i hate daily driving the Nova.... its usually up to the challenge, but between poor mileage, me always breaking something, fear of damaging the car, and also the fact that im usually half assing repairs to be able to have little downtime with the car.... final straw happened yesterday.
I usually dont bring my car to school, but my school bus just bever showed up, so i kinda had to drive. We arent allowed to park in the school parking lot, so most of us park in the gigantic Macy's parking lot next door. Well at around 2:30 when school let out, the rain was REALLY coming down, i wanted to get the hell home... i was going a little fast through the parking lot, like 20 mph, and i noticed ahead that what i thought to be just a puddle was actually a big whole filled with rain water. i swerve right to avoid it, but the rear of the car swings out real hard, and after trying to correct it in a panic, i realize im facing a lightpole and losing control badly...
*CRUNCH!*
after yelling obscenities, i get out to look at the damage... the car took it like a champ, but still ouch... Bumper pushed in and scuffed on the drivers side, plastic bumper filler cracked, and fender right above the marker light is scraped and dented....
bear with me, i wont type too much more... im DONE daily driving this car. i love it, but i want a daily driver that gets decent mileage and wont be scared of in the rain. the accident was my fault, but in general im scared of the nova in bad weather. i also want to stop casuing so much wear and tear on the car, so its time to find a Daily Driver finally....
ittl be a month or two befroe i can probably afford it, but i want to get some ideas... criteria:
Somewhat new, im thinking post 1990
decent mileage, at least ~25mpg
pretty much has to be American
$1500 is my budget, though even thats a bit much
some ideas:
Early saturns, they seem bullet proof and good on gas
some early w/n body cars
1st gen explorers
maybe neons?
anyother ideas?