NOFX February 7, 2008 Share NOFX Member February 7, 2008 2000 Mustang OR 2003 Tacoma Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ringadon February 7, 2008 Share Ringadon Member February 7, 2008 (edited) Which one has better fuel economy? cause that's the one you should go with. Gas prices are outrageous and they're not going to get any better. Ring Edited February 7, 2008 by Ringadon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[LaW]Maverick February 7, 2008 Share [LaW]Maverick Member February 7, 2008 Well, if you want to get crappy miliage, spend a lot of money on things like tires, repairs, etc...go with the Mustang. If you want something that'll run for a very long time, get the Toyota. Mustangs aren't the most reliable cars in the world, and the V6 varieties aren't all that fast either...not terrible, but not real fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stutters February 7, 2008 Share stutters GC Alumni February 7, 2008 'yota. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nut February 7, 2008 Share nut Member February 7, 2008 info? specs... gotta give more info then that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magruter February 7, 2008 Share Magruter Member February 7, 2008 tacoma all the way. I think that might be my next vehicle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boiler February 7, 2008 Share boiler Member February 7, 2008 I would pick the one that's not a Ford In all seriousness though, the Toyota will be a more reliable and practical choice here. Not to mention the fact that it's three years newer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clueless February 7, 2008 Share Clueless GC Alumni February 7, 2008 The Tacoma will be around for a very long time if maintained, they are good, solid vehicles....very dependable. The V6 Toyota,depending on which V6,is decent on fuel..better than the Mustang, but not gonna set any records. But that minor loss of mileage comes from alot of power. My g/f has a 4Runner with almost 150k on it...purrs like a kitten, runs very strong. Coming from someone who has spent 1/2 his working life in the automotive field I can tell you...Mustangs are cool looking, but not very reliable. Anything short of a V8 is weak, even the 5.0 isnt all that great, it just feels like it in a light car. That generation of engine was prone to alot of problems, I used to see MANY of them. I recall they even made a special "problem solver" EGR valve gasket for those things because the carbon deposits in the upper intake tract were so bad that it would plug the EGR valve solid, along with the ports leading to it inside the intake, so Ford's brilliant answer was a gasket with a screen on it, LOL. They also had many computer sensor issues...EVP sensors were one of them...we stocked one of every number at the last shop I worked. And finally...I always thought the build quality of the Mustang was mid-range...any one that I have driven that has more than about 45k on it was a rattle box...bumps and squeaks everywhere...I HATE that....GM F bodies were even worse, but that's another story, LOL. Hate to say it...but as far as anything built in the last 15 years or so...I would'nt buy much that was made in America...the Japanese and Germans are so far ahead of us in quality and longevity, and for what these cars and trucks cost these days...I want the best I can get for my money. I was always die hard American growing up just because we are supposed to be...but they arent earning that devotion from us anymore. I bought my first new car ever last year and it was Volkswagen. Hope this helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bewildered February 7, 2008 Share Bewildered Member February 7, 2008 I like the truck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOFX February 7, 2008 Author Share NOFX Member February 7, 2008 Thanks for the input guys... Here's the low down. I own a truck that looks just like that. It gets good gas mileage for a truck, probably around 25 or so on the highway. Mine is a 2003 with about 60k miles. I've only had it for about the last 10k miles. So far it's been a good little truck.. Anyway, that stang is listed for about $6500 and only has 65k miles. My truck bluebooks for around 9k... So I will defintely make out in the green. Keep in mind I never buy from dealers. I find someone who is selling and something I can get a great price on. I actually sold a couple of vehicles for a profit last year. So here is the dilema, This truck is starting to suck driving around town, plus I'm almost to tall for it. I have absolutely no room in it either. I'm thinking about getting something that is comfortable and get's decent gas mileage(about the same as the truck, but better is always a plus). I really would like driving a car on the 5 hour drive to my parents house, rather than this truck. I'd like to be able to just kick back and have something comfortable to ride in. Here's the deal, Im looking in the 7k range, but willing to go higher for the right vechicle, not crap. It's gotta be a 2 door coupe. Preferably a 5 speed and I want something fun to drive. Suggestions anyone? Honda civic? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clueless February 7, 2008 Share Clueless GC Alumni February 7, 2008 Honda's are awesome cars, very reliable, and lots of stuff available on the aftermarket should you decide to pimp your ride. If you are stuck on a 2 door, that's about all that comes to mind...if you wanted a sport/luxury 4 door...then I would look at finding an Audi A4...I had one and they are powerful and handle like nothing I have ever owned. Very reliable as well...mine had around 240k on it when I sold it...still ran like a top. VW and Audi construct their bodies completely from galvanized metal...so you are most likely never going to develop rust...mine was perfectly solid even though the paint was old and sunfaded (it was a 96), and with no real clearcoat left....the protection from the elements is limited...and it never rusted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[LaW]Maverick February 7, 2008 Share [LaW]Maverick Member February 7, 2008 Don't buy a Civic either--because for that price you're looking at a Civic with at least 95k on it. Want my advice? Keep your truck. Don't buy the Mustang, that'd be a horrible idea (no offense) because you'd be trading a quality vehicle with no room for a crappy vehicle with no room. I only disagree with Clueless on one point--there ARE a few good American cars out there if you're careful with what you buy, and certain German cars have gone to crap in recent years. (VW's reliability ratings are worse than Ford's, for example, right now) If you're looking in that price-range, and you want something with under 70k miles on it, you're looking for an American car due to resale values (generally speaking). If you go foreign, look hard at Subaru's and Toyota's--I'd avoid Honda's and I'll tell you why: My wife has a Grand Prix now (2004 with the 3.8L V6), and it hasn't had a single problem or extra cost since we've owned it. It's up to 97k miles. Her Civic, which we traded in at 89K miles left her stranded on the road a total of 4 times and cost $3,000 in 6 months in extra repairs. That being said, she took FANTASTIC care of the vehicle. I'd avoid other Honda's simply because, when you're looking at one from 60K to 100K miles on it, you will probably have to replace the timing belt first thing, and that will cost you around $650-$800. Toyota's and Subaru's don't have that problem, AND they have better reliability scores with J.D. Power and Consumer Reports (to name a couple). If you want to go American, I'd reccomend just about any GM with the 3.8L V6...that engine was described in Automobile Magazine as: "reliable as the sun coming up each morning." Just my two cents! Hope that helps! P.S. I had a friend just get rid of his Mustang for a G6, and he's so happy he did it. He said the Mustang was the most painful car he's ever owned. It was a V6...2002ish I think. Same body-style and engine though, and it drove him nuts. He gets more power and better milieage with his G6. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazarus February 7, 2008 Share lazarus Member February 7, 2008 I agree with clueless. definitely go honda or audi. I really put alot of time buying my first new car and i found the best bang for your buck was the audi a4 or the acura tsx(4door) or rsx(2door). All 3 of these cars are super reliable, have great resale value, and come with alot of options standard. I ended up getting the tsx, and I absolutely love this car. I have nothing but good things to say about it. Also, the rsx is the 2-door sporty version of it, so no going wrong with either one. And the only reason I didn't go with the a4 was that it was slightly out of my price range. I highly suggest taking a look at all 3, and taking a test drive. And to answer your initial question: tacoma>>>mustang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clueless February 7, 2008 Share Clueless GC Alumni February 7, 2008 I only disagree with Clueless on one point--there ARE a few good American cars out there if you're careful with what you buy, and certain German cars have gone to crap in recent years. (VW's reliability ratings are worse than Ford's, for example, right now) If you're looking in that price-range, and you want something with under 70k miles on it, you're looking for an American car due to resale values (generally speaking). If you go foreign, look hard at Subaru's and Toyota's--I'd avoid Honda's and I'll tell you why: My wife has a Grand Prix now (2004 with the 3.8L V6), and it hasn't had a single problem or extra cost since we've owned it. It's up to 97k miles. Her Civic, which we traded in at 89K miles left her stranded on the road a total of 4 times and cost $3,000 in 6 months in extra repairs. That being said, she took FANTASTIC care of the vehicle. I'd avoid other Honda's simply because, when you're looking at one from 60K to 100K miles on it, you will probably have to replace the timing belt first thing, and that will cost you around $650-$800. Toyota's and Subaru's don't have that problem, AND they have better reliability scores with J.D. Power and Consumer Reports (to name a couple). If you want to go American, I'd reccomend just about any GM with the 3.8L V6...that engine was described in Automobile Magazine as: "reliable as the sun coming up each morning." First of all...those consumer reports and such arent always accurate...actually, they are usually VERY misleading. I would put 1 VW against a dozen Fords any day of the week. I can argue this point all day long, but I will give you one example....in our system we had access to the factory technical service bulletins for all makes...these are common repeated issues that the factory is aware of compiled from dealer service records, meaning, they are real world issues. VW has about 1/2 a page to a page for any given model...Ford and most other american makes on average have PAGES...and I mean LOTS of them. As for Toyota...great cars too...just nothing too sporty that I could recommend. As for Suburu, yes, great cars too, but they are very different from the rest, and what that means for you is that if and when it does need service, you be stuck taking it to Suburu and paying top dollar as most technicians dont have the knowledge, experience, or patience to work on them. If you were really serious about one of these, take the time to see if there are any private owned shops in your area that specialize in them, or keep in mind that you will be going to the dealer for all of your service. As for the timing belt thing...that is really a non issue as MOST all modern V6's and 4 cylinders have a timing belt and they ALL need replaced around 90k...I dont care what make it is...the belt is made from the same material. And for the vehicles that run a chain...alot of those develop issues with the chain tensioners and have an equal chance of needing repair, so dont let that sway you. Actually, coming from someone that has replaced MANY timing belts..Hondas are among the easiest and if you are mechanically inclined, patient, and buy a service manual, you can probably do it yourself. And the Grand Prix...yes, the 3.8 is a great engine, thats why its one of the only GM engines that is still around since the late 80's with few changes (fundamental changes I mean). But the sad thing is that the majority of those A body GM's came with a much crappier V6, like the 3.1 or the 3400...which needed intake gaskets changed about every 70k due to poor design...and that is an 800 dollar job. German and most Japanese vehicles are built with more common sense, they are easier to repair, and generally dont fail due to cutting of corners...american cars these days are sickening to me...they are built with pure profit and productivity in mind, they do not care about you or the guy working on it...they are designed to go together efficiently on an assembly line, and usually not technician friendly. As far as they are concerned, as long as it makes it past the 36k mark, they dont care. German cars are especially well designed, I have had many apart...and alot of them VERY apart, lol..they well designed and easy to work on...you can tell that they still have alot of pride in what they do, and it shows in the engineering. All the consumer reports in the world wont tell you what its like from a technicians standpoint...and another thing I can tell you about GM in particular...the bodies suck...I have seen SO MANY 2002 and up Olds Alero's that the quarter panels are rusted through already!! THERE IS NO REASON FOR THAT IN THIS DAY !! It is purely because they dont want to spend the money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stutters February 7, 2008 Share stutters GC Alumni February 7, 2008 'yota. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[LaW]Maverick February 7, 2008 Share [LaW]Maverick Member February 7, 2008 Clue, I agree with you whole heartedly on Consumer Reports--but last time I bought a car I did everything from talk to a variety of mechanics to read thousands of forum pages to picking the articles out of every car magazine I could find. While I would still buy a VW over a Ford any day of the week, I would buy a Toyota over a VW just as often. They still make decent cars, but not nearly as good as they used to. Out of the several people I know that own VW's, they've ALL had problems, and they've ALL been expensive to repair. I guess I was a little harsh in my previous post, but I think you can agree with me that he should probably keep his Tacoma, and I know you agree that he should DEFINITELY not buy a Mustang. In addition, are you sure the Honda timing belts are assembled similarly to others? When the timing belt on my old girlfriend's Sunbird went (at 148,000 miles) it was just a simple replace-me type scenario...cost $145 or so. When my Dad's Acura needed a new timing belt, it cost him $750, and that was one of the lower prices he was quoted. The way I thought it was different is that Honda connects the timing belt differently, and in such a way, that if the belt goes, the engine goes. When I asked a Honda technician at the Honda R&D Lab, he told me that yes, if the timing belt on the Honda goes the engine generally does to--he also said they didn't need to be engineered that way. My suggestion is stick with the Tacoma, but if you really want a 4 passenger car that bad, look hard at GM cars with that 3.8L V6--you'll get more bang for your buck that way, and a vehicle with less miles on it than you would if you bought anything foreign. P.S. Old VW's run FOREVER. I knew a guy that had a Jetta with 240k on it and it ran beautifully--still even looked decent! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clueless February 7, 2008 Share Clueless GC Alumni February 7, 2008 Yes, I do totally agree...keep the truck over the stang...no question. As far as the timing belts taking the engine out, that is common on most engines these days...they call that an interference engine, meaning that when there is no belt and the piston is all the way up..a valve when all the way open can contact the piston...and if this happens while the engine is at rpm's much higher than idle when the belt breaks...then they can collide causing damage. I have seen many belts break and not cause damage, but I have also seen some guys have a real bad day. That is why they are viewed as a scheduled maintenance item and should be replace no later than 90k. The timing belt is the only thing keeping everything moving...well...in time, so breakage = bad. But they are all assembled different in some ways, but fundamentally all the same...pulleys on the cam gear/s...and a pulley on the crankshaft with some sort of spring loaded or hydraulic tensioner, and also an idler for most DOHC engines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOFX February 7, 2008 Author Share NOFX Member February 7, 2008 (edited) So I found a 2005 Civic 17k miles, 5 speed... they are willing to sell it for 11,000. that is about 3.5k less than private party good value. Its exactly what Im looking for and its a great deal, but I believe I would be better off saving my money... http://norfolk.craigslist.org/car/561607723.html Edited February 7, 2008 by NOFX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoMamma February 7, 2008 Share YoMamma Member February 7, 2008 So I found a 2005 Civic 17k miles, 5 speed... they are willing to sell it for 11,000. that is about 3.5k less than private party good value. Its exactly what Im looking for and its a great deal, but I believe I would be better off saving my money... http://norfolk.craigslist.org/car/561607723.html That looks like a very clean car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[LaW]Maverick February 7, 2008 Share [LaW]Maverick Member February 7, 2008 So I found a 2005 Civic 17k miles, 5 speed... they are willing to sell it for 11,000. that is about 3.5k less than private party good value. Its exactly what Im looking for and its a great deal, but I believe I would be better off saving my money... http://norfolk.craigslist.org/car/561607723.html Keep the truck, that's my advice. Civics still bother me because it left my wife stranded so many times, and it was a clean car. I will tell you this--civics have rust problems in the area of their exhaust, but with only 17k miles on it, it's a good deal. I'd still keep that truck though. Tacomas are nice (if a lil' small on the inside) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lostoften February 8, 2008 Share lostoften Member February 8, 2008 Have a 2006 Civic EX w/ about 30.000 on it and still loving it. Have not done anything but change the oil. I have been caring a new air filter in my trunk for a couple weeks that needs changed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nut February 8, 2008 Share nut Member February 8, 2008 well it looks like that mustang is the worthless v6 model.. umm and that truck is the puny prerunner model to... uhhh id go with a honda or toyota... of the 2 there though i'd go with the truck.. little but strong and long lasting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmerisme February 8, 2008 Share farmerisme Member February 8, 2008 Meh quit on the Honda hatin... my 97 accord has 210K+ on it and have never had to do any major work on it... unless you count the 2 timing belts replaced at 100K and 200K... runs like a dream still, gets 35mpg in the summer 28 in the winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjester February 8, 2008 Share benjester Member February 8, 2008 I will never ever buy another ford product.... ever.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
[LaW]Maverick February 8, 2008 Share [LaW]Maverick Member February 8, 2008 (edited) Meh quit on the Honda hatin... my 97 accord has 210K+ on it and have never had to do any major work on it... unless you count the 2 timing belts replaced at 100K and 200K... runs like a dream still, gets 35mpg in the summer 28 in the winter. I wasn't talkin' 'bout all Hondas...primarily Civics, and I only warned him that the timing belt replacement is expensive. I do like Accords (though I think their used price is too high) Oh, and Lost, I hear the redesigned version of the Civic is much better. The interior sure is a heck of a lot nicer, and they look better too! Edited February 8, 2008 by [LaW]Maverick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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