A cheap car is a gateway to freedom and opportunity, but you have to pick the right one. What is the most reliable car you can buy for under $5,000?
A good set of inexpensive wheels can give a student the freedom to travel, or anyone the ability to expand their horizons for work. You don’t need a new car to reliably get from A to B!
It’s no secret that I’m a lover of getting the absolute most out of a car for as little money as possible. I bought a $1,700 Volkswagen Touareg with 178,000 miles to haul my Japanese kei car imports home from Maryland and Washington. I’ve added about 8,000 miles to the odometer — most of them towing — and I’ve only spent about $600 in new tires and $250 on an exhaust pipe fix. Its check engine light isn’t even on right now.
I’d caution against buying a cheap Touareg, but you can’t go wrong with a Toyota Camry.
The Camry offers you a decent amount of space with a splash of luxury, wrapped up in a time-tested shell. A Camry is also so inoffensive that you can park one in an HOA or drive it to an office job without getting angry letters about driving a beater. And while any car can be unreliable, the Camry seems to be hard to kill.
My rally car last year was a Camry that I jumped many times at a HooptieX time trial. Despite my best efforts, it survived and even drove six hours home.
Best yet, a Camry is cheap, even in this inflated used car market.
What is the most reliable car you can buy for under $5,000?