Pick an old model Camry in reasonable condition, or a Mazda 3.

The kid says the Xterra is completely broken but I wish he’d just put the work into fixing it up instead.  I’ve brought my back from the dead a couple times now.

I lived in Ucity and Fairmount for about 10 years and never owned a car. I took the Bus and Subway everywhere or rode my bike. From insurance to parking and general car related issues, I can’t see owning a car if you live in a high density part of a large city unless you ABSOLUTELY need one. And I mean that in a…

I don’t know where you live but Nissans melt in the Northeast. I had a Pathfinder that had the subframe rot through before 90k. Get a Honda or Toyota. Nissans won’t last.

Several on cars.com for under $6k and under 175k miles.  It may involve a trip, but it is possible.

^^This^^

Hi. I’m Aiden. After 190,000 miles the Xterra’s brakes stopped working properly and nearly involved me in a few accidents. An attempted repair only made things worse, and left her completely undriveable. The car had to be towed to the Nissan dealership, but even they couldn’t figure out the issue. Ended up selling…

YES

I just sold my minivan and got a used scion xb with around 118K miles for around $6K. I’m in california, so it might be cheaper in Philly. Good on gas, it’s a toyota, easy to maintain and take apart. 

That budget is a bit challenging. I’d go the “friends and family” route and try to find the best car at the price point with a maintenance history and/or “sense” of ownership history. Then adapt. Having FT dog responsibilities at that age sounds about like having a kid.

Better yet, owning a car in Philly, if he is at Drexel, Penn, Temple or LaSalle is just dumb (or one of the other lesser known but in the city schools). My wife had one (needed it for her job out on the main line) and it was way more a pain than it was worth unless you shelled out for a private parking lot. All my…

get a honda element. its not very fuel efficient but the k24 is near indestructible and its amazing for dogs and outdoorsy things. insurance is dirt cheap at least where i live.  im paying 27$ a month. its liability only but its just a crap 2000$ element. im not gonna spend a ton insuring it.

He left out a VERY important part of this, what college in Philly or is it not really in Philly and he is on the mainline? I went to school there and my school plus the other three well known city colleges, having a car is asinine at best. Get a bike Aiden!

Mazda 3.

The possibilities are sort of endless.

Good luck finding an “affordable” Nissan in the Northeast that isn’t a pile of rust.

I would love to know what “completely broken” means.

The biggest small car you can get

I know it doesn’t fit the fuel economy and easy to park criteria, but maybe look into another Xterra. They are the perfect urban assault vehicle for the mean streets of Philly.

Pontiac Vibe, Toyota Matrix, Scion/Toyta iM, or the Scion xD all should be on this list.