New "Used" Vehicle for 18 Year Old?

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Check something like Edmunds.com for pricing, and pick the car apart while looking it over and test-driving it.
Understand that dealers are usually very realisitc and will come down to a market-reasonable price pretty readily, while private parties often won't until they've seen quite a few time-wasting joy-riding lookers.
Offer a price around private party retail, or a little less.
If the seller is going to meet you in the middle, he will.
If not, walk.
Remeber, these are asking prices.
You aren't shopping at Kroger.
It is exepected that you'll deal the price down.
 
Just got back from looking and driving the following cars:

2000 Hyundai Elantra- Rust on hood and doors, numerous dents in the body, cracks in the windshield, engine didn't sound right. Took oil fill cap off, sludge.

1997 Ford Escort- great car besides Check Engine Light and slipping transmission between 1st and 2nd.

1999 Toyota Corolla CE- A/C not working, brakes will need work soon. Took oil fill cap off, sludge.

1999 Toyota Corolla VE- Rust on doors, suspension problems. Took oil fill cap off, sludge.

We looked at a 1999 Saturn SW2 station wagon that he really likes. 93K miles for $3800, it drives great and exterior, interior, and engine look brand new. I plan on offering them $2600 on Monday for it. Although, it concerns me that Saturns aren't made anymore and may have difficulty in finding parts when I need them.
Good vehicle/deal or not?

Thanks.
 
Originally Posted By: GHW
We looked at a 1999 Saturn SW2 station wagon that he really likes. 93K miles for $3800, it drives great and exterior, interior, and engine look brand new. I plan on offering them $2600 on Monday for it. Although, it concerns me that Saturns aren't made anymore and may have difficulty in finding parts when I need them.
Good vehicle/deal or not?

Thanks.


You'll be able to find parts for it as long as you'll need to...

If it is in good shape, and it sounds like it is, I think you're on the right track at $2600.
 
Originally Posted By: GHW
Just got a call back from the seller. He won't go any lower than $3500. Good deal?


Not when book price for it is *less* than $3000...
 
I'd get the 2000 Elantra. I had a 1999 Elantra, and it was a VERY reliable car that didn't have any major issues when my brother and I drove it.

The 2001-2006 Elantras are basically a rebodied and tweaked 1996-2000 Elantra. Up through 2003, the engines were the same. There are many common parts, like suspension and sway bars, between those two generations of Elantra.
 
Originally Posted By: GHW
Just got a call back from the seller. He won't go any lower than $3500. Good deal?


Check Edmunds. It is the best site regarding evaluating used car prices (Kelly Blue Book is low, NADA is high). Since you think the car is in very good shape, tell him you will offer whatever the "excellent condition" private seller price is according to Edmnunds and he can take it or leave it. And you're paying cash, so that is a bonus that should help you get a better price.
 
I don't understand why people pay more than book for cars.

Most cars don't even fall into the GOOD category, especially ones that are 10 years old.

I'm honest with people, and I tell them that I look at the book, and that they are not a car dealership with overhead, so they can not command that price, and they aren't going to stand behind the car at all either.

Heck, I paid $5500 for a 2003 Saturn Ion with 29k miles. This was nearly 4 years ago..

Keep looking, I don't like any of those deals.

If the kid doesn't mind RWD in the winter, crown victorias are VERY SAFE cars, and can be had cheap. Same deal with 96-97 Thunderbirds and cougars.

All 3 are DIRT cheap to insure. Get one with the 4.6L v8. That motor is good for 25-30mpg on the highway, and is one of the cheapest cars on the road to insure.
 
Originally Posted By: dishdude
$3500 for an 11 year old car? Yikes! I can't believe what used cars are going for right now.


Agree 100%. That is an insane price!
 
If you'd like to take a look ,here's the local Craig's list posts for where I live:

http://muskegon.craigslist.org/cta/

http://holland.craigslist.org/cta/

http://grandrapids.craigslist.org/cta/

Mileage and asking prices are outrageous on a lot of them. I just don't want to run into the same problems I did with the Aurora by spending more on a car to keep it running than I paid for the car ($700).
Not to get political, but I believe that "Cash for Clunkers" debacle may be the reason for higher asking prices on "qaulity" used cars.
 
Originally Posted By: JustinH


If the kid doesn't mind RWD in the winter, crown victorias are VERY SAFE cars, and can be had cheap. Same deal with 96-97 Thunderbirds and cougars.

All 3 are DIRT cheap to insure. Get one with the 4.6L v8. That motor is good for 25-30mpg on the highway, and is one of the cheapest cars on the road to insure.


+1

Since you live in Michigan I would check out the Michigan State Police Auction...They will be in overall better shape then all the overpriced junk you looked at [and will still be looking at] and they will not have sludge and everything [including the a/c] will work..You can probably get one [a few years old] for less the 2K bucks...They probably have 100K or miles on them but they have been serviced regularly...Probably more then a private car...The are cheap realiable transportation...I just came off a long run with my 05 C.V. and got 26 mph on the highway...It is a very low maintenance car.

A friend bought 2 X patrol cars [former F.H.P. cars] dirt cheap for his 2 kids awhile back and it worked out well...The kids were not crazy about the cars at first but got to love them in a short time after riding in their friends sludge monsters with broken a/c's in Miami jungle heat.
 
I think you're right regarding the Cash for Clunkers, but thats water over the dam, now.

Did a little checking on craigs list in your area. What I looked at was the Ford Escort sedans, which will save lots of money on insurance over the 2 door sporty model ZX-2. I live very close to White Pigeon on 131 so am not real far from you. My experience with craigs list is you may have to drive a little to get the super deals.

I did see a REAL nice 1997 blue sedan listed for $1600, automatic

Also there is a super nice looking gold/silver 2000 sedan with auto transmission in Kalamozoo, at a dealer for just a little more $2200.

There's my 2 cents.

Deals are out there, check out auto trader.com also
 
Originally Posted By: IndyIan

V6 cars for cheap transportation scare me abit, just that much more gaskets, seals, manifolds, sensors, etc to potentially fix.


Maintenance cost really doesn't scale by number of cylinders. If anything, inline 4-cylinders might need more TLC than a v6 just because they have so much more un-correctable vibration. But really, number of cylinders just doesn't make a difference at all.
 
I would have to disagree, there is a lot of doubling of parts on a V-engine. Oxy sensors, cats, exhaust manifolds(sometimes the whole exhaust system) 2 headgaskets to blow, intake and exhaust manifold gaskets. Usually they are more cramped to work on too, like the GM cars where you have to do all sorts of stuff to change the back bank spark plugs...
I think the old days of an inline four vibrating and creating problems are over too, although some big 4's like your PT cruiser use balance shafts to smooth things out.
Just for basic transport I'd like to have as few fail-able parts as possible and something easy to diagnose and work on to keep repairs cheap as possible.
 
Originally Posted By: IndyIan
I would have to disagree, there is a lot of doubling of parts on a V-engine. Oxy sensors, cats, exhaust manifolds(sometimes the whole exhaust system) 2 headgaskets to blow, intake and exhaust manifold gaskets.



My only point is that there's not enough more probability of a problem with a V6 to even worry about. I've owned a number of both types, and there's just no difference in reliability of inline vs. v-type in my experience.

Originally Posted By: IndyIan
Usually they are more cramped to work on too, like the GM cars where you have to do all sorts of stuff to change the back bank spark plugs...


I've got a 2- part answer on that one:

A) that's one reason I picked the Intrepid- north-south engine layout, simple access to everything, no plugs or manifold tucked up by the firewall at all. LH cars have to be some of the easiest-to-service cars made since the 70s. But truthfully, by the mid 90s even the transverse V6s had gotten pretty easy to deal with. You might have to remove an intake plenum to get at the rear plugs, but they made it relatively simple to do that.

B) Wanna look under the hood of my wife's PT??? There's an inline 4 that has to have its plenum pulled to get at the spark plugs.


Originally Posted By: IndyIan
I think the old days of an inline four vibrating and creating problems are over too


As long as its an inline 4, it will have a big 2nd-order imbalance... nature of the beast, inline 4s are inherently buzzy. Balance shafts keep the whole assembly from vibrating as much, but they don't reduce the internal stresses on the bearing saddles/caps, crank, main bearing bolts, and other internal parts. The crank shoves up on the bearing saddles and the balance shafts pull down on the block (then vice-versa) to smooth out the feel for the passengers, but they actually can add stress to the engine itself.

Originally Posted By: IndyIan
Just for basic transport I'd like to have as few fail-able parts as possible and something easy to diagnose and work on to keep repairs cheap as possible.


I agree, but I think there are far more factors that matter more than whether the engine is a V-type or not.
 
plus there's always that annoying 4 cylinder exhaust note compared to that sweet V-8 burble!

And 440, if you love the LH you'd die over the LX. Super simple to fix and dirt cheap parts have made it a 'keep it forever'.
 
Originally Posted By: jcwit
With the 4 cylinder there's always that sweet cha-ching sound from gas saved at the pump. And Insurance rates!


I agree on the gas mileage, but insurance rates aren't necessarily cheaper due to having a 4 cylinder.

Having a car with 4 doors is much cheaper than a 2 door. Also having a car with a lot of claims is going to be more expensive. My girlfriend drives a 2003 Pontiac Sunfire, and it is much more to insure over her 4 door Neon.

My 4 door Saturn Ion is very cheap to insure, and my v8 1996 ford thunderbird lx sport was even cheaper to insure than the saturn. It is classified as a family car.

The crown victorias, grand marquis, and buicks are some of the cheapest cars on the road to insure because they have low claim rates, and they are so large that they are safe vehicles.
 
Got to remember the OP is in Mich. which has no-fault insurance, much higher than states without. My insurance runs less that $500 a year for 2 vehicles.
 
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