My dad's looking for a comfortable car for basic transportation.

His spending limit is ~ $4500

We have two cars we're looking at currently:

1.) 1998 Mazda Millenia, 120,000 miles, 2.5 liter NA v6 (not the miller supercharged 2.3), clean interior, good exterior, drivetrain in good operating order, all electronics functional - $4,300

2.) 2001 Buick Century, 62,000 miles, 3.1 liter V6 (anemic), rough interior, good exterior, air conditioning doesn't work (aircon on/off button stuck "on" but compressor doesn't turn on) - $5,500

What do you guys think about the Mazda? Is the non-supercharged V6 more reliable (i'm sure it is but how much more) than the sketchy miller engine? The car seems to have been maintained well, and the current owner is a mechanic who's taken care of the car. I'm concerned about the number of miles though - 120k is quite a few.

I think it sounds like a pretty good deal. But I need your input. Thanks.

M.

 

If u think the Buick is anemic, drive the base V-6 Millenia, sloooooooooooooow 0-60 in I think 9 or 10 seconds.....Its been reliable, not oustanding but not bad.

With this heat, I just can't tell him to buy a car with the A/C not working.

 

or look into a mercury grand marquis
they have been pretty reliable

 

The Century doesn't have the 3.8L "3800" - it has the 3.1 liter V6 which I think may have been retired w/ that car.

It's slow - slower than the Millenia. My dad doesn't need the performance - we're looking at reliability and quality. The Millenia has both. The 2.5L V6 in the Millenia is only about 170 hp - but it moves the car along just fine.

The Buick on the other hand, may have the WORST interior I've ever had the opportunity to experience. Just awful. I don't know how they sold any of them.

As for the A/C - yeah, it's requisite w/ this heat.

Thanks for the input.

M.

 

We looked at the few merc/ford/lincoln panther cars available around here and the ones for sale at around $5g were in terrible condition. Also, gas mileage is a factor.

M.

 

Dood, according to the preliminary report from the FDNY, my 2001 Mazda Millenia developed a short circuit and set my house a blaze 2 weeks ago. Destroyed my 2000 S500. I'm staying away from mazdas from now on. And Fords... all the same.

 

I'm sorry for your loss. I remember reading the thread on that fire.

Lucky (or unluckily) for us, we don't have garage space for this (3rd) car. So it'll stay in the driveway where, hopefully, if it explodes, it won't damage anything or anyone.

I think your short may have been an isolated incident. I dont' think that's the norm for this car.

M.

 

Agree it's not the norm, just venting.

I'm still staying away from mazdas and fords nonetheless.

 

How about a nice mid-late 90's camry XLE, Accord EX or Maxima GLE? 1,000 times more reliable than any buick/mazda for the same $.

 

There's not a huge supply of those cars readily available around here on the used market. And because of this, at least in part, any car wearing the Camry or Accord badge, even if it's trashed, sells for top dollar. For instance, the cheapest Accord in the paper this weekend was a 1994 w/ close to 200k miles - asking price was $5,000.

I'd rather take my chances w/ Mazda. Besides, maybe some of you don't know this car's history. The Millenia was originally intended to be Lexus ES, Acura TL, and Infiniti I3x competition; the car served as a market test for the "Amati" luxury brand Mazda was considering. So the car was engineered and designed to a standard beyond that typical of Mazda USA products. The rest is history though, as you know, Mazda ran out of money, dropped the luxury plans and focused on what they do best - well-handling, lower-priced cars.

Point is - I think that the Millenia is a good value and should be reliable relative to everything else out there.

We're going later this morning to pick up the car. I'll post pictures here once we get the car cleaned up ... if I have time before I fly to Indy tomorrow. Time is flying.

M.

 

asking price will always be higher by about 1-2k than what you will pay for a car of this age. people normally put the higher asking price since they know the people looking to buy a car in thise price ranger will want to haggle agressively so they set it higher to counteract the 1000-1500 theyl lose in wheeling and dealing.

whats your zip? i wanna contact a couple friends of mine to see what they can dig up.

 

29445 - Thanks! We've got an appointment this morning to meet w/ the seller of the Millenia. My dad's pretty taken w/ the car and just might buy it. But if he doesn't, I'll pass on to him any suggestions you may have.

Again, this car is only to be a DD/beater for my dad; reliability/quality/comfort are what we're looking for pretty much in that order.

M.

 

since i just realized that its about 345am here and bout 545 in SC (i think) and im going to wake up around 2, its prolly going to be a while till i get in touch with my friends.

but in the meantime, heres a couple quick picks from autotrader.

1995 Camry LE w/75k mi for $3995
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...g=en&cardist=5

1995 Toyota Camry LE w/154k mi for $4,495
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...=en&cardist=12

1995 Toyota 4Runner SR5 4x4 w/147k mi for $5,500
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...=en&cardist=12

1995 Honda Civic EX Coupe w/??? mi for $4,700
http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...g=en&cardist=6

 

Thanks for the links. I've actually already taken a look at that blue 1995 Camry. It's at the Nissan dealership where I have my car serviced. It's not in bad shape. We'll probably take a second look at it.

Don't worry about getting in touch with your friends. I just talked with my dad and it seems he's pretty set on this Millenia. It's been taken care of and the seller is a mechanic who's done quite a bit of tune-up work on the car to get it in good working order (resurfaced rotors, o2 sensor, spark plugs, tires, engine comp upgrade/Mazda TSB, etc). Hopefully it's in as good of shape as it seems to be in.

M.

 

Past over the mazda, and Buick