this post was submitted on 20 Apr 2026
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Cars - For Car Enthusiasts

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I've been looking at marketplace for a small car with good gas mileage that I can get cheap. I don't mind doing work to it like replacing a clutch or dealing with a head gasket or engine replacement. The trouble I'm having in my area ( Midwest United States) is that either mileage is well into the 200k range, price is unrealistic so I won't bother trying to reason with them, the car is more of a headache than it's worth (Chevy Cruze) or there's more than one issue like transmission problem plus body damage. I could go up in price under $10k but I don't see the up side in spending that much to get better gas mileage unless the car can go at least another 5-10 years.

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[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 2 points 3 days ago (2 children)

most cars have a shelf life of less than 10 years before they rust into unusable heaps

Not Japanese cars.

The answer is always Toyota Corolla.

[–] PriorityMotif@lemmy.world 3 points 3 days ago

I actually did just contact the $750 Corolla. It has 221k and needs an engine.

[–] PriorityMotif@lemmy.world 2 points 3 days ago

The problem with that is sellers are asking high prices for high mileage vehicles near me. I might as well double my budget and buy a Prius or Honda insight.