Best car choice under $10k for a Guzzi-head

[stevet]

If there is ever a need to put your bike on a trailer, your vehicle needs to be able to tow.  Compact sedans are out, they usually are not rated to pull a half ton+ of trailer and motorcycle.

That means a mid-size sedan, or a mini-van or small pickup truck.  I, too, would say look to Japan for your answer.  Not a 25 year old, defunct, small label Euro car.  Those were cool looking cars, though.

Steve.

[Two Checks]

Different and fun with hatchback? Late 80s early 90s MoPar turbo car. Up to 225 hp and handles like a slot car.
They have been made to run sub 11 sec quarter miles (and faster) with factory parts.
Easy to work on. Lots of varieties.

[LowRyter]

Mazda 3 Hatch with manual transmission...

my two sons have had 3 of them, two were totaled and one blew the rings from overheating.

Great cars.  Insurance paid for two (not his fault) and the other was a trade despite the oil consumption.

They handle great, fun to drive, get good mileage.

[JJ]

I would be surprised if you could find a nice Saab Turbo for $10K...they are nice cars, however, always liked them, but never owned one.  They have a "cult following" however, and parts / forums readily available...

For commuting, a clean 2-door Honda Civic or Toyota Yaris would work, but relatively boring...

I like the Mazda Miata...but again, can you find a nice one for $10K?

How about this nice sliver Jag for $9500?

http://flagstaff.craigslist.org/cto/5855233152.html

[Orange Guzzi]

I purchased a 2003 Dodge Neon SXT for $3,500 a couple of weeks ago.  I did not have a particular make or model as a first choice.  My standards were, less than 90,000 mile, $3,500 or less and being sold by a Widower.  I found all three on Craigslist.  The car was priced high for the year.  I found many going for as low as $500.  I called the p.o. and made an appointment to see the car.  I did not tell the p.o. that I wanted to by from a widower.  The first thing He said was, My wife recently died and I need to get rid of a couple of vehicles.  I did not know how to respond.  I kept quiet. He told me the history of the car.  She bought it new off the dealer floor for $18,000 and drove it to and from work, parked it in the garage every night, did not smoke and kept it very well maintained.  The car looks very close to new.  Needed a new gas cap, power steering pressure sensor and a front sway bar bushing. 

I spoke with a Woman that is a buyer for an auto salvage yard.  She said that Chrysler products are the number one vehicle salvaged, next to Chevy/GMC.   The Neon line consist of the Pt cruiser line also. Many parts are the same all the way thru the new Avenger.  The car has a good rating on service life and maintenance.  Parts are very cheap. 

Good luck.  And the Daughter Loved the car. Viper yellow with a spoiler. 

[Aaron D.]

I had a client who rented cars to those without credit cards etc, sometimes long term. He was known as the Neon King, since those were his favorites due to ease of parts and plentiful replacements.

At that point in the market most of the virtues an enthusiast craves go by the board. Junkyard parts, low purchase price and the like are at the top of the list.

[Sheepdog]

I had a recent experience with Saabs that prompted me to encourage staying away. My son's late nineties 90 Turbo's horn stopped working and he couldn't pass state inspection. It took him 5 weeks to find someone who would even look at it and he reported that parts alone would cost "around 700 bucks." When Saab's automotive division went out of business their already meager parts and service support disappeared entirely. My son sold his for $500 and bought a Toyota...

[LowRyter]

I had a client who rented cars to those without credit cards etc, sometimes long term. He was known as the Neon King, since those were his favorites due to ease of parts and plentiful replacements.

At that point in the market most of the virtues an enthusiast craves go by the board. Junkyard parts, low purchase price and the like are at the top of the list.

I wonder why Chrysler gave up on the Neon?  It seems like they dropped it about the time when gas got expensive again.  They were supposed to be sporty, reliable and economical.  And the PT was cute and versatile. 

And it looks like Chrysler has really put the minivan on the back burner.  A car they invented.  Now you see so many utility minivans as well as a stable passenger van market but few Chrysler/Dodge and no Ram.

I don't get it.

[Lannis]

I purchased a 2003 Dodge Neon SXT for $3,500 a couple of weeks ago.  I did not have a particular make or model as a first choice.  My standards were, less than 90,000 mile, $3,500 or less and being sold by a Widower.  ....

We bought two Neons back when we needed economical, no-maintenance cars to help out some young folks.

My criteria was a car owned from new by a young girl whose father had bought it for her and taken care of the maintence.  (If I ever sensed that a young guy had driven it, I flinched back like it had a stinger in its tail.)   

Now the young lady is married and needs a minivan, so she's selling the car.   Twice, we got very many maintenance-free miles from such a car.   Changed the timing belt and water pump on each before we even brought them home, that's a no-brainer unless you have an affy-davy that it was done last week .... !

Lannis

[Cool Runnings]

1995 Corvette, 6 speed - $8100

[OlDogface]

If towing is in your future I think the Subaru Imprezza hatchback is rated for 5,000 lbs with a properly equipped trailer. UHaul can install a hitch for a few hundred dollars. This may be my next car. I owned a Suby Legacy (forerunner of today's Outback) several years ago and it was a fine car for the first 200,000 or so.

[Turin]

Why not go with a classic?

https://classics.autotrader.com/classic-cars-for-sale?make=plymouth&model=volare

[PeteS]

So moto, where do you live? If you have to deal with snow then forget about a rear wheel drive sports car. Maybe a front wheel drive sports sedan but how do you make sure it was "adult" driven? Sort of like buying a 600 sport bike.

Pete

[alanp]

Another vote for Mazda 3 with a manual.  A lot of fun, good handling, economical, reliable, practical.  It's what I drive when I have to. 
A Miata is great but terrible in snow (if that is an issue where you live) and lacking in practicality.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

I would be surprised if you could find a nice Saab Turbo for $10K...they are nice cars, however, always liked them, but never owned one.  They have a "cult following" however, and parts / forums readily available...

http://denver.craigslist.org/cto/5863043074.html

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

So moto, where do you live? If you have to deal with snow then forget about a rear wheel drive sports car. Maybe a front wheel drive sports sedan but how do you make sure it was "adult" driven? Sort of like buying a 600 sport bike.

Pete

I much prefer a rear wheel drive (with rear or mid-engine) car to front wheel drive especially in hilly terrain. There were hills my front wheel drive cars wouldn't go up forwards, but would back up fine. My (old air-cooled) Beetles and Bertone (Fiat) X1/9 were virtually unstoppable as was my Land Rover S11A 109" and Audi Quattro.

[Tom]

Guzzi content.  Kia Rio or Hyundai Accent.  The basic tin cans can be had at your price range.  The entry level cars can be equipped with standard trans.  w/ac.  Parts readily available from different suppliers, new/used through Amazon.  Self-help vids on YouTube.  Easy to work on and high mileage usage cars.  Resell prices like MG.  Very under-rated cars.  For a basic commuter car, hard to beat at the price.

[Two Checks]

Why was the Neon dumped?
The Neon was designed under Iacocca. He was replaced by Bob Eaton who immediately went on a cost cutting spree. He is the guy responsible for changing the head gasket design and we all know about head gaskets on early Neons. Then when Daimler took over they looked at the PT and did the same thing. It was doomed while still in engineering.
Then Daimler forced small car production on to the Mitsubishi platforms which were not as good. Why all this?
The Chrysler designs were very good and Daimler couldnt have Chryslers as good as Mercedes. Due to the browbeating of engineers they left Chrysler in droves.
Btw the only reason Daimler bought Chrysler was for their design and engineering programs.
As for the demise of the mini van (another child of Iacocca) both Daimler and now Fiat have their own vehicles to fit what they see as the proper vehicle.
And it appears they are slowly eliminating anything remotely Chrysler related.
A fried had a KIA Rio as a company car. Whenever parts were needed it had to go to the dealer. And it was gutless. It was done at about 120k. Traded on a new, larger KIA.
I'd have a blast drving an Omni GLH with Turbo III engine and Getrag 5 speed. Hatchback with 4 doors that Goes Like Hell.

[Sasquatch Jim]

  Saabs are for snaabs.

[Aaron D.]

Funny thing about Chrysler post-Fiat, all the profit comes from Chrysler products, mostly Jeep.

[bratman2]

Subaru, non turbo!

[creaky99]

I bought a used '05 Pontiac Vibe (AKA Toyota Matrix) 5 years ago with 66K on the clock. It now has 140K on it. It is not particularly sophisticated, a bit noisy in the cockpit, but the car has only needed tires, brake pads, oil changes and fuel, gets 32 mpg on the highway.  Most reliable car I have had for quite some time. On the subject of towing, I tow a single rail trailer with my Funduro on board. It does the job nicely, but, mileage drops to low 20s.

[Kev m]

OP, I have no idea what to tell you because of the "fun" requirement, but I would have agreed with the truck or Miata recommendations for easy maintenance/service.

I love Subarus, but the $10k mark is not a good starting point for something like a WRX, it likely means something that was abused to get to that price point.

If towing is in your future I think the Subaru Imprezza hatchback is rated for 5,000 lbs with a properly equipped trailer. UHaul can install a hitch for a few hundred dollars. This may be my next car. I owned a Suby Legacy (forerunner of today's Outback) several years ago and it was a fine car for the first 200,000 or so.

So much no, not even close. I don't think the Imprezza ever had more than maybe a 2k tow limit. Hell I don't even think the full size Outbacks with the 6-cyl motor ever had 5k but I could be wrong on that. I want to say they were rated at 3500# last time I checked, but it's been a few years so maybe I missed something.

I do know we had a Forester that was pushing it with our 2-2.5k#ish boat/trailer rig.

Our Baja could handle that rig well enough, or a ton of stones on a utility trailer, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't rated at 5k either and the was the larger legacy/outback chassis.


EDIT - checking my spreadsheet this morning (and it could be a year or two out of date) says:

2.0L Imprezza in the UK has a 1600 kg tow rating or 3527#, so I'm betting it's 2k or less here (might not even be rated to tow).

3.6L (H6) Outback - 3k#
2.5L (H4) Outback - 2.7k#

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

After driving a friend's '05 Mustang w/V6 and then having a poke around under the hood, I'd put that on the list of cars to consider. Lots of fun to drive and everything one needs to get to for normal maintenance looked to be easily accessible. Only thing I didn't like was the plasticy steering wheel.

He lives near Newfoundland, NJ and hasn't had any trouble making it to work in the Winter. Four quality snows on spare wheels and it's done quite well according to him.

I find it interesting that a group of Guzzi owners would pick such "safe" or "normal" cars as have been posted here. You'd think that Guzzi owners would be a little more open to trying something a little more unusual like Alfas, (pre-GM era) Saabs, Volvos, VWs, etc.

[elvisboy77]

After driving a friend's '05 Mustang w/V6 and then having a poke around under the hood, I'd put that on the list of cars to consider. Lots of fun to drive and everything one needs to get to for normal maintenance looked to be easily accessible. Only thing I didn't like was the plasticy steering wheel.

He lives near Newfoundland, NJ and hasn't had any trouble making it to work in the Winter. Four quality snows on spare wheels and it's done quite well according to him.

I find it interesting that a group of Guzzi owners would pick such "safe" or "normal" cars as have been posted here. You'd think that Guzzi owners would be a little more open to trying something a little more unusual like Alfas, (pre-GM era) Saabs, Volvos, VWs, etc.

I second the Mustang vote.  Way more fun than a UJC or UJSUV!

[John Ulrich]

Cheap reliable transportation:  A grandparent owned low mileage Buick or equivalent.  The 3.8 motor delivered 30 mpg.

[John Ulrich]

1995 Corvette, 6 speed - $8100

A lot of "sport" for little money!

[Sasquatch Jim]

  How about a Mini moke?

[huub]

get the saab , a friend sold his with 500.000 km in the clock, and had no big problems reaching that.
those first generation turbo's are fun!
a toyota/kia/mazda/whatever is probably the sensible choice , but life is too short for sensible cars....

as a encouragement, this used to be my wife's daily transport...
absolutely useless in the snow, but fun the rest of the time....

[redrider90]

Uh , not sure a Saab turbo is gonna be simple to maintain . I would look more at a Nissan 240 SX , or one of the Celica Supra non-turbo models .

 Dusty

Dusty,
All the Nissan 240SXs have been sucked up by the drifters and modified. My wife had a 90 240 SX SE and it was totaled in an ice storm from falling limbs. I tried to look for a replacement and the prices where very high due to the drifters all bidding them up. Maybe later 90's are still available but the early 90's have the sport frame and were great cars. The stock 4 cylinder engine was amazing fast and the sport handling was excellent.