Used Cars

[StinkyLinky]

Been looking for my teenage son and finding all kinds of junk for $5k. Interiors trashed, broken everything, leaking everything, 150k+ miles, and flat worn out. How do you break the plastic seat back clean off a Malibu? And why is your tilt seat missing a handle? I'm not that old, but $3k used to be much much more than just a bottom of the pile junker. Now $5k is barely basic transportation. I guess when Chevy can put out Korean built tin cans (Sparks for $16k and Sonics for $18k), it shows what people are willing to accept as "reliable". I'd take another $20k SRT over those rolling coffins.

Signed, frustrated in Kentucky.

 

[VenomTruck]

Check with some local dealerships. A lot of them have trade ins just sitting around that they end up selling to wholesale buyers, and sometimes you can get lucky and buy one

 

[trussman]

Spotted a 99 neon here the other day on craiglist with 180k. in real good shape. $400. Looked taken care of too. They claimed it ran great

 

[StinkyLinky]

Sadly, those ARE the dealership used cars! I guess people here don't take care of what they own and therefore don't require a cared-for car when buying a different one.

 

[VenomTruck]

Sadly, those ARE the dealership used cars! I guess people here don't take care of what they own and therefore don't require a cared-for car when buying a different one.

Damn, well just keep a close eye on craigslist man, something WILL pop up and these days you have to act fast. There are little small dealerships all over the place that get their entire inventory from craigslist. Good luck!

 

[ViperCLKGTR]

Craigslist sir, it's your best friend but you gotta be able to weed through the junk but you'll find some gems.

 

[StinkyLinky]

Thanks for the tips, and encouragement. It's been a few weeks of finding increasingly crappy cars with increasingly higher prices.

 

[VPRPWRD]

Thanks for the tips, and encouragement. It's been a few weeks of finding increasingly crappy cars with increasingly higher prices.

It's a tough search, but you will eventually find one. I spent years looking for a little Cherokee (XJ) and had one basically fall into my lap when I had given up the search. Black, under 100K miles and the price was more than fair. Good luck!

 

[initforthelulz]

Good luck man. Used car demand has gone up quite a bit since Cash For Clunkers, and with that prices have stayed high too.

Like everyone said, be patient on CL and something will turn up.

 

[Bhpaddict]

If it doesn't need to be a US brand a BMW 5 series or 7 series from late '80s or early '90s is a good choice. The 6-cylinder 3-liter engine (or 3.5) is one of the best ever made. I've had one with 280+ kmiles on it and it was still going strong.
the 6-cylinder is easy to work on and the rest of the car is very good quality.
Also it is one of the safer older cars in case of bad things might happen on the road.
There's only two minor points; the engine needs to be well on temperature before beating it (otherwise the cylinder head gasket will blow) and gas mileage is not the best (but oooh so good compared to a'10')
The only true week point on the engine is the cam shaft lubrication system. If not taken care of with every valve play adjust there might be deep traces in the cams.
When looking at a BMW try to look under the oil cap and look for deep marks in the cams. If so walk away or discuss a lower price. The camshaft is not to hard to change.

 

[jman08]

It's a tough search, but you will eventually find one. I spent years looking for a little Cherokee (XJ) and had one basically fall into my lap when I had given up the search. Black, under 100K miles and the price was more than fair. Good luck!

Yea their out there.. my buddy bought and 99 accord 56k mile bought it for 5k i think... car is awesome has a spot on the door but other than that its perfct inside

 

[spydertt]

Been looking for my teenage son and finding all kinds of junk for $5k.

My lot is looking bare. People got there tax $ and bought all the nice cars (and some of the not so nice cars). In our area the "buy here,pay here" lots go to the auctions and pay $700-$1200 more for cars than I will pay. The new dealers aren't selling as many cars and putting more in the trade ins to make the deal. As others have said be patient and wait for the right deal.
You can come to KS and buy my 1999 Park Ave Ultra 74k.

 

[CRexSRT10]

Get him an SRT Look for a short bed short cab early 2000's, late 1990's Tacoma that isn't a rust bucket. If you can find one that has been well taken care of hop on it. The damn things will run until the wheels fall off.

 

[StinkyLinky]

We finally found one worth buying, a 1999 Buick Regal LS, $4500, 78k original miles (5500/year). I suspect that Grandpa let the grandkids use it for a while, as the inside had some neglect (blown speaker? not from grandma, I'm sure) and a few of the broken parts (cup holders, armrest door, window lock switch) that made our search such a pain. A few hundred back into it and everything will be just fine.

 

[arnie_82]

A few month ago I bought a commuter car from my neighboor it is a 2001 jetta with 120,000 miles for $600 bucks with new tires and brakes and a stack of papers from all the repairs done to it. I spent about $200 bucks on a good detail inside and out and a new water pump that was leaking. The Previous owner was trying to sell to the junk yard but I was lucky to pick it up.

 

[VPRPWRD]

We finally found one worth buying, a 1999 Buick Regal LS, $4500, 78k original miles (5500/year). I suspect that Grandpa let the grandkids use it for a while, as the inside had some neglect (blown speaker? not from grandma, I'm sure) and a few of the broken parts (cup holders, armrest door, window lock switch) that made our search such a pain. A few hundred back into it and everything will be just fine.

That's a great pick up and the price is on par with what a low mileage car like that goes for. I just recently sold my grandmother's car for her, it was a 2001 Buick Century with 72k miles on it and I sold it for $4100.

 

[StinkyLinky]

A few month ago I bought a commuter car from my neighboor it is a 2001 jetta with 120,000 miles for $600 bucks with new tires and brakes and a stack of papers from all the repairs done to it. I spent about $200 bucks on a good detail inside and out and a new water pump that was leaking. The Previous owner was trying to sell to the junk yard but I was lucky to pick it up.

Great buy there, Arnie. I'm sure it's the 2.slow engine.

 

[arnie_82]

Great buy there, Arnie. I'm sure it's the 2.slow engine.

It's the 1.8T it's slow. But I guess everything is slow when you compare it to the 10.

 

[StinkyLinky]

It's the 1.8T it's slow. But I guess everything is slow when you compare it to the 10.

The 2.0 is affectionately referred to as the 2.slow. The 1.8T isn't bad. I had a 99 2.0 and the only thing that gave it an ounce of cred was that it was a 5 speed. My other car now is an 06 TDI with a whopping 105 hp stock. I have Rocketchip stage 1 which theoretically gives me 130 hp.

I'd take that 1.8T for $600 anytime.