So

my sisters old Volvo is at deaths door, and I am trying to help her find something better. She is a wee one, and so I thought "smart car". Then I found out they only get 33 MPG. So I think, what the hell. I can do better with virtually any car. I mean, my last crappy Pontiac got 22 mpg, and my friends old 90's Saturn managed 50 mpg once, coming out of the Rockies into the great plains.

So I looked up cars. In the reasonably priced range, everything seems to be 25/35, give or take. So crappy old cars get darn near as good of mileage as brand new economy cars? What the hell. And the Euro smart car gets 50 mpg. Fuck. Fucking fuck.


Anyone have a recommendation on where I can look for a cheap but durable (and still at least mildly responsible) car for my sis? I hope this cash for clunkers thing will help her out, but I wonder if it will be within the permitted range.

10 and under, for sure. I suppose it will depend on trade in value(I am guessing 1k or less) and whether the cash for clunkers thing comes to fruition soon enough, and whether it applies to her car.

I am a Mazda fanboy at this point, but my loyalty has merit. Check out the used car ads for them. Lot of car for the money.

I say this because I don't think you'll find a Civic, Corolla or Sentra that compares.

Good luck, regardless what you choose.

I routinely get 25 mpg in town and 32 or so on the highway. I have the 2.3 liter hatchback, not the MazdaSpeed3, which probably gets slightly lower mileage.

Anyway I love the car and have had no problems with it at all. Except for the OEM tires, which I just recently got rid of. They didn't last three years.

Fun to drive too. Now other cars are boring to me.

it's a '90!!

I love the boat feeling to old cars. I wish there were more station wagons though.

:P

She went from a super beetle to a Volvo station wagon. It was a bumpy transition. Literally, and fortunately all in parking lots or she might have some medical bills to pay too. That thing has so many dents, smashes, etc. A newer car wouldn't have survived the treatment. It is my strong hope that in a smaller car she will run into less around the edges.