depending on how much money you have to play with.. i'd go with a V6 gen 3 coupe. Hell, if i was still young- I would have gotten the car at the intersection of my desires and my wallet! LOL! but real talk, grab a car that you enjoy driving- money's money, we all work for it but if you see the car you like on yr driveway- at least its another reason to keep going to work. Just don't dump all yr money into it. Good Luck!

 

I totally agree with (one to hate) stick with gen3, and instead of making $300.00 payments on a newer car, put that $300.00 a month into your gen3 and you can mod it anyway you want..

 

Many Toyotas now contain the same amount of America as Government Motors, Fiat, and Ford vehicles.

 

He's right: Camrys are assembled in Kentucky, USA and many parts are American made. The drivetrain and trans come from Japan (or else i wouldn't have bought mine). I owned my share of American cars and would like to buy American again, but i won't. I got really tired of check engine lights, warranties that aren't, designs that make simple maintenance chores seem like the thing was designed by your worst enemy, and lying underneath the clunker at 9 pm on a sunday night fixing it, just to get to work the next morning.

GM sells a lot of stuff that is actually foreign made (because they really, really hate the UAW i suppose). So does every other "american" car company.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2007-03-21-car-content-chart_N.htm

Camry is proof that crappy American cars are NOT the fault of the American auto worker but greedy, obtuse, un-american and short-sighted high level American management. Toyota has been making Camrys in their Georgetown, Kentucky plant since 1988 and employs over 7,000 Americans (still non-union).

Anyway after all that, if you need low-cost transportation and it doesn't matter to you what country made it, i'd check consumer reports past ratings, and pick something that seems like it won't blow up anytime soon.

And speaking of cars that blow up, there's only one brand i'll never EVER buy again: Volkswagon!! :headbang:

 

I think it will be just fine to have an American car...lol

 

stay away from the northstars, mine seriously almost cough fire twice this year.

i do however recommend the chevy nova ...... you know the one that came with the 4a
or the pontiac vibe
or the lotus else :lol:

 

Well, if you do get an American car...get some old iron. Then you can eventually do something like this...

I hope to be able to do this with my Mustang!!!

 

Am I hearing an E36? lol

Just buy another Camry. The Gen5 is one of the sexier and better built generations IMO.

 

hee hee hee. Even an E36 on cinder blocks will cost more than $700 . But there are plenty of E90s coming off leases so that might work too.

But if OP is looking a comparable Gen3/4 then I think Toyota is still fine back then, and Detroit was just falling into bankrupcy back then.

Gen5+ are actually kinda clunkers (engine/transmission problems) while some of the new products coming out of Detroit are becoming much better (unfortunately for Detroit, these are still primarily European designs).

 

stay with Toyota there so freakin dependable most American cars would only dream of getting 150,000+ miles without major work done to them let alone 300,000 which is very possible with the camry.

 

I have a 1989 Camaro with a 5.0 v8. It has 224,043 miles on the original engine/5 spd transmission. It runs great, and has quite a bit of torque still. Doesn't smoke at all, unless under load at WoT. Even then, it's minimal. Aside from the small things being replaced, alternator, water pump, etc, I have had no serious issues with the car.

Another car I own(Got it for 400$ from a friend about a year ago) is a 1999 Ford Explorer. 303,320 miles on the odometer. He was commuting between San Antonio and Austin on a daily basis for quite some time. After going through the truck thoroughly, all that it needed was a new set of front brake pads and an oil change. It has an auto tranny that still shifts perfectly, engine still has power, and like the Camaro, it doesn't smoke.

I have never been stranded by mechanical failure in either of these vehicles. I did run out of gas once in the Camaro, though. Haha. :headbang:

 

I didn't realize they still built American cars.

I just read something about a report that showed Toyota ranked 17 out of 20 on the number of consumer complaints reported.
The vehicles that recieved less complaints than Toyota were luxury auto makers like Porche and Mercedes-Benz.

GM and Ford ranked 12 & 13.

 

Ahhhh bmw. WONDERFUL cars...but not for those of us short on money. I loved out E36 328i... Miss that car. But the camry just does better with cost of repair. I could have easily repaired mine for dirt cheap. I just didn't want to deal with a bent frame.

edit: american cars....not my thing. american trucks maybe... although we had more problems with our old 92 exploder at 105k than the camry at 171k. and I'd bet our 03 expedition and 99 town and country have had more problems at just under 100k each. I just think a consumer's cash is best spent on a 'yota.

 

Despite owning the Ultimate Driving Machine, I tip my hat to Toyota. My 94 was a tank. Had 270k on the odo when the transmission finally went. An absolutely wonderful car. Compliments came daily on how well it ran and everyone always thought it was newer than it was.

If you don't have but $700, I would recommend fixing your current car if it's only body damage.

 

^ true story. if ford can stay out of bankruptcy when other can't, make a 2011 mustang v6 out-do the 2010 GT, and recieve better reviews on the fusion hybrid than the camry hybrid, i'll look into them. :lol:

 

Thats why i loved my J-vin (made in japan, shipped over to the US) camry. :clap:

after about 1996 VWs apparently have SHIT electrical systems. so i've heard at least.

 

after about 1996 VWs apparently have SHIT electrical systems. so i've heard at least.

Yeah VWs arent to solid. There engines are pretty reliable but the transmissions and electronics are a crap shoot. Thats why a like 2001 passat is like 4k with 100k miles.

And there the biggest pain to work on.

 

2nd gen Explorer V8's aren't bad. Bit thirsty if you like to hoon 'em, but otherwise quite solid and reliable (Have had one in the family since 1998; still running strong, and still burning civics at redlights :lol.

The Explorer with the Cologne-V6, though, that thing's a POS. Underpowered and horribly unreliable...

Of course, I still suggest you buy a Gen3 V6-coupe/5-speed-V6-sedan:thumbsup:

 

2nd gen Explorer V8's aren't bad. Bit thirsty if you like to hoon 'em, but otherwise quite solid and reliable (Have had one in the family since 1998; still running strong, and still burning civics at redlights :lol.

The Explorer with the Cologne-V6, though, that thing's a POS. Underpowered and horribly unreliable...

Of course, I still suggest you buy a Gen3 V6-coupe/5-speed-V6-sedan:thumbsup:

I completely agree. The V6 is absolutely god awful, but the 302ci they put into the 2000ish model Explorer is bullet-proof. Have one in the family and it's our second best vehicle. Low maintenance, never needs repair, plenty of refinded power. Absolutely love it. That and a 03-04 Mustang V8 MT are the only American cars I would buy. But that's just me.

And yes, listen to this man :thumbsup:
Gen3 coupes are the sex!

 

i LOVED that 1st gen explore! until the tranny started shitting at 100k. :lol: and yes, i'm definitly staying toyota. still unsure on the gen of camry though.

 

sex this week is defined as a gen 5.5 SE with a charcoal interior, coilovers, 3MZ-FE engine, a few engine and exhaust mods, maybe a manual swap down the road and possibly a 1MZ+S/C added on down the road. otherwise...STOCK. Mmmmm sleeper. :licklips:

 

I had a 1973 Dodge Dart Swinger with a slant 6! It is still running today! Sold it with 120K miles back in 1989.....They are indestructable!!!

 

AE86 'rolla maybe? Oh well. They know they're bland.... hopefully they'll fix it. They're just VERY cautious and conservative when it comes to bringing things like that to their line up.

 

Chevrolet

1998 Chevrolet truck hits the 1 million mile mark.


http://www.knfilters.com/news/news.aspx?ID=157

 

1998 Chevrolet truck hits the 1 million mile mark.


http://www.knfilters.com/news/news.aspx?ID=157

Thats why i don't rule out american trucks/suvs. I've seen articles on fords doing 1 million too.

 

Oil sludge problem

Have to watch out for oil sludge problems on some models:

http://legacy.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070203/news_1dd3signtoyo.html