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1) Really what kind of used car can I get for $2,000 in good condition with no more than 100,000 miles and no immediate repairs needed.
2)have you ever had a bad experience buying a used car from a stranger vs or dealer
3)I can fix my 1988 toyota corolla 103,000 miles for the same money
($2000) and all repairs are guaranteed for 1 yr or 12,000 miles. I cant get that from a private person. Used as 2nd family car. I had tthis car maintained from day1 but needs a lot of work. Enginf , head gasket, and transmission are in good shape.
1. Well, I bought and sold a 1 owner clean 1984 Buick Regal 2 door coupe with only 78,000 original miles for $2000. So there's a start, but not often can you find one as cheap as you want with low miles.
2. Depends on who the stranger is selling the car and who's owned it. If it was owned and operated by a little old lady, chances are it's well maintained. But if it was owned by some 16 year old kid chances are it's been put thru the ringer.
And dealers are shady. Their goal is to "get you to buy today" at the highest price, so they can get their commission, but they will not reveal to you that shiny nice looking car on the lot they're encouraging you to buy was recently submerged in a flood, oh and they also didn't report it to Carfax so it comes up as a lemon free ride.
All in all you roll the dice any time you buy a used car, BUT if you know the owner/seller it gives you an idea of it's past history.
You could probably find a 20 year old Honda Accord for around $2,000. Try to find one that was driven mainly in the sunbelt because the older Accords tended to rust after awhile.
Do you live near any large senior citizen communities? It's just a fact of life that when folks reach a certain age they decide that driving their car is no longer a good idea and then sell their car. I used to work with a person that would go get a copy of a big senior citizen weekly newletter to sift through the want ads for those type of car deals. Often it is a 5 to 10 year old American brand car that has seen light use. My 84 year only mother has a 10 yr old Chevy Malibu with 45000 miles which she typically drives only on short trips like shopping or doctor appointments less than 10 miles from her house. One of these days I will have to sell her car when she is not able to drive any more, and I'll be lucky to get a few thousand for it. The car is in near new condition, always garaged, perfect interior, never driven hard. I'm sure there's lots of others around like that.
I bought a mint condition 91 Mercury Capri back right out of high school, with 47K on the odometer for 2,500$. Ran good (other than a vacuum leak) until I wrecked it. lol
You didn't say where you are in the country, Nemo - if you are in the rust belt, and your car has bad rust, not likely you can fix it up for $2000. Forget the old saw about a car being shot after 100K - not true anymore if well maintained. I would buy from an individual vs a dealer in this price range for sure. I like to meet the person who owned the car before me. Sometimes they scare me away without looking at the car.
Post or PM me what, exactly, you need to bring your Toy back in shape, and if you can/will DIY, if you have a good shop available.
Offhand, if your car is well maintained, it's probably a better bet than a different one in this price range. Better the devil you know, than the one you don't know..
Most cars this old and cheap will have some needs. I have bought them and yeah I do work on them and spend some $ on them to catch up, but after that they are as reliable as anything else out there.
Gee whiz, I just sold my 1996 dodge stratus for $1900 and it only had 58,000 miles on it. Due to how I work, I only got to drive it every other month. Not a thing wrong with it and I sold it to a neighbor.. They didn't even want to test drive it because they knew it was a good car. The only things that ever needed replacing was tires (because they dry rotted from sitting, battery and windshiled wipers. (FYI, it is a southern car too)
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Used Toyota is tough to find without MANY miles
I like to search in Dallas area or other non-rust, as cars seem cheaper there.
Use Autotrader 'Advanced' search, or Crazedlist for regional searches.
I never buy from a dealer, and try to get "one-owner' By-Owner, if possible
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