Buying a used car. Can I get some education on how to check the car, and what should I look for. ~
18 replies, posted
Hey guys. If it isn't already obvious, I'm obviously not the biggest gear head around. I do not know very much about cars. I know there are 4 cylinder, 6 cylinder, and 8 cylinder engines (as well as others, but these are the most common), and that they need gas, oil, coolant, break fluid, and transmission fluid. This is as far as my knowledge goes.
As of right now, I am driving a 97 Grand Am around that will not stop leaking no matter how many times I get it fixed. It will last a month and start leaking again. Last time it was the water pump. Also, there is a big bar running behind the back of the engine carrying some hydraulic fluid. The bar carrying the fluid is very rusty and once it goes, I was told the car is pretty much worthless. I will not be trading the car in, I am going to give it to my mom so she has a car to drive (for as long as it will last).
I go to local college and my pell grant money should be coming in soon. Around February I should (hopefully) have about $4,000 to spend on a new (used) car. I do not want to finance a car. [B]I cannot afford full coverage auto insurance[/B]. I could afford it for a very short period of time, but I really do not want to go that route.
My question to you is, if you were in this scenario, what would you do? What kind of car would you look for, what would you do to make sure the car is a lemon? I just need a [B]reliable[/B] car that will last a few years and get me around town and make an occasional long trip. Around what mileage should I look for, what number would you not go past?
Manual or automatic is fine.
look at corollas. They dont hold their values as well as camry's but they are still great cars that will last forever. They should be in your price range and dont worry too much about mileage. Just read the other thread on this exact same topic and search the car for any problems. Also, you are in America, helpful site link... AUTOTRADER.COM
Can't go wrong with buying Japanese, but you'll probably pay quite a bit more for those than an American car. Try looking from some late 90s or early 00s Civics and Accords. IIRC, Mitsubishi shares parts with Chrysler, so you might want to avoid it.
KIA and Hyundai are usually very reliable mechanically, but the electric related systems tend to break a lot. One of these will be quite a lot cheaper than the Japanese cars. The KIA Optima is a good car, but probably quite a bit bigger than what you need.
If you're going to buy American, try to go for Ford. Chrysler tends to have huge reliability problems; not too sure on GM reliability, but my dad's old Pontiac grand am had nearly constantly problems with everything bolted onto the engine.
If you see a car that's a good deal, make sure you check the year and model/trim online for reliability problems; a 99 Jaguar coupe might go for 2000$, but then the engine rips itself apart because the models have faulty timing belts.
I hear bad things about Pontiac, everyone around here seems to drive them though and ironically its all they sell at used car lots.
I have a 1998 Chevy Metro, got it for $1400k. It was a lucky grab, but if you can drive stick this is a great student car. Normally I'd not think highly of chevy on the car front but I've heard nothing but good on the reliability front for these cars (their engines are by Suziki, that might be why), and mine gets about 40mpg too.
make sure it has 3 pedals
[QUOTE=abcpea2;31986211]make sure it has 3 pedals[/QUOTE]
Okay
[t]http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/eclass/l/Interiors/merc_eclass_11.jpg[/t]
it's still automatic
Isnt that a truck ? I think thats the engine brake .. the left 1
it's the parking brake
My Oldsmobile has three pedals
Right to left: Gas, Brake, parking brake.
But pretty soon it'll have one for the clutch, when I drop the big block in, it will get a 4 speed or 3 speed behind it. Whichever tranny I can get ahold of first.
What state do you live in? Police auctions are sometimes a good place to look.
I'd suggest a used Accord. You can't go wrong with those, and they're solid cars.
Check out police auctions, they always have some good cars.
If you live in California they pretty much have police auctions everywhere. I wish I could find some police auctions around me cause I'm looking for a small pick up.
[QUOTE=KorJax;31981872]I hear bad things about Pontiac, everyone around here seems to drive them though and ironically its all they sell at used car lots.
[/QUOTE]
Must be horrible drivers cause my pontiacs is in perfect condition with 90k miles. There's one guy who I met and said his has almost 300k miles and runs fine. I've seen his car too and it looks really good. I guess it's just like every other car. As long as you take good care of it, it'll last forever.
[QUOTE=Soldier32;32015406]Must be horrible drivers cause my pontiacs is in perfect condition with 90k miles. There's one guy who I met and said his has almost 300k miles and runs fine. I've seen his car too and it looks really good. I guess it's just like every other car. As long as you take good care of it, it'll last forever.[/QUOTE]
What years? It just seems that the 90s and early 2000 models are terrible!
[editline]29th August 2011[/editline]
Also 90k miles is nothing.
[QUOTE=Funcoot;31966106]Hey guys. If it isn't already obvious, I'm obviously not the biggest gear head around. I do not know very much about cars. I know there are 4 cylinder, 6 cylinder, and 8 cylinder engines (as well as others, but these are the most common), and that they need gas, oil, coolant, break fluid, and transmission fluid. This is as far as my knowledge goes.
As of right now, I am driving a 97 Grand Am around that will not stop leaking no matter how many times I get it fixed. It will last a month and start leaking again. Last time it was the water pump. Also, there is a big bar running behind the back of the engine carrying some hydraulic fluid. The bar carrying the fluid is very rusty and once it goes, I was told the car is pretty much worthless. I will not be trading the car in, I am going to give it to my mom so she has a car to drive (for as long as it will last).
I go to local college and my pell grant money should be coming in soon. Around February I should (hopefully) have about $4,000 to spend on a new (used) car. I do not want to finance a car. [B]I cannot afford full coverage auto insurance[/B]. I could afford it for a very short period of time, but I really do not want to go that route.
My question to you is, if you were in this scenario, what would you do? What kind of car would you look for, what would you do to make sure the car is a lemon? I just need a [B]reliable[/B] car that will last a few years and get me around town and make an occasional long trip. Around what mileage should I look for, what number would you not go past?
Manual or automatic is fine.[/QUOTE]
For around $4000, you could very easily get a reliable car that will last a while. Once you pass the $2000-$2500 mark, you can start saying "Do I want something that will go fast?" or "Do I want something that can drift?" or "Do I want something new?" or "Do I want something with leather?". You have some options, look at your local used sites. If something seems too good to be true, it probaly is. Some car manufacturers had bad years or bad engines. I.E: A 4-cylinder fiero for only $1500 sounds great but the 4-cylinder model is horribly unreliable, not even a comparison to the V6.
Find some cars you like and do some research.
[IMG]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4037422/carpyramid.jpg[/IMG]
well my beetle is cheap, reliable and quite fun to drive so I don't think that chart is valid
[QUOTE=Tukimoshi;32023666]
[IMG]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4037422/carpyramid.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE]
"Fun to drive" should be "Fast".
You can have cheap, reliable, and fun. Doesn't mean it will be fast though.
[QUOTE=teslacoil;32025060]"Fun to drive" should be "Fast".
You can have cheap, reliable, and fun. Doesn't mean it will be fast though.[/QUOTE]
[b]There. Pyramid fixed. Happy?[/b]
[QUOTE=Tukimoshi;32023666]For around $4000, you could very easily get a reliable car that will last a while. Once you pass the $2000-$2500 mark, you can start saying "Do I want something that will go fast?" or "Do I want something that can drift?" or "Do I want something new?" or "Do I want something with leather?". You have some options, look at your local used sites. If something seems too good to be true, it probaly is. Some car manufacturers had bad years or bad engines. I.E: A 4-cylinder fiero for only $1500 sounds great but the 4-cylinder model is horribly unreliable, not even a comparison to the V6.
Find some cars you like and do some research.
[IMG]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4037422/carpyramid.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE]
peugeot 205 1.9 GTI
chart invalid
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