Buying Small Car in America?

[LiszyandKenny 5]

Honda Civic = way to go

We have one and we only spend $ 20.00 /week to fill up the tank

[Lou Lou 1]

We live in VT so we know about snow. (another 4 inches dumped on us last night -- I hate early winters. )

My husband drives a crappy 6 year old Toyota Chevy. Gets 40 miles to the gallon on most trips (drops to 36 sometimes), and it handles fine in the snow. In the snow it's the tires that count and if you're a good driver. He often breezes past 4x4 and suvs off the road in snow conditions 'cos they drive like idiots.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

Anything with front-wheel-drive and good tyres will work well in snow.

I've actually had experience driving my Aveo in snow/slush (both short trips in Balto/DC area and long trips to Novi).

LouLou, does your hubby drive a Geo Prizm--that's the only vehicle I know which one could call "Toyota Chevy" (sold under Chevy/Geo nameplate, but Corolla through-and-through except in name)

Edited November 28, 2007 by CherryXS

[Empress of Groovy 373]

Finding a decent car that runs for under $1,000 isn't as much of a project as it used to be. Cars made 15-20 years ago, particularly Hondas, Toyotas, and Nissans, were built to last. My first car was a 1981 Datsun B210 (granted, this was in 1991), for which I paid $600. I had it for seven years. I drove it out to AZ from Massachusetts, and delivered pizzas in it for four years. It was indestructible. I sold it to a friend in 1997, who sold it a few years later. It's probably still on the road.

I just sold my 1989 Nissan Sentra for $700. I bought it for $1,200 in 2001, with only 120K miles. I got a deal on it because it had two big dents in it, plus it's a manual. It has a lot of life left, though, and I replaced the catalytic converter and alternator within the last 18 months. The buyer was delighted. It's butt ugly, but it's a great car. I'd look for something like that--lots of new parts but still a low book value.

The best approach would be to find a Japanese car or American clone of a Japanese car (Geo/Chevy Prizm, for example) with some cosmetic body damage.

Also, and this is the most important, don't plunk down a penny until you've had your mechanic check it out. It's money well spent, believe me. A qualified mechanic can tell you whether damage is cosmetic only, and check all the other stuff. If it needs something that the seller wasn't aware of, you can negotiate it into the price. Most mechanics will charge an hour's labor (anywhere between $60 and $90) to do a "prebuy" inspection. Yes, if it's a lemon, you still have to pay for the mechanic's time, but many mechanics will charge you half price if they think you'll bring in another car to look at. Obviously you want a trustworthy mechanic to do this.

Good luck! You definitely want a fuel-efficient car these days!

Edited November 29, 2007 by AOS despair

[aidan80 9]

I agree with what's being said so far... $1,000 will most likely (unless you get really lucky) buy you a nice big lump of used metal. We where searching for a car for me (the immigrant) for quite a while. Cash was tight, credit was and still is to a point not usable. I too would recommend taking along a mechanic or at least someone who knows enough to spot a lemon. We did just that and avoided a lot of lemons and the cost of a mechanic (we took a friend).. he found.. collision damage, busted radiators, rust, leaks, theft damage!.. etc. All that before checking the VIN's!!!

We eventually did find a car, it took time and a lot of searching! We ended up spending $2,200 (before fees, taxes, tags and everything else $2,650 total, keep extra costs in mind) for a 98 Mercury Tracer (Ford Escort) with 75k on it. It's the basic model, power steering AM/FM radio, automatic. I've attached a picture to give you an idea what you might get. I fear this beast was owned by an older person before me , I hope it wasn't their last car... ... Thats Florida for ye I suppose

My advice is expect to spend no less than maybe $2,000 - $3,000 for a half decent used car. Even then expect to find some minor issues that need to be looked at e.g. new tires, tune up etc. Luckily all mine needs is a shock/strut replaced ($60 + labor). Also checkout Carfax, check the VIN's before you do anything! Search Autotrader.. look for side of the road deals, small dealerships/garages check out old people places/adverts/newspapers/communities for a bargain! If the dealer/owner rejects allowing you have a mechanic/friend look at it.. leave it isn't worth it.

We got lucky, twice we also got a 98 Saturn SL 83k (120k now) basic model 30+ MPG (both cars cost $30 max to fill!) all was well with it when we get got it 2 years ago! We paid less than $3,000 for it. The only thing it needed was some new tires!

Good Luck!

[Jigi 0]

hi

thanks for the input again friends... i am thinking of something a Hyundai or a Ford can give me..

Jigi