$2000-$2500 car

[slow84lx]

You obviously don't watch The Grand Tour. It's one of the most reliable luxury cars you can buy in China.

Obviously not!

My 1997 Deville w/ Northstar was one of the most comfortable cars I've owned. Drove great, had plenty of power, and had the best heater / A/C available. Even got 22 city / 29 highway mpgs. The Northstar was a great engine until it needed Timeserting in all of the head bolt holes. Lots of problems after that. Loved that car but don't miss it at all.

[ram57ta]

Obviously not!

My 1997 Deville w/ Northstar was one of the most comfortable cars I've owned. Drove great, had plenty of power, and had the best heater / A/C available. Even got 22 city / 29 highway mpgs. The Northstar was a great engine until it needed Timeserting in all of the head bolt holes. Lots of problems after that. Loved that car but don't miss it at all.

I won't say the Northstar is the worst engine GM has ever sold as there have been a number of REALLY bad engines over the decades...but given the somewhat modern timeframe that it was available...the problems it is notorious for are unacceptable. It looks great on paper...but in execution it is a TERRIBLE engine...all based on cost cutting measures by GM. That is the reason you can on any day pickup a fully loaded STS Seville or any of the other various versions of fully loaded Northstar Cadillac luxury cars on Craigslist for dirt cheap. The Northstar engine is garbage.

[Murph Tang]

Obviously not!

My 1997 Deville w/ Northstar was one of the most comfortable cars I've owned. Drove great, had plenty of power, and had the best heater / A/C available. Even got 22 city / 29 highway mpgs. The Northstar was a great engine until it needed Timeserting in all of the head bolt holes. Lots of problems after that. Loved that car but don't miss it at all.

My buddy owned a shop that specialized in the NorthStar head bolt replacement fix. Saw so many Caddys that needed the $5k fix.

That said many people love their caddys they paid for it no problem. At the end of the day they got a rebuilt motor.

[Murph Tang]

Manual civic all day.

this......not sexy but point A to B all day long.

[mikeb]

Another option to consider is an old Jeep Cherokee 2x4. They are cheap with high miles, they are extremely easy to work on, and they will run forever if you change the oil every once in a while.

[JC316]

That's a good looking car...as were most of the Northstar Caddy's....but I would be wary of calling the 4.6 Northstar reliable as most of them are notoriously UNRELIABLE and very expensive to work on when they break.

The northstar got a bad reputation in it's early days, but 01-04 has far fewer head gasket failures, and 05+ fixed it entirely. They still have the classic GM electrical bugs, but the engine/trans was fine after 05.

[Murph Tang]

Another option to consider is an old Jeep Cherokee 2x4. They are cheap with high miles, they are extremely easy to work on, and they will run forever if you change the oil every once in a while.

Good call

I had a Jeep Comanche that had nearly 300K on it and would still chirp the tires with a hard 3rd gear shift. 5spd.

4.0L is a great motor. I have a Grand Cherokee rock crawler with a 4.0L. Love that engine.

[Fastlane]

Hell,I have a 1996 Cherokee 2wd automatic sitting in my driveway I am looking to part with. It needs a water pump that I have, I've just been too lazy to do it. It ran and drove when I parked it. $2500 would take it away.

I put a new radiator and tires on it last year. My son was driving it around before he joined the Navy.

[93LXHORSE]

He has his heart set on a minivan, he has looked a couple... one was a bit out of his price range, the other had a check engine light that the guy didn't mention before he went all the way to Garland from Ft Worth to check it out.

His budget is 2000..

A minivan will work best for his needs...

[Baron Von Crowder]

A minivan will work best for his needs...

said nobody
-ever.

[JC316]

He has his heart set on a minivan, he has looked a couple... one was a bit out of his price range, the other had a check engine light that the guy didn't mention before he went all the way to Garland from Ft Worth to check it out.

His budget is 2000..

A minivan will work best for his needs...

Aim for the Chevy Venture/Pontiac Montana/Oldsmobile Silhouette if you're going mini van. I loathe all mini vans, but those are the most reliable I've found, especially if it has the hardened 4th gear clutch hub and the intake gaskets already replaced.

[Baron Von Crowder]

Aim for the Chevy Venture/Pontiac Montana/Oldsmobile Silhouette if you're going mini van. I loathe all mini vans, but those are the most reliable I've found, especially if it has the hardened 4th gear clutch hub and the intake gaskets already replaced.

or a 4.3 astro, so long as the spider has been replaced recently.

[93LXHORSE]

The dude just needs to get to class and work reliably and not have to ride the bus. There are other people going to class, too... and he wants to load them up in the van and they can pay for gas.

Once he finishes this CDL Class he can get better job and better car, etc..

Anyway we found a $2500.00 Chrysler Town and Country two weeks ago that was a trade in and was loaded out but tons of miles... but didn't quite have the cash yet to buy it and get it register / insured all at once.

Dude is living a meager life but trying to climb up.

[Unicorn Jeff]

How much is he short?

[93LXHORSE]

I think he has about 2000 he can spend right now.. meanwhile that one was sold.