request for general advice on cars

[danaeris]

So I'm approaching a point at which I would like to make a decision about getting a car or not. Factors effecting the decision: Unseelie is getting rid of his, and can probably join city carshare, but aside from that we'd be without a car between the two of us, which could suck; I can't join city carshare or I'd just do that. But having a car will increase my expenses by ~$140/month, making it a lot tighter to squeeze by on my current 20K salary.

IF I get a car, there are four ways for me to do it:
(1) Take unseelie's car, even though its damaged goods, and just keep on repairing it as it dies a piece at a time
(2) Buy something off of craigslist at what seems like a good price, but only if a garage checks it out and I'm ok with the level of repairs they say it requires
(3) Buy something at a police car auction
(4) Buy a used car through a reputable dealer, insured, refurbished, etc. This is by far the most expensive option, but may be worth it.

My budget is between 2 and 4K. Private party, I can theoretically get a 1990 era Honda Hatchback for around 2K. Dealer, I can theoretically get a similar, possibly slightly older era for around 4K.

Does anyone have any positive or negative thoughts on these options?

Comments

[aaangyl.livejournal.com]

Personally, as someone who's seen friends struggle with junker cars, I can tell you that a big factor to consider here is how important the reliability of your vehicle is to you. If you just want a car for the occasional convenience of going somewhere, and it's not a big deal if it breaks down along the way, go the cheap route certainly. But if you -need- that transportation in any way, like say for your livelihood (work) or some other sort of major responsibility, and there's not an alternate available, it'd probably be worth it to go for the reputable dealer with warrantee and insurance. Also consider that certain relatively common repairs can run in excess of $500, and I've known people that poured more than a car was worth, sometimes a few times over, into keeping it running and feeding it gas and oil. You've also got stuff like pasing smog checks and registration and at least minimal insurance on ANY vehicle.

What do you need the car for? How often would you use it? Is it the sort of thing a bike or occasional rental vehicles could cover? Is it for use as a reliable daily commuter vehicle? Will it piss you off to be going somewhere you'd like to go and have a breakdown along the way? Are you prepared to deal with moving it around the city on street cleaning days and looking for parking every time you get home, or do you have a parking space available? Do you have people that have a very good knowledge of auto mechanics to help you select a vehicle? Would they help you maintain it? Do you know a good local mechanic that's fair and reasonable?

Um. There's some stuff to think about for now, anyway. :)

[dangerpudding.livejournal.com]

Kinda out of the blue, but I've got this station wagon I need to get rid of before I go... it's a 94 ford taurus, all the bells and whistles (except a cd player- power everything though), less then 75k miles on it (I can get an exact number on that), I have service records of everything that's ever been done to it.. I'm about to go register it in the morning, cause it's about to expire. It was my grandmas and is in excellent shape, a few dents here and there..

If it sounds interesting, let's talk. I'm not sure on price, I think its KBB is 4k+, but I don't expect to get that. I do have a few trips planned before I go in it, but... well, anyway. Thought it was worth a shot.

Beyond that- I agree with what's been said, think about what you need it for, and what you will actually use it for. If you have a really good mechanic, talk to them. My dad (a mechanic with lots of experience) always cautioned against police auction and otherwise seized cars, because there is a tendancy for people to not treat cars well if they have an idea that they're going to lose them- and sometimes it's not obvious.

[qedrakmar.livejournal.com]

Your best bet is to get someone who's "a car (guy/gal)" to go with you and check out the private lots. I generally don't trust resellers (though Saturn has treated me well) so buying from a private party, usually with them telling you up front about what's wrong and what they've done to it recently, you'll likely find a better deal. PRices are cheaper, for the sake of hassle.

On another note, if you think you could get approved for a small loan (say, $2K), then you may wish to check out someplace like a Saturn dealer, where they have a good customer reputation, for a used car. I bought my '97 SL1 for $5.5K because it lacks things like a CD player (or A/C, but this is Mass, not CA) You should be able to find a good car no more than 3 or 4 years old in the $6-8K range, and a $3K loan, paid off over 4 years is probably about $80/month, and it would prevent a good deal of the money you would spend on repairs for a car that's 10 years older.

Or, if you can drive stick, you could look for a old VW bug or van. ;)

Re:

[qedrakmar.livejournal.com]

75K on a 94 Taurus? Has the Head Gasket gone yet? (ah, a 5 dollar part and $300 in labor...) I seem to recall that being a failure landmark for those. (or, that might only be up here, where they salt the roads...)

Not to be negative, but that one explicitly stands out in my mind, after spending 2 hours replacing the Head Gasket on my friend's 93' Taurus Wagon... ;)

Cars

[arcticelf.livejournal.com]

Unseelie's car would become a hole in the road to pour money into (perhaps has become). You could probably get teh most benifit out of it by either selling it or donating it to ge teh write off.

The factor to consider about geting a used car is how much you can spend a month to maintain it. This money can either goto a loan payment (if you can get one) or directly to repair bills. The former is alot less anoying then the latter.

As far as accauly looking at cars goes: get some one who knows them to go w/ to to look. I.d agree that police auction is not the best place to look, but if you can get carsfor substnacialy less then they are worth it may be worth while.

Good Luck,
AE

[karenbynight.livejournal.com]

This is not quite on the subject of cars, but on the subject of budget. I've been meaning to ask you a nosy but caring question; if it's out of line, forgive me.

Your budget does include savings, right? Both mid-term "saving for a rainy day" type savings and saving for retirement? Lots of people make the mistake of putting these off until they make a certain amount of money, but really savvy people do the math on compound interest and stock market increases (especially in a rebound like we're likely to have now) and start as young as possible.

Rainy day savings should be at least 3-6 months of your operating costs. Having this saved Bry & me last year when the fiscal roof fell in on us; if it weren't for that, there woudln't be S&P because we'd probably have had to move in with his parents. Much more important than owning a car when you live and work in a city.

[coffeekitty.livejournal.com]

i really advise against buying a car that will require lots of repairs. my vehicular experience is with motorcycles, but i can guarantee that i've spent more than half of the purchase price of my motorcycle, which was in good condition when i bought it, on repairs and maintenance over the past 2 years. keeping a dying vehicle afloat gets expensive and very inconvenient really fast.

i agree with the recommendations of "evaluate your situation and see what would suit your needs," too.

Re:

[benndragon.livejournal.com]

Learning stick is one of your best bets for bringing down the cost of a vehicle. If you just take a day (probably far less; I've heard an hour is sufficient) with a friend and their standard car you could save yourself something like $1k. My next car is gonna be stick for other reasons (I want to have more control of my vehicle, I'm sick of needing to kick open the throttle to get my car to downshift and have some semblance of acceleration), but that'll be a nice perk.

[dazzlynn.livejournal.com]

why can't you join carshare? I did it for a while and it was great. You and unseelie can join as a pair too, thus I think you only need to pay $300 for the two of you, and not each.

Re:

[danaeris.livejournal.com]

You have to have two years driving experience. I have less than one year.

[mamapduck.livejournal.com]

My advice is not to buy a car with problems from any friend you wish to keep. Too many spaces for miscommunications, different interpretations of what constitutes major and minor problems... I've seen way too many people have way too much drama over cars. Get any used car checked out by *your* mechanic, not the seller or go ahead and spring for a certified used car if you can. The party who said savings are more important was also very wise unless you have particular circumstances (like children) that necessitate a car.

Re:

[danaeris.livejournal.com]

You have to have two years driving experience. I have less than one year.

Re:

[danaeris.livejournal.com]

Hey... I appreciate the offer, but I'm very specifically looking for hondas and toyotas only, and for hatchbacks, because I live in the city and want to be able to park in tiny parking spots!

Re:

[plymouth.livejournal.com]

keeping a dying vehicle afloat gets expensive and very inconvenient really fast.

I bought ecco90 for $1200 in 1997. The way I figure it, I buy my car again each year - I spend something around $1000-1400 a year in repair costs. I consider this the price of owning my car and am no longer suprized when I again end up with a midwinter repair in the $600-800 range, because it happens EVERY year. I think that if you assume that an older car will act like this and budget the money for it then it can be a perfectly fine strategy. I justify it by saying that it is still less than car payments would be, even on a newer used vehicle.