Buying Used Car

[ElFenix]

at that cheap a price brand has much less to do with it than how well the car was maintained and sheer dumb luck. take it to a trusted mechanic before you buy it.

 

[DougK62]

Originally posted by: ed0ggyd0gg
Hmm, it seems like most are recommending a foreign vehicle. I'll have to side with the majority. Thanks for the info though DougK62.

That's fine, but take it with a grain of salt. You're asking on a tech forum that's populated with a bunch of young Asian people.

For a cheap car you should be looking at maintenance records and how the car was cared for. You can basically ignore brands.

 

[simms]

Originally posted by: DougK62

Originally posted by: ed0ggyd0gg
Hmm, it seems like most are recommending a foreign vehicle. I'll have to side with the majority. Thanks for the info though DougK62.

That's fine, but take it with a grain of salt. You're asking on a tech forum that's populated with a bunch of young Asian people.

For a cheap car you should be looking at maintenance records and how the car was cared for. You can basically ignore brands.

Pretty sure we took a took before and the majority was caucasian...

 

[DougK62]

Originally posted by: ed0ggyd0gg
1990 Corolla

Should the "new clutch/timing belt" scare me off? Does that mean there might be more problems with it, and they just fixed the stuff that will keep it running long enough to sell?

I'm going to call them when I get off work in 45min.

Others that I'm looking at. Advice is appreciated.

1991 Civic (ugly body...have to rip that off)

1995 Civic

1989 Accord

Ignore the ones that may have had ricer pasts. That means the 90 Corolla and definitely the 91 Civic. The 89 Accord looks to be the best of that bunch.

 

[ed0ggyd0gg]

Originally posted by: ElFenix
at that cheap a price brand has much less to do with it than how well the car was maintained and sheer dumb luck. take it to a trusted mechanic before you buy it.

Good point indeed. The thing is, I don't really know a mechanic in this area. Haven't needed one since I don't have a car.

If I don't find one from one of my friends, do I just take it to any mechanic (or a reputable place) and ask him to check it out, i.e. let him know I might buy it and I want to know what is wrong with it? Do they charge you for checking it out?

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: ed0ggyd0gg
1990 Corolla

Should the "new clutch/timing belt" scare me off? Does that mean there might be more problems with it, and they just fixed the stuff that will keep it running long enough to sell?

I'm going to call them when I get off work in 45min.

Others that I'm looking at. Advice is appreciated.

1991 Civic (ugly body...have to rip that off)

1995 Civic

1989 Accord

Clutch and Timing belt are wear items that need to be replaced - the fact that theyve been replaced is a good thing. If its actually been replaced. I have my doubts.

But I hesitate to buy a car from anyone who has mispellings in their listings (new cluth). If they dont take the time to spellcheck their own listing, they probably arent going to put much care into a car.

New tires - $250, Timing belt - $200, Clutch - $300. New engine...$2000. The parts he replaced that are "new" cost more than the asking price, which reeks of bullsh*t.

The first things I look at when buying a car are the power steering fluid and brake fluid. Those two things are often overlooked by most drivers, but not by someone whos actually putting work into maintaining a car. If they tell you the car has been well maintained, and the brake fluid and power steering fluid are solid black, theyre full of it...ESPECIALLY on an old car.

 

[Vetterin]

Originally posted by: BD2003
I've never seen an old subie on the road. I see plenty of toyotas/hondas though. The ones I see the most? Volvo. There are a massive number of old POS volvos around here for some reason.

Might be because Subie was only selling 100,000 a year in the entire US in the early days. As a matter of fact, they just sold 206,000 cars in the US last year and that is a record.

 

[Tarrant64]

Stay away from Toyota Carolla.

Civics dont' seem to die, even if it's broken. Gas mileage tends to be pretty consistent as well. For about $20-$25 it can get you there and back again more than you'd think.

Civics, Camry's, Accord's will last you well over 100k usually. I just went from Toyota to Honda this past year, never been happier. I'm not too sure about Nissans. I have a friend who has had some terrible problems, but then again he beat the living piss out of his 240sx.

When take care of and proper maintenance, a really dirt cheap car and get you there and back again, easily.

 

[ed0ggyd0gg]

Ok, sounds like I really should get any car checked out before I buy it.

My last car was an '86 Volvo 240DL. I bought it for $800 and drove it for 6 months. All I did to it was put in gas and do oil changes, which was nice because none of my friends thought it would last a week. The gears started grinding though, and the brakes were down to their last few miles so I sold it for $400. Let's hope my next one lasts longer than that.

 

[ed0ggyd0gg]

1990 Civic

A steal or a lemon?

I figure since he needs cash so bad, I might be able to pry it off him for 900 and use the other 300 for anything I need to fix up front/insurance. But he might need to get rid of it quick because it sucks.

I think I can answer this myself. Must find reliable mechanic to take car to.

 

[DougK62]

Originally posted by: ed0ggyd0gg
1990 Civic

A steal or a lemon?

I figure since he needs cash so bad, I might be able to pry it off him for 900 and use the other 300 for anything I need to fix up front/insurance. But he might need to get rid of it quick because it sucks.

I think I can answer this myself. Must find reliable mechanic to take car to.

It has goofy chrome hubcaps and cut springs. That means you should run away. It was owned by a kid who thinks he's fast and furious.

 

[thedarkwolf]

Originally posted by: ed0ggyd0gg
1990 Civic

A steal or a lemon?

I figure since he needs cash so bad, I might be able to pry it off him for 900 and use the other 300 for anything I need to fix up front/insurance. But he might need to get rid of it quick because it sucks.

I think I can answer this myself. Must find reliable mechanic to take car to.

It has a 158k miles on it so I wouldn't call it a steal.
A quick look through your craigslist doesn't show a lot of cars I'd bother to look at for $2k or less.
96 toyota tercel
96 saturn Would have to find out how many miles are on it first.
86 nissan 300zx turbo Well thats the one I would be most interested in but I doubt it would be the most reliable .

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: ed0ggyd0gg

Originally posted by: ElFenix
at that cheap a price brand has much less to do with it than how well the car was maintained and sheer dumb luck. take it to a trusted mechanic before you buy it.

Good point indeed. The thing is, I don't really know a mechanic in this area. Haven't needed one since I don't have a car.

If I don't find one from one of my friends, do I just take it to any mechanic (or a reputable place) and ask him to check it out, i.e. let him know I might buy it and I want to know what is wrong with it? Do they charge you for checking it out?

yes, they're going to charge you. but paying $50 or $100 is much better than spending $1500 only to find out that all the gaskets in the engine need replaced and the transmission is full of sawdust.

as for mechanics in your area, certainly someone on here knows. just post away.

 

[ed0ggyd0gg]

Well, I live in San Diego, La Jolla specifically (near UCSD). I know there are a bunch of auto shops on Miramar but not really sure as to who I can trust. If anyone knows someone, I would be much obliged.

 

[OVerLoRDI]

Originally posted by: ed0ggyd0gg
So I need a daily driver, just to commute to school and work, for as cheap as possible. It really needs nothing more than to get me from Point A to Point B, so let's keep that in mind.

I'm looking at a 1986 BMW 325e with 180K on it. 2nd owner, all maintenance records, runs well; owner is a grandma so I don't think she treated it bad. Now the price isn't bad, $1500, and I will probably try to lower that to $1200 if I decide to purchase it.

The thing is, I always hear about how BMW has higher maintenance costs, and my friends say it won't be worth it because if something does go wrong it will drain my pocket. They recommend a Honda/Nissan/Toyota, something that I can fix for cheaper and will run just as good.

I really like the BMW though, and it's in good shape too. Plus, I know their cars are reliable. But the maintenance thing is bugging me. Advice?

BMWs are great cars but when things go wrong they will drain your pocket. My advice would be to take that thing to a dealer or a mechanic you trust and have it checked out. NEVER I repeat NEVER buy a BMW without getting it checked out first. Oh check the brakes, BMWs are generally pretty heavy cars, not sure about an 86 3 series but make sure the brakes are all in good shape otherwise you'll be spending a lot fixing that.

 

[ed0ggyd0gg]

thedarkwolf, I checked out the 300ZX you posted for me and it's actually pretty nice. Thanks for the heads up!

I've known them to be good cars and when I did a search for "86 300ZX reviews" I saw many compliments. You mentioned that it wouldn't be too good for reliability though. Any reason why?

 

[thedarkwolf]

Originally posted by: ed0ggyd0gg
thedarkwolf, I checked out the 300ZX you posted for me and it's actually pretty nice. Thanks for the heads up!

I've known them to be good cars and when I did a search for "86 300ZX reviews" I saw many compliments. You mentioned that it wouldn't be too good for reliability though. Any reason why?

They were one of the cars I was interested in a while ago and I researched them a bit. I don't remember most of the trouble areas anymore though. http://www.z31.com/ that place has a bunch of good info mostly under the misc link. The main thing is its an old car and an old turbo car but it does look nice and doesn't have the goofy digital dash.

 

[ed0ggyd0gg]

89 Accord

Alright, so this one is pretty cheap, and it seems to have been in good condition. The only dilemma is that it is an automatic, and I think I would be unhappy without a manual. However, I realllllly need a car. Thoughts? Is this worth checking out......even if it is an auto?

 

[ViviTheMage]

dont get that accord, you can get a 94 civic for about 1300$ depending of course.

just browse man...should take you about 1-2 weeks to pick one up off craiglist.

 

[ed0ggyd0gg]

Alright cool, thanks for the help.

 

[funboy6942]

Id be looking for a Older gm car with a 4.3 v6 or 5.0 or 5.7 v8. mid 80's to mid 90's. Should have the Th700r4 tranny, get close to 25-28 MPG (my old 88 firebird got 30MPG highway and was a 5.0 v8), parts are super cheap, and are so easy to work on a monkey could do it. Should be no problem in your price range finding a gm car in that range, and those trans and engines are almost bullet proof, and should it need to be replace would take $500 and about 3-4 hours for either one.

 

[ed0ggyd0gg]

1994 Infiniti

KBB is 3000. Am I missing something? This sounds like it's too good to be true.

 

[funboy6942]

Made by Nissan but because its slapped Infinity parts and cost to have fixed is though the roof. The old Q45 there is very prone in cold weather to flooding if you even tap the gas pedal while cranking it in cold weather. Transmission, if it should go is high to have rebild, engine is also the same and a PITA to do any work at all to it, and if mem serves me right, dont hold me to this, but when I was the service manger for Infinity, for a very short time, that Q45 uses a timing belt, and at that mileage its going to need to be replaced if it hasn't been already. If so your in for a hell of a bill that will for sure put you close to, if not over, KBB for it.

EDIT

I looked it up and that model uses a Chain not a belt, so you may be good on that, provided its not stretched to far.