Picked this thing up last month from a guy near Portland who just wanted it gone. The clutch was slipping bad and the alternator was dying, but the body was clean with no rust. Found a used alternator at a local junkyard for $40 and swapped it in my driveway in about two hours. The clutch kit ran me $260 on sale and my buddy helped me do it over a weekend in his garage. Took it on a 200 mile trip to the coast last week and it ran smooth the whole way. Still needs a new timing belt soon and the AC blows warm, but for under $2200 total I feel like I won. Anyone else had luck reviving a cheap Honda with high miles lately?
I picked up a 2007 Impala in Toledo last spring for $1,800, and the underbody was pure scale. Spent a weekend with a $30 foam cannon and some rust converter, hit every frame rail and suspension mount. Took it to a local shop for an inspection and they said it looked 5 years newer than the mileage suggested. Anyone else see big resale jumps just from undercarriage cleaning in salt states?
Picked this up outside Phoenix last Tuesday from an old guy who just wanted it gone. AC blows cold, engine runs smooth, but the steering wheel shakes at 70 like a paint mixer. I took it to my usual shop and the tie rods were shot, cost me $180 in parts and a Saturday to fix. Now it's my daily and I'm honestly mad at how reliable these things are. Anyone else grab a boring sedan under 1k and end up loving it more than your newer car?
My 2002 Camry had this shaky front end for like 8 months. I took it to a shop in Fresno and they quoted $600 for a full control arm replacement, no way on a $1500 car. So I hit up Pick-n-Pull last Saturday, found a control arm off a 2004 with only 90k miles for $35. Swapped it in my driveway in 2 hours with just a breaker bar and a torque wrench, and now it drives straight as an arrow. Has anyone else had luck mixing parts between different model years on cheap Toyotas?
My 2002 Camry's headliner started drooping bad last month, looked like a tent inside. I tried the spray adhesive route years ago on another car and it just peeled off again after a few weeks. This time I got some decorative push pins from the dollar store and stuck them up in a pattern, cost me maybe $2 total. It actually looks kinda cool and hasn't budged in 4 weeks of driving through 90 degree heat. Anyone else tried something dumb like this that actually worked out?
I used to think a cheap car had to look rough to be a deal. Then I saw this old Cherokee with peeling clear coat but zero rust underneath, got it for 1200 bucks, and two cans of rustoleum later it looks solid. Anyone else stop caring about cosmetic flaws after finding a mechanically sound beater?
I pulled a D16Y7 engine from a local yard in Phoenix last month for $350... thought it was a total score. Got it home and started cleaning off the grime, and I noticed a little sticker on the valve cover from a shop in Tucson. Called the number for laughs, and the guy said he'd done a timing belt on that exact car back in 2012 when it had 340,000 miles... wild. I never even thought to check mileage on a junkyard motor before, but now I'm wondering how many of these cheap engines are just roached out. Has anyone else found a weird history on a used part like that?
He said a cheap car is like a tree with a hidden crack - looks fine until you put it under load. Made me think about how I check used cars now, I pay way more attention to the test drive and engine strain than the paint. Anyone else got a weird analogy they use when shopping for beaters?
My 2002 Civic was surging between 800 and 1500 rpm at stoplights for two weeks. Sprayed the throttle body and IAC valve with CRC intake cleaner and it idled perfectly after a 10 minute drive. Anyone else had luck with a cheap clean instead of replacing parts?
I was under my 2003 Corolla for like an hour last weekend trying to find the oil filter. Looked it up on a forum and turns out it's tucked behind the intake manifold on some models, not where any normal person would look. Has anyone else found a weird design thing like that on their cheap car?
I always thought you needed a fancy $300 scanner to diagnose anything useful, but my 2003 Corolla started throwing a check engine light last month and I didn't want to pay a shop $100 just to read it. That cheap little Bluetooth OBD2 reader hooked up to my phone in 2 minutes and told me it was just a bad oxygen sensor post-cat. Anyone else get by with a budget scanner or am I asking for trouble?
Pulled a transmission from a 95 Civic at Pick-n-Pull last Saturday and some older fella said I should grab the 94 model instead because the synchros last longer. He showed me his 92 Del Sol that's still shifting smooth at 280k miles and now I'm second guessing my whole build plan. Anybody else run into random strangers that turned out to be right about this stuff?
I know everyone goes on about old Hondas and Toyotas being the only safe bets. But I picked up a 2003 Buick LeSabre with 145k miles for 1800 bucks last year near Detroit. The 3800 V6 engine is bulletproof and parts are dirt cheap at any auto parts store. I've put maybe 400 bucks into it for a alternator and some tires. Meanwhile my buddy spent 4500 on a 2002 Civic with rust holes and a dying transmission. Who else has had better luck with old American boats than the usual Japanese suggestions?
I bought a so-called rebuilt transmission off Facebook Marketplace for $300 and spent a whole weekend swapping it in my driveway, only for it to start grinding on the test drive. Turns out the guy just cleaned the outside and swapped the pan, lol. Has anyone else gotten burned buying used parts from random sellers near Dallas?
Back in 2016 I had 2k to throw at a beater in Portland. Went with the Civic with 180k miles instead of the Focus with 120k because everyone said the Focus had transmission issues. That little Honda got me through 4 years of work sites without a single major repair. Any of you regret passing on a car that turned out to be solid?
I was just driving to work like normal when I glanced down and saw 250,000 on the odometer. Didn't even plan to hit it that day. That car cost me $800 cash four years ago from a guy in Tulsa, and I've only put maybe $400 in parts into it since then. Just regular oil changes and one alternator swap. Has anyone else had a beater that just refuses to die way past what you expected?
I was dead set against buying someone else's project car until my buddy Dan fixed his in one Saturday with a $60 gasket kit and a youtube video, has anyone else actually had luck with those cheap fixes holding up long term?
Was outside Rawlins hauling a load when my ’98 Civic started knocking like a jackhammer. Limped it to a rest stop and called a local mechanic who swapped in a junkyard motor for $900. Anyone else trust a roadside repair shop to save a beater that cheap?
I used to walk into AutoZone and just grab whatever midshelf pads the guy behind the counter recommended. That would run me $60-80 for a set of front pads. Last month I did a little digging and ordered a set of Power Stop off RockAuto for $22 shipped. Took me 45 minutes to swap them on my 04 Civic. They stop way better than the old ones and I didn't feel like I got robbed. Has anyone else found a specific cheap part that actually outperforms the midrange stuff?
Been looking for a cheap daily driver under 5k and kept seeing these early 2000s Civics pop up for like $2500-$3500. Thought they were golden just cause they're Hondas. Then I went down a rabbit hole on some mechanic forum and found out the automatic transmissions in those years are basically ticking time bombs. The torque converter locks up and shreds the whole thing around 120k miles, no warning signs. So now every time I see a cheap Civic with 130k on the clock I'm wondering if it's got that original trans or if it already blew. Does anyone know if the manual versions had the same problem or were those safe?
I drove 2 hours to Bakersfield last weekend for a 2002 Camry that the ad said had only 80k miles and was owned by a little old lady. Turned out the odometer was rolled back and the 'lady' was just some dude flipping junk cars. Wasted $60 in gas and a whole Saturday. Anyone else get burned by these fake grandparent stories?
My 02 Civic died at a gas station off I-75 last week. Towed it home, figured it was the alternator but didn't want to gamble $60 on a junkyard pull that might be bad too. Asked the guy at Pull-A-Part if they had a tester, he just pointed at a bench with a battery and jumper cables. Tested three of them in 10 minutes, walked out with a working one for $35. Been driving fine for 5 days now. Anyone else just learn this way later than they should have?
Last Monday the alternator died on the way to work, then on Wednesday the brake line blew out in a Target parking lot. Has anyone else had a car that just falls apart all in one week?