Which car is better

[windsors03cobra]

Re: Which car is better

Cavi of that vintage all it takes is some neglected dexcool coolant and you got problems from the water pump and headgasket to clogged heater cores and radiators.

I would go for the Focus, then again I'd go for some type of GM product powered by a 3800 V6, they come in many flavors and get damn near as good of gas mileage as a rattle trap 4 banger econobox and cost about the same.

 

[roscoe]

Re: Which car is better

Find a Focus 4 door or wagon.

4 door will make getting the little one into and out of the car seat much easier.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Which car is better

In the $2500 price range, it's going to have a lot less to do with brand/model than it is with what checks out better at the mechanic. The Focus or Cavalier could be equally reliable. That price range won't touch a japanese car that isn't pretty well used up or rusted out.

 

[ziggy]

Re: Which car is better

That price range won't touch a japanese car that isn't pretty well used up or rusted out.

that's true.
i just had to replace my '87 chevy nova (toyota corolla in discise). 187k miles, totally rusted out. unsafe even.
my replacement car is a '97 geo prism. same corolla in discise except under a geo brand name this time. 119k miles, hardly any rust. $3k. couldn't touch a toyota for the price.

fwiw. i am kinda stuck on them corollas (specially under a non toy moniker as it saves dollars). just plain transportation. nothing fancy. good gas miles, reliable, etc. i thought about cavaliers, but the toyota reliability kept me going back to wanting a toy..

geo prisms i find were made in calif. by a joint effort between gm and toyota.. a half american car...

my goal was a plain car. no power anything if possible. no frills. less stuff to fail imho.. the prism comes about as close to that as i could find..

 

[River-Runt]

Re: Which car is better

For my $.02 the vehicle with the better maintenance records wins, documented oil change history would be huge. The vehicles were built to compete in the same class of vehicle, they have similar mileage and the rides are most likely comparable. I would pay my mechanic an hour of labor to go over the vehicle you prefer with a fine tooth comb, pull all the tires inspect brakes, check all the belts & hoses, look for leaks etc. My mechanic actually has a check-sheet he uses when he does this service.

In any overhead cam 4 cylinder engine the timing belt is a huge consideration at these mileages. If either can show that it was replace recently that is a huge plus. If not you will need to do that when you buy the vehicle and take the $300 hit or chance it going while you are driving and be in for a repair that could cost as much as the vehicle.

Also, the second set of tires is a big plus. The cost of tires has gone up about 20% in the last 2 years and is going to continue to increase with the price of crude oil. I found this out when I replaced the tires on my wife's Pacifica recently, fortunately neither of these vehicles take 17" tires.

Get your mechanic to put one under the microscope and it will be money well spent and may even give you a bargaining chip to boot.

 

[eastont]

Re: Which car is better

Geesh.....both these cars have been advertised for about 2 weeks, and between yesterday morning and this morning, they had both sold. I had tols both sellers that I would call this am to set up a road test nd have my mechanic check them out.

Either the check out scared them, or it's a strange coincidence.
Now it's back to the auto trader, newspaper, Kijiji and the bulletin board at the grocery store. I'll never have time to buy the wife anything for Christmas.....oh well

 

[RogersJetboat454]

Re: Which car is better

Geesh.....both these cars have been advertised for about 2 weeks, and between yesterday morning and this morning, they had both sold. I had tols both sellers that I would call this am to set up a road test nd have my mechanic check them out.

Either the check out scared them, or it's a strange coincidence.
Now it's back to the auto trader, newspaper, Kijiji and the bulletin board at the grocery store. I'll never have time to buy the wife anything for Christmas.....oh well

If the sellers were scared off by you wanting to have your mechanic look them over, you didn't want those cars anyway.

Plenty more out there, good luck!

 

[RogersJetboat454]

Re: Which car is better

For my $.02 the vehicle with the better maintenance records wins, documented oil change history would be huge. The vehicles were built to compete in the same class of vehicle, they have similar mileage and the rides are most likely comparable. I would pay my mechanic an hour of labor to go over the vehicle you prefer with a fine tooth comb, pull all the tires inspect brakes, check all the belts & hoses, look for leaks etc. My mechanic actually has a check-sheet he uses when he does this service.

In any overhead cam 4 cylinder engine the timing belt is a huge consideration at these mileages. If either can show that it was replace recently that is a huge plus. If not you will need to do that when you buy the vehicle and take the $300 hit or chance it going while you are driving and be in for a repair that could cost as much as the vehicle.

Also, the second set of tires is a big plus. The cost of tires has gone up about 20% in the last 2 years and is going to continue to increase with the price of crude oil. I found this out when I replaced the tires on my wife's Pacifica recently, fortunately neither of these vehicles take 17" tires.

Get your mechanic to put one under the microscope and it will be money well spent and may even give you a bargaining chip to boot.

Not that it matters anymore since both vehicles are supposedly "Sold", but finding out the timing belt service history is sound advice for any car if equipped. Belts should be routinely replaced at around 100K miles or about every 7-8 years (due to dry rot).

In the case of these vehicles, that Cavalier has a push rod engine with a timing chain. In the case of that Focus, the vehicle could have had either 2 flavors of engine. Either the time tested SOHC 2.0L CVH SPI engine, or the relatively new (at the time) 2.0L Zetec. Either engine is considered non-interference, meaning if the belt breaks they won't crash the valve train. Although from what I have read, the Zetec is non interference by thousandths if an inch. If the factory installed a little bit of a meatier lifter shim, or there is carbon build up, supposedly there are cases of a Zetec valve kissing a piston.

In the case of other vehicles (VW is one that comes to mind) a broken timing belt will result in bent/broken valves, damage to the cylinder head and piston(s) with out question.

 

[thefairlaneman]

Re: Which car is better

Here is what I do when looking for a car and so far has worked out well. First decide on what model I want. Next check craigslist /.auto trader/ newspaper and any you see parked for sale. Avoid car lots. Then after seeing AND DRIVING as many as you can PICK ONE and pay cash.....You got to know what you are buying before you buy it, Research the model for recalls /consumer complaints etc..

 

[dolluper]

Re: Which car is better

There are monthly Auctions in Winchester....those 2 cars you mentioned would sell at auction for less than 1000 bones.....check it out not that far away from you in Brockville...google ICAN auctions then check Rideau Auction ....they are open to the public and run about 400 cars trucks threw once a month...some e-tested+safety....the Rideau Auction site shows pics and info on the vehicles
Link below bottom of list is Rideau click on calender
http://www.icangroup.ca/main.cfm?p=30&l=EN

 

[Fly Rod]

Re: Which car is better

Just make sure the car you buy is not all electric, if it were you would have a hard time energizing it. Your home electric bill would probably be more then gasoline.

 

[eastont]

Re: Which car is better

There are monthly Auctions in Winchester....those 2 cars you mentioned would sell at auction for less than 1000 bones.....check it out not that far away from you in Brockville...google ICAN auctions then check Rideau Auction ....they are open to the public and run about 400 cars trucks threw once a month...some e-tested+safety....the Rideau Auction site shows pics and info on the vehicles
Link below bottom of list is Rideau click on calender
http://www.icangroup.ca/main.cfm?p=30&l=EN

What a coincidence, my wife told me about that site last night. I've been looking this morning.