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Old 04-16-2016, 02:05 PM
 
371 posts, read 524,044 times
Reputation: 203

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Hello,

I am over 30 years old and I am buying my first car.

The reason it is my first is because I left home in a small town to attend college in NYC where you don't need a car. I lived there after I graduated and I want to get out.

I had no intention of buying a new car as I haven't driven in more than 10 years.

I found a car that I want to buy for $6,000. It is being sold by a dealership. It is a used, but in great condition 1996 GEO tracker. I always wanted that car when I was in HS. I figured I can use it for a while and then get a brand new car when I am use to driving again.

The car is for sale in Wisconsin so I can drive out there to get it. How do I handle insurance and other things? Can I get the license plates before I leave to pick up the car and then attach them when I get there?

How does that work? I researched on cars.com and I can have it inspected and everything by someone in the area, then drive it back.

I am looking forward to having independence back and being able to get out of NYC.

I appreciate any thoughts.
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Old 04-16-2016, 02:58 PM
 
41,815 posts, read 50,778,912 times
Reputation: 17862
Firstly unless that vehicle has almost no miles on it (like 15K miles, seriously), first owner, perfectly clear VIN check, inspection shows no rust/accidents and it was garage kept you are paying WAY too much. In other words it should look like it was just drove off the lot. Also keep in mind when buying an older vehicle costs for maintenance will go up. Things like hoses, belts and seals can fail just because of age. For $6K you can get a decent vehicle about 10 years old with 100K miles on it.

You'll have to check for the specifics for both Wisconsin and NY but generally you'll buy the car and they will give you signed title, make sure it's clean with no liens. If there is two people listed on title make sure they have both signed. Wisconsin will issue you an intransit tag that might be good for 30 days that you can use to legally drive it back to NY. You will need to provide them with proof of insurance, if you already have insurance company you can usually get it on the spot and have them fax you proof of insurance. When you get the car back to NY you'll need to transfer the title, pay taxes on the sale etc. They issue you the plate, registration and new title.
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Old 04-16-2016, 03:08 PM
 
41,815 posts, read 50,778,912 times
Reputation: 17862
For comparison here is 2001 Geo tracker with 60K miles and they want $3650 which is probably a little high. That's assuming there is no major rust issues which is always a concern with northern vehicles.

https://jerseyshore.craigslist.org/cto/5502583187.html

Last edited by thecoalman; 04-16-2016 at 03:19 PM..
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Old 04-16-2016, 06:23 PM
 
Location: Santa Rosa
486 posts, read 828,426 times
Reputation: 497
$6000 for a 20 year old Geo WTF. Is that a typo? Do you mean $600?

Seriously get a consumer reports magazine, read up on edmunds.com and do a little reserach. Driving a car is the most dangerous thing you can do at least get something that is somewhat safe.
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Old 04-16-2016, 09:06 PM
 
371 posts, read 524,044 times
Reputation: 203
Quote:
Originally Posted by thecoalman View Post
For comparison here is 2001 Geo tracker with 60K miles and they want $3650 which is probably a little high. That's assuming there is no major rust issues which is always a concern with northern vehicles.

https://jerseyshore.craigslist.org/cto/5502583187.html
the problem with this car is that I want the 2 door with the soft top

Maybe its 6000 as the dealership is selling it and not a private sale

I would like to get a jeep rubicon new when I buy a new car. maybe I will try to find a used one

will insurance be incredibly expensive with an older car?
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Old 04-16-2016, 09:19 PM
 
76 posts, read 124,182 times
Reputation: 136
Quote:
Originally Posted by sickofnewyorkcity View Post
the problem with this car is that I want the 2 door with the soft top

Maybe its 6000 as the dealership is selling it and not a private sale
The point they were making is that a Geo Tracker, whether it's the soft top or not, is not even close to being worth $6k. That's a junk car priced 3 or 4 times higher than it should be.
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Old 04-17-2016, 07:30 AM
 
41,815 posts, read 50,778,912 times
Reputation: 17862
Quote:
Originally Posted by sickofnewyorkcity View Post
the problem with this car is that I want the 2 door with the soft top

Maybe its 6000 as the dealership is selling it and not a private sale
Again, it would literally have to be brand new both in appearance and mechanically to be worth $6K. You can get the Kelly Blue Book value to get an idea of what it's worth, better yet check Craigslist to get an idea of what they are selling for in similar condition to the one you are looking at.

The price of a vehicle has a steep downward curve. A vehicle that originally sold for $30K that is 2 years old with 50K on it might sell for $22K, same car that is ten years old with 50K might sell for $8K, when it's 20 years old it might be worth $3K....



Quote:
will insurance be incredibly expensive with an older car?
Not that I'm aware of. What is going to affect your insurance rates is that you live in NYC. First time owner may be a factor too.
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Old 04-17-2016, 10:42 AM
 
Location: Connecticut
1,255 posts, read 1,948,053 times
Reputation: 1446
I entered the info as far as you gave it (had to assume mileage so I put 100k) into Kelley Blue Book and got a book value for that car in a dealer sale of $1,634 to $3,281. $6,000 is WAY too high. Unless you can get it for half of that or, as a previous poster said, the car is like new condition with incredibly low miles you need to run away from it.
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Old 04-17-2016, 11:11 AM
 
131 posts, read 216,842 times
Reputation: 51
I like buying used cars in the $3,500 to 5,000 range becasue not only can you find decent vehicles in that price range that still have a lot of life in them but you could also get away with just putting liability insurance on them being they're not worth that much. In my worse case scenario if something happened to the car catastrophically I would get most if not all the money back by parting it out on ebay, craigslist, etc.
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Old 04-17-2016, 12:30 PM
i7pXFLbhE3gq
 
n/a posts
Even being generous and assuming that the thing is loaded, in basically mint condition, and low mileage, that's at least twice what it should cost.

Seriously, it's a Geo. Not only is it a Geo, it's a 20 year old Geo. They only cost about 13k when brand new.

Don't get ripped off buying a 6k piece of junk just for nostalgia's sake.
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