Cheapskates will never buy a car new, and the most hard core out there will not want to put down more than a few thousand for their wheels. You can get a lot of car for your money, and this post highlights the best sedans for each of three price points: $3,000, $2,000, and $1,000. All of these vehicles consistently receive ratings of 9.0 or higher on on Edmunds.com and have nearly all-positive reviews on Car Survey.org.
Best Overall – 1988-91 Honda CRX ($600 - $700)
With an average rating of 9.4 on Edmunds and a Promoter Rating* of 90% on Car Survey, the CRX is the highest-rated vehicle I have researched, and, since most of them are around 20 years old, it is also rather affordable. This FWD coupe might not be the most powerful or sexy model on the road, but the reliability and gas mileage (as high as 45 mpg) are legendary, and at under $1,000 easy, it's a sweet deal. The Beater Review wrote a glowing review of this car, which should suffice as a replacement for the non-existent review from Consumer Guide Automotive. An alternative to the Honda CRX is the 1990-7 Mazda MX5 ($700 - $2,800), which can be as affordable as a CRX, but gets slightly less rave reviews on Edmunds (9.3) and Car Survey (85% Promoter Rating).
The downside to these cars is that, as coupes, they might not be the style you're looking for. If you need a sedan with more room and a more luxurious feel, one of the following options is for you.
Sedan Under $3,000 – 1995-6 Toyota Avalon / 1990-2 Toyota Cressida ($700 - $2,700)
Toyota's high-end models, the Cressida and Avalon actually have more avid fans on Car Survey (Promoter Score* = 93%) than even the best luxury cars, making one wonder why you'd pay more for a less satisfactory experience. Consumer Guide Automotive notes a few flaws, including a lack of interior space relative to similar cars, and reviewers at Edmunds (Average Rating = 9.2) note frequent failures of the head gasket. Car Survey reviewers are unanimously positive about the Avalon, with the one "negative" review coming from someone who says "nothing so far" has gone wrong with his Avalon and has "best I've ever owned" as his headline. Luxury sedan runners-up include the 1990-3 Lexus LS 400 ($1,400 - $2,600) and the 1991-5 Acura Legend / Vigor ($1,200 - $2,700), which are rated nearly as highly at the Toyota Avalon but cost a few hundred dollars more.
Sedan Under $2,000 – 1990-6 Nissan Maxima ($600 - $2,000)
Consistently rated around 9.0 on Edmunds, the Maxima has also established a fervent crowd of supporters on Car Survey, with over 200 positive reviews. Reviewers' favorite feature of the Maxima is the engine, which is powerful and smooth, but problems with the sensors seem prevalent and expensive to fix. The Acura Vigor gets higher ratings on two out of three sites but is about the same price in any given year. Check out the Beater Review and Consumer Guide Automotive (1990-4, 1995-9) for more details. The runner up here is the 1990-4 Audi V8 ($1,200 - $1,400), which gets higher ratings on Edmunds (9.4) but has more complaints relative to positive reviews on Car Survey (Promoter Rating = 43%).
Sedan Under $1,000 – 1991-5 Mazda 929 ($400 - $1,000)
The cheapest model on this list, the 929 was Mazda's "luxury" sedan and gets nothing but rave reviews on Edmunds and Car Survey. Even the (accidentally?) "negative" reviews on Car Survey read quite positively, with a headline of "unique affordable taste of luxury" and "the best car I have ever owned." C'mon, guys! Aim the mouse a little better when making your final rating selection! While many reviewers are probably comparing the 929 favorably to other non-luxury vehicles, Consumer Guide Automotive says it "pales" in comparison to other vehicles on this list. Well, it's also the cheapest.
Methodology: The cars considered must consistently receive a Customer Rating of 9.0 on Edmunds and cost less than $3,000. These two requirements narrowed the list down to just a dozen models from the early 1990s: Acura Legend, Acura Vigor, Audi V8, BMW 5-Series, Honda CRX, Infiniti I30, Lexus ES 300, Lexus LS 400, Lexus SC 300, Mazda 929, Mazda MX5, Nissan Maxima, Toyota Cressida, and Toyota Avalon. I then created a numeric rating for each of these models based on feedback on Car Survey, similar to the Net Promoter rating some businesses use to assess the quality of their brand.* and averaged these with ratings from Edmunds. Ranking the models by their composite score enabled me to identify values within the group of vehicles and eliminate those that were relatively more expensive.
* A positive rating = 1 point. A negative rating = -2 points. A neutral rating = 0 points. Total points / Total reviews = Car Survey Score.
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