Hey everybody! I'm looking to buy a cheap ($0 to $1500) and reliable (no mechanical issues, starts and runs normally) car. I don't care what it looks like, actually the funnier it looks the better because I'm weird and I like when I have shit that looks weird. I mean I don't want a car that looks like it's been in a wreck, but I mean weird colors and models are welcome. This will be my first car, so any advice, leads, cars for sale, etc. are welcome.
The best advice I can give is not to buy a car for $1500 or less and expect it to be reliable, or drive well, without putting more money into it. Is it possible? yeah, but you need to get pretty fucking lucky.
The best advice I can give is not to buy a car for $1500 or less and expect it to be reliable, or drive well, without putting more money into it. Is it possible? yeah, but you need to get pretty fucking lucky.
Bill
Yeah, I definitely understand it's not going to be easy to find what I'm looking for but I think as long as I keep my eyes peeled and stay away from dealerships I should eventually find something suitable.
The other option I was thinking of was just paying more, going to a dealership and getting financing. I'm not sure how I feel about having a car note to pay off along with insurance, gas, rent, cock, dick, balls, etc. etc.
definitely check the classifieds and the vine first. i got my first car, a 1988 tempo, for $500; all it needed was a new brake pad, otherwise it ran fine for 1.5+ years before i sold it for $1000. if i was in your position, depending on how soon you need a car, i would check out that integra first before doing anything else
I just bought a sweet whip for 1800 from a family/friend connection. It starts like it's trying to turn over a load of concrete in the engine block and has an exhaust leak. It also came low on coolant and I had the front passenger brake seize on me. Just to put things in perspective. It's not like I got jacked either because I just needed to buy some more coolant and get the exhaust leak welded up and it'll run great. That just leaves the brakes which will cost some money but it shouldn't put the overall cost over 2 grand. Also it has a rear spoiler /tongue.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":P" border="0" alt="tongue.gif" />
Advice: set aside a little more cash for a car. It's worth upping your range a few hundred bucks.
seriously though the hunk of junk barely fucking starts every time. That rear spoiler may be the only feature on the car that isn't malfunctioning right now. Unless you count having a rear spoiler on a front wheel drive car as malfunctioning (which I do). It has power windows. the driver window skips gears and makes a god awful, gut wrenching whine as it opens and closes excruciatingly slowly. It has a clock radio with a tape deck in it. who takes cassettes seriously these days anyway and it came with a receipt for exhaust work done no more than 18 months ago but it leaks
It's got 180,000 miles. I know it's a lot but a friend and I test drove it and it runs beautifully. No check engine lights or anything like that. Got a carfax report, car was completely clear aside from an open recall for the automatic seat belt motors from over a decade ago. The only real problems are cosmetic which makes this car exactly what i was looking for. Something that couldn't be sold for top dollar because of an accumulation of small cosmetic flaws. There's some tears on the upholstery on the driver's seat and a couple dings and small dents on the body. I like it because it looks weird and gay, like me.
I was basically telling myself that I could spend $1500 on a car, which makes me $500 below budget. So after I have it inspected this weekend if I only have to put $500 more into it I'm exactly where I wanted to be. So far I'm pretty pleased, we'll see how things progress. I still have to learn how to drive stick, I think I'll pick it up pretty quickly. I'll post pictures of it when I get some time. Everyone cheer!
Okay so after an hour or two of practice i drove the car to work in NJ and back. The way there was a nightmare, i stalled a million times at one intersection. The way back was nice, stalled only twice, once at the toll and once literally 10 yards away from my front door. Starting to get the hang of it, thank fucking god.
Took the car in for inspection today...you know, the same car I bought about a month ago and was guaranteed by the seller would pass inspection? In short, it passed emissions but failed the other one MISERABLY. I don't even want to say what the repairs cost me but trust me, i'm pissed.
I'm gonna call the guy I bought it from tomorrow and see if he wants to give me some money back because it's either that or i'm going to buy a gun with what little remaining credit card balance I have and bust a cap in his ass.
But, on the bright side, the car is functioning beautifully now and I think I found the only trustworthy and skilled mechanic in the entire city of Philadelphia.
the exhaust was completely rusted through and yes it had huge holes, two of the tires had a nail in them and all four were dry rotted, the rear struts were just completely non functioning
Take the car to midas to get the exhaust replaced, or to get a quote. Also look online for exhaust kits that bolt together, and if youre handy enough, climb under and install.
Dry rotted tires usually comes from the car sitting for long periods of time. If you need tires, use tirerack.com as a comparison to other places. I've always had good experiences with tirerack and their shipping.
Struts could cost decent money, depending on the work involved. Older car, so might not be so much. Talk to someone at a Sears.
Mazda for reliability meh, I would have suggested looking for a honda/nissan. Never FORD [F] ound [O]n [R]oad [D] ead just another 4 letter word for shit. But I got my struts and springs and pretty much everything revolving around the struts and got 2 new front tires replaced for 945.
Sorry for your repair though that's going to suck.
I don't know much about cars, but I do know that I've never been in a car that could accelerate like my brother's accord coup. Now, I'm not saying there aren't cars with better acceleration, but I've driven in "comparable" models of cars from other brands and have either not experienced a difference or was actually unimpressed. Add high MPG, an awesome design, one of the best resale values in the industry, and the reliability that comes with the Honda name, I can't really see any drawbacks.
2004 Pontiac Sunfire SE 2 door. Got it for 7600 all told, with 48k KM (not miles, you Americans you).
The vehicle has no problems, and I plan on doing all the work that the car may need in the future myself. The front discs are a little warped, as they are the originals, and the tires will probably need replacing in about a year, but aside from that, this little beast is solid. Fun to drive, easy to work on, and cheap parts.
Here's hoping it doesn't just fall apart. It is a sunfire after all.
I'll get some pics up as soon as its warm enough to give the car a wash/wax. Where are your pics CJ?
Looking for a cheap and reliable used older brother.
Only requirement is that they come home more than once every 4 months /tongue.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":P" border="0" alt="tongue.gif" />