JG, most of your posts on this thread make no financial sense. You CANNOT get a new car of any sort for "a few hundred". The cheapest, barest-boned new car is somewhere around TEN THOUSAND, usually a couple thousand above that. You can get a used car for maybe two thousand, but if you don't know anything about cars, and how to tell if it's clapped out or still going to be a decent runner. that's really going to be a gamble. New car dealers selling a used car, or an independent used car dealer are going to be tacking on their profit margin to the cost they paid for the used car they try to sell you, which means it's going to cost you more. If you know what you're doing, the cheapest way to buy a car is likely to be a private seller who's selling their own car. Ivestigate your state's laws concerning sales of used cars: is there a lemon law covering used as well as new cars, i.e. if it breaks down within a certain period or a certain number of times, can you void the deal? Is there any law covering private, i.e. non-dealer, sales? Each state is different. There is a site online somewhere were, if you type in the car's VIN, it'll tell you if it's been involved in major accidents or had some kinds of bad things happen to it, but I can't remember its name or URL.
@MontereyJack,
Jack, I DON'T WANT A NEW CAR. I am turned off by all these newfangled features they put in modern cars.
You keep talking about new cars. If you don't want one, you should have made that clear well before this. Hondas and
Toyotas (recent news aside) have good reputations for reliability and resale value. But that means that they are in demand and you're going to pay commensurately higher prices for them used.
@MontereyJack,
I apologize if I wasn't clear- what's a good USED car I can get for $1000 or less?
If you're talking a thousand or less, you're really in the crapshoot category. It may be good, but it's likely to give you a lot of problems. As someone above said, it's probably going to be at least ten years old and probably above 150,000 miles. I've had Volvos and they're likely to hit 200,000 if well-maintained, but they're expensive to maintain. Probably the first thing you should do is canvass your friends, if any, and find out who they'd recommend as a trustworth and affordable mechanic in your area. CHECK THE MECHANIC OUT THOROUGHLY. Independent mechanics often have lines on decent and (relatively) affordable used cars. Keep in mind that it's gonna cost you a lot more than you think.
@MontereyJack,
'Kay- what about $2000 or less?
Same caveat, a little less urgently. Check out Honda, Toyota, Subaru (good rep for reliability, all wheel drive, small SUVs or wagons for space).
How much income do you need each week mininum to be able to afford car payments each month?
Can't tell you, I've always paid cash. I've read that the car payment deals that car dealers work usually have higher costs, worse interest rates, and charges you don't know about til \you've actually signed it. I'd talk to your bank and ask them what kind of deal they'll give you for various car costs and ages of car.
@JGoldman10,
go for small hatchback. like volkswagen polo, Mazda,, datsun go.
Many factors!
Individually!
Things have changed a lot.
A used car might cost you more than a new car.
Insurance companies charge you less for brand new cars that are equipped with more safety devices, I own a 2010 and a 2013 vehicles of the same brand and model, and the 2013 car costs me less in insurance because the better safety devices.
A used car might cost you a lot in gasoline (15-20 miles per gallon) while a cheap brand new car (like Hyundai Elantra) can run up to 40 miles per gallon.
A used car will mean lots of repairs besides the established maintenance, while a new cheap car will cost you the regular maintenance alone.
With the used car you can travel from Florida to Rhode Island, but "who knows if you can return back driving it" because the car might fall out in the middle of the way. while with the new car you can travel from Florida to Rhode Island and surely your probabilities of returning back without problems will be much greater.
If you know some car mechanics, a used car will be if not the best, at least something to be considered, because you will save lots of money repairing it by yourself, but if your knowledge about car mechanics is zero, you better make an effort to buy a decent used car (less than 3 years old) or a brand new cheap car.
In my family we have a saying: Buying used cars is buying someone else problems (and these problems are mostly the reason why they are selling it).
My best wishes in your decision.
@JGoldman10,
Guess what - pontiac and toyota fits your bill. These are spacious and trendy.
@JGoldman10,
Hmm well if you are looking at a cheap car look at something similar to a micra - you can get them for about 700 pounds and they last forever.
There are many other cars in the 200-2000 bracket.
Ford Fiesta - 200-500
Renault Clio - 1,000
Fiat Panda 2002 - 2,000
Peugeot - 500 - 700
These are all second hand but are available to buy in places such as Facebook which seems to be the best option.
@JGoldman10,
Go for Ford Fiesta, price around $13,965.
