About to buy a used car in the future and need your help.

Konvicted

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I was thinking of getting:

Jagaur XJ-6 (1990)


Mercedes 300E


Ford Crown Victoria (P71, ex police car) 1998+


Cadillac El Dorado


Cadillac Seville




The thing is that I dont know to much about cars and was wondering if these are ok running cars, I dont want a car that I will have to keep fixing. I wont be paying more then 3000. Will be first car.
 
Bionic

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Well you're gonna spend alot of time amd $$$ fixing all of these cars being that they're so old but you DEFINITELY DO NOT want to get a Jaguar! Lots of electrical problems. You may get one that works just fine but it's a crap-shoot.
 
Konvicted

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Well you're gonna spend alot of time amd $$$ fixing all of these cars being that they're so old but you DEFINITELY DO NOT want to get a Jaguar! Lots of electrical problems. You may get one that works just fine but it's a crap-shoot.
Yeah I heard that about the Jag's also. The Crown Victoria's the 1999-2001 are suppose to run good, checked online ratings for them, I have no idea about the Caddilac's though.
 

warnerve

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i've also heard bad things about the old mercedes and jags in terms of reliability, not sure about the cadillac
 
NateWA

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I would go with something like a Toyota or a Honda both have excellent reliability. Ive owned both. I have a Toyota Tacoma right now and couldnt be happier. Ive also heard that subaru in the last few years have really become excellent as well. I think those cars you listed though would probably require a lot of work down the road possibly more than you are paying for them.
 
Dadof2

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The Mercedes will cost a fortune to get fixed and for maintenance, I have also heard bad things about used Jags where reliabilty is concerned (that is why used ones are so cheap)

NateWA had good advice, get a Japanese, or even a Korean car. You cannot beat the gas mileage and reliability.

I have owned a Toyota Tundra, a Honda Accord, and a Kia Rondo. I have also owned several American cars: A Ford F-150, and a Mercury Cougar. I prefer the Toyota, Honda, and even Kia over the American ones by a landslide.
 
Dadof2

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Oh, and do yourself a favor and never buy a used police car, trust me on this. Police cars go through absolute hell, some are run 24 hours a day 7 days a week until they go down for service (this is especially true of small town jurisdictions). They are also driven damn hard, and generally wind up getting in a wreck or two.

Unless you want a car to work on, stay away from police cars.
 
Hurleyboy05

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My vote is for a honda. My first car was a honda CRX and it lasted FOREVER! Now I'm driving a honda accord and it has given me nothing but great gas mileage and a reliable morning heater. I'm all for a cheap car with good reliability!
 
EasyEJL

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I'd go with the crown vic of the ones pictured. Its kinda obvious you are looking for a full size car, so a honda won't cut it :) Also look at impalas up to 96, cheap full size and pretty reliable with the chevy 350 engine in em. Otherwise if budget is there a 2006 base dodge charger might not be too bad, can get a used one around 10k. Maybe a bit higher than these. A crown vic thats not a police car would be a good alternative
 
motive

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ok heres the run down from a car fanatic....
jag- belt system sucks after around 70,000 miles and maintance just gets worse regardless of how well you take care of it your looking at a money bucket

mercedes- good car. that specific model was a close runnner for car of year back in the day but now they are known for poor cooling issues. also finding one in good shaped is harder

ford crown- go to police auction get it for super cheap and it had for sure regular maintance. also parts for this car are the same as many many other cars made by ford so its inexpensive

caddy- dude, what are you 70 years old??? enough said about that one.
 

Mazderati

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I would go with something like a Toyota or a Honda both have excellent reliability. Ive owned both. I have a Toyota Tacoma right now and couldnt be happier. Ive also heard that subaru in the last few years have really become excellent as well. I think those cars you listed though would probably require a lot of work down the road possibly more than you are paying for them.
Seconded on the Toyota and Honda suggestion.
 
AFJON

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For the amount you are looking to spend, I agree with the others who say Honda is the way to go.
 
motive

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if your looking for something thats somewhat luxury but affordable... look into an older lexus es model. its made by toyota and very very dependable
 
Konvicted

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Just like easyejl said is that im going for a full sized car, preferbly luxury also. I pretty much hate japanese cars, I dont like the style of them.

I love Cadillac's haha I know there old people cards but love how they look.

Ill check out the lexus es, they run good?
 
motive

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Just like easyejl said is that im going for a full sized car, preferbly luxury also. I pretty much hate japanese cars, I dont like the style of them.

I love Cadillac's haha I know there old people cards but love how they look.

Ill check out the lexus es, they run good?
they run perfect... they have the same motors as the camry. i have owned several and never had a bigger issue than changing brakes or tires.
 
Konvicted

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they run perfect... they have the same motors as the camry. i have owned several and never had a bigger issue than changing brakes or tires.
Ohh damn, just checked them out and like how they look also, looks like that just might be the one im going to get. How many miles did you get out of them?
 
NateWA

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you can run them till the wheels fall off. 200K+
 

warnerve

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the old acuras are kinda similarly styled to the lexus and very reliable too
 
NateWA

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Yeah I think those LS400's are pretty damn fast too.
 
EasyEJL

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To me, foreign is the only way to go if you want an older reliable car.
only true in the smaller car segments. in the full sizers v8 engined full frame cars like he was originally talking about is where the american cars really shine. We just suck at smaller engines and unibodies :) theres a reason american cars get used for police cars + taxis...
 
Mach .78

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And for something completely different...get a diesel mercedes and do this to it.

http://www.greasecar.com/

I'm going for a diesel truck myself in the not to near future.:head:
 
motive

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i had my 96 es 300 till 175,000 miles on it. still ran like a champ! not to mention suppose some freak accident happened and you needed a new engine for it.... i bought an entier engine and transmission with 45000 miles for only 875 bux. i spent a total of 2200 bux on that car and had it for 4 years without an issue
 
T-Bone

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only true in the smaller car segments. in the full sizers v8 engined full frame cars like he was originally talking about is where the american cars really shine. We just suck at smaller engines and unibodies :) theres a reason american cars get used for police cars + taxis...

Because they are cheaper to repair?
 
EasyEJL

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Because they are cheaper to repair?
yeah, over the lifetime of them, given purchase cost plus repair cost per mile driven, they are the cheapest. Only the full size v8 based american cars is this really true for. We just aren't that good with the smaller stuff :)
 
T-Bone

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The thing is the last time I went to purchase a car, a 2003 Hyndai Sonata...I told the salesman I wanted a "foreign" car. He told me that nothing is really engineered overseas anymore, even Toyotas are made in America the guy told me.
 
EasyEJL

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well, thats true, the design work is done overseas though even if assembly is done here. we're cheaper labor here than in japan, thats for sure, particularly factoring in shipping costs.
 
ntrlmuscle

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bump for honda/acura,toyota/lexus recommendations.....SC300s/Sc400s are getting very cheap these days and are damn near bulletproof with regular maintenance

PS...if given the choice,go with the 400 as it gets pretty much the same fuel economy as the 300. i've owned 2 of each in the past as well as 3 MKIV Supras and absolutely loved every one of them. And about the cadillacs? pass on them unless you love swappin HG's(headgaskets)
 
EasyEJL

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the sc400 is a quite nice car, I remember the initial design stuff on it. the dude who designed the body was a japanese american in california, and he said he wanted a car that even the people with money would enjoy washing it by hand. the original body models were done with clay in large ballons, oiled on the outside to give the smooth flow feel.
 
NateWA

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I think the sc 300 uses a non turbo supra engine like the 2JZ that engine is insane
 
ntrlmuscle

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I think the sc 300 uses a non turbo supra engine like the 2JZ that engine is insane
for all intents and purposes, they are essentially the same motor(2JZ-GE vs 2JZ-GTE) but aside from the GTE obviously having lower compression and twin turbos/oil squirters etc, it also received a stronger bottom end. still, the 2JZ-GE's found in the N/A Supra,Lexus Sc300's and GS300's have been used to reliably hold 550+rwhp...not too shabby
 
motive

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for all intents and purposes, they are essentially the same motor(2JZ-GE vs 2JZ-GTE) but aside from the GTE obviously having lower compression and twin turbos/oil squirters etc, it also received a stronger bottom end. still, the 2JZ-GE's found in the N/A Supra,Lexus Sc300's and GS300's have been used to reliably hold 550+rwhp...not too shabby
there is a company that will trade you blocks plus some money and make it a true supra motor.
also the trannys are slightly different.
 
ntrlmuscle

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there is a company that will trade you blocks plus some money and make it a true supra motor.
also the trannys are slightly different.

the trannys are VERY different in fact...the W58 in the manual N/A supra is extremely weak(lol, speaking from experience of having a singled NA-T as one of my previous cars) VS the 6spd in the TT holds in excess of 900rwhp. the auto N/A's are good up until 300rwhp(or less) while the TT autos generally can withstand up to 450rwhp,give or take 50hp
 

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