Looking for a winter beater car around $5K

[ondma]

ESC isn't magic, but its been proven to stop a little fishtail from turning into full blown off road excursions. In terms of snow driving I'd rather have it than ABS simply because in loose surface conditions like snow no ABS is often better than ABS.

An impreza would be great, but in snowy regions they tend to be way overpriced. I'd be thinking more about sedans that came in it but aren't what people usually think. VW 4motion cars. I know golf had it on some models. Maybe others. Ford fusion came in AWD. Maybe the old ones are cheap enough now?

Oh I agree. Of the three: stability control, anti-lock brakes, and traction control (they usually all come together now), stability control is by far the most useful. I do most of my winter driving on city streets at low speeds though, and seldom if ever does stability control kick in. At higher speeds such as slippery freeway driving, it would be much more useful. For instance, about ten years ago my wife hit the brakes in the middle of a turn at about 50 mph on the freeway in a snowstorm, and we fishtailed across the median into oncoming traffic. Fortunately no one hit us, and no one was injured, but antilock brakes and stability control most likely would have prevented that. My point though, was that none of those electronic aids will really prevent getting stuck. For that you need good tires, lots of ground clearance, and fwd or even better, awd.

 

[xnsheryl]

I bought a 99 4runner for $2100, get 4x4 and very reliable.

Sent from my SM-N915V using Tapatalk

 

[EXCellR8]

nah, impreza is always the answer... just look around and you can score a decent one. I only paid $6k for my '06 in 2015 and it was in Maine w/ 60k on the odo.

hands down the best car i've owned and if you need a beater you can grab one with much higher miles; I'd skip the WRX though.

 

[thedarkwolf]

What year did the 2.5l subaru engines stop eating headgaskets? That is the problem with $5k and less subarus.

 

[BurnItDwn]

What year did the 2.5l subaru engines stop eating headgaskets? That is the problem with $5k and less subarus.

Newer ones which have the CVT may have expensive transmission problems instead ...

I believe only the normally aspirated ones eat the head gaskets. WRX/FXT less likely to have gasket issues as far as I know. (friend had an 04 wrx which he sold when he bought a 2016 wrx. the 04 never had any engine or transmissions trouble in his 200k or so miles of driving it) ..

 

[crashtech]

Newer ones which have the CVT may have expensive transmission problems instead ...

I believe only the normally aspirated ones eat the head gaskets. WRX/FXT less likely to have gasket issues as far as I know. (friend had an 04 wrx which he sold when he bought a 2016 wrx. the 04 never had any engine or transmissions trouble in his 200k or so miles of driving it) ..

Do the turbo'ed ones have o-ringed blocks or something? I was thinking about getting my wife a newer Impreza with a stick, but those head gaskets, I'm just not sure. I have a '99 Outback that ended up costing more than it was worth when it needed head gaskets.

 

[ondma]

Don't a lot of newer Suburus have high oil consumption? My in-laws had the engine replaced at 100k because of it, and some of their friends have similar problems.

 

[mindless1]

For instance, about ten years ago my wife hit the brakes in the middle of a turn at about 50 mph on the freeway in a snowstorm, and we fishtailed across the median into oncoming traffic. Fortunately no one hit us, and no one was injured, but antilock brakes and stability control most likely would have prevented that.

You need to keep that idiot off the roads. There is no magic vehicle feature that changes that.

 

[thedarkwolf]

It isn't more 2.5l block/head specific? The WRX doesn't use that engine and back in the late 90s early 00s subaru was still making a 2.2l normally aspirated engine and it was fine. Been a long time since I did my cheap Subaru research. I gave up because they were all way WAY over priced, the headgasket issue, and most were beat to death + overpriced. I bought a Pontiac Vibe AKA toyota matrix which btw is also a good option for this thread since you could get them with AWD.

 

[frozentundra123456]

You need to keep that idiot off the roads. There is no magic vehicle feature that changes that.

Thank for the tactful comment. In her defense, she only learned to drive in her 30s and had very little experience driving on slippery roads, plus our daughter startled her by yelling "look out" or something like that because of stopped traffic in front of us. Really though, that is about the only time traction control, anti-lock brakes and stability control kick in. If one drives carefully and skillfully, there are only a few isolated cases where they are needed.

 

[desy]

Vibe/Matrix AWD
Additionally 08/10 Fusions w AWD are reliable too

 

[ultimatebob]

Ya know, I've noticed that 2003-2006 era Jaguar X Types are surprisingly affordable. Those have AWD, and since they're based off of a Ford platform, they don't seem to be as unreliable as a typical Jag from that era.

Does anyone here have any experience with them? I'd imagine that something like a Toyota RAV4 would be more practical, but it wouldn't be as entertaining!

 

[Alpha One Seven]

Snowmobile.

 

[JCH13]

Buy whatever car is locally available and most reliable for $5k, at that price point it's less about the exact make/model but the condition and history of any specific vehicle. IDGAF if it's AWD, 4x4, FWD or RWD. Spend the money on nice winter tires and you'll be fine.

I have driven in NH/VT snow my whole life with everything from RWD without traction control to AWD with ATRAC/torque vectoring. All you need are good tires.

 

[ultimatebob]

UPDATE: I ended up getting an AWD 2008 Mazda Tribute, which is basically a Ford Escape with different logos on it. It ended up costing more around the $7,000 range instead of the $5,000 range, but it had low miles and was in good shape.

It will probably end up being more reliable than a Jaguar X Type would, too

 

[Alpha One Seven]

UPDATE: I ended up getting an AWD 2008 Mazda Tribute, which is basically a Ford Escape with different logos on it. It ended up costing more around the $7,000 range instead of the $5,000 range, but it had low miles and was in good shape.

It will probably end up being more reliable than a Jaguar X Type would, too

Don't forget the winter tires so it will actually stay out of ditches and off curbs.

 

[mindless1]

UPDATE: I ended up getting an AWD 2008 Mazda Tribute, which is basically a Ford Escape with different logos on it. It ended up costing more around the $7,000 range instead of the $5,000 range, but it had low miles and was in good shape.

It will probably end up being more reliable than a Jaguar X Type would, too

One thing to watch out for on those, particularly in a salted/snow road environment, is the body can rust out at the strut tower mounts which, once bad enough, would be a safety issue.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xxen7P1tphk

This isn't necessarily a problem specific to the Tributes & Escapes, anything without a frame to mount the suspension to can suffer from it eventually.

 

[jlee]

California - 2004 Lexus GX470, 163k, 2 owners, $6190

Texas - 2004 Lexus GX470, 162k, 3 owners, $6795

New Jersey - 2003 Lexus GX470, 125k, 1 owner, $5,995

Anything from the northeast is probably rusting. How bad is hard to say without looking at it.

Edit: I see you already got something. Enjoy!

 

[thecoolnessrune]

One thing to watch out for on those, particularly in a salted/snow road environment, is the body can rust out at the strut tower mounts which, once bad enough, would be a safety issue.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xxen7P1tphk

This isn't necessarily a problem specific to the Tributes & Escapes, anything without a frame to mount the suspension to can suffer from it eventually.

About 4 years ago, my wife was driving our old Mercury Tracer around town when there was suddenly a loud thunk and the car sunk, followed by the Engine dying. Turns out the rear strut mount punched through the wheel well of the car, and then proceeded to crush the fuel cut-off switch that happens to be located above it.

It was kind of hilarious, but thank goodness it let go in our lazy 25mph town roads and not 75 MPH on the highway.

We welded a new strut mount in there and kept on driving it another year until the car's frame cracked under the engine, finishing it off for good.

 

[MixMasterTang]

Ya know, I've noticed that 2003-2006 era Jaguar X Types are surprisingly affordable. Those have AWD, and since they're based off of a Ford platform, they don't seem to be as unreliable as a typical Jag from that era.

Does anyone here have any experience with them? I'd imagine that something like a Toyota RAV4 would be more practical, but it wouldn't be as entertaining!

Dont do it! I loved mine but it was a pain in the ass and all maintenance was expensive.

 

[Shawn]

Maybe a 4WD Chevy Trailblazer?

 

[killster1]

Maybe a 4WD Chevy Trailblazer?

They already said they got a mazda tribute. I wonder how good the motor / transmission is made by mazda and ford interesting.

 

[ultimatebob]

They already said they got a mazda tribute. I wonder how good the motor / transmission is made by mazda and ford interesting.

I've heard that the Duratec V6's from that era are problematic, but mine has the 4 cylinder.