Used Cars

[Nerdius Maximus]

Don't buy a new or used car. Buy a quality car.

Exactly. For example, A used Honda is better than most new American cars. Especially anything made by GM.

 

[JiNX-01]

My roommate's car broke down the other day. He took it to a shop, and they told him is engine is completely shot and will cost $3,900 to replace. At that price, he has decided that it just makes more sense to get rid of it and buy a different car.

First of all: Ouch.

For some reason, he is very opposed to the idea of buying a used car. He only has a budget of around $12,000, so if he finds a brand new car, it's going to be a very bare bones model.

Can he afford to make payments? $12,000 would be a pretty decent down payment if he can afford to carry a loan.

I am trying to convince him to look into used cars. For that same amount of money, he can get a much nicer car with many more features.

He bought his current car new in 2005 for $11,500, and it's already completely dead. It's only 5 years old, and he's not going to be able to get anything for trade because of the engine damage.

My God, did he do anything to take care of the car? I bought a new low-end Corolla in 1999, it now has about 140,000 miles on it and I'm still driving it. And I have not had to pay for a major repair *knock wood* since.

Meanwhile, I have owned 3 cars, all of which I bought used, that have lasted longer than his car. He has spent more repairing his car in the last 5 years than I have spent on 3 much older cars in the last 10.

It's possible he got a lemon. I leased a Ford Escort (which was supposed to be a really good car at the time) and one year almost to the day after I drove it off the lot, the alternator died and took my battery with it. I spent a fortune keeping that stupid, lousy car on the road. After a $1,000 repair bill, I paid off the lease four months ahead of the expiration of the lease, dumped the car back on the dealership, and vowed I'd never own a Ford again.

I just feel like, with his budget, a used car makes so much more sense.

Buying a used car can make sense, but it depends on the car.

 

[Lookingglassman]

My last car and the car I own now are both used and I have had very little trouble with either one. My first one was a Mitsuibishi 3000GT with 64000 miles on it. The only problem I had was a taillight needed to be replaced and $1000 worth of engine work and it ran like a champ. I was up to 140,000 miles on it before I wrecked it.

My new car is a 2002 Mustang, used. I've had it since 2004 and the only problem I have had is the "check engine" light came on after I drove through a huge puddle on Ft Knox. The mechanics checked it out and the only problem was the sensor. The left front headlight just went out last Friday, but other than those two problems I have had none with it.

 

[ShamelessMcBundy]

I have a used car. My 2004 Nissan Sentra had 32,000 miles on it when we got her. She now has about 69,000 miles. She's never let me down once.

 

[Warp Coil]

A certified used car with low mileage and a warranty can be just fine. I wouldn't get something that's more than 2 or 3 years old and one must do research into long-term reliability and quality. Buying a random car from Joe's Used Car Shack would not be recommended.

 

[RoJoHen]

Can he afford to make payments? $12,000 would be a pretty decent down payment if he can afford to carry a loan.

When I said he had a $12,000 budget, I did NOT mean he had $12,000 to put down. He has nothing to put down. The $12,000 would be the loan.


So apparently he decided his budget wasn't big enough and that he wanted an SUV. He ended up getting a Kia Sportage. After tax, title, etc., his loan ended up being $23,000. He got nothing for trade, and he didn't put any money down, so his loan is for the full cost of the car. I don't even want to know what his monthly payments are.

He does have an awesome warranty, though. 10 years/100,000 miles. Hopefully he'll be able to make this car last.

 

[Joshua Howard]

My roommate's car broke down the other day. He took it to a shop, and they told him is engine is completely shot and will cost $3,900 to replace. At that price, he has decided that it just makes more sense to get rid of it and buy a different car.

For some reason, he is very opposed to the idea of buying a used car. He only has a budget of around $12,000, so if he finds a brand new car, it's going to be a very bare bones model.

I am trying to convince him to look into used cars. For that same amount of money, he can get a much nicer car with many more features.

He bought his current car new in 2005 for $11,500, and it's already completely dead. It's only 5 years old, and he's not going to be able to get anything for trade because of the engine damage.

Meanwhile, I have owned 3 cars, all of which I bought used, that have lasted longer than his car. He has spent more repairing his car in the last 5 years than I have spent on 3 much older cars in the last 10.

I just feel like, with his budget, a used car makes so much more sense.

Great Story! I drove my F-250 1980 model for four years and only put a few hundred into it each year. The things wrong with it all seemed to pile up in the last year though, so I was trying to figure out what to do about it over the last several months.

I bought a 1982 F-250 with a newly replaced engine for $1,000. The truck needed work - about $700 worth of brakes and adjustments which I paid for, including labor, and still needs minor fixes. In any case, well under $2,000 bought me another reliable vehicle that, according to my mechanic, should be able to last for another several years without any major issues.

In the mean while, I did take the liberty of stopping at a few car dealerships to weigh the option of a newer used car. Beyond the strings of car salesman hogwash (I had one guy try to tell me that this or that brand of car is so well built that its parts will last 7-12 thousand years, and no, I'm not kidding, and no, he wasn't joking... he actually said that not once, but twice) I realized that there is no way that a car payment of a few hundred dollars plus full coverage insurance can give me better value than a low-cost gas guzzler with no car payment and liability insurance.

The car industry is a sham. It is filled with shiny plastic cars that people sell their souls to obtain; and people don't realize that a payment is a payment, and a ten grand car loan is no different (worse, actually) that physically shelling out ten large in cash.

Paying $500 or more per month to finance a new or nice used car is no assurance that it won't still break down and leave you with no car and a load of unsheddable debt.

If you are doing well enough fiscally to walk onto a new car or expensive used lot and pay cash for a vehicle, and it is something you really want, that is fine; but if you are one of the masses of people who is not anywhere near well enough off to do that, there is no shame in driving a clunker (or a decent old car).

Want to help the environment? The answer isn't to fuel the ongoing manufacturing of new vehicles when there is an overabundance of perfectly running used ones sitting around. 50 MPG doesn't offset the environmental impact of out of control production of unnecessary autos... especially when you can find cars that are 10-20 (or even more) years old which still get great fuel economy. Driving a cheap old car is the best thing you can do for your personal economy and the environment-at-large.

As far as the new car itch goes, I've seen lots of people who drive nice cars, and I've heard almost as many stories of complaint and grief as a result of people signing contracts for what they can't comfortably afford or quickly pay off. In the end, you'd be surprised how many people have nice things to say about a rusty pickup truck that I got practically free; and having full ownership without fearing a few scratches and dings makes the overall usefullness of my vehicle far superior to that of many drivers'. I don't care who puts a dent in it. I don't care who rides in it. I don't care what I haul in it. When I hit the road, I'm not up tight... and I think the liberty of driving a simple old vehicle says a great deal about the realism of a person's priorities.

Everybody thinks that fancy cars are a status symbol... and that thought has become so rampant that fancy cars are almost the antithesis of a status symbol, because the most stressed-out indebted and often unaccomplished folk are the ones who sport the most extravagant ride that credit will permit... while the silently wealthy people cruise around in things that are common at best. The richest man I have ever known - rich enough that he has a private air strip in his yard which he fully owns - shops at the Goodwill and is also probably the humblest man I have ever met.

 

[eldercaddy]

My roommate's car broke down the other day. He took it to a shop, and they told him is engine is completely shot and will cost $3,900 to replace. At that price, he has decided that it just makes more sense to get rid of it and buy a different car.

For some reason, he is very opposed to the idea of buying a used car. He only has a budget of around $12,000, so if he finds a brand new car, it's going to be a very bare bones model.

I am trying to convince him to look into used cars. For that same amount of money, he can get a much nicer car with many more features.

He bought his current car new in 2005 for $11,500, and it's already completely dead. It's only 5 years old, and he's not going to be able to get anything for trade because of the engine damage.

Meanwhile, I have owned 3 cars, all of which I bought used, that have lasted longer than his car. He has spent more repairing his car in the last 5 years than I have spent on 3 much older cars in the last 10.

I just feel like, with his budget, a used car makes so much more sense.

There's nothing to oppose about the used car. There are lots of used cars there that might have very good condition. Nothing to worry about the used car.

 

[SVD]

The 2000 Tacoma that Grandpa got me in '05 for $5000 with 37 000 miles on it hasn't given me a lick of trouble in the 55 000 miles I've put on it, save brake replacement at about 80 000 miles.

 

[eldercaddy]

My roommate's car broke down the other day. He took it to a shop, and they told him is used engines is completely shot and will cost $3,900 to replace. At that price, he has decided that it just makes more sense to get rid of it and buy a different car.

For some reason, he is very opposed to the idea of buying a used car. He only has a budget of around $12,000, so if he finds a brand new car, it's going to be a very bare bones model.

I am trying to convince him to look into used cars. For that same amount of money, he can get a much nicer car with many more features.

He bought his current car new in 2005 for $11,500, and it's already completely dead. It's only 5 years old, and he's not going to be able to get anything for trade because of the engine damage.

Meanwhile, I have owned 3 cars, all of which I bought used, that have lasted longer than his car. He has spent more repairing his car in the last 5 years than I have spent on 3 much older cars in the last 10.

I just feel like, with his budget, a used car makes so much more sense.

Great Story! I drove my F-250 1980 model for four years and only put a few hundred into it each year. The things wrong with it all seemed to pile up in the last year though, so I was trying to figure out what to do about it over the last several months.

I bought a 1982 F-250 with a newly replaced engine for $1,000. The truck needed work - about $700 worth of brakes and adjustments which I paid for, including labor, and still needs minor fixes. In any case, well under $2,000 bought me another reliable vehicle that, according to my mechanic, should be able to last for another several years without any major issues.

In the mean while, I did take the liberty of stopping at a few car dealerships to weigh the option of a newer used car. Beyond the strings of car salesman hogwash (I had one guy try to tell me that this or that brand of car is so well built that its parts will last 7-12 thousand years, and no, I'm not kidding, and no, he wasn't joking... he actually said that not once, but twice) I realized that there is no way that a car payment of a few hundred dollars plus full coverage insurance can give me better value than a low-cost gas guzzler with no car payment and liability insurance.

The car industry is a sham. It is filled with shiny plastic cars that people sell their souls to obtain; and people don't realize that a payment is a payment, and a ten grand car loan is no different (worse, actually) that physically shelling out ten large in cash.

Paying $500 or more per month to finance a new or nice used car is no assurance that it won't still break down and leave you with no car and a load of unsheddable debt.

If you are doing well enough fiscally to walk onto a new car or expensive used lot and pay cash for a vehicle, and it is something you really want, that is fine; but if you are one of the masses of people who is not anywhere near well enough off to do that, there is no shame in driving a clunker (or a decent old car).

Want to help the environment? The answer isn't to fuel the ongoing manufacturing of new vehicles when there is an overabundance of perfectly running used ones sitting around. 50 MPG doesn't offset the environmental impact of out of control production of unnecessary autos... especially when you can find cars that are 10-20 (or even more) years old which still get great fuel economy. Driving a cheap old car is the best thing you can do for your personal economy and the environment-at-large.

As far as the new car itch goes, I've seen lots of people who drive nice cars, and I've heard almost as many stories of complaint and grief as a result of people signing contracts for what they can't comfortably afford or quickly pay off. In the end, you'd be surprised how many people have nice things to say about a rusty pickup truck that I got practically free; and having full ownership without fearing a few scratches and dings makes the overall usefullness of my vehicle far superior to that of many drivers'. I don't care who puts a dent in it. I don't care who rides in it. I don't care what I haul in it. When I hit the road, I'm not up tight... and I think the liberty of driving a simple old vehicle says a great deal about the realism of a person's priorities.

Everybody thinks that fancy cars are a status symbol... and that thought has become so rampant that fancy cars are almost the antithesis of a status symbol, because the most stressed-out indebted and often unaccomplished folk are the ones who sport the most extravagant ride that credit will permit... while the silently wealthy people cruise around in things that are common at best. The richest man I have ever known - rich enough that he has a private air strip in his yard which he fully owns - shops at the Goodwill and is also probably the humblest man I have ever met.

most of my cars have been used