i want to get a good car that would last long and save gas!!! dont want to spend more than $2000 and am 17 year old boy
Look for the best maintained vehicle you can find. For $2000 you will not get much. Don’t worry about gas consumption; a poorly maintained gas sipper will eat up the gas savings with constant repairs. Best maintained vehicle you can find, do not worry about if it looks cool or not.
Well maintained FordCrown Vic/Mercury Sable
I tend to be partial to the Chevrolet/Corolla (Nova/Prizm). But, I gotta’ admit the Crown Vic and cousin in good shape can be a great car, even when old enough to cost $2000. And, you are sure right. Expensive Toyota repairs can make up for a lot of gas. Plus WHEN he has a wreck, he will be much better off in a big car. My vote is with you. Good catch.
Just learn to drive for maximum gas mileage, instead of hot-rodding. If you run out of gas money, let it sit or keep driving to a minimum. When you are young and don’t have a lot of money there is no car that you can drive all over the place with no repairs or big gas bills with a small amount of money. You either have big gas bills or big repair bills on an older car, except as noted a really nice Vic.
A few weeks ago, an old Geo Metro might have been a good choice. But,the knuckleheads have panicked and are paying many thousands of dollars for those things.
The Crown Vic might be a good price, I do not know for sure, because they are big when everyone is looking for a small car, and some of those things were taken care of by older owners. Also, kids don’t seem interested in them which is to your benefit.
get books and start learning how to keep them in shape. Oil changes, air filters, tire pressure, stuff like that. Less washing and polishing and more running maintenance.
Actually, many a parent has noted the best car for a 17 year old is one that doesn’t run. You can wash; wax; clean; sit in it and listen to the radio if you can get it close enough for a charger. No insurance costs or gas. And, you can honestly tell your friends you have a car, you are rebuilding it. I bet you think I am joking but I am not. 
I saw this car, is 1994 Oldsmobile Achieva S Sedan 4d
$ 995.00
a/c, pdl ,
Options:
ABS, AM/FM Stereo, Power Door Locks, Power Steering, Driver Air Bag, Air Conditioning, FWD, Power Door Locks, Power Steering, AM/FM Stereo, Tilt Wheel… got (136,954 Mileage) but i dont konw if have any problem, look great but is kind of cheap…
Take it for a test drive and a thorough check by a mechanic and if it all checks out or it only needs something minor, go for it. It’ll be easy(ish) to work on, you can get cheap parts for it, and it won’t be too bad on gas. And the price is right.
Take your time and, hopefully, have someone with you that knows a bit about cars and is willing to take a good look and listen. Try it out for many miles to make sure everything is warmed up. My son just bought his first for $2000 (that was his bank balance too). Most we looked at in that price range had been beat to death, but finally found a private seller that had a decent '97 Mercury Mountaineer (my son hunts and fishes so wanted the 4 wd). It hasn’t burned any oil since the oil change 2000 miles ago, but we did replace a leaking brake line and a rear axle seal last weekend. Be prepared to perform maintenance - the first thing you should buy, after the vehicle, is a Haynes or similar repair manual so you can perform some of the basic maintenance yourself. Welcome to the real world.
The main thing to keep in mind considering you’re talking about a used car and 2 grand is that you should NEVER get in a rush to buy anything. Used cars can be a crapshoot even if a competent mechanic checks them out.
You’re young, have all the time in the world, so if you proceed slowly and carefully you should be able to find a decent reliable rig for that kind of money.
If you’re not able to have every car checked by a mechanic (and this is really not economically feasible) the next best thing is to have some mechanically inclined person you know go for a test ride with you. IMHO, the test ride should be a minimum of 1 hour. A 5 minute hop is nowhere near long enough to really notice things but 60 minutes may reveal stuff that would orinarily get overlooked.
One of my daily drivers right now is a 20 dollar SAAB Turbo I bought 2 and 1/2 years ago from a neighbor. The fuel pump had gone bad, he did not care anymore, and I had a fuel pump in my parts stash, so voila…
The deals are there; it just sometimes takes footwork to weed them out.
The 1994 Oldsmobile Achieva probably has the illfamed Quad-4 engine. Be careful. Don’t just take a knowledgeable friend along for the ride. Spend $50-$100 and have it completely checked out by a reputable mechanic. It will be money well spent.
I’d second the Crown Vic / Mercury Grand Marquis motion. (I don’t think he actually meant Sable, although the Taurusable is a good second bet.) A well tuned 4.6L Crown Vic will get 25 MPG on the highway. Not as good in town, but sure a comfortable ride. I saw a '94 with 120K for $2000 the other day.
What engine does it have? The 2-valve 4-cyl gets 32 MPG on the highway with manual transmission; the quad-4 gets about 28, and the 6-cyl gets about 26.