What vehicle to purchase? (college student on a budget)
- Thread starter Avantcore
- Start date
ihatemybike
Explorer
Well, I'm in love with GMs 4.3L V6 engine. From my experience they will run about forever with minimal maintenance while providing good power and decent fuel economy. Normally I'd suggest an Astro to be set up as an expo van, but the manual requirement says go Blazer. It's not terribly hard to find nice ones.
http://bloomington.craigslist.org/cto/2463090037.html
http://salina.craigslist.org/cto/2406226353.html
I'll also suggest the Jeep Liberty. They're actually pretty good on the trails despite what the anti-IFS people say. I've had my hand in lifting/repairing several of them and they aren't that bad to work on. My wife's is lifted 3.5-4" and is armored underneath. The Chicagoland Liberty community is a friendly bunch. With group outing just about every month.
http://bloomington.craigslist.org/cto/2463090037.html
http://salina.craigslist.org/cto/2406226353.html
I'll also suggest the Jeep Liberty. They're actually pretty good on the trails despite what the anti-IFS people say. I've had my hand in lifting/repairing several of them and they aren't that bad to work on. My wife's is lifted 3.5-4" and is armored underneath. The Chicagoland Liberty community is a friendly bunch. With group outing just about every month.
bftank
Explorer
also not mentioned yet is the ford explorer. 4dr and 2dr varieties commonly available with the manual trans, cheap, parts in common with the ranger, lots of suspension stuff available. cheap to up grade. commonly get 18-20 on the highway. the one i have i paid $1700 dollars for, it had 98,000 miles on it with no rust. i wish it was a manual but the auto works. originally it got 16mpg running penzoil and with bad auto hubs. after switching to synthetics, and part time hubs i am getting 18-20 mpg on the high way. with an aggressive 30" mud tire. the ford 8.8 from the explorer is what jeep cherokee owners use to upgrade there rear axle. the high pinion dana 30 from the cherokee (disclaimer- this is my opinion) swapped under the explorer with a 3 link is an upgrade for the explorer. i have an electric fan for a chevy hhr that will be going in the explorer soon to hopefully get another mpg or so squeezed out of it.
explorer forum has a ton of info on these as well.
the blazers had manual transmissions most commonly in the 2drs if that helps,
the plus side to domestic are parts availability and cost. glad to see you are open, shows maturity.
diesel suburbans although almost all auto, are reasonable cheap and mostly get between 18-20 mpg.
i do think the subaru, with your previous rally experience could be a good choice, as well as the suzuki family. the downsides to these are less weight capacity, and tighter fit if you are a bigun.
hope this helps.
explorer forum has a ton of info on these as well.
the blazers had manual transmissions most commonly in the 2drs if that helps,
the plus side to domestic are parts availability and cost. glad to see you are open, shows maturity.
diesel suburbans although almost all auto, are reasonable cheap and mostly get between 18-20 mpg.
i do think the subaru, with your previous rally experience could be a good choice, as well as the suzuki family. the downsides to these are less weight capacity, and tighter fit if you are a bigun.
hope this helps.
4671 hybrid:
I too believe in not spending a fortune on ridiculous priced vehicles or name brand clothing.... can you say affluenza? Which I think is ironic since fashion is my career.
The Samurai wouldn't work out in Illinois weather, it would be like owning a Wrangler it seems like, you would have to store it for the winter (or freeze to death). I hated driving my radio stations company Wrangler in the winter, seemed like you could never get warm enough in it.
I am drooling at the thought of hitting the dunes. You have no idea.
Ihatemybike:
Nice to see a local! first one that I have seen that is nearby on here, let alone in Illinois. I would love to hear where you go for trips/fun/back roads etc.
I am personally not a big fan of the styling of the *non* K5 blazers, but I do love the old K5's, if they weren't such a money sucker I would be all over one. The few K5's I have seen around here were so ridiculously rusted, the only non-rusted example I saw was in Champaign, some cool kid painted it entirely matte red, lifted on some black procomps and spray painted on the rear tailgate "zombie emergency evacuation vehicle" in flat black with a bio hazard sign.
bftank:
I never knew they made diesel Suburbans, that's awesome. Too bad they're so huge, I cannot even imagine the nightmare of driving it around/parking it in Chicago.
I'll look into Ford Explorers. Never researched them because from being in a few I thought I recalled them being loaded with electronics, leather seats and tons of other things that seemed like it would be a hassle to deal with when it breaks and also assumed it made it weigh a ton. Maybe there is a basic simple edition worth looking at.
One of my all time favorite vehicles is a GF8 ('93-'01) Impreza wagon. I still want to buy one someday as a daily, but after owning 3 GC8's (Impreza coupe) I am positive it cannot handle the roads I would want to take it down due to it's height restrictions. I took my GC8's places they should have never gone but it was never high enough to continue, I craved more off-road, poor cars. The first one I owned paid heavily for me rallying it and pretending it had great off-road capabilities for a year.
Believe it or not, that little 1.8L GC8 had 302,000 miles on it and was still kicking when I sold it. The new owner is still driving it to this day!
Damn, now you guys have me missing doing 65mph cornering gravel/dirt roads in my Impreza in Washington and Illinois :drool:.
I too believe in not spending a fortune on ridiculous priced vehicles or name brand clothing.... can you say affluenza? Which I think is ironic since fashion is my career.
The Samurai wouldn't work out in Illinois weather, it would be like owning a Wrangler it seems like, you would have to store it for the winter (or freeze to death). I hated driving my radio stations company Wrangler in the winter, seemed like you could never get warm enough in it.
I am drooling at the thought of hitting the dunes. You have no idea.
Ihatemybike:
Nice to see a local! first one that I have seen that is nearby on here, let alone in Illinois. I would love to hear where you go for trips/fun/back roads etc.
I am personally not a big fan of the styling of the *non* K5 blazers, but I do love the old K5's, if they weren't such a money sucker I would be all over one. The few K5's I have seen around here were so ridiculously rusted, the only non-rusted example I saw was in Champaign, some cool kid painted it entirely matte red, lifted on some black procomps and spray painted on the rear tailgate "zombie emergency evacuation vehicle" in flat black with a bio hazard sign.
bftank:
I never knew they made diesel Suburbans, that's awesome. Too bad they're so huge, I cannot even imagine the nightmare of driving it around/parking it in Chicago.
I'll look into Ford Explorers. Never researched them because from being in a few I thought I recalled them being loaded with electronics, leather seats and tons of other things that seemed like it would be a hassle to deal with when it breaks and also assumed it made it weigh a ton. Maybe there is a basic simple edition worth looking at.
One of my all time favorite vehicles is a GF8 ('93-'01) Impreza wagon. I still want to buy one someday as a daily, but after owning 3 GC8's (Impreza coupe) I am positive it cannot handle the roads I would want to take it down due to it's height restrictions. I took my GC8's places they should have never gone but it was never high enough to continue, I craved more off-road, poor cars. The first one I owned paid heavily for me rallying it and pretending it had great off-road capabilities for a year.
Believe it or not, that little 1.8L GC8 had 302,000 miles on it and was still kicking when I sold it. The new owner is still driving it to this day!
Damn, now you guys have me missing doing 65mph cornering gravel/dirt roads in my Impreza in Washington and Illinois :drool:.
ihatemybike
Explorer
Legal trails actually in the Chicagoland area are very rare. Therefore for wheeling we'll go to Badlands ORP or Cliff Insane Terrain. There are a lot of forest service roads up in Northern Wisconsin and Midwestern Michigan that our group like to go to for weekend trips as well.
Here's my wife in her Liberty at Badlands last year. We've since added Wrangler Moab rims and BFG MTs. She's prepping it for long trips. The rear seat has been removed and a platform built to replace it. She's proud of her Jeep and would be happy to show it off if you want to check it out.
Here's my wife in her Liberty at Badlands last year. We've since added Wrangler Moab rims and BFG MTs. She's prepping it for long trips. The rear seat has been removed and a platform built to replace it. She's proud of her Jeep and would be happy to show it off if you want to check it out.
bftank
Explorer
the explorer can come pretty basic. mine is cloth seats, cassette player and power windows. the reason i chose the explorer over the cherokee is because it has a full frame instead of a unibody, the ford 8.8 31 spline axle, all ranger mods can bolt to an explorer, ability to put in a 2nd fuel tank from a bronco to get a 40gal capacity, lots of parts availability, good forum support if there is anything funky that comes up.
the reason i got a midsize suv in the first place is that i was pretending my minivan would handle the rough roads and deep mud that come with my job in the gas field here. it got to the point every time i took it out it would rattle more as things loosened up.
i took my time researching what i wanted based on some parameters that i had set.
a)easy to work on- i don't fit in small places well
b)4wd
c)ability to get 15+mpg while lightly loaded and geared up for offroad.
d)had to have ladder frame-makes modifying on my own easier and stronger in an accident
e)low miles-didn't want to be doing lots of major repairs right away
f)under $3000
g)reasonable reputation- there is always going to be haters but they better have a logical reason for me to agree.
h)good following-multiple forums clubs etc devoted to the car
the reason i got a midsize suv in the first place is that i was pretending my minivan would handle the rough roads and deep mud that come with my job in the gas field here. it got to the point every time i took it out it would rattle more as things loosened up.
i took my time researching what i wanted based on some parameters that i had set.
a)easy to work on- i don't fit in small places well
b)4wd
c)ability to get 15+mpg while lightly loaded and geared up for offroad.
d)had to have ladder frame-makes modifying on my own easier and stronger in an accident
e)low miles-didn't want to be doing lots of major repairs right away
f)under $3000
g)reasonable reputation- there is always going to be haters but they better have a logical reason for me to agree.
h)good following-multiple forums clubs etc devoted to the car
PirateMcGee
Expedition Leader
3rd, 2nd, or 1st gen 4runner.........
I just pulled an honest 25mpg out of my 86 4runner on 31's.......
I just pulled an honest 25mpg out of my 86 4runner on 31's.......
jeff parker
Observer
How fast were you going? I usually get 17 with an absolute best of 19 in my 87 on 30's. Of course the speed limit is 70mph and I try to do that (not always possible uphill or into the wind).
PirateMcGee
Expedition Leader
60-65, I have a pretty modified 22re though
thebrassnuckles
Explorer
get a 1st gen 4runner.
pretty good mileage, room for 4 (with crazy legroom in the back seat too...) fold down the rear seats, and build yourself a sweet sleeping platform. pretty capable offroad tons of aftermarket support.
pretty much meets all your requirements.. I get about 17 or 18 mpg in mine. Its got stock gears and 32's
I paid 2200 for my 85. put ome springs on it, a header, and am in the process of shoehorning a flippac on to it.. i am still under 8k invested also put 1400 worth of tires on it.... still under 8k
pretty good mileage, room for 4 (with crazy legroom in the back seat too...) fold down the rear seats, and build yourself a sweet sleeping platform. pretty capable offroad tons of aftermarket support.
pretty much meets all your requirements.. I get about 17 or 18 mpg in mine. Its got stock gears and 32's
I paid 2200 for my 85. put ome springs on it, a header, and am in the process of shoehorning a flippac on to it.. i am still under 8k invested also put 1400 worth of tires on it.... still under 8k
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Ruined Adventures
Brenton Cooper
1G 4runner's are great. Just be sure to ponder if you can live with 2 door vs. 4 door...I actually chose the 1st gen because of the fact that it's a 2 door. I can SQUEEZE in 5 people if I absolutely NEED to, but 99% of the time everyone will opt to ride in someone else's 4 door. It's win-win because I get out of driving whenever I want 
FWIW, 26 mpg is very possible. We pulled it off driving thru Yellowstone, driving 45-50 mph (my 22re/5 speed is stock). Trying to go 70mph definitely screws my mileage. I've kept track of my mileage since I bought my 4runner...in 1 year/14k miles I averaged 19.7 mpg. Over that 14k miles, it came out to almost exactly 50/50 city-highway.
FWIW, 26 mpg is very possible. We pulled it off driving thru Yellowstone, driving 45-50 mph (my 22re/5 speed is stock). Trying to go 70mph definitely screws my mileage. I've kept track of my mileage since I bought my 4runner...in 1 year/14k miles I averaged 19.7 mpg. Over that 14k miles, it came out to almost exactly 50/50 city-highway.
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thebrassnuckles
Explorer
1G 4runner's are great. Just be sure to ponder if you can live with 2 door vs. 4 door...I actually chose the 1st gen because of the fact that it's a 2 door. I can SQUEEZE in 5 people if I absolutely NEED to, but 99% of the time everyone will opt to ride in someone else's 4 door. It's win-win because I get out of driving whenever I want
FWIW, 26 mpg is very possible. We pulled it off driving thru Yellowstone, driving 45-50 mph (my 22re/5 speed is stock). Trying to go 70mph definitely screws my mileage. I've kept track of my mileage since I bought my 4runner...in 1 year/14k miles I averaged 19.7 mpg. Over that 14k miles, it came out to almost exactly 50/50 city-highway.
The 4runners 2 doors is what prompted me to buy my new truck...
well it wasn't the 4runners fault.... its just really hard to fit a car seat in the back seat... much less 2 of them:coffeedrink:
lstzephyr
wanderer
Just get whatever vehicle is nearby that seems to work well. Why not just find something near you that is reliable and switch when you feel like it. You seem to like switching so go with what makes you happy. Any suv/wagon type thing could do what you want.
8k is plenty to get whatever you could need/want. I have less than that in my truck, my motorcycle, my snowboard, my skateboard, my shoes, and my bicycle combined. You can easily get that whole transportation thing covered!
8k is plenty to get whatever you could need/want. I have less than that in my truck, my motorcycle, my snowboard, my skateboard, my shoes, and my bicycle combined. You can easily get that whole transportation thing covered!
Narrowed down list
Yeah I have been looking over the 4th of July weekend and decided to cut the budget in half to around $4-5k and put the extra budget away for studying abroad. After all the suggestions and research here's what it is pretty much narrowed down too:
Toyota 4runner ('85-'89). My only concern is I am not finding any 1985's in good condition for anywhere near the price's mentioned ($3,000), there all $6,000+ in ridiculous condition.
Are any of the other years without a solid axle worth purchasing? Also '86-'89 did the interior change much, or it's pretty much all the same?
Toyota 4runner ('97-'00). I am finding some here and there for around $4,000-6,000. Would I regret purchasing just a regular trim '97-'00 4runner?
Toyota Pickup '(92-'94): 4x4, ext cab, 5spd, 22re only. I like these quite a bit, but they seem to go for as stated before, ridiculous prices. You can nearly buy a Tacoma for the prices people want for these ($6,000-$9,000).
Jeep Cherokee ('97-'99): 2 door only. Bit harder to find but the going price seems to be $3,500-$6,000. My only concerns are the uni-body and also that I do love the above Toyota's quite a bit more.
Toyota Tacoma ('01-'04). Again I really like the ext cab, but the prices are somewhere in the neighborhood of $8,000-$12,000. Unfortunately way out of budget.
Personally, I really enjoy the thought of being able to have a soft-top, that's what influenced most of the options I put above. My top picks right now are the Toyota 4runner ('85-'89)/Toyota Pickup '(92-'94).
Yeah I have been looking over the 4th of July weekend and decided to cut the budget in half to around $4-5k and put the extra budget away for studying abroad. After all the suggestions and research here's what it is pretty much narrowed down too:
Toyota 4runner ('85-'89). My only concern is I am not finding any 1985's in good condition for anywhere near the price's mentioned ($3,000), there all $6,000+ in ridiculous condition.
Are any of the other years without a solid axle worth purchasing? Also '86-'89 did the interior change much, or it's pretty much all the same?
Toyota 4runner ('97-'00). I am finding some here and there for around $4,000-6,000. Would I regret purchasing just a regular trim '97-'00 4runner?
Toyota Pickup '(92-'94): 4x4, ext cab, 5spd, 22re only. I like these quite a bit, but they seem to go for as stated before, ridiculous prices. You can nearly buy a Tacoma for the prices people want for these ($6,000-$9,000).
Jeep Cherokee ('97-'99): 2 door only. Bit harder to find but the going price seems to be $3,500-$6,000. My only concerns are the uni-body and also that I do love the above Toyota's quite a bit more.
Toyota Tacoma ('01-'04). Again I really like the ext cab, but the prices are somewhere in the neighborhood of $8,000-$12,000. Unfortunately way out of budget.
Personally, I really enjoy the thought of being able to have a soft-top, that's what influenced most of the options I put above. My top picks right now are the Toyota 4runner ('85-'89)/Toyota Pickup '(92-'94).
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eric1115
Adventurer
I'll add another vote for the 1st gen. I'm loving my Cruiser, but my '89 Runner was tons of fun. Minor mods (BJ spacers and new leafs) give you enough lift for 33's, or leave it stock and run 31's or 16" 32's (235/85/16 or 265/75/16). Rear locker, and it's super capable! Solid axle is great, but the early IFS was actually pretty stout, and pretty capable. Interior is really similar between early and late 1st gen. Tons of aftermarket support, cheap and easy to mod and find replacement parts for.
22RE and 5 speed. I did a trip (also through Yellowstone, interestingly) mostly 2-lane, 55mph and under, and got over 25 mpg for a 700 mile road trip, including a 29mpg tank. 17ish in the winter, warm weather typical was ~20-22 mixed.
Not a lot of things more fun than summer time with the top off and half-doors! I always had a bikini or a Kayline type soft-top on the wish list but never got around to picking one up.
It's not great on the interstate, happiest around 65 or so, but it'll do 75 if asked and 80+ if pushed.