Buying a used car, need some help please!

So I'm looking for a used car in the 3000$ range, I'm after something that's reliable and good on gas, and something I can slap a bike rack on and do some traveling to the mountains to do some riding. Would something like a Civic or a corolla be able to handle going up mountains and carting around a few bikes? There are so many of them out there for really cheap and they seem to last a long time and are amazing on fuel.. I was also looking at the Subaru Outback and Honda accords.

What do you guys think would be the best option?

Corolla would be decent enough. We got a shitty old Honda Accord I bought for 1000 like 3 years ago. Nothing works on it. Sunroof leaks so bad. I make the old lady drive it. Still starts and stops. I can only imagine one that cost 3 grand would last you 3 times longer. Maybe a little bit less adjusted for inflation.

We actually have abet going I don't think it will make it another year. She seems to think so.

Corolla Camry accord. I see them in some pretty gnarly places. Don't get a vw they got low oil pans

Don't get a vw they got low oil pans

this. once i was driving through manning park and there were a few rocks on the road. suddenly I notice a big trail of oil on the highway which just got smaller and smaller and just around corner buddy was pulled over with a vw golf. ouch, that sucks.

also don't get a subaru. they're cool but anything you buy in that price range is going to blow head gaskets, water pump and timing belt in the first 6 months you'll own it and the repairs will cost you twice as much as the purchase price (well not quite, but close)

That's what I'm worried about with the Subaru's, I did some research and the ones in my price range 1998-2004 people end up with a leaky head gasket and lots of other repairs which has been turning me off of them. I'm leaning towards a civic or corolla, I really don't care much about power the car has, if it's easy to maintain and cheap on gas + reliable that's all I want!

Corolla has non interference engine. Good feature to have in a beater

The Corolla,Camry and Accords are all good options in that price range. Civics have kid following so try to avoid one that was teenaged owned. The first three choices can usually be found from grannies that don't drive anymore so they usually have low kms, decent shape and most likely a kleenex box in the back. Stay away from anything Dodge in that price range.

Also the Mazda protege can be a decent option, the protege 5 is sweet but the normal protege is quite a bit cheaper.

I've got a DIESEL jetta wagon with 256K (just broken in!) that i could let go for 4K. No accidents, paint's not the prettiest but engine is super solid and 1000Km per tank on the highway. Even has roof racks! (and snow tires)

And never have scrapped the oil pan.

I've got a DIESEL jetta wagon with 256K (just broken in!) that i could let go for 4K. No accidents, paint's not the prettiest but engine is super solid and 1000Km per tank on the highway. Even has roof racks! (and snow tires)

And never have scrapped the oil pan.

^ sounds like a decent car. Some people add a lift to their VW's through readily available suspension for other models. Also, you can buy a bullet proof skid plate for $400 to save your oil pan. My skid plate has saved my motor many times.

You should be able to get a Protege 5 in your range. We had one up until about 3 years ago and never had a problem.

If you want a cheap no-brainer car that will remain cheap, Toyota or Honda are your best bets.

I've got a DIESEL jetta wagon with 256K (just broken in!) that i could let go for 4K. No accidents, paint's not the prettiest but engine is super solid and 1000Km per tank on the highway. Even has roof racks! (and snow tires)

And never have scrapped the oil pan.

that you know of

because the stock plastic belly fairing doesn't make any noise when you hit something but after you put an evolution aluminium skidplate on the car it makes a lot of racket every time you hit some thing and with only 4" of GC you hit a lot of stuff ….you realize you just didn't know how much you were grounding out.

You might be able to find a first gen Honda CRV or Toyota RAV4 in that price but probably wont be in as good as shape as a similar priced camry, accord, or corrolla.

We got a shitty old Honda Accord I bought for 1000 like 3 years ago. Nothing works on it. Sunroof leaks so bad. I make the old lady drive it.

She's lucky to have such a considerate boyfriend… :P

There are decent used vehicles around in that price range. Last week a friend bought a 2004 Sentra for $1800. It has 120K on it, and except for some small paint peel on the hood it's in great shape. Only spent $200 changing fluid and brake pads.

Another friend picked up a half dozen older Civic and Acura ELs for $1K to $2K. They were for family and a couple friends, and all in decent condition.

Check out auto buy and sells in small town newspapers, Kijiji, and Craigslist.