mmarshall

Well, a 12-18 month old Tiburon would probably run around 15K.....and still have 8-9 years or 80-90,000 miles left on the drivetrain warranty.

What kind of driving do you intend to do? How many people do you normally carry? Is power/high-performance important, or are you looking for gas mileage? How important is maximum reliability? Do you want crash protection? Is most of your driving in town or in rural areas? You also have to take insurance costs into account. Apparantly 15K or so is your limit, right? Give us a few specifics and we can help you a lot more.

DaizenLex

no guys you got it the wrong way my budget is only about 5k and i want something that is basically an AWD beater

mmarshall

OK...that narrows it down quite a bit.....The best bet for a 5K AWD beater would probably be a high-mileage Subaru Impreza. If you look at one built before 1995, make sure it is AWD and not FWD....Subaru also sold FWD products here until 1995-96. A few old AWD Honda Civic and Nissan Sentra Wagons from the mid-1980's may still be available but they will be pretty well worn out.

Just keep in mind that a 5K car will likely not be as reliable as something newer or lower-mileage.

Good Luck.

DaizenLex

how do those subaru hold up anyway

mmarshall

The 1993-2000 Imprezas have been better than average ( and in some cases much better than average ) reliability-wise both as new cars and as used cars. The 2002's and up have been average, according to Consumer Reports.

Of course, if you are looking at a $5000 one it will have high mileage and wear on it, so, of course, no one can make any guarantees as far as reliability is concerned.......that is one of the chances you take with a cheap high-mileage car. Timing belts on Subarus have to be replaced, because they can and do break. And , as with any high-mileage car that is driven in snow / salt conditions, check underneath for rust. In their favor, however, Subaru is VERY experienced with All Wheel Drive, and makes one of the simplest and most reliable AWD systems on the market. The U.S. Ski teams have used them for many years.
That is why, as an "old AWD beater"....as you put it.....a 5K Impreza is my first recommendation.,