buy a cheap car????

[JayJay]

Originally Posted by Xericx

If you have a short commute, this is an awesome option.
I agree. If the commute is short and there is a need/desire for an SUV, then now is definitely the time to buy. Some people and dealers are at the point of almost seemingly giving them away.

 

[jc138]

Originally Posted by brissyboy

That's a good amount for a first car. I got a 2001 corolla and it is great little car. The earlier models are great too. Always demnd a log book
What is a "logbook?"

 

[Bradford]

I'd buy 4 or 5 year old Kia or Hyundai.

They're well built little cars, got good mileage and plus with the 10-year, 100,000 mile warranty you'd probably still be covered.

I put more than 200,000 miles on a '94 Kia Sephia that I owned until 2000. I currently have an '03 Kia Optima and it's a great car that gets good mileage, looks nice and has extremely low maintenance costs.

Plus, it'll probably cost less than $7,000 and you can save the rest for a down payment on a nicer car when you're ready to move up.

 

[acidboy]

Originally Posted by jc138

What is a "logbook?"

Its probably one of those maintenance schedule books the shop issues and updates everytime you have the car tuned up and oil changed.

 

[Shraka]

Originally Posted by acidicboy

Its probably one of those maintenance schedule books the shop issues and updates everytime you have the car tuned up and oil changed.

Yes. Also known as a maintenance logbook.

 

[jc138]

Originally Posted by Shraka

Yes. Also known as a maintenance logbook.
Many thanks to you both. I'm about to be in the same position as the OP and am woefully ignorant of car buying.

 

[Augusto86]

I know a guy who knows a guy. You gotta pay cash though, and pick it up in the next 24 hours.

 

[Joffrey]

BUy a vespa

 

[Shraka]

Originally Posted by jc138

Many thanks to you both. I'm about to be in the same position as the OP and am woefully ignorant of car buying.

Best way to test a car: Rev it out to redline, both free revving and under load (ie. driving the car, push your foot into the firewall and let it get to the redline). Don't be timid when testing your car. Push it harder than you would ever push your car day to day. If it doesn't handle it then the car is in poor condition. If the owner protests when you ask him if you can do it, the car is probably in poor condition.

Lock the brakes up too. See if the ABS is working if it has ABS, or see how it handles an emergency stopping situation. Cars are designed to withstand that sort of thing over and over again, so you wont damage the car unless it's in poor condition to begin with.

If the car is making funny noises after all this then it's probably not in great nick.

 

[Aureus]

Originally Posted by Xericx

NO. At the $3,000 price level you are likely to get a beater with MANY miles in which you have to do maintenance which would cost more than a $5-7k car.
How has no one else called you out on this? You think somehow you're going to need to spend 2-4k in maintenance/repair on a car over a short period? How exactly do you figure a 3k car is going to warrant 4k in maintenance? Do you have any experience with cheap cars at all? Any experience with cars over 100k miles? The safe and reliable answer to the op's question is 'Honda Civic/Toyota Corolla/Honda Accord in decent condition' But I've got another one. Volvo. Volvo 740 or 240. But I've got a soft spot for them. The enthusiast answer varies from an MR2, Miata, Porsche 944, BMW 325is, Datsun 280z, Ford Mustang and on and on it goes... I'd take a MR2 or 325is. But the safe answer is still the Civic/Accord/Corolla.

 

[LabelKing]

Originally Posted by JayJay

I agree. If the commute is short and there is a need/desire for an SUV, then now is definitely the time to buy. Some people and dealers are at the point of almost seemingly giving them away.

You could even get a Hummer, the real one not those H3 things.

 

[acidboy]

Originally Posted by Jodum5

BUy a vespa

I used to drive one of them old PX series... a total ***** to maintain, but it was sure fun to drive around in. If I was living in a fairly safe place to drive around in, and my commute to work is 30 minutes or less, I'd get one of them newer Vespas, maybe a Granturismo.

 

[rdawson808]

Originally Posted by Xericx

NO. At the $3,000 price level you are likely to get a beater with MANY miles in which you have to do maintenance which would cost more than a $5-7k car.

I would have sold you my 2000 Honda Civic for less than $3k. It had 150k miles on it, required only oil changes. I had just done the regular check-ups (belts, etc.), so it would have been good to go for many many many more miles.

So there's my recommendation OP: buy a ~5 year old Honda Civic. Even if it needed belts, water pump, etc. that'll still leave you a couple grand left over.

b

 

[Beta]

Originally Posted by JayJay

I know people who have taken severe hits trading SUVs for more fuel efficient vehicles. In some cases, the mpg improvement hasn't been too significant.

I read a thing where they took a civic vs. an explorer or something (new to new) and then added in all the crazy discounts that they were giving off of midsize suvs right now...

it was really interesting to see the math vs. mileage, etc. if you drove around 10k miles/yr, it was cheaper to get that particular suv after the cash back.

 

[billiebob]

Originally Posted by Aureus

How has no one else called you out on this? You think somehow you're going to need to spend 2-4k in maintenance/repair on a car over a short period? How exactly do you figure a 3k car is going to warrant 4k in maintenance? Do you have any experience with cheap cars at all? Any experience with cars over 100k miles?

The safe and reliable answer to the op's question is 'Honda Civic/Toyota Corolla/Honda Accord in decent condition' But I've got another one. Volvo. Volvo 740 or 240. But I've got a soft spot for them.

The enthusiast answer varies from an MR2, Miata, Porsche 944, BMW 325is, Datsun 280z, Ford Mustang and on and on it goes... I'd take a MR2 or 325is. But the safe answer is still the Civic/Accord/Corolla.


You better be high if you are considering a porsche 944. They were great cars, but even small repairs like a water pump are expensive.

If you like cars in general and don't mind working on them, volkswagens are a lot of fun. I've had 4 of them and adore my jetta turbo. If you want reliability then get a honda or toyota. Even the old ones are pretty reliable.