Curious to see what everyone's cheapest car was and what they paid. For me it was a first car....1973 chevy luv ($400). Always ran (Isuzu) but wasn't pretty.
What is the cheapest car you've ever bought?
- Thread starter Corollaman
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1964 Chevrolet Corvair Monza $100...1972 Toyota Corolla de Luxe $200...1970 Toyota Corona Mk ll $500
Free saturn SL2 with a bent subframe. Didn't know the guy, just was some stranger on saturnfans.
But since the question is of money spent $75 got me a different one with a rattly timing chain. I stole its factory cruise control for my own wagon, fixed the chain, and dumped the car.
But since the question is of money spent $75 got me a different one with a rattly timing chain. I stole its factory cruise control for my own wagon, fixed the chain, and dumped the car.
Have never bought a cheap car(less than $500), but definitely in $2K-$3K range
$25! 1953 Chevy stove bolt six, power glide. It was fed a steady diet of recycled oil and STP. It had been hit in the rear and the trunk was bashed in but it was better than walking. This was in 1968 and I was 16 years old and working at a gas station after school. Bought it from a customer who had bought a newer car. The power glide finally gave out and I signed the title over to the tow truck driver for the tow bill.
1989 Audi 80 for the cost of a USAREUR plate transfer fee. Think it was $20?
AZjeff
$50 Site Donor 2023
50% ownership of a Corvair for free when I was 15.
$275 for a '67 VW fastback.
$275 for a '67 VW fastback.
Bud_One
Site Donor 2025
1993 Nissan 240SX - $350 wouldn't start and when it ran , it wouldn't pass state inspection. Had blown alternator 75 amp fuse from being jump started incorrectly. And needed a fresh set of spark plugs to pass inspection.
1946 Plymouth 2dr in 1957 for $50. Car was the proverbial 'driven by a little old lady only on Sundays', had 23,000 miles and I don't think it ever had an oil change. Body was perfect but it used a qt of 50w at every gas stop.
My current F150 was given to me by my cousin, it was not working (bad motor and several other items) and I spent about $3000 getting it going again.
My aunt gave me her 1982 VW Rabbit for getting her husband his hunting license over-nighted to him. It cost me about $50 for that.
I drove that car for 3-4 years and sold it to a co-worker for $300, and he drove it for a few more years till he sold it for $400.
My aunt gave me her 1982 VW Rabbit for getting her husband his hunting license over-nighted to him. It cost me about $50 for that.
I drove that car for 3-4 years and sold it to a co-worker for $300, and he drove it for a few more years till he sold it for $400.
$400. Bought a 1994 Saturn SC2 from a good friend with about 140k miles. He called me up one day and told me the head gasket was blown, do I want to buy it? He has to get rid of it quick and buy a new car. Says it smokes like crazy, doesn't run right.
I buy it thinking I can replace the head gasket since car is in good condition otherwise. After looking over the car it seemed to run fine except smoking horrendously. After quick inspection I discover the oil is about 3 quarts overfilled. Changed the oil and it stopped smoking and ran GREAT. He'd already bought a new car by then, so I kept the car and didn't mention the overfilled oil until years later.. We both had a laugh at it.
I buy it thinking I can replace the head gasket since car is in good condition otherwise. After looking over the car it seemed to run fine except smoking horrendously. After quick inspection I discover the oil is about 3 quarts overfilled. Changed the oil and it stopped smoking and ran GREAT. He'd already bought a new car by then, so I kept the car and didn't mention the overfilled oil until years later.. We both had a laugh at it.
$300 for a 2001 Ford Taurus. It had a dodgy transmission. I tried sorting it out myself, didn't work out as planned (no surprise!), ended up selling it for $800 to a local mechanic. After parts and my time involved, I still made a few bucks profit.
Nick1994
$100 site donor 2024
1996 Chevy C1500 Silverado, 5.7L Vortec, 142k miles. Bought it in January 2011 when I was 16. It had been sitting in front of my dad's neighbors house for a year. He bought it new and when it needed front brakes (making noise) he parked it. All it needed were the rotors resurfaced, new pads, and a new battery and it ran wonderfully. $700 and it was all mine. I kept it until December 2013 at 159k miles and sold it to buy a gas sipper 97' Camry. Sold it for $2,600.
I miss that truck...
![[Linked Image]](http://i68.tinypic.com/jt2sex.jpg "[Linked Image]")
I miss that truck...
I got a 2001 Ford Escort for free, and surprisingly I got about 5 years out of it with nothing but fluid changes, brakes and tires.
It wasn't even the decent ZX2 model, but rather the fleet only SE. It was never anything but an atrocious POS, but it also refused to give up the ghost for a very long time. Eventually, the strut towers rusted and I decided to cut bait.
I both hated and loved that car. It was awful in just about every way, but there's a real liberation about having a free car. You don't care if someone bumps you in a parking lot, or doors you, or if you back into a pole. The car will never be worth any less than you paid for it, so you never have to worry.
It wasn't even the decent ZX2 model, but rather the fleet only SE. It was never anything but an atrocious POS, but it also refused to give up the ghost for a very long time. Eventually, the strut towers rusted and I decided to cut bait.
I both hated and loved that car. It was awful in just about every way, but there's a real liberation about having a free car. You don't care if someone bumps you in a parking lot, or doors you, or if you back into a pole. The car will never be worth any less than you paid for it, so you never have to worry.
Years ago I bought a very nice 1965 El Camino. It had an LT1 350 and Muncie 4spd. Seller said that it would die after driving a short while. He said they couldn't figure it out. I paid him $900 for it. After some head scratching I found the coil leads had been swapped. i swapped the wires and it drove like a dream.
$75 on a credit card (I think in 1976) for a '54 Chevy Powerglide that burned more oil than gas.
I used it to tow home my '72 Cortina that lost all its oil on the highway, 75 or so miles from town.
A day or three later I drove the Chev to the junkyard (I think I got $25) and dumped the Cortina for a '72 Pontiac Parisienne with a 400 cubic-inch motor. I was walking out the door before the dealership agreed to take the Cortina for nothing and they took it to the junkyard. So I didn't have to pay for that tow, either.
I had put 232,000-and-change miles — not kilometres— on the Cortina in four years (2,000cc motor) and the rest of it was falling apart.
The Chev cost less than hiring a tow truck after getting the insurance refund and returning the plates.
I used it to tow home my '72 Cortina that lost all its oil on the highway, 75 or so miles from town.
A day or three later I drove the Chev to the junkyard (I think I got $25) and dumped the Cortina for a '72 Pontiac Parisienne with a 400 cubic-inch motor. I was walking out the door before the dealership agreed to take the Cortina for nothing and they took it to the junkyard. So I didn't have to pay for that tow, either.
I had put 232,000-and-change miles — not kilometres— on the Cortina in four years (2,000cc motor) and the rest of it was falling apart.
The Chev cost less than hiring a tow truck after getting the insurance refund and returning the plates.
1968 Volkswagen Beetle with the engine in a cardboardbox I the back seat.500 dollars 1987. I ended up line boring the block, putting a very hot cam in it and a Weber dual barrel carb on the 1600cc dual port engine. It turned out to be quite the little beast when I finished the rebuild assembly, until,the main seal failed fouling the clutch...Bummer.. but not really I had a spare engine I dropped in one evening after school. To be 16 and couldn't stay off the beach until the bugs were worked out,,
Also later a ford pinto station wagon for 500. It was also a tough vehicle. But eventually threw a rod due to a head gasket leak I did not have the funds to address.
Also later a ford pinto station wagon for 500. It was also a tough vehicle. But eventually threw a rod due to a head gasket leak I did not have the funds to address.
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I've had plenty of free cars, or some I've paid $50 for if you want what I paid for some. My current Volvo was a $500 car. Never had a new car, always after something no one wants.
40-50 years ago I could buy cars for $50-$100. I even paid $25 for a car one time and drove it for a few yrs.
I don't know what that would be in today's dollars, maybe beer money?. As long as the car would run and pass inspection, it was good to go.
If you knew a guy, who knew a guy, you could get an inspection sticker if the car wouldn't pass state inspection. We did that all the time.
We'd buy cheap used tires and bring'em to a buddy's garage and he'd mount them for beer or cigarettes. If the tires were going on the back, they wouldn't even get balances.
And for oil changes, all these engines got was the drippings from turned over oil containers. All garages(after an OCI on a car) would turn over the round containers and let'em drizzle into a larger can. That's what I used.
I don't know what that would be in today's dollars, maybe beer money?. As long as the car would run and pass inspection, it was good to go.
If you knew a guy, who knew a guy, you could get an inspection sticker if the car wouldn't pass state inspection. We did that all the time.
We'd buy cheap used tires and bring'em to a buddy's garage and he'd mount them for beer or cigarettes. If the tires were going on the back, they wouldn't even get balances.
And for oil changes, all these engines got was the drippings from turned over oil containers. All garages(after an OCI on a car) would turn over the round containers and let'em drizzle into a larger can. That's what I used.
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