From sedans and compacts to pickups and off-roaders, you’d be surprised what you can find for under $10K. Let’s go over some of the hidden gems and future-classics.
New cars are great, sure. It’s nice knowing you’ve got all the latest safety features on board, it’s good to know that you’ve got a fresh warranty on the car and that nobody rolled back the odometer and sold you a lemon. But there’s nothing so rewarding as going on the hunt for a used car and discovering a hidden gem at a great price.
One of the upsides to buying used instead of new is that you can find a car with a proven track record. If that new model winds up being recalled over a major safety issue, you don’t want to be the first driver to find out about it.
If the transmission has a habit of failing at 90k miles, it’d be nice to learn from the other driver’s mistake before spending $30,000 on the car.
Once you’ve developed an eye for good used cars, you’ll feel like Neo in The Matrix, you can just take a glance at the classifieds and know exactly which vehicles are priced a little high, and which ones you’ll want to snatch up before the seller realizes they’re sitting on a future-classic.
So, where do we get started if we want to learn how to spot a great deal on a used car? Well, articles like the one you’re reading right now are great, of course. But we’d also recommend digging into Consumer Reports whenever you want to do some research before you make a purchase.
That said, Consumer Reports is a good starting point, but they’re not the be-all-end-all of used car buying. This is the Internet, and you can find communities, forums, and Facebook groups for just about anything.
Whatever you’re after, we’d recommend joining groups devoted to that topic, whether it’s 1990s sedans, 2000s compacts, or American-made full-size trucks. Combine that with some independent market research, and you’ll become a car whisperer in no time.
But, Consumer Reports is our starting point, so we’re starting with their “Best Used Cars and SUVs for Under $10k.” What do they recommend? And do you agree with their choices?
Consumer Reports‘ Top Used Cars Under $10,000
2008 Mazda3: CR‘s Best Used Compact
You can usually count on Mazda for stylish, fun-to-drive, fuel-efficient little two and four-doors. The 3i is a solid choice for an everyday grocery-getter. The first-generation Mazda3 had an issue with pistons spontaneously cracking. This only happened in a handful of units, but the problem had been solved entirely by the second generation, so, 2008 is a good year to start shopping for Mazda3s.
The 2008 3i Touring model is of special interest here. This year saw the i Touring trim level revamped as the i Touring Value model, a more affordable, but more expensive-looking trim level patterned after the premium 3s model. This included fog lights and a shiny set of 17-inch alloy wheels that give you the look and feel of a luxury model at a budget price.
- Kelley Blue Book value: $5,309 – $8,611
- MPG: 24/32 city/highway
- Horsepower: 148 hp
- Engine: 2.0L DOHC MPFI 16
- Transmission: Four-speed Manual w/OD
2007 Mitsubishi Outlander: CR‘s Best Used Compact Crossover SUV
If you’ve always wanted to drive a Citroën but you don’t get to France too often these days, the second-generation Mitsubishi Outlander, rebranded in France as the Citroën C-Crosser, may be the next best thing.
A cozy five-door compact crossover and the first ever French-branded Japanese car, the 2007 Outlander pioneered the Flap-Fold Tailgate, which can be dropped down to serve as a bench, making this the perfect tailgating, beach partying, camping-trips-and-cookouts-mobile.
The 2007 Outlander also came equipped to provide high-quality sound, with a standard total 140-watt AM/FM/CD/MP3 player with six speakers.
The Outlander XLS models added a six-disc in-dash CD changer. Mitsubishi first offered the Rockford-Fosgate audio system on the 2006 Eclipse, and this high-quality system was also offered on the 2007 Outlander, custom-tuned for the new SUV’s interior acoustics.
The Rockford-Fosgate system uses an eight-channel amplifier to produce up to 650 watts maximum output and plays through nine speakers in seven positions, including a 10-inch subwoofer in its own fiberglass-reinforced sealed enclosure. The subwoofer is located in the left rear of the cargo compartment, an optimal out-of-the-way location for this type of speaker.
The second-generation Outlander models, starting with the 2007, are a good place to start as they feature a number of modern safety features like electronic stability control.
The second-generation Outlander offers a unique driving experience by combining electronically-controlled four-wheel-drive with continuously variable transmission. The resulting feel of the car is an acquired taste, so make sure to test-drive before you buy, but some drivers love how the 2007 Outlander operates.
- Kelley Blue Book value: $4,310 – $6,702
- MPG: 20/27 city/highway
- Horsepower: 220 hp
- Engine: 3.0L SOHC V6 MIVEC
- Transmission: Six-speed automatic
2005 Honda Pilot: CR‘s Best Used Mid-size SUV
The Honda Pilot was designed to be an SUV that drives like a car. They accomplished this with a unibody chassis and independent suspension. The 2005 Honda Pilot was basically the same car as the first Pilots produced, the 2003s, with the biggest difference being the addition of electronic stability control.
This is a 15-year-old car, so it’s worth mentioning here that you generally don’t want anything with more 150k to 200k miles on the odometer unless you can get it at a really great price. If a $500 car lasts you a year, that’s a great deal. What you don’t want is to spend four grand on two trips to Wal-Mart.
- Kelley Blue Book value: $4,699 – $6,010
- MPG: 17/22 city/highway
- Horsepower: 255 hp
- Engine: 3.5L SOHC MPFI 24
- Transmission: Five-speed automatic w/OD
2008 Pontiac Vibe: CR‘s Best Used Hatchback
A joint development between Pontiac and Toyota, the Vibe had a relatively short run, being produced from 2002 to 2010, but it won its share of fans in that time.
The 2007 models were among the last of the first-generation Vibes, and saw Pontiac dropping the all-wheel-drive option with the new federal emissions standards (and because the company was having trouble selling AWD hatchbacks in solid numbers).
The 2008 Vibe is mechanically similar to the Toyota Matrix, and shares Body and Chassis components with the Corolla. The car offered 54.1 cubic feet of cargo space with the seats down, and the front-wheel-drive models came with computerized traction control.
- Kelley Blue Book value:$5,252 – $7,401
- MPG: 26/33 city/highway
- Horsepower: 126 hp
- Engine: 1.8L VVT
- Transmission: Four-speed automatic w/OD
2005 Acura TL: CR‘s Best Used Sedan
If you like sedans, you pretty much have to buy used, as new four-door family cars have been harder and harder to find these days with the ever-rising popularity of SUVs.
The Acura TL is a trooper with a proven track record, with the first generation debuting in the 1997 model year, and the last Acuras TLs rolling off the assembly line being the 2014s.
The 2005 is a third-generation model, which saw Acura adding a number of then-novel luxury interior features, like a six-disc DVD-Audio system (a first in the American market), Bluetooth, and a voice-operated Alpine navigation system. Many of these features are standard now, sure, but you don’t always expect to see them in a 2005 sedan.
- Kelley Blue Book value: $5,759 – $7,264
- MPG: 20/29 city/highway
- Horsepower: 270 hp
- Engine: 3.2L SOHC PGM
- Transmission: Five-speed automatic w/OD
These choices are hard to disagree with. If you’re looking for reliability at a low cost, that’s exactly what you’re getting from every single selection on this list.
If Consumer Reports‘ choices can be criticized for any reason, it may be that they’re a little utilitarian, a little basic, and a little… well, boring. These are solid practical choices if all you need is something that’ll get you from here to there and back again without racking up hefty repair bills.
But where are the off-roaders, the pickups, the sports cars? What if you’re not just looking for a daily highway commuter, but something for back roads and fishing trips, something for construction projects, or something that you want to drive just for fun?
With that in mind, here are five vehicles we’d like to add to the list.
Vehicle History‘s Top Used Cars Under $10,000
2002 Toyota 4Runner: Vehicle History’s Best Used Off-Roader
This SUV is about 20 years old, so we’ll say it once more for emphasis: Look for one with low mileage on it. But, this may be the most reliable vehicle in its class, with around four percent of all 4Runners topping 200k miles on the odometer.
So, a 20-year-old 4Runner might just last you longer than many five-year-old Fords and Chevys.
Starting at around five grand, a fourth-generation 4Runner is one of the most affordable ways to get out there on mudding tracks and dirt roads without worrying about your transmission going out the first time you get stuck in the muck.
- Kelley Blue Book value: $5,506 – $8,536
- MPG: 17/19 city/highway
- Horsepower: 183 hp
- Engine: 3.4L DOHC EFI 24
- Transmission: Four-speed automatic w/OD
2003 Nissan 350Z: VH‘s Best Used Sports Car
If you’ve got less than ten grand budgeted for a car, you’ve probably decided to not even think about sports cars. That’s the kind of thing you buy when you get that big promotion, right?
Well, if you’re smart, if you do your research, and most importantly, if you’re patient enough to wait for a good deal to come along, there are some beauties out there that can be had for a modest price, like the 2003 Nissan 350Z. If you can find an early-2000s model with low mileage, it may be priced like a college kid’s ride, but it looks and feels like a James Bond car.
The 2003 Nissan 350Z was basically a modernized Datsun 240Z, Also known as a Nissan S30, or a Nissan Fairlady Z. The Fairlady was a favorite of the racing scene in the early 1970s, with Paul Newman in particular being a fan of the car, and won the automaker its 97th Sports Car Club of America national championship. (If you’re lucky, you may find a limited-edition 35th anniversary 2005 Nissan 350Z in the used-car market, too.)
- Kelley Blue Book value: $6,678 – $10,029
- MPG: 20/26 city/highway
- Horsepower: 287 hp
- Engine: 3.5L DOHC SMPI 24
- Transmission: Six-speed manual w/OD
2006 Honda Ridgeline RT: VH‘s Best Used Pickup
The Honda Ridgeline is proof that bigger isn’t always better when it comes to pickups. A mid-size with a unibody chassis, the Ridgeline is one of the most fun-to-drive trucks on the market today if you’re looking to get the job done with something that’s efficient and takes corners well.
The 2006 was the debut model year with Honda hoping to tap into the niche market of SUV drivers looking to make the switch to pickups. This was a brand-new venture for the company, seeing them adopting American engineering and design ideas, and the resulting truck looked more like a Chevy than a Honda, except, of course, for Honda’s legendary reliability ratings.
- Kelley Blue Book value: $8,688 – $10,933
- MPG: 16/21 city/highway
- Horsepower: 255 hp
- Engine: 3.5L SOHC PGM
- Transmission: Five-speed automatic w/OD
2002 Chevrolet Silverado 1500: VH‘s Best Used Full-size Truck
If you’re in the market for a full-size truck, you’re probably thinking “F-150.” Yes, by all means, keep an eye out for a good deal on an F-150. But the Kelley Blue Book values a 2002 F-150 at up to $11,450. A Silverado 1500 is, in many ways, basically the same truck, but for a lot less money.
Bear in mind that these first-generation Chevrolet Silverados are stripped down work-trucks. We’re talking a two-seater with windows you gotta crank up and down by hand and nowhere to plug your phone in. But, rugged and capable, with four-wheel-drive and towing capacity up to 9,200 pounds.
Plus, it’s surprisingly comfortable, and very low-maintenance. Not exactly the family-SUV/work-truck hybrid full-size pickups have evolved into in recent years, but an absolute workhorse for rural living.
- Kelley Blue Book value: $4,566 – $8,867
- MPG: 16/21 city/highway
- Horsepower: 190 hp – 285 hp
- Engine: 4.3L SFI V6 – 5.3L SFI V8
- Transmission: Four-speed automatic w/OD
2009 Dodge Grand Caravan: VH‘s Best Used Van
Like sedans, vans are almost a thing of the past now. Automakers split the difference by putting the focus on SUVs, and the rest is history. But there’s something about a van that an SUV just can’t match.
All that headroom and cargo space, it’s like a living room on wheels, the perfect vehicle for road trips with the whole squad. The Dodge Grand Caravan is one of the last great American vans, and you should have no trouble finding a mint 2009 for under $8k.
We’re going with the Grand Caravan over the Caravan because if you want a van over an SUV, you might as well get the big one. The 2009 was part of the fifth-generation run, which saw Dodge adding a 3.3L Flex-Fuel V6 engine, electronic stability control, and some minivan-inspired features like second and third row video screens, plus “Swivel’n Go” seating.
- Kelley Blue Book value: $5,674 – $7,539
- MPG: 17/24 city/highway
- Horsepower: 175 hp
- Engine: 3.3L OHV V6 engine
- Transmission: Four-speed automatic w/OD
By no means is any list of the best-used vehicles under $10k going to be complete. There are a lot of great deals out there. But hopefully, we’ve covered some key points to consider so that you know how to spot those diamonds in the rough:
- Some cars will deliver more miles than others, but you generally don’t want anything with more than 150k-200k miles on the odometer unless you can get a really, really good deal. Unless you can sell it for more than you spent, it’s rarely worth the expense to replace the engine or transmission in a used car.
- Read up on a vehicle’s reliability before you buy, and consider the total cost of a used car. If it cost you $1,500, plus another $8,000 in repairs just to get it on the road, then it cost you $9,500.
- Set your budget and stick to it.
- Always take it for a test drive. If the seller’s not comfortable with that, walk. It’s not worth the hassle to try and find out what they’re hiding.
Finally, note that we didn’t include any 1990s models on the list. If you’re going more than twenty years back, you’re not shopping for a used car, you’re shopping for a classic, and that’s a whole ‘nother list.
Photos: Dodge; Honda; Chevrolet; Nissan; Toyota; and DepositPhotos
