I've given up on my 96 Ford Crown Victoria LX. The gas tank gets sapped at a frightening rate even though I had the spark plugs replaced, ran an oxygen sensor that produced no codes, cleaned out the fuel injector, and replaced the fuel and air filters. The mechanics can't figure it out either. She used to get over 450 miles to the 20-gallon tank, and now I'm lucky if she gets 300 to the tank. I can't afford her, and I fear that she's going to break down suddenly. It has a function that calculates fuel efficiency, which looks fine, but I've done the math from the odometer vs. gas consumed, and it's not adding up. I drive mostly highway too, so it shouldn't even be that low if I sat in traffic a lot.
I'm looking for a Honda Civic or a Toyota, something much more efficient and reliable. If I get a job with the hospital (I have an interview on Tuesday), I'll have access to their credit union and I'll be able to get a car loan. Yeah, I'm not graduating until May, but a car is an absolute necessity in Houston. Hopefully I won't spend more than $4K.
My mechanic is a wonderful man. I used to care for his mom when I worked in a nursing home, so he's looked after me ever since. He taught me what I needed to know about auto maintenance, which I never learned because I haven't lived with my parents since I was 16. Anyway, he's helping me look. He said to eschew autotrader.com, as he scopes dealerships regularly. He also said that he'd help trade my car in to at least pay the down payment.
Any advice? I've only ever taken out a student loan.



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