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I'm in a bit of a bad situation. I'll start by giving some background. I was laid off from my job during downsizing about two years ago and haven't been able to find stable work. During that time I pretty much have lost everything, including my car. Needless to say, my credit is ruined and have a score in the low 400's. Fast Forward to now and I have a few job offers sitting one the table, one of which I have accepted and start on Monday. The job is 25 miles one way and public transit isn't an option due to distance and locations of myself and the job.
I have $1000 I can spend on a car, but I live in a small beach community of about 25,000 people and I am not near any major cities. I have been searching craigslist every single day, even searching in towns up to 150 miles away and I haven't been able to find a decent running car in the $1000 range. I am mostly finding 20+ year old rust buckets with 250,000+ miles, or 10+ year old cars with engine and transmission issues. Just for fun, I have looked in Atlanta (350 miles from me) for cars and sure enough, you can find a decent car in the $1000 range, but not in my area.
So... I am in a situation. I have no income history, bad credit, and no co-signer... so professional dealerships are out, leaving me with only buy here pay here places. Years ago, my mom (when she had bad credit) bought a car from a small family owned buy here pay here place. The place is very honest and upfront and put the prices in the car windows, including monthly payments and down payment. They would also repair the car if it breaks down (engine or transmission) during the first couple of months (I have spoke to the owner about this). They also only have monthly payments (instead of weekly or bi-weekly like most buy here pay here)
I found a 2002 Ford Taurus with 139,000 miles there that I really liked and did good on a short test drive. The car has a few minor issues (cheap fixes that can be self done) but looks like new inside and out. The car would be $950 down and $285 a month for 24 months. Yes, it's over priced but in my situation... I don't have many options. Insurance would be $110 a month for the car.
I should also note that I've always loved Ford and over the years I've had several of their cars, trucks, and SUV's.... many of which had well over 200,000 miles... so I have a lot of faith in Ford.
I'm sorry for the long post, but what would you do in my situation? Just to be clear, I have no one I can borrow money from... $1000 is it for a car. Thanks for your time and suggestions.
The Taurus is a piece of garbage, especially with that high of mileage. My friend's mother bought them over and over, but thankfully she finally learned after dealing with constant problems. I added it up and you would be pay $7,800 for it, and that is just insane. You need to get to Atlanta and buy a car for cash. I am sure you could take the Greyhound cheaply if you have to. I live in Las Vegas, and I found my car for only $500 cash. It is a 1991 Ford Escort, and I have driven it now for 2 and a half years and it has had no problems whatsoever. Buy here pay here lots are NEVER the way to go.
The problem is I can only drive an auto, I cannot drive a manual. I've been there, done that and it's just something I am unable to do. I'm also running out of time... I start my new job on Monday. As for the Taurus being junk.... I would beg to differ. I have driven one which had been abused by a young driver which had well over 200,000 miles. I also had a Explorer for a short period (which uses the same engine as the Taurus) which had over 200,000 miles. Sure, there are much better cars out there but it's far from being "junk" as you say.
Most of the Volvo's and Honda's I have seen listed on craigslist are very far and few between... and most of them are manual and are from the late 80's with over 200,000 miles. As for going to Atlanta... It could be an option but would just want to be something to avoid... that would be a 600+ mile round trip on two cars (I have someone who could drive me to Atlanta) and by the time I pay for gas and whatnot... it just wouldn't be worth it.
As for going to Atlanta... It could be an option but would just want to be something to avoid... that would be a 600+ mile round trip on two cars (I have someone who could drive me to Atlanta) and by the time I pay for gas and whatnot... it just wouldn't be worth it.
It would be worth it. I am only trying to help you to think about what got you into the bad credit situation in the beginning. Trust me, buying this Taurus would be a HUGE mistake. You will have a car that has 139,000 miles on it and no warranty. Plus, you will have a payment for two years. I have been there and done that myself, but I learned from it.
They look (or sound) decent, but again, I think going the 350 miles one way to Atlanta would just be too much trouble. You see, I only have $1600 to my name and I really can't go much higher than $1000 due to having to add insurance and whatnot. I really can't afford to factor in gas to go to Atlanta and back... that would be 5+ tanks of gas at $40+ per fill up
As for my credit... I was laid off when my company downsized nearly 2 years ago and when my severance pay and unemployment ran out... I could no longer pay my credit cards or my old car payment and pretty much lost everything except my home. During that two years, I was unable to find any work. I live in a very small beach community of about 25,000 people which is mostly military and retirement. I've lived in this area my entire life and this town has always had a horrible job market and since I was laid off right in the middle of this recession mess... it made matters worse as unemployment is (or at least was) over 20% in my area.
So spending $7,800 on a car worth $2,500 is cheaper I would say to offer $850 on that Prizm, and then your total cost is $1,050 including gas. Even if you had to pay full price I would do it. It is pay me now or pay me later. You are going to find yourself with a broken down Taurus in the future, and not be able to afford to fix it because of the payments. I am giving you excellent advice, so I hope you take it. Regardless, I wish you the best.
One other thing. I looked up a one way ticket on Greyhound, and it is $60 from Pensacola to Atlanta. If you took that instead of having your friend drive you out there and back, it would be cheaper. It would cost no more than $30 for gas to drive the Prism from Atlanta to Pensacola.
It's a tough decision. I do like that Ford Taurus a lot... It's a nice ride and is in like new condition (with a few minor flaws) It's a bit bigger than I really need, but it's a very nice and comfortable ride. My mom also had decent luck at this dealership (but she had a much better deal on her car than this Taurus as her car was only 2 years old at the time and she paid less than the KBB value)
You see, I bought a used car for $900 on craigslist this past summer and I thought I was getting a good deal. It only had 88,000 miles on it. The car had a lot of cosmetic flaws which I figured I could fix up and have a decent car in the end. That wasn't the case... just 10 minutes after buying the car I found out that the fuel pump was failing. A month later I noticed I was low on coolant and found out that the plastic intake manifold was melting and causing the water to leak into the engine. A month after that my brakes started failing. I also had to get new tires all around. You see, I spent $900 for the car and put over $2000 into it over a couple months and it still needed over $1600 worth of more work just to barely keeping it running.
I just really don't want to end up in that situation again. Sure, the Taurus is $7800 when it's only worth $2500... but that's over a very long period in payments I can afford. The Taurus is something I can picture myself driving for a long time. So what if the engine or transmission fails in a year.... I can get them rebuilt or throw a used one in. Replacing an engine or transmission isn't what worries me... it's having a old "beater" that is falling apart all around me that worries me.
Either way... I'm going to look at some more cars locally and see what I can find first, but with today being Thursday and my new job starting Monday... I'm nearly out of time.
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