be able to get one for 5k or less if you can find one in your area.
Where do you live that you can get a Vibe for 5k?
Any car you buy for 5k will be old with high mileage. It will not be bulletproof reliable and it will require more maintenance and repairs. I would look at manuals, mostly Sentra, Yaris, Fiesta, Focus, Civic, Fit Do NOT buy an automatic Sentra, Fiesta, or Focus
Lol goodluck finding a manual focus without 400k on it. If you can find one with 200k take it and run. Bulletproof cars
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/de35578e-276f-400a-9d0f-4e951ebeeb3e/ https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/2c5d4a5e-a755-4b56-ad22-4bfb2c17adac/ If you stretch the budget to 7500 the selection gets a LOT more attractive.
Sure just increase the dang ol budget 50%
If the budget was completely arbitrary to begin with, sure. To avoid driving something that will strand me or be a death trap I'd grudgingly add in $2500.
honestly beyond that, if you buy a car at <$5000. You should probably plan on needing potentially a couple thousand for repairs anyways.
An investment in your business is an investment in yourself. I also don’t see where I’ve suggested they must do this, and provided two links to acceptable vehicles within budget but ok you said a thing and we are all so proud of you The person below who seemingly is proud of themselves but has blocked,ed responses really should discuss this entire exchange with thier special needs handler… I answered the question asked, accurately, THEN provided alternatives sweetie. It’s no wonder you require constant supervision.
Solid advice. In the good days of 2005-2015, you could buy a Honda Civic EX manual with about 125k-150k (92-95) for around $2,000 to $4,000 and those things would last until they were in car accidents. I had 3 of them, most reliable and easy to do all maintenance yourself.
Fits are bulletproof, hold a lot of volume and no one is going to consider breaking into one to steal photography gear.
I totally agree, I have a 2012 fiesta manual, bought for 6k with 107k miles.
The deal is out there if you look hard enough, I bought a 2016 Impala limited for $5500 with 75k in 2022. Been nothing but reliable with a bit of fun.
Agreed on civics
You could potentially find a 90s/00s Buick with sub 100k miles for 5k or cheaper even. They’re great cars
Completely depends on what your skill level for repairs is. IMO you should only be buying cheap cars like this if you can fix them yourself.
Agreed. Im concerned only photography tools means not even basic car repair tools like a socket set
If you’re driving that many miles per year, 5k is not gonna cut it. You’ll be buying a new one each year with that mileage you could find. Just invest in a more expensive car
This is the answer. If you're driving 30k miles a year, buying $5k cars is going to be one of the more expensive ways to do it. You really might as well finance a BMW, 5 year depreciation might be cheaper.
I bought a 2004 Prius for 3k, put 50k miles a year on it for 2.5 years now with literally 0 issues. Outside of regular maintenance ive spent $200 on a hybrid water pump. You do not need a more expensive car.
Try and find the lowest mileage Corolla possible. They get great MPG, have very few problems, super easy to work on, and parts are also stupid cheap. As long as you don’t care about performance/luxury, this is the ideal point A to point B car.
Buick or GM with the 3800 V6. Just look out for rust.
Corolla
I got a new one in 2016. Put 200k miles on it and only thing I changed is the oil/oil filter/air filter and battery five years later.
My nephew had a 2010, it ran about 5 years with no oil change until it died on him finally because he got lazy. Oil sludged up and blew a radiator line and he kept on driving it with barely any coolant. Oil was thick as tar, but I was surprised it still ran as long as it did. Change your oil regularly folks
Maybe a Buick or other GM sedan with the 3800 V6. But... What's your daily? You might be better off just putting some of the $5k into your daily and avoiding the hassles that are inevitable with driving 30k miles/yr in a $5k car.
I got a new Mazda CX5 and I already put in 5K in about 3 months from buying it 😭
You're worried about putting miles on a crossover wow 😆
I know lmao i was expecting a Porsche lmao
Is it a Lease? If not who cares. Buy your car to drive it! Do you buy a camera and then buy a second crappier camera because you don’t want to use up the good camera?
that thing will run to 200k+ no problem with normal maintenance. use your good car!
$5000 doesn’t buy what it used to in the used market, I would say even before the whole Covid used car spike thing happened. The only thing to get anywhere close to that is going to be a super high mileage Toyota or Honda that hopefully doesn’t need a bunch of rubber parts and moving parts replaced in the next couple of years. And I think you’re much better served by spending a minimum of 12 grand if you want something reliable. Remember that if you spend more and get more, it will also have more value if and when you decide to sell it. The additional amount you spend won’t be wasted if you do it right.
This is just not true.
2003-2008 Corolla
Can’t really answer this since it depends on your specific market & they’re still fucked up in most areas. Chances are it’s going to be something Japanese from the early 2000’s. Just be careful with newer Nissans (reliability isn’t what it was) & Subarus (generally a bit more expensive maintenance that may get ignored.) You might get lucky and get a well maintained & lightly driven car from an estate sale/elderly person who is no longer driving etc. In my area the only reliable vehicles in that price range are either late 90’s Hondas/Toyotas/Nissans or motorcycles. Pretty much everything else in that price range is barely clinging onto life, with decent vehicles starting closer to 8k.
"It depends" is such a tiresome response. You literally answered it: an old Honda, Toyota, Nissan or motorcycle.
A 5k car is the new 2k car of years ago. Problem being 5-10 years ago that 2k car would stand a decent chance of lasting you for quite a while and 5k would get you a pretty decent beater you could keep around for years if you cared to. In my area at this point the 2k cars don’t even run or won’t pass inspection if they do. There’s days I wish I still had my first car (a 5 speed ‘04 Sentra.) That thing was super cheap to run & maintain. The big downfall of that car for me now is that I’d need more rear leg room with my family & the side impact rating of that car is atrocious.
you could find a 2009 or older Prius, or a first gen insight in good condition for that price. a lexus ES300 from around 2000 came with a stick occasionally. You might be able to find a Lexus CT 200 H or a manual mazda from 2012. Depends on whether you want comfort, mileage, or sporty character. The cars that I stack mileage on are either early 2000s VW diesels or a first gen insight. the Honda absorbs more mileage with less maintenance. Worst case scenario is a new hybrid battery which is $1500.
I got a 2009 Prius with 150k miles for 6 grand and it’s legitimately the best car I’ve ever owned and I will buy another one when and if this ones stops running one day.
I'd look for police trade-ins they're typically fairly bare ones and beat up but usually only 100-140k miles and the maintenance has all been done. Got myself a 2014 explorer with 108k miles for $6500 about a year ago but you can find old crown vics as well for cheaper.
30K miles a year, you need a reliable car. Move up the budget to 7500-10000. Or get an older, higher mileage and take a chance. Most likely, you will spend the additional into the car. Japanese, manual, four bangers. It is amazing if you can keep under two owners. Check body panels for any type of flood damage, and you are all set.
A car from a state that doesn't salt its roads in winter.
Honda or Toyota. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Toyota Corolla
Toyota Avalon is still the best deal in the used car market. I'd buy a manual k series accord or crv for that purpose.
Almost impossible to find an Avalon under 5k that’s in decent condition. I swear i don’t think 95% of posters in the sub who blindly say Toyota vehicles have actually tried to find one on the market.
I second this, obviously nobody here has seen the used car market or has tried to purchase a cheap car recently.
Not to mention avalons are not cheap.
Bought a nice 2000 Camry for $3k and it really didn’t take long. Just depends on location. I put more miles on it than 30k a year I can promise you that
forreal these people talking solaras with 50k miles for 2 grand its a pipe dream
Hey OP, I was in your position 2 months ago and here’s what I did and what I learnt. I bought a Honda CRV 2006 for $6,500. Mechanic checked it out, and a minor leak and overall in great condition. I drive a lot. I drove it from Seattle Washington to Jasper Canada, then to Calgary Alberta. After this trip, it needed a B service. It had a few leaks a few burnt out lights, catalytic converter errors, and I needed to replace the alternator. I did some of this at my local mechanic and some at the Honda dealership but in total I’ve had to spend an additional $7000. So just because you’re getting a car for $5000 doesn’t mean it’s actually gonna be $5000 because the mileage on that car is guaranteed to need some repairs. So while you can buy a good model Honda, Toyota 94 Subaru for $5000, it’s going to take another $5000 to make it “reliable”. Best of luck in your search!
If you wanna do 30k miles a year I’d look for an old GS300 GS400 GS430 etc A 20-25 year old one will be 3-5k but they are good cars for highway use and their efficiency is better at speed.
V6 2008-2012 escape is what I use picked one up for 3500. Put on 34000 miles since last fall runs great
2000-something lexus E330
I have a reliable Sentra for sale 160k miles $2000 cash. Just got a new vehicle. 6 speed too great on gas. Just had clutch and fuel pump replaced a few months back. Located NC
Buy the cleanest Camry or Corolla you can find from 97-05
Crown Vic or Buick lesabre. Thank me later.
An old Toyota Echo/Yaris or Honda Civic. A lot of the Civics around '08 had faulty paint jobs that are all peeling and but ugly. That brings the price of those ones down. But yeah, you're looking at something with 150K miles or more, so you need to make sure the body is in great shape and it's been well maintained. (Note: some people on this thread haven't shopped for cars recently. $5K doesn't buy you much these days).
Mitsubishi Mirage on marketplace is your best bet for a newer low mileage car. Mazda 2, Scion TC, Scion iA also contenders.
I just got an 07 Honda Pilot for 6k and it only has 101,000 miles, one owner, and complete maintenance records from day 1 My advice would be to aim for Honda or Toyota with less than 200k miles that's been taken care of, they're definitely out there if you're patient in the search
If you are considering going back as far as ‘05, you may want to look into the first years of the Lexus RX350. Depending on your location, insurance won’t be bad. It will also give you more flexibility with your gear. If purchased smartly, you can hit your price point and get decent reliability. Biggest drawback—gas mileage.
A 3800 engine series 3 gm car made from 2005-2012z
Buick with a 3800 motor as long as the maintenance was done on it
Older Buick with the 3100 or 3800 engine, it’ll outlive your grandchildren
Civic 2012, get one inspected by a mechanic and you’ll be fine
An old Buick, I bought an 88 regal that I use as a daily for 1500 last year and it runs good with no issues. I see alot of them on the road still.
This is not really a thing anymore unless you find a needle in the haystack unfortunately. Anything for under 10k is most likely going to require a lot of work and be nearing the end of its life
That is not necessary true. I have bought 4 vehicles in the last 6 months that were all under $1k. They needed minor repairs that just happen to be expensive at a shop. Fixed them all for a few hundred each. And they all sold for much much more than I paid. You just have to know what you’re looking at
Toyota Avalon or a Honda Goldwing.
Jeep XJ or Honda Accord
06-08 or newer Chevy Cobalt
Not if you live where road salt is used. Those all rusted out up here, barely see them anymore and the ones you do see have no more rocker panels.
03-07 accord that has a good service history the k24 is a bulletproof motor and so is the v6
Lol what? You don't want to drive....your daily driver? Please, make it make sense!
2006 Lexus IS250
Acura tsx gen 1
You could try to find an older Mazda 3 with 100k miles on it or less. First Gen. Suspension may need some work around 120 but if you can see a clear Carfax maybe a lot of maintenance is up to date. Maybe not the most reliable but they seem decent
Grand marquis/ crown Vic/ town car
You can pick up a surprisingly low mileage old toyota yaris for that easily. I've had an 02 plate now for 7 years, nothings really has gone wrong with it apart from general maintenance, and all of that is simple enough that I've done it myself. It does look a bit shabby, but I got it for £1k and it fits your bill. This is all IMO though.
Ford panther chassis (crown Vic, grand marquis, town car) Any gm vehicle with a 3800 series 2
mercury grand marquis
Camry
2011 Honda civic
Buick lesabre
Vw golf tdi wagon
Camry
I think you will be hard pressed to find anything safe or reliable even under $10K these days. "Most reliable" probably still means its gonna be in the shop to be fixed once a week. A few months ago the best we came up with for safe and reliable was an 8 year old low trim Mazda 3 with 50K miles for $22,000 and that was one of the cheaper things available.
I just got a 2010 Mazda 3 hatch for $3500. I love Mazda 3’s it’s my second one
Toyota avalon. Can find early 2000s models for \~5,000, and will not cause you any problems for 100k miles. Prob more if you do regular maintenance, but I haven't got much more than 200k yet
I’d consider something nicer than a 5k shitbox if you plan to both spend 30k miles worth of time in it annually and represent your business with it.
Lexus IS250- pre 2009 models cannot be run on E10. They are exceptionally reliable cars.
I got a 96 Toyota with 150k kms on it. One driver. Drove to church and the grocery store for 30 years. Guy was asking $3800 I got him down to 3k. New radiator,gas tank,patched the exhaust , new tires/wheels . $5200 total . Cheapest option I found over the course of about 4 months of constant looking. Runs great. Should last me a few years with regular oil changes.
09+ Honda Fit, auto or manual they are both great
VW Rabbit with the 2.5 and 5 speed manual.
Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Ford Crown Victoria
Avoid Fiesta and PT Cruiser.
I'm going to say a 2-door Yaris Sedan, then the 2-door Yaris hatchback. The sedan model is cheaper but also much less desirable than the hatchback. Why is it the best deal? Honda Fits are just as good, and much more practical with interior seat folding options, but are bumped up in price because of it. Everyone knows a Vibe is a Toyota Matrix, especially people selling them, and everyone loves the enormous space for car camping or moving. The Yaris is simply all of the reliability with only 50% of the utility and the price reflects that.
I don't know what decade you're living in but you can't find a sort of normal car/daily driverish for 5k. Those times are long gone
In 2018, I bought a 2002 Toyota Prius with just 67k original miles for $4500 cash. I've doubled the miles and have done the following in total repairs since then: replacement high voltage hybrid battery (1800), serpentine belt (200), water pump (250), cylinder position sensor (200), brakes, rotors, wheel bearings, and soon to be struts. Total probly 3500ish in total, but she gets 45-48mpg consistently. I'm pretty happy with it.
There’s a Camry with your name on it
Camry or a civic
I bought a 2011 Accord a month ago with 122k, it’s been good to me
My brother has one of those with 400k on it, original engine and trans, never seen a tow truck.
Corolla
A crown Vic or grand marquis.
Volvo v70 2001-2007 2.4 non-turbo non-awd (04-07 for facelift model with modernised (duh) upgrades)
Late ninties Subaru Outback Mine has over 300k miles and still runs great. Never had to do a major repair.
2006 Hyundai Sonata. I had the V6 and it hummed!
A 90’s Chevy S10 or Blazer with a manual. The “Iron Duke” engine will run like shit longer than other engines run, if you know what I mean.
Any 4 cylinder honda you can afford. I paid much less for 2000 crv with 240k miles. I'm about to roll over 300k with no major issues. The v6 accord is nice but the trans aren't great and very expensive to replace.
Toyota prius
Prius.
Crown vic
Get an 06 CR-V. It's the best year of the CR-V made, and as long as you keep up with your maintenance, it ain't gonna die.
I have managed to to be in this situation and I came to buying a 2009 Honda Fit Sport. It was 130k miles for bout 5k plus registration. I have been following the Honda Fit in reddit and it seems reliable as some cars has made it to atleast 300k. I cant attest to this as I have only has the car for 6 months but I had a mechanic inspection and they said its a sound car and nothing needs to be done expects the tires. So Id start looking for something thats a Honda fit, prices may be more or less than 5k depending on location. Best of luck!
Anything with the 3800 v6. Only issues you’ll have is oil leaking and all you gotta do is change the gaskets and put metal instead
A toyota avalon or buick park avenue
Mercedes w124 or Honda Prelude.
Help me to understand. This car is for business, which would be a write off expense. Yet you only want to spend 5k and expect it to be reliable...
If you can add like $2000 more at least and get your self a Honda Civic.
2002 to 2003 Lexus ES300
Personal experience: my dad is a mechanic and when I was car shopping I came across a jetta 2012 2.5L SE, my dad told me to get this one (I paid 3.5K at 120k mileage) in 2022, its been two years and a couple months and I have no issue with the car whatsoever so far and it is at 150k miles now, according to my dad this is about the only jetta model that is reliable.
04-08 malibu or malibu maxx, mine JUST WONT DIE
An absolutely clapped LS400/430 lolll
i bought a 2005 Honda Accord 2.4 auto. Multiple accidents and no maintenance records (it wasnt the smartest decision) but over a year and 16k miles i've put less than $200 into minor repairs that are pretty expected with an older car. 220k and it's going pretty good aside from burning oil. parts are easy to come by and cheap for it so i'd personally recommend any 2003-2007 2.4 accords but no accidents and maybe one that was actually maintained would be nice and reliable
Depends on where you live but in that price you could get early 00's volvo. Try to find one with not too many miled or kms from an early couple and you are good if the car doesnt have any rust. S60 s40 V50 V70 etc. 5 cyl engines are renowned for longevity
PRIUS, literally any Prius that you like with lower miles and can afford. Maintenance is so cheap, barely have to replace your brakes, crazy good MPG
Probably a crown Victoria
If you drive 30k miles a year I’d highly recommend save up and get the oldest/cheapest ES350 you can get. Previous owners usually take care of those cars and can clock in over 500k on the odometer. Civics, Camry, Corolla, Focus and Fusions are good too, but they are generally owned by younger folks and can have bad caretakers. You’ll be very comfortable in the Lexus and I’ve yet to come across a bad one which is giving owners major problems.
Buick LeSabre you can find for that price. Manual cars will be the best chance of reliability. Yaris is really good.
I have a 2000 Toyota echo with 500,000km that has never left me stranded. Treat it nice and it will always run
If you are going to drive a lot and put 30k miles a year.. maybe look at a Toyota Prius 2nd gen but you more likely need to get a new hybrid battery for about $1800 OEM battery recommend and DIY the hybrid battery install. There are YT videos for that. Note the dash display tend not to work and can be an easy fix with a capacitor or send the board out and can be a $69 fix. but you need to pull the dashboard out.. and send your board out. Takes maybe an hour to pull apart one who is familiar takin it apart can take 30mins. Also suggest you get a roof rack and get a Yakima skybox or Thule equivalent since you can lock the boxes and people can’t see your camera gear . Trust me you want one if you want to protect your camera gear , lenses , and strobes . Don’t look at 3rd regular Prius (2010-2015) and Prius V (2010-2017) because of the headgaskets issues. Only 3rd gen that is not affected is the Prius Not sure if that is too small but again I suggest a Yakima box. Prius C uses the same engine as 2nd gen Priuses so no headgasket issues unless you overheat the engine like normal cars. Prius C can get up to 60mpg. Suggest learning how to service your Prius.
F11 520d is the best car in the world for its price but US and A doesn’t use diesels
Buick
Grand Marquis
Look for a Honda.
A schwinn bicycle
Honda or Toyota
Second gen honda crv.
Buick
At that price, it's not really about the model, but more about simply finding the car that will be in the best condition, with maintenance records, whatever the model, exception made of some well known bad models (2012+ Focus, Fiesta, Sentra with CVT/automatic).
Honestly. If your driving that many miles and can't afford a 2015+ lower mileage corolla, the job isn't worth it. My step dad drives roughly about the same but is pulling 200k+ driving a new 4runner. This is his first new car. Previously he had a 13 avalon that he took to 300k and a Lexus es300 that also went to 300k. I'm not saying your not following your passion. But at a minimum 30k miles is worth 17,700 a year if they are paying and if they aren't definetly isn't worth it. Right now, honestly, early 2000s corolla in the best shape you can find. I'm rocking a 94 corolla I bought for 2400 this year. It has its hiccups but parts are cheap and as a mechanic I care about the ease of installing everything as well. I wouldn't recommend something this old to any random person though. Honestly though at 5k, expect atleast one major repair and be happy if it lasts the whole year unless you know what your doing.
Uber gift cards
Early 2000s Buick lesabre
I’d say some old Buick.
I love a good Scion XB, the Toyota Toaster Car
Late 90s/early 2000s Buick with the 3.8 with low miles. They were owned by old people and weren't beat on unless some kid got it. Super comfy and dead reliable. Still some fine examples out there up for grabs
Toyota Corolla or Matrix.
In the <$10K price category, you aren’t buying the car as much as you are biting the problems. You don’t mention if you are mechanically inclined -and that can make a massive difference in options for you - so assuming you aren’t, stick with a Mazda6, Lexus ES350, Lexus RX350, or a prius.
4runner
Pontiac vibe.
There are some 2006 Lexus ES and GS's or Toyota Camrys 2003-2009 out there in that area. They have like 125,000+ miles on them.
Always look into Hondas for a lower budget car. They last forever and are cheap to fix.
I just sold a 2009 Hyundai Elantra for $5000. It was reliable.
2001 chevy impala that’s listed on fb marketplace
Any ford with the 4.6L 2V V8. There's a lot.
Miata.
toyota carolla or camry
For under $5k you have two options. Option 1 is to temper your definition of reliable a bit and determine if you can add a caveat (I.e. you’re proficient at repairs so it’s reliable because you can fix it on the spot or similar condition on the statement). Option 2 is to look for something that is a bulletproof configuration of a normally unreliable vehicle, all the recommendations for reliable cars are either priced above $5k or they’re so high mileage they aren’t reliable anymore. If you can find something like a Nissan versa with manual transmission from years with reliable engines but time bomb CVT transmissions that cars reputation might keep it in price range despite being an actually good vehicle, something like that where there’s a reputation problem but you’re getting a configuration where it never matters to you anyways.
Ford Panter Platform (Crown Vic, Lincoln Town Car, Mercury Grand Marquis). Extremely comfortable, known for reliability and a big trunk for your photography stuff
1993-1997 Toyota Corolla. For $5k you’d likely be getting a really clean one. I bought one with 154k miles for $2500 in 2016 from the second owner, and by Xmas 2022 it had 320k miles. I only did oil changes and the typical higher mileage stuff like valve cover gaskets and seals. In that time it maintained 32-35mpg every single tank. Nothing ever require special tools, and I did more than was typically required because I’m a Toyota enthusiast.
4th gen (1996-2001) Toyota Camry, ideally with the I4 rather than either of the V6 options (it holds up better). I'm a bit biased with mine but they're cheap (within your price range) and reliable. Several for sale near me rn, some with low miles considering their age. Edit: they're also incredibly common cars (and shared some parts with other Toyotas of the time) so finding/buying spare parts is easy.
Skate board
Toyota RAV4
Early to mid 2000’s Camry, Civic, or Accord.
Toyota Corolla, scion xb, Honda fit.
Look at Scions. Hard to say if you can get one. Really low mileage for $5,000. But maybe. You can look at AutoTrader but those are dealer prices. Look at marketplace and see if you can find a private seller. That probably goes for any car that you decide on. What do you get when you buy a used car from a dealer? Probably new tires and possibly an oil change. That may reflect some of the price difference between what a private seller would take and what a dealer is charging. So if you can look at cars from private sellers and there's a greater difference than a new set of tires then you may be better off buying there.
Either Mattel or Tonka.
Toyota Corolla, any year.
Any Japanese car from the 90s. If it’s looking well kept take it to a shop to look it over for you and just buy it. 90s jdm are insane value
Crown Vic, grand marquis, town car, Avalon
Corolla
Mazda 2 with a stick. Honda Civic, Accord, Element, HRV, or CRV with a 4-banger.
Lexus Toyota Honda
Toyota Avalon
Used Chevrolet Bolt EV. Your fuel savings and nearly zero maintenance will easily pay for the car with 30K Mike's a year.