We finally decided to make a dent in our debt. So we sold my wife's car to pay off the loan. Now we are looking for another car that she can use for driving back and forth to work (70 mi round trip). The budget for this car is $2000. Are there any recommendations on what brand car to get? What do you consider to be too many miles? What do you consider to be too old?

We hope to use this vehicle for a couple years. It needs to be four door. It may not get driven everyday, since we have sold the car 3 weeks ago we have been carpooling together and that seems to be working fine, however I work flexible hours and there are times when I will be leaving late or early. We also hoped to get a car reliable enough that we could make some trips with it so that we don't have to drive my gas guzzler Jeep every where (not selling the Jeep, would rather go without food or clothes first ).

Thanks for your help.

I'm a big fan of "cash cars" and in fact, I've only owned one financed/under warranty car in my life (and IT turned out to be a POS/lemon, but that's another story).

If I were car shopping right now and assuming you don't need something big (we are limited by having 4 kids, so we have to look at station wagons and vans and such)... I would go for a Honda or Toyota sedan.

I know everyone has their own opinions on this.. I was raised in an "American Cars Only" kind of household, but that was because of the men in the house who could work on the cars. Once I got out on my own and couldn't always do the stuff myself, I switched to driving foreign cars, because overall I just had fewer problems.

I had a 1982 Datsun 200SX that I gave to my mom.. it probably has 300k miles on it by now and it's still going strong! I also have a 1991 Toyota Previa minivan that is approaching 300k miles and still chugging along.. well, it was until recently. Needs a radiator now, but in the time I've had it, VERY few problems.

I would stay VERY FAR AWAY from dealers. Oh, and watch those ads in the paper too.. it may look like an ad from a private individual, but some dealers want you to think this. If it smells like a dealer, it probably is.

I'm in a military town.. and I consider it an advantage. I've found (from growing up an Air Force brat and from buyin cars from career military sorts) that they tend to maintain their vehicles better. Maybe it's an unfair stereotype.. but they DO seem to be much more responsible people in general! LOL! So, I'd look for a car on or near the bases here... or at minimum, a car owned by an older or retired person, one or two owners, someone who can PROVE that the car has been well maintained. I firmly believe if you go for a foreign car that has an immaculate maintenance record, you'll do just fine even with higher mileage.

Hope this helps some!

Sheri

Check Consumer Reports' used car ratings, too, once you zero in on a make, model, and year.

They will warn you, for example, against purchasing a used Jetta from the late 90s through early 00s. (I know that's not in the $2K price range, but it's an example of a car with a consistently terrible reliability record.) Typically, Hondas and Toyotas are safe bets, but maybe the Corolla had an off year. Or, perhaps a used car that you don't think too highly of--I don't know, maybe a Chevy Cavalier--had an especially good year.

I subscribe and would be happy to look something up for you. Off the top of my head, I don't know how far back the ratings go.

Mike

Until a few years ago, we were cash car people. I plan to be one again, now that I am learning about my financial world. We owned 4 Volvo 240s over a 10 year period. They are REliable, run forever(we had one with 275k), are very abundant and cheap to repair(lots of good, used parts). They are also a safe older car. I would highly recommend it.

a few weeks back, my 91 toyota corolla, all of a sudden started having engine problems (they say it might be a valve). So off I go, looking for another car, so I can go to work. I also have a lot of cc bills (but that is another story), so really didn't want any more payments. I found a 91 toyota camry, almost the same color, but the body isn't nearly as good of shape as my corolla. The engine runs good though, it has 108,000 miles and paid about $2000, from a private owner. It was listed online thru a local newspaper. I will probably have to do some maintance stuff, but still is better than payments. This is the first time I had a car that the body is in good shape, but the motor isn't... I tend to agree with Sherri, since having foreign cars, honda station wagon, suburu s/w, toyota corolla ~ it had 150,000 when the engine started rapping. But while having these car, they were pretty reliable, but I still keep my cell phone and AAA+, for a security backup plan... Now I have to figure out what to do with the corolla, esp since the body is still good. I would like to fix it up, but then financial aspect, I will probably sell it

The April 2005 issue of Consumer Reports recommends the following used cars in the under $4K price category:

Chevy/Geo Prizm '97-98
Ford Escort '97, '99
Mazda B-Series (2WD) '97
Mazda Protege '97-98
Mercury Tracer '97, '99
Nissan Sentra '97-98

Used cars to avoid:

Audi A6; BMW 7 Series; Chevy Astro, Blazer, Express 1500, S-10 (4WD), TrailBlazer; Chrysler Town & Country (AWD); Dodge Dakota (4WD), Grand Caravan (AWD); Ford Windstar; GMC Envoy, Jimmy, Safari, Savana 1500, Sonoma (4WD); Jaguar S-Type, X-Type; Jeep Grand Cherokee; Land Rover Discovery; Lincoln Navigator; Mercedes-Benz C-Class (V6), CLK, M-Class, S-Class; Oldsmobile Bravada, Cutlass; Plymouth Neon; Pontiac Aztek; Saturn VUE; VW Golf, Jetta, New Beetle; Volvo S80

Hope this helps,

Mike

Just keep looking. It always helps to have a friend in the business, as well.

Here's our story to keep you motivated:

Three years ago we purchased a bank repo, found through my brother in law, who repairs vehicles and knows all the local small time car lots and garages. It was a 1995 Buick Regal... perfect condition. We paid $2500.

Fast forward, I sunk it underwater (well, partially LOL). Therein the problems began. We attempted to fix it, but took our time, while watching for another car.

We finally found it this past weekend - the exact same car, only a year newer. The original thought was it had a blown engine, due to a knocking sound. Since we had purchased a motor for my other Buick, we were going to take the two cars and somehow make one good one.

Didn't need to. We paid $400 and went to drive (baby it) it off the lot. It ran perfectly. Other than needing an oil change, I now have a perfect Buick...

Just keep up the looking, put the word out to your friends and family. And good luck.

I have 3 cars all cash cars. One Jeep wrangler for 4 wheel drive necessity, one 1973 Maverick runs great 43K miles, and one 1986 Dodge 3/4 ton pick up for hauling wood to heat our house. The three together I paid less than 9K for them. The important thing is to watch all of the websites like cars.com and autotrader.com for cars locally. Also the local paper both online and in print, and if you have some kind of Trading Post/Thrifty Nickel small circular paper in your area. If you have any mechanic or dealer friends tell them to be on the look out. Also check estate auctions. For instance there is an estate auction next weekend where I live with a 1997 Ford Explorer with 29K miles on it. The cars are out there it just takes some digging.

I have found my $25/year subscription to consumerreports.com to be worth every penny and then some!

I did all my car shopping for our last car on carsoup.com, but for a vehicle under $3K, you may have better luck with the Auto Thrifties section of your local metro newspaper classifieds.

Fiona

Thanks for all the help. I guess I'm going to keep looking in the classifieds, cars.com, and autotrader until I find something. I found a couple good deals but was too late calling and they were already gone. Right now though its nice to have that much in the bank and not have any payments. Maybe we will be able to carpool a couple more months. I don't really want to spend the money now .

toyotas nissans cheap to repair..you can get a good one around 1992 for 2k and good gas around 30mpg..
stay away from all trucks.
jeeps
and all large engine cars.etc.

Hey what about auctions? You are near me if you are S of CLT. I looked in the paper today and there are a few auctions coming up with TONS of cars included- I am talking estate auctions. Also Goodwill has one 2 times a month and you should be able to get something there as well. They have a listing of running cars and nonrunning cars.

dealer auctions are the best,find out where and when..
many auctions are scammy you got to go to the right ones, and get a kelly blue book you myst buy at the fair mark trade in price or below..

I'd be very careful about auctions no matter who runs them. You are only allowed to inspect the car there at the auction and then place your bid. Unless you have a mechanic in tow or know enough about cars, I would pass on auctions and just stick to dealing with a dealer/private sale. And as always with ANY used car (no matter who makes it), get the car inspected by a trusted independent mechanic. The few dollars you pay for the inspection can go a long ways in protecting you from any potential lemon.

I would take a lot of the Consumer Reports reliability ratings with a grain a salt. Although they do collect some data to back up their ratings, much of it is too heavily weighted by a particular owner's bias. Even some well respected industry experts have noted a particular bias with their reliability ratings.

zx10guy, I buy all my cars and trucks and boats and rvs from charity auctions. they have a reputation to uphold and have the vehicles checked out. they clearly state what is wrong with said vehicle on the windshield.You are allowed to start up the vehicle and check out anything you need to. this is where alot of used car lots purchase from and then resale to people who refuse to purchase directly from the auction. no matter where you buy a used car, you buy it as is.....

Where/how would I find out about charity auctions or any auctions close by?

There is a goodwill one tonight. goodwillsc.org is the website. They have them in Spartanburg on Saturdays.

Although many charity organizations try to run a clean shop things happen. An example of what could go wrong is when charities don't follow up with the buyer of the car to make sure the new owner properly transfer title ownership to their name. There has been numerous warnings out there by both news organizations and people who got burned by this. Many charity groups request that when you donate a car that you leave the assignee blank so that they can cut down on their work and expense having to transfer title yet again to the new owner. There's been cases where cars bought from charity auctions were used to commit crimes to having a bunch of parking tickets that were all billed to the previous owner. You still need to make sure you know how to inspect over the car or have a mechanic in tow to make sure the car is sound. Like you said, cars are sold as is. Again, I personally wouldn't take this risk and I know quite a bit about cars to be able to do a pretty thorough inspection by myself. And many used car dealerships don't buy from charity auctions or it doesn't comprise a sole source of their car inventory. There's a lot of cars that ended up at many used car dealerships that were involved in the major floods a few years ago down in the southern eastern coast. These cars were bought from auction too after the insurance companies declared them a total loss. I don't know about most people but I would rather spend a few more dollars to make sure I get the assurance of a car that is sound and a place I can go back to if there are problems rather than risking a few thousand on a chance things could be ok. I don't have that kind of cash sitting around that I would risk like that. And as always buyer beware.

I bought my last vehicle off Ebay, the risks are obvious, but dont be too quick to pass it off either. I paid $800 for a 1994 chevy blazer s10 w/ about 127000 miles, it has some rust, but in the past year has been one of the most reliable, and best running vehicles I ever owned, including the financed ones, and it only cost me $800!

Pick up a autotrader or bargain trader they usually list auctions around town.

At my old college MIT, there was a blackjack card counting team that
has been making huge gains, it sounds weird I know as I do not gamble myself but I guess these guys had a good clear cut system for taking candy away from the casino. Do a search of the mit blackjack team to learn about them.

Just an update. I'm currently in the process of buying a 1999 Ford Taurus w/ 115,000 miles for $2000 (Paying cash) . Now I just have to get the guy to get the paperwork together so I can actually get it. I believe the car is a good deal, unless you tell me otherwise.

Thanks to the board for helping me get my finaces in order. Hopefully by this time next year I will be free of most of my debt.

just make sure you get the car checked out by your local mechanic before making the final transaction.

I'm right there with ya on that one. My gas bill is temporarily astromomical due to having to drive an extra 80 miles a day for summer classes, but there is no way in hell that I'm giving up my Jeep. My DH really wants a Jeep of his own, but I'm just not sure we can swing the payments+insurance+gas on it right now. I have no problems with us being a two Jeep family though.

Those things had transmission issues. I would definitely have the car checked out.

Also, there is the added monthly cost of liability insurance with a second car in addition to licensing fees. Sometimes a single car is cheaper than a second cash car, especially with repairs if you are planning on putting any kind of mileage on it.

My grandmother had one of those and the tranny went out. It was a limited make of the tranny and only available in that model year. New tranny was only option and it was gonna be way over value of car. She ended up selling it AS IS to someone who had an accident and needed repair parts.

Yes, stay away from older Taurus cards. My sister had a '92 and the transmission would fail in reverse. She would have to let the tranny cool down to get out of parking lots.

I RECENTLY FOUND A SMALL CAR (97 OLDS CUTLASS)
IN A LADYS YARD THAT SHE HAD WRECKED A LITTLE AND PARKED CAR HAD LESS THAN 60K ON THE ODO AND I DROVE IT HOME FOR 500.00 CASH WITH REPAIRS I SPENT 2000.00 AND HAVE A NEW CAR I DONT REGRET GIVING UP THE CAR PAYMENT LIFESTYLE ON BIT BUT DO LIKE I DID GET IN THE CAR AND RIDE THRU THE COUNTRY AND SEE WHAT YOU SEE IN PEOPLES YARD JUST SITTING AND ASK.
GOOD LUCK

NEVER pay cash for a car or take it "as is."

You get a lemon, too bad... Use a credit card or something else (you could pa the card in full to get no iterest, and if you have miles or points, get a bunch)

How do you pay a personal owner with a cc?

I'm with you shop_free, I don't know a private seller that takes CCs. I'm sure some would be setting up a paypal or similar account, but that would be a small percentage of people.

Also most of the cars in the price range we're talking about here ($0-2000 or so) are as is. But let me know if you find someone willing give a warranty on a cheap car.