suggestions for CHEAP reliable transport

[Nick1994]

Need to help explain to her that buying a cheap piece of junk will cost a lot more per month to repair than spending a little more on a better car in the first place.

She needs to get the stigma against sedans out of her head too. If you've got a budget, gotta buy what you can.

Also should make a little road trip out of it and get a $2k 97-01 Camry from down South that's rust free.

 

[AZjeff]

Originally Posted by earlyre
so a co-worker has been "looking" for a different car for a few years, Currently driving an '03 Forrester. the car she learned to drive in, and has had for all these years...odometer stopped somewhere around 350,000 mi, she thinks it's closer to 450,000 by now. ..

. "but it's only like $55/mo, and i'm shopping to a price point.."

Let's say,


You make it sound like she had the car when it was fairly new and put all those miles on it and it had to cost more than $3500 back whenever. If that's the case you have to point out the relative value of today's money and she can't expect much car if she "needs" to spend less than she did back then. Good luck with this one.

 

[01rangerxl]

Originally Posted by earlyre
"but it's only like $55/mo, and i'm shopping to a price point.."


I'm sure that is $55 per WEEK, so $220 per month. That's actually not terrible for a 12 year old car at a buy here pay here, but yeah she'll be paying $220 a month just to have the 12 year old PT Cruiser, and will still have to cover the rest of the cost of ownership. The dealer may require full coverage insurance. Some of these places cover basic repairs, some leave it up to the debtor. If they do offer a warranty or guarantee, I am sure it will just cover a basic half [censored] patch up repair, or a different heap if they don't want to fix it.

One of my (unfortunately) regular customers is a cheap buy here pay here lot. I know lots of their cars have mechanical issues, and the customers frequently just leave them where they break down. Most of these places aren't actually full on dishonest (some are*), but the cars they have are mostly the bottom of the barrel, have issues or will soon, and they are in it to make a profit of course. It's the cheapest way into a running/driving car for someone who can't work on them, but she may well be in for a roller coaster ride if she doesn't get it paid off quick, and simultaneously save up for a replacement. These types of cars are usually temporary. They are often advertised as "work cars" around here...something to get you to a job until you make enough money at that job for something better.

*As for what "full on dishonest" means, I know one dealer that sold an Escalade with a leaking water pump to someone who was going to drive it three states away the next day. To "fix" the leaking water pump, they dumped a ton of stop leak products into the Escalade. No idea how that turned out.

At her price point, whatever runs/drives the best that she can afford is it. If she can get by with the Subaru for now and get together maybe $1500 cash money, she might be able to find a cheaper, not very desirable private seller car that may be better than whatever the buy here pay here drug back from the junk auction, though of course private sellers sell plenty of junk too. If she has $3500 to spend now, skip the buy here pay here cars unless she is confident that the car is good. Good doesn't mean nice paint and radio.

 

[DuckRyder]

I'd stay out of specific recommendations... perhaps general advice if she's wanting it...

There is a pretty high likelihood that whatever she buys for that cheap will be as bad or worse than what she has... Especially at a tote a note lot...

 

[bullwinkle]

I was going to recommend a bicycle, but maybe that joke wouldn't be popular? This is a common situation in my part of Cincinnati-there's a LOT of people driving that really can't afford it-no plates or washed out temporary tag, guessing likely no insurance, careening about. Most of them should be riding the bus or walking.

 

[spasm3]

eljefino beat me to it, but pontiac vibe/ matrix.

here is one. But you might want to consider looking down south for ones that may have less rust.

https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=511195246

 

[01rangerxl]

Originally Posted by earlyre


just a stones throw up the road from that dealer, is another small time local guy, who has another 2003 Forrester, same red, for $2620 or so. looks to be FAR less Rusty( I'm not going to go as far as rust free, it is a 16 yr old subie in OH...) "but I don't want another Forrester, and esp, not a RED one..."

I missed this the first time I read the post...that's a red flag to me to stay far away from this situation. She can't get money together to deal with this, but she wants to pick and choose with no budget, doesn't want the car that apparently served her well, and is picky about color? And a 12 year old PT Cruiser at a buy here pay here is the solution? Does she have dementia?

 

[Dave9]

Do not try to focus on a particular make and model. This is unrealistic with practically no budget.

Instead, continually scan the for sale by owner avenues available like eBay motors or craigslist. You might also check some auto sales websites but most often those are populated by dealers wanting way too much.

You're looking for a cherry, something garage kept with unusually low miles, one owner preferred and no middleman seller, the owner can be met or else you may just be dealing with a car lot dubiously listing things as private sale.

You wrote "it's only like $55/mo". NO! Do not finance some old beater through a dealer. The car is worthless and that's all their profit. The current vehicle is running so put aside more than that $55/mo and pay in cash from a local owner. Have the money ready, don't bother looking for vehicles before you have it so long as the current vehicle still runs. When a good deal comes along, you have to be ready to jump on it, go there and see it ASAP with money in hand. That's how you get a cherry before a dealer or other reseller does.

I don't mean to suggest that she shouldn't have someone knowledgeable about vehicles there with her or returning with her ASAP, if she is too cheap to pay a mechanic to look it over but the main point is being ready to act and acting quickly when something well taken care of comes up and is obviously worth more than bluebook value could ever factor for.

Personally, I would avoid GM unless it's just a way to get a dirt cheap ($1000) full sized sedan.

 

[earlyre]

man... there's a lot of negative nancy's on here..( just stay out of it, you'll get blamed, etc..) sheesh

the Forester was originally her Mom's car. mom upgraded, she got the hand me down... Mom's replacement was a new Impreza Hatchback( not sure of the exact year, but it's a 3rd Gen(07-14), and it has well over 200,000 already.( lots of trips back and forth to NC, where her brother is stationed, ferrying brother's son back and forth, etc)

mom has offered the Impreza, but she doesn't like it...

to those saying she's waiting for a "white knight" to buy a car for her...that's a job for her daddy, or her boyfriend...neither of which are me.

and yes, i know whatever she gets at her price point will be a super-de-duper POS. but that's part of why i've repeatedly suggested the Forester for sale down the road from me(another little local dealer) it's basically her car, just not as rusty. and if you are gonna go from one clapped out POS to another, why not the same car in better shape.

"better the devil you know" kind of situation.

clearly if her family has gotten this one to 450k mi, they know how to keep them going....
and it's only $26XX.

bicycle? she commutes 25 mi each way. i think not.

I don't know WHAT she actually has to spend, I just pulled a low number out of thin air.

 

[Rand]

2009-2011 elantra touring?

 

[The_Jeff]

Originally Posted by Dave9


Personally, I would avoid GM unless it's just a way to get a dirt cheap ($1000) full sized sedan.


Would you consider the Malibu Maxx full sized? That's another ugly duckling that's cheap and dreadful.

oooh, I just remembered, Dodge Caliber! That would be perfect!

 

[01rangerxl]

What does she like about the PT and not the Impreza? Looks or something? If she just wants another car for [censored] and giggles, just buy one and keep the Subaru. I wouldn't go the weekly payment route though.. that's a have to thing.

I bought my Explorer for $250 from a junk auction (tow yard) non running. It's a wagon, now reliable, with working 4WD, and I love it, but I immediately dumped another $1500+ into it and it was a month of wrenching and having other people wrenching on it before I considered it a daily driver. If you want a cheap vehicle for [censored] and giggles, you have to put in some work.

 

[Skippy722]

Originally Posted by eljefino
Originally Posted by Dave9


Personally, I would avoid GM unless it's just a way to get a dirt cheap ($1000) full sized sedan.


Would you consider the Malibu Maxx full sized? That's another ugly duckling that's cheap and dreadful.

oooh, I just remembered, Dodge Caliber! That would be perfect!


To be fair to the Caliber, it never left me stranded and working on it is easy... all I ever needed to do to mine though was an oxygen sensor and once yearly oil changes. There is a TON of room between the back of the engine and the firewall. My parents 2007 is coming up on 160k with surprisingly no body rust and the interior still looks new

The cross members are known to rust out though, and the extended warranty on them is starting to phase out, the newest ones are now 7 years old.

That being said, even the "updated" ones had interiors of hard plastic. Not all that quiet, CVT has some serious rubber band effect, "meh" fuel economy for a 4 banger (I averaged 23-26mpg babying it), but pretty safe in a crash. I don't "recommend" it, but if you find a decent one it's a good point a to point b car till you can get something nicer.

 

[HangFire]

Originally Posted by earlyre
man... there's a lot of negative nancy's on here..( just stay out of it, you'll get blamed, etc..) sheesh

the Forester was originally her Mom's car. mom upgraded, she got the hand me down... Mom's replacement was a new Impreza Hatchback( not sure of the exact year, but it's a 3rd Gen(07-14), and it has well over 200,000 already.( lots of trips back and forth to NC, where her brother is stationed, ferrying brother's son back and forth, etc)

mom has offered the Impreza, but she doesn't like it...

to those saying she's waiting for a "white knight" to buy a car for her...that's a job for her daddy, or her boyfriend...neither of which are me.

and yes, i know whatever she gets at her price point will be a super-de-duper POS. but that's part of why i've repeatedly suggested the Forester for sale down the road from me(another little local dealer) it's basically her car, just not as rusty. and if you are gonna go from one clapped out POS to another, why not the same car in better shape.

"better the devil you know" kind of situation.

clearly if her family has gotten this one to 450k mi, they know how to keep them going....
and it's only $26XX.

bicycle? she commutes 25 mi each way. i think not.

I don't know WHAT she actually has to spend, I just pulled a low number out of thin air.


Highways miles are super easy on cars, and they are doing something right with the maintenance. You could encourage her again to chose the Impreza. If she begs off on that again, well, beggars can't be choosers. There's only so much you can do.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

You should be able to get a Yaris hatchback in that price range. Other good choices:
Suzuki Aerio SX
Suzuki SX4
Toyota Matrix/Pontiac Vibe
Scion XA
Scion XD
Scion XB
Saturn Astra

You might be able to get a Spark or Sonic in that price range, but they may have high miles.

 

[brages]

I don't think any of the DCT Focuses will be in your price range.

There are a lot of cars out there for
IMO, you get what you pay for in an efficient market. Sometimes you are paying for perceived reliability (Toyota, Honda) or a prestigious brand, or good condition, or the expected reliability of low miles, or a clean interior, or a pristine exterior, etc. Sometimes you are paying for the convenience of grabbing a car from a dealer lot instead of dealing with flaky craigslist sellers.

Probably the best value for just racking up miles is a domestic sedan with hail damage on an older platform.

 

[exranger06]

Any time I see a PT Cruiser for sale, especially if it has approx. 100k miles on it, I think that the car is probably due for a timing belt and the seller doesn't want to pay the $1k+ to replace it. It's a real PITA on that car (or so I hear). My wife had an '06 when we first started dating. She always swore she would never drive one, but she was desperate for a car at the time and that's what she could get. It needed a power steering pump, spark plugs (misfire), and had an evap leak all before it had 40k miles. Gas mileage wasn't great for a 4 cylinder, about 22 mpg if I remember correctly.

 

[Rumble]

Originally Posted by exranger06
Any time I see a PT Cruiser for sale, especially if it has approx. 100k miles on it, I think that the car is probably due for a timing belt and the seller doesn't want to pay the $1k+ to replace it. It's a real PITA on that car (or so I hear). My wife had an '06 when we first started dating. She always swore she would never drive one, but she was desperate for a car at the time and that's what she could get. It needed a power steering pump, spark plugs (misfire), and had an evap leak all before it had 40k miles. Gas mileage wasn't great for a 4 cylinder, about 22 mpg if I remember correctly.


As the unfortunate owner of a PT with 100000+ miles on it, we are in the process of getting rid of it because it's due for another belt (last one was @40K miles when water pump went out under warranty). Lots of headaches with this thing in the past 15 years, including a failed transmission.

 

[blueglide88]

Originally Posted by pandus13
Chevy hhr
Chevy sonic (Daewoo Matiz)
mazda proteje5
mazda3
mazda5
Kia Rio5
Kia Rondo
Pontiac Vibe
Saturn wagons
hyundai accent (in purple please)
mercury/ford sable/taurus wagon
ford focus wagon


Forget the Ford/Mercury Sable/Taurus................they had crap transmissions and you will be doing a re-build for sure.....I know I had one

 

[aquariuscsm]

I don't know if it was mentioned,but I saw an older Ford Focus wagon that had 450,000 miles on it. Ran perfectly and looked great!