Piston Slap: Wants Vs. Needs?

Sajeev Mehta
by Sajeev Mehta
David writes:Sajeev,I have never written into an advice column, but have always wanted to. I hope you respond!I think it’s important to separate your “wants” from your “needs”. Living this way and growing up in an urban area (Chicago), I never owned a car. Instead, I borrowed cars from friends or rode my bicycle. I have since moved to New Orleans, another urban center, but one with worse public transportation and access to grocery stores. Other things have changed in my life: I went from scraping by somewhere below the poverty line to making money somewhat above the poverty line.I still bike to work because it’s easier. Last year, a friend offered to sell me her 1999 Ford Escort SE wagon for $900. She is terrible at maintaining anything, but she only owned the car a year and had some service records. Her father owned before her and spent some money on it between when it was new and now as it has 189,000 miles on the clock.I felt confident I could get plenty of use out of it. In my year of ownership, I learned how to do brake jobs, replace ball joints and I felt pretty confident that this car would keep running. Yes, it was an underpowered econobox that most car nerds would scoff at, but I could carry six friends to the swimming hole one day and drive to Lowe’s or squeeze in some furniture I found on the street the next day.Recently, my girlfriend and I drove it to South Florida. On the way back, we pulled it into a rest stop — and couldn’t pull out. It wouldn’t start. I figured it was the starter, but it turned out the valve in cylinder four had dropped. I guess this is a common problem in high mileage, third-generation Escorts. Sadly, I scrapped the Escort (my first car love) and we rented a car to take us the rest of the way home. It’s unfortunate because I know if this issue had happened closer to home I could have, with the help of the Ford Escort Forum, replaced the heads and gotten the car running again. Being stuck 600 miles from home really made fixing the Escort economically impossible.My question Sajeev: I make a fairly steady (legal) income running my own business. I make cash (I have terrible credit because I defaulted on student loans) and could save enough money to buy another car. What should I get for, let’s say, $2,000 to $6,000? I want something with some room, that returns good fuel economy and can seat 4-5 humans conformable. I don’t need to drive it everyday, but I do want to be able to cross the country with it if I want. I feel confident in my ability to do much of the maintenance myself, but something simple would be good. I have considered Volvos, Ford Focus, Mazda3 and even the late to mid ’80s Panther-body LTD full sized station wagon — which would definitely get the worst miles per gallon but be pretty cool. The main thing is that it needs to be able to fit a roof rack and have a hatchback.Sajeev answers:Answering this query ( sans getting all Larry Winget about it) is a little tough because it’s less about the car and more about the person. My apologies in advance if my advice is both inapplicable and douchey to any and all readers. I have friends (some are 24 Hours of LeMons racers, so they are brilliant wrenches) with cash businesses and cheap (under $5,000) rides, but I wonder if they’d prefer the option of financing a more expensive vehicle with really, really low miles. No short-term leases to solve long-term problems. Just a $15,000-ish ride with a warranty and less downtime needed for…anything.Cheap cars have issues and needs. Your trip to Florida and numerous stories from LeMons racers driving to races are proof that the cheap stuff will interfere and/or ruin your trip.While student loan debt is impossible to erase, consider steps to improve your credit while buying this beater. IDP and buying basics (fuel, food, etc.) on a credit card that you pay on time can help you improve your credit rating. I reckon that better credit will be important in your future, so take steps now to make that happen.But that’s not the point of your question. On to the car…At this price, buy the cleanest vehicle with the most complete service records. Seeing proof of new brakes, fresh tires, and tune-ups is great. A receipt for a transmission service at 75,000 miles is heaven sent. Buy anything mainstream from a Japanese (no Q45s), South Korean (no XG 350s) or American (no Cateras) automaker and you’ll be set. And preferably something with plentiful parts in junkyards: 10-year-old Foci, Cobalts, Corollas, 1998 and up Crown Victorias etc. are a smart use of your cash.Maybe you’d turn into an E46 guru if the right one shows up, but don’t start hunting for 750iLs in your price range.David, you seem able to put life into perspective with wisdom and humility. That will serve you well, and it was an honor to answer your first query to an advice column.[Image: Shutterstock user Sisacorn]Send your queries to sajeev@thetruthaboutcars.com. Spare no details and ask for a speedy resolution if you’re in a hurry…but be realistic, and use your make/model specific forums instead of TTAC for more timely advice.
Sajeev Mehta
Sajeev Mehta

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  • Packardhell1 Packardhell1 on Dec 09, 2015

    I have to suggest a minivan. Go for one with a good service history. I just bought a 2004 Odyssey, excellent service history, new tires/brakes, leather, and is in good condition for $2,600. It does have 208k on the odometer but it runs and drives wonderfully. C'mon, what friends wouldn't be impressed with dual sliding power doors and a magic seat? It can fit a bike inside and has a hitch to fit a bike rack. We also have a 1998 Caravan. It was only $1,800 last year and is more of a beater. However, the A/C works, it averages 20 MPG with the 3.8, and it is so ugly with peeling clear coat that NOBODY will want to steal it. It has been easy to work on and parts are crazy cheap/plentiful.

  • Blaz Blaz on Dec 09, 2015

    2011 Hyundai Elantra Touring Hatchback - nice and cheap, resembles his former car.

  • ToolGuy Once again my home did not catch on fire and my fire extinguisher(s) stayed in the closet, unused. I guess I threw my money away on fire extinguishers.(And by fire extinguishers I mean nuclear missiles.)
  • Carson D The UAW has succeeded in organizing a US VW plant before. There's a reason they don't teach history in the schools any longer. People wouldn't make the same mistakes.
  • B-BodyBuick84 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport of course, a 7 seater, 2.4 turbo-diesel I4 BOF SUV with Super-Select 4WD, centre and rear locking diffs standard of course.
  • Corey Lewis Think how dated this 80s design was by 1995!
  • Tassos Jong-iL Communist America Rises!
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