- Mar 15, 2003
- 12,669
- 103
- 106
I just accepted a job that requires a 30 mile commute and, since the mrs. needs a car as well, my only option is to buy an old beater. I've been unemployed for a while and doubt I'd even get credit approval without a paystub yet, and may use my car allowance in 6 months I really only need something to get me there and back, with a backseat for the rare time I have to drop my kid to kindergarten (rare, my wife will use the minivan most of the time).
Budget - embarassingly low, $2000 would be best, $3,000 is doable. I'll probably be trading this in toward a certified pre-owned car once my car allowance kicks in. The reason I'm being cheap is because this is nyc and, if this job doesn't work out, my next job will mostly like just be a subway ride away (and then I'd be stuck with a big loan and an extra car).
*update*
Found a pretty good deal on a 2003 Tiburon GT owned by a gear head (perfect maintenance record, nice mods for a car that cheap, and a V6 that ran very smooth for the age), originally listed at $3,000 but haggled the seller down to $2,200 (he's moving in 2 weeks and needs it sold stat).
It's pretty handsome actually, blue with a black leather interior with no damage (exterior's paint is a little faded), leather, dvd, bluetooth, navigation (jensen, but hey it's something), infinity speakers and sub, and newish rims and tires with at least 70% of their life left. My wife won't look silly dropping off the kid, and I might take a trip to maco for the fading. I think we'll take turns driving it, so sometimes it'll have a 60 mile commute, sometimes 3. Really quite pleased!
The cool thing is that I won't be tempted to dig into the car allowance so I can just let it stack until I get a sizable down payment + trade in, without taking out a loan right now when just starting a job. Thanks for the advice guys, I'm pretty confident this will last me 6 months to a year with little drama! (the headlight looks busted, it's just a reflection)
Budget - embarassingly low, $2000 would be best, $3,000 is doable. I'll probably be trading this in toward a certified pre-owned car once my car allowance kicks in. The reason I'm being cheap is because this is nyc and, if this job doesn't work out, my next job will mostly like just be a subway ride away (and then I'd be stuck with a big loan and an extra car).
*update*
Found a pretty good deal on a 2003 Tiburon GT owned by a gear head (perfect maintenance record, nice mods for a car that cheap, and a V6 that ran very smooth for the age), originally listed at $3,000 but haggled the seller down to $2,200 (he's moving in 2 weeks and needs it sold stat).
It's pretty handsome actually, blue with a black leather interior with no damage (exterior's paint is a little faded), leather, dvd, bluetooth, navigation (jensen, but hey it's something), infinity speakers and sub, and newish rims and tires with at least 70% of their life left. My wife won't look silly dropping off the kid, and I might take a trip to maco for the fading. I think we'll take turns driving it, so sometimes it'll have a 60 mile commute, sometimes 3. Really quite pleased!
The cool thing is that I won't be tempted to dig into the car allowance so I can just let it stack until I get a sizable down payment + trade in, without taking out a loan right now when just starting a job. Thanks for the advice guys, I'm pretty confident this will last me 6 months to a year with little drama! (the headlight looks busted, it's just a reflection)
Last edited: