I have begun to explore the possibility of getting a commuter car to take some of the load off of our primary vehicles, but I don't want some POS Honda CRV with 9 different paint colors and a 9" exhaust pipe.

I am searching for something that I would be at least a little sporty and fun to drive, but also comfortable for my 90 mile round trip commute. I need something that doesn't require that I be a rocket scientist to perform maintenance, and that is of course gas friendly (20mpg highway and up...).

Price range = <$3000

I have had my eye on older BMW's and Mercedes because of the comfort factor, but not sure what the maintenance or aftermarket parts support would be on those babies, but there are a TON of cheap ones in my area.

Any and all input is welcome!!! Thanks gents!

 

Also, wanted to note that I am looking for FORUM MEMBERS PERSONAL EXPERIENCE AND ADVICE with commuter cars, NOT a link to "the best commuter car under $5K" I can do that myself.

 

personal experience,
a 1996 vw jetta with a 2.slow motor. 5 speed trans..yea, its called the 2.slow because its just that, slow but its great on gas, very comfortable, real easy to work on, and you couldnt kill the 2.0 motor. I have tried. Multiple times.
Of course, you could get the typical civic or corolla, but nothing has more of a personality than a vw.

older bmw's and mb's are nice, but parts prices and labor is worse that our trucks...mb's for a fact, are very picky when parts are concerned..i know. i work for them. They will go forever, if you have the expendable income to dump into them...

 

My territory.....lol

I have over 20 years of experience with almost all makes of cars and motorcycles.
That is still the primary question asked by many (my family and friends).

Disclaimer: I can only suggest a vehicle that is good on maintenance, efficiency, and safety. In truth, you might not like my suggestions.

Mazda 626 / GE (1993-1997) and FF (1998-2002) / Base
Honda Civic (1992-1995) EG, EH, EJ1, EJ2 / VX, CX

These two fit your pricing requirement and provide enough safety for the weekly battle. Both are very reliable and have easy maintenance, the best bang for your ROI. In addition, you can possibly make your money back if you need to sell it.

But, the question I have for you....negate the commute question....what car do you really like to drive?

 

Wait...you mentioned sporty...

Okay, both cars need to be 5-speed manual gearboxes....lol....

 

I have actually been noticing the 626.. Not sure I could do a Civic

Yeah looking for a 5-spd but wouldn't be too upset with an automatic (especially in stop-and-go traffic). I had a 2000 Maxima SE 5-spd before my Disco....what a terrible decision getting rid of that thing, same with my 96 DI before that....

 

Got an old Merc just for the daily driver routine. The W124's (ranges around 85 - 95) were some of the best German cars built, because they had not dropped their standards to compete with the Asian cars yet. Built for long life. The in line six gas is 3 liter, gets about 25 mpg with automatic. Can leak oil out the head gasket at rear, but bottom end is darn near bullet proof. Diesel goes even beyond, 30 - 35 mpg. A diesel Mercedes taxi chassis in Athens Greece got to over 2 million miles, had three engines. Complexity of repair about same as a D1, not as complex as D2. Online service manuals and similar forums available. These cars come with 160 mph speedometers, because they actually can get past 130 on the Autobahn. They have some V-8's that could cruise at 150 plus. Tranny will be about $300 -$500 parts to rebuild, will need it around 250K. Plenty of them for sale, plenty in the salvage yard to pick over. So you can buy a car that had over $50K sticker for under $2K today. One good source of parts is autohausaz.com. And I run 15W40 Rotella in winter and 20W50 in summer in mine.

 

My commuter car is a 04 Saab 9-3. The gas mileage is great and on a 90 mile trip like yours the safety is excellent. I use to be a fireman so it sort of matters to me. From 0-60 it sucks (turbo delay) but from 60 to 120 its a blast. If your trips are long and cops aren't on every corner then I like a car with tight suspension and hugs the highway at higher speeds.

An old diesel Merc like Savaanah suggested would probably make the most sense for your price range though.

 

The only problem I had with a 626 was the lifters. You may want to look into that before buying one.

 

I love the VW Jettas with the 2.0 and 5 speed manual tranny. I always recomend those for a good commuter. I also had a 2001 Hyundai Accent(1.5L 5-speed base model) I bought brand new, put 65k on it in 3 years, sold it to my bro who still has it with 175k on it. It had Castrol Syntec full synthetic in it since 500 miles(changed every 5k miles). Timing belt and water pump replaced as regular maintenance every 60k, and only problem it ever had was the head warped at 156k miles. $280 later and an afternoon and my bro was driving it down the road. Still gets 46mpg(for him, it got 36 for my...I have a heavy foot). Top speed was 136mph. Cruised great at 90mph.