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Okay so
a.) Im a girl who knows nothing about cars
b.) I have about 2k saved up
c.) I need a reliable car and I dont know any mechanics or am friends with any
d.) Ive been looking on craigslist
e.) what should I look out for?
f.) suggestions on cars or help please would be lovely.
yes you can find reliable cars for cheap. what you need to do though is take a friend with you who knows about automobiles and have them check the car over before you test drive it. when you do go to look at cheap cars, DO NOT look at the body work or interior until the last. what you are looking for is a reliable car, who cares if it is beat to crap otherwise.
That's a tall order, though not necessarily impossible.
Considering you know nothing of cars and don't know any mechanics or mechanically inclined people who can help you out, it might serve you better to just buy something as cheap as possible that's legally registered w/ up to date tags. Think high mileage $750 range. Use this as you save up more money and sell it to a wrecking yard when it goes bust, by that time, with some luck you have some more cash to put into a vehicle, which will make it easier to get hold of something reliable.
If you have a steady income, good credit rating and a budget that allows for it, then a new car with a great interest loan or a lease vehicle might be a good option, if reliability is high up there on the list, especially since you know so little about cars.
Can you get a reliable car for 2k?.Yes you can BUT can you get a reliable car that will not require some money to be spent on it? NO! It will need tires or brakes or muffler or tune up or state inspection or ac repair etc etc which have nothing to do with it being reliable.
One thing I'd be looking for is a seller who has kept receipts for service and repairs. It would at least give you some idea of what problems have already been addressed and when they were done. Good luck!
"Reliable" is relative. Even if it has been well-cared-for, any car in the $2,000 range will need more ongoing maintenance than a late-model car. In that price range, you'll also find a lot of cars that have not been well-cared-for and will have a lot of deferred maintenance issues. Try to find one that has recent maintenance records.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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About a year ago for commuting I bought a 1997 Escort for $950 off Craigslist, but it was a one-owner car (verified with carfax) and the seller worked a few blocks from me. I have also done a lot of my own car repairs, and restored a couple of classics so I know what to look for.
Many sellers on CL are scammers, or selling something that they know is about to die. Even with the deal I got, I have since had to replace a belt, and the clutch, so I've spent close to $800 more on it. Other than that it runs great and gets 30 mpg so I've gotten over 10,000 miles out of it already for just over $1,700.
For $2,000 any really good car will have 200,000 miles on it. Any regular car will have 150,000. Either way the life of the engine and or transmission, if never rebuilt, are very close to the end and as
good as it looks and even runs, it will not be reliable. You need to find
new friends that are knowledgeable about cars, or save up longer for something really reliable for about double that amount.
Saturn S series from the 90s were fairly reliable and got excellent gas mileage. The engines tended to burn oil as they got older esp. the SL & SW 2 series (as opposed to the SL & SW 1). Before you buy any car take it to a mechanic to check it out. I know there are services that come to the car in many towns. Make sure they check the engine compression.
this guy has the right idea (outside of ford), go japanese.
i would do:
95-ish Corolla or Civic
1.) pay attention to idle, make sure it's not rough (turn AC on when testing this)
2.) take an extended test drive-- like an hour or something. just tell the person you're buying from beforehand that this is the plan.
3.) take it on the highway, do at least 80. check for road noise (loose parts) and if your steering wheel wobbles (unbalanced wheels)
4.) check the tread amount on the tires.
5.) check KBB on how much you should be paying and use this as a baseline- adjust accordingly after inspecting the car
6.) get a carfax
7.... a bunch of other stuff. best bet would be to get an independent mechanic to check the car out for you. usually costs $75. i'm always happy with just a case of beer
Last edited by Nimbus09; 03-20-2011 at 10:03 PM..
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