I’m sure by now you’ve heard of the woman who paid $7,300 for a 1996 Geo Metro on eBay, right? In reality, the car is worth about $1,500 (it doesn’t even have air conditioning) and was bought solely for the high gas mileage numbers (high 40’s overall). The Geo Metro was a rather under engineered, under powered and uncomfortable economy car with relatively limited appeal in its day. Now, with gas prices past $4.00 per gallon, these cars are being bid up in price way beyond their actual value, and I wonder how long it will it take for prices to tank once people have driven them for a while and find out that, overall, they’re not great cars and can be hard to live with – high gas mileage notwithstanding.
Of course, the Metro is an extreme and a fad whose time will pass, but there are plenty of small cars on the market today that far surpass the Metro in overall utility and satisfaction – if buyers will just keep an open mind and not get sucked into the hype of the Metro. Here are a couple of much better choices that will save you money and, most important, provide a higher level of value for your automotive dollar.
-
Toyota Corolla, 1990 – present.
Quite possibly the king of economy cars, the Corolla has been a top seller for Toyota for more than three decades. Two-doors, four-doors, wagons and even some convertibles make superb used car values today. Unlike the little Metro, Toyota is renowned for reliability – it’s not unusual for a Toyota to pass the 300,000 mile mark with no or few repairs. Fuel economy up to 40 mpg is definitely possible – my 2000 Corolla with 5-speed manual regularly got 40 mpg on the highway and 30 mpg in town. Older Corollas are not known for zippy performance, but comfort and good handling have always been virtues. Prices are still reasonable as Toyota sold tons of these cars here and the longevity is good – many remain happily chugging freeways everywhere.
-
Ford Escort, 1991 – 2000
While not as highly regarded as the Corolla, the Escort can still be a great choice in a small car. Based on a Mazda 323 chassis, the Escort has excellent road dynamics and, if optioned with the Mazda’s 127 hp engine, can be quite a charger on the open road. Of particular interest to folks looking for small car utility is the station wagon that offers plenty of hauling space with the convenience of the wagon body. And, plenty of wagons were made so as used cars, they are plentiful. Like most Fords of the era, creature comforts abound, and it’s only the few stripper versions that don’t carry all the “goodies.” The key to the Escort’s excellent gas mileage and good handling is low curb weight – a maximum of about 2,600 lbs. Since the Ford name is not as highly rated (for small cars) as Toyota, these cars can be a real bargain today. As always, buy the best condition (usually a one-owner with under 100,000 miles) and you’ll have a smile on your face for years to come.
Author: Dan Morton
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Netbook, Tablets and Mobile Computing
Related Posts -
Video Conferencing - Usage Fueled by Rising Gas Prices The first noticeable surge in usage was due to concerns over terrorism. The second was due to concerns over diseases such as SARS. The latest appears to be tied directly to the rising costs of gasoline. For the third time in this young century, organizations from various sectors, including education,...... - The Missing Link in Home Security Reach into your pocket or your purse and you'll likely find a fancy key fob that not only locks and unlocks your car, but probably controls the starter, lifts the rear gate or trunk and initiates a high tech security system. If you are lucky, your car is equipped......
- Working With Managed Partitioning Services With communication becoming one of the most integral part of our daily life and business operations, it is imperative that the channel of communication becomes important too. International and long distance calling are no longer rare with users having relatives and clients round the globe. In such a competitive scenario......
- What Does an Automotive Service Manager Do? The automotive service manager is the person that is responsible for the supervision of the service department for an auto dealer. They act as go-between for the customer, mechanic, and an auto dealer. The major part of their duties includes customer satisfaction and customer relations. They are ultimately the......
- Wealth Creation Is The Outcome Of A Simple Step Towards Systematic Investment Wealth creation out of capital market can be very tough and time consuming task. The people who earn through capital markets have to give too much of time to understand its every aspect. But with mutual funds, investing in capital market has become all the more simpler and less......
Related Websites -
25 Tips For Making Your Own Car Greener Instead Of Buying A Hybrid. Photo by freeparkingAlthough you could go out and buy a Prius (and believe me, I would like one), there are some things that you can do to make your existing ride a little bit more green and environmentally friendly for a lot less money. Of course, using a car sharing...... - Figure out your miles per dollar spent on driving. I just came across this site called Miles Per Dollar which has a handy dandy calculator that enables you to see how much it costs you to drive your car on a mile by mile basis. From the site, an interesting perspective: "It's simple. It's time that we add a......
-
Don't Waste Money On Oil Changes That sticker has been staring at your for a couple of weeks now. You see it out of the corner of your eye. Right there in the upper left hand corner of the windshield. It's telling you that you need an oil change every 3000 miles or when your...... - Gas Saving Myths And Some Real Tips You Can Use. So the price of gas got you down, huh? I pay $3.70 for regular unleaded here, which is not a pretty number. And even though it is high, the environmentalist in me wishes it would go higher, but that is a story for another blog. CNN has an interesting article......
- Ask M-Network: Should We Buy A New Or Used Car In This Economy? My Two Dollars reader Steven S. sent in the following question to the M-Network's new feature "Ask The M-Network": "My family needs another car, as our 16 year old Chevy just died and my wife has no way to get to work other than me dropping her off. We were......
Related posts:
