I’m a single mom who drives round-trip about 800 miles a month so my daughter can see her dad. This is in the rainy pacific northwest. I’ve been driving a 92 Honda that I adore, it has been so reliable. But it leaks, which makes for fogged-up windows and a useless trunk, and it’s too small for me to cart around ANY cargo, which I need to do from time to time since there’s now no live-in dude with a truck.
For 5 to 10 thousand bucks, could I possibly up my cargo room and mpg at the same time? What kind of car should I start looking at? Reliability is #1.
Find out where the Honda leaks, and see if you can fix it. Rent a U-Haul truck when you need to haul stuff. No, I don’t think you can up the mpg and carrying capacity. It will be one or the other, not both.
If the problem is rust, then you may have no choice but to find a new car. Otherwise, it might just need new weatherstripping for a window or the trunk lid. Can you see where the water comes in?
As for new (to you)) cars, I suggest that you look at a 2006/2007 Ford Focus Hatchback, 2006/2007 Nissan Versa Hatchback, a 2006/2007 Mazda3, 2007 Pontiac Vibe. The Vibe and Toyota Matrix are basically the same car, and you could substitute Toyota parts in the Vibe. Subaru sells wagons, but they will get lower gas mileage than your Honda.
At this stage, I believe the Honda has reached a point of being unsuitable. Whether it be rust or gaskets , water intrusion could mean exhaust intrusion. Look for a used Honda Accord. The later ones are much bigger then a 92 and may be plenty big enough. “jt” has an excellent list too. The more vehicles you put on your acceptable list without predetermining what you buy, the more likelihood of getting the best deal.
Do you have a Civic or an Accord? You might be OK with a newer Civic, it’s bigger than the '92. Same with the Accord. But no way will you get better mpgs, it’ll at best stay the same, likely drop some. But the car will be MUCH safer.
with the water leaks(you know about the window leak, but there could be more you can’t see), I’d be worried about mold forming.
A Mazda 6 wagon, if you can find one, would be something to consider. It’ll be bigger, but should provide decent mileage