Cheap Car Hunting

October 8, 2012 - Author: newscoma - Comments are closed

So blogging community, I’m coming to you for advice. I’ve finally got the money to buy a new car to replace Steve Austin. As a freelancer, I want to buy something VERY cheap, dependable and I don’t want to finance.

I know that I’m going to have to be clever and open-minded. There is no new car in my future, I get that and there also is no Volvo, Lexus or Cadillac out there with my name on it. I’m a realist.

I talked to my dad because that’s what you do in dilemmas such as mine and he gave me some sound advice as dads do. Look in the paper (which I did) for one owner deals and, if you can, avoid car lots unless there is

A Beige Pacer, Oh Joy

good buzz around them from friends. And that Carfax is imperative although I could end up paying hundreds of dollars for each vehicle I look at but I do believe that is necessary. I think my father is right.

My worries are mainly, and I mean no disrespect in what I’m about to say, are of flood vehicles in Nashville so I’m looking in Hoots, Jackson and my buddy Vibinc has his eyes open in Memphis. Nashville cars will definitely get the Carfax treatment.

Beggars, of course, can’t be choosy so I realize that I may be driving a bright purple Impala but if it runs, which Steve Austin didn’t, then I’m in.

So keep your ear to the ground and I’m always willing to take good advice because that’s the only way a person learns anything.

Did I mention VERY cheap?

Categories: Tennessee

Discussion (8 Comments)

by Ken West

Used Toyotas, Hondas always a good bet. My Mazda 3 has been great.

by newscoma

That’s good advice. I want whatever I get to be able to be pretty simple to work on.

by Divers and Sundry

just a caution about carfax. we looked at a car once, checked out its spotless carfax report, then took the car to our mechanic. he said the car had been wrecked, had frame damage and it was so bad he was surprised we hadn’t noticed it just looking at the car. when we told him the carfax report was clean, he laughed and said that carfax can’t include what they don’t know about …

have you checked consumer reports?

by newscoma

Glad for the heads up! I do have a mechanic who said he would look at what I was looking at and give me the thumbs up or thumbs down as well.

by grandefille

Seconding the strong thumbs-up for Toyota reliability: I’ve run the wheels off three in the last 30 (no lie) years.

You can find an older Corolla or Camry for under $5,000 that will still be a good, dependable ride for you; just watch out for anything over 150,000 miles. They’ll go waaaay past that (past 250,000, in fact) with good maintenance, but if the seller can’t supply maintenance records for a high-mileage one, you’d be looking at a new engine pretty soon.

Hope all goes smoothly, quickly and well. Many many hugs.

by Lesley Eats

Yep, clicked over just to say that Carfax is often a waste of money. I got a Carfax report on a car I bought used from a dealer. The report was clean, but after a parking my car at home on an incline, it was clear it had been wrecked and the frame damaged. It’s a false sense of security.

We bought Chris’s car off craigslist. So far (after a few months), it doesn’t seem like we got screwed. It’s a late model and was pricey, but still considerably less than we would’ve paid at a dealer (the guy just wanted pay-off). We sold Chris’s car to Carmax and got more than we would’ve from an individual and I’m sure they turned around and tacked on another $4k. But I also think they had to do a lot of work to it to get it there.

All that to say, you should be able to find something cheap and reasonably reliable with some diligence. It can be frustrating, though, I know.

by Midori Barstow

This ClickClack/CarTalk link could be helpful?

http://www.cartalk.com/content/car-info#buying

Cars for Sale

Search Cars.com’s humongous database of used cars for sale. See what’s out there!

by Hugh

I agree that carfax is a waste of time. How many car dealers use car5fax when they buy cars? None that I know of.

I know folks who buy and sell used cars for a living and they are not dealers but they wholesale prices and they sell for retail.

The key is tapping into the supply. Look on craigs list for new listings at least a half dozen times a day. This is what the professionals do. If thder is a one owner lowmileage used car for sale it dioesn’t last long. I’m talking like a matter of hours.

Always bring cash and don’t even bother negotiating without it. Check Kelly Blue book and don’t pay more than 75% of bluebook. Take the money out and show it to them. Don’t be afraid to walk away from a deal, or to pretend to walk away.

by Ken West

Used Toyotas, Hondas always a good bet. My Mazda 3 has been great.
by newscoma

That’s good advice. I want whatever I get to be able to be pretty simple to work on.
by Divers and Sundry

just a caution about carfax. we looked at a car once, checked out its spotless carfax report, then took the car to our mechanic. he said the car had been wrecked, had frame damage and it was so bad he was surprised we hadn’t noticed it just looking at the car. when we told him the carfax report was clean, he laughed and said that carfax can’t include what they don’t know about …

have you checked consumer reports?
by newscoma

Glad for the heads up! I do have a mechanic who said he would look at what I was looking at and give me the thumbs up or thumbs down as well.
by grandefille

Seconding the strong thumbs-up for Toyota reliability: I’ve run the wheels off three in the last 30 (no lie) years.

You can find an older Corolla or Camry for under $5,000 that will still be a good, dependable ride for you; just watch out for anything over 150,000 miles. They’ll go waaaay past that (past 250,000, in fact) with good maintenance, but if the seller can’t supply maintenance records for a high-mileage one, you’d be looking at a new engine pretty soon.

Hope all goes smoothly, quickly and well. Many many hugs.
by Lesley Eats

Yep, clicked over just to say that Carfax is often a waste of money. I got a Carfax report on a car I bought used from a dealer. The report was clean, but after a parking my car at home on an incline, it was clear it had been wrecked and the frame damaged. It’s a false sense of security.

We bought Chris’s car off craigslist. So far (after a few months), it doesn’t seem like we got screwed. It’s a late model and was pricey, but still considerably less than we would’ve paid at a dealer (the guy just wanted pay-off). We sold Chris’s car to Carmax and got more than we would’ve from an individual and I’m sure they turned around and tacked on another $4k. But I also think they had to do a lot of work to it to get it there.

All that to say, you should be able to find something cheap and reasonably reliable with some diligence. It can be frustrating, though, I know.
by Midori Barstow

This ClickClack/CarTalk link could be helpful?

http://www.cartalk.com/content/car-info#buying

Cars for Sale

Search Cars.com’s humongous database of used cars for sale. See what’s out there!
by Hugh

I agree that carfax is a waste of time. How many car dealers use car5fax when they buy cars? None that I know of.

I know folks who buy and sell used cars for a living and they are not dealers but they wholesale prices and they sell for retail.

The key is tapping into the supply. Look on craigs list for new listings at least a half dozen times a day. This is what the professionals do. If thder is a one owner lowmileage used car for sale it dioesn’t last long. I’m talking like a matter of hours.

Always bring cash and don’t even bother negotiating without it. Check Kelly Blue book and don’t pay more than 75% of bluebook. Take the money out and show it to them. Don’t be afraid to walk away from a deal, or to pretend to walk away.

Newscoma

Help a sister out

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