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Is it just me. My wife and I have searched for a good used car for our daughter. I mean craigslist, auto trader, dealer lots everywhere. I seems to that if you want a good car in the 3000 to 4500 range it is a POS or over priced. Your thoughts.
Used car prices are up for a number of reasons. So maybe it's not that good used cars are hard to find but rather good used affordable cars are hard to find.
The Cash for Clunkers promotion crunched up a lot of decent used cars IMO, and caused a shortage of decent used cars in general. Not all those "clunkers" were crap. Anyway, for your daughter, I would recommend a used manual transmission Civic or Accord sedan. or a Volvo wagon. Or I suppose a Toyota Corolla, but I've never owned one. All of those cars last forever. Accords and Volvos have a better reputation for their original owners being diligent with their car maintenance.
And I recommend a manual transmission for a first car. It means less chance of a young person developing bad habits of driving and talking on the cell phone at the same time. And a manual transmission car lasts longer as decent car to drive. Once an automatic transmission needs to be rebuilt, it's never the same as new from the factory.
Also, avoid a used car with power windows. The simpler the car is, the better and easier it is to own a long time. And buy the car in a private sale from adults that live in the suburbs and without any kids of driving age. A used car with high miles from highway commutes is a much better car of the same year with low city miles. Highway miles are kinder on a car than city miles.
I currently drive a 94 Honda Civic with 382K miles... and it still drives like new and it's very reliable. But I have been diligent with maintaining her. Sure, the timing belt needs replacement every 90K miles, and the starter motor needs replacement every ten years, but it's a better car than most I see on the roads around me.
And about 3-4 years ago, I helped a high school classmate buy a used car for her family. It was a 1998 Civic sedan with an automatic transmission and 110K miles. She ending up paying $2800 for it and it's still going strong. Her son sometimes borrows it to go on out of state trips.
Location: The Circle City. Sometimes NE of Bagdad.
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Yep, they are hard to find, takes patience and alot of looking.
We recently bought a 2002 Saturn SC1 coupe with a 5 speed that had only 34K miles on it for #5 GS.
Car was in excellent shape mechanically and appearance. It did need tires Did the Carfax thing and tracked the car to a defunct Saturn dealer that is now selling another brand and they had all the service records.
Also don't be scared to offer less than what they are asking. They might want more but they will have to wait like everyone else who over priced theirs.
As someone who has driven used cars for many many years, it gets tiresome and they break down when you least expect it. That's why I'm finally getting a new one because they are just not worth the headaches sometimes and you know it will be safe. I would seriously suggest you put that 3-4k as a deposit on a KIa or Ford Fiesta that is about 12-14k and have your daughter make the monthly payments, which would probably be about $200 if she has a job.
My parents always gave me used cars and they always ended up breaking down at the worst moment or in the worst areas.
So what if a used car breaks down? New cars break down also. AND not everything is covered under warranty. A used car for a first car means that the driver has to be diligent about checking the fluid levels in the car and check the air pressure periodically. I would say for a young driver, they ought to get into the habit of doing that once a week, say every Sunday. And a used car teaches them to be observant for strange noises, smells and vibrations. Everyone should know immediately when a car is having issues. I've heard all too many stories of young people driving a car while the oil light is on or the temperature gauge is in the red... until the engine seizes. No young person should consider their car to be some sort of magic carpet ride that doesn't need tending too.
And when buying a car from a private party, just chat with them and ask them why they are selling it. Most times, their old car needs a brake job or new tires, and they have decided to spend that money on a new car payment instead. And some people just sell their cars once they hit 100K miles or it's out of warranty. But as long as they have taken good care of that car, it's still a smart and frugal purchase. So look through their garage receipts and have you own mechanic do a pre-purchase inspection. And factor in the cost of fixing it up when you make them that offer.
My dad told me over 30 years ago that when buying any used car, count on spending another $1500 to make the car right. For me, with my used car purchases, I've only had to do a brake job on one, one head gasket job and another car just got a set of new tires. And what I've saved is on cheaper insurance and being able to buy the car outright with cash instead of being hugely backwards on a car loan.
Also, every young person, especially the girls, need to know how to change a flat tire. They should check to make sure that they know where the tool kit is in the car and to check that their spare tire or donut has enough air in it. And they should also know about how a car feels to drive with a flat tire and where is safe to pull over to change it. And also, if on the side of the road, they need to know to set up a reflective triangle. Having a AAA membership is all well and good, but it's still better to change your own tire quickly and then to be on your way. It's a mistake for anyone to think that all one needs is a cell phone when one has car troubles.
Is it just me. My wife and I have searched for a good used car for our daughter. I mean craigslist, auto trader, dealer lots everywhere. I seems to that if you want a good car in the 3000 to 4500 range it is a POS or over priced. Your thoughts.
I got so frustrated looking for a used car that I decided to just buy a new one on sale. People think their used cars are lined with gold. This was San Diego, so your mileage may vary.
As someone who has driven used cars for many many years, it gets tiresome and they break down when you least expect it. That's why I'm finally getting a new one because they are just not worth the headaches sometimes and you know it will be safe. I would seriously suggest you put that 3-4k as a deposit on a KIa or Ford Fiesta that is about 12-14k and have your daughter make the monthly payments, which would probably be about $200 if she has a job.
My parents always gave me used cars and they always ended up breaking down at the worst moment or in the worst areas.
I've been driving <$2,000 cars for 15 years.
I've 'Broken down' Twice.
Once I KNEW it was going to happen (Financial reasons made it worthit)
The second time... I suspected it, but was trying to 'limp it' 8 hours to a buddy of mine so it could be fixed cheaper. (I knew I had the time to spare if/when It broke down on the way)
And I go EXTREMELY cheap on cars... not saying buy $2K cars, but $7K- 1/2 the cost of a new car!
I WOULD say try to go to a $5K or $6K car... as it can reasonable expected to drive trouble free for years and years... (Given that it's for a woman... Marines don't really worry about people messing with them if they break down on the side of the road!)
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