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Buying a used car (First time, be gentle)
Local H Jay
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Alrighty, so the car my parents had given me is basically dead. It was a 91 Maxima, and it had an obscene amount of miles on it (I know squat about cars, but something like 200k?).
Meaning, I have to buy a new car. This summer, I will be able to work more and can save up.
Luckily, the company I'm working for will lend me a car for the summer since I'll be delivering materials.
I won't need the car until September, when I start school (my senior year).
Right now, I can spend $1500 on it. If I save a decent amount over the summer, I can easily add $1-2k to that, but that'd be better put to use in my college fund.
Basically, I'd like to know what to look for. I have NO clue and don't really want to get shafted. My dad will probably look at any car before I buy it, but I still want to make sure I'm going into this shit blind.
So you can tell me what to watch out for
OR
Recommend me good used cars, preferably a 4 door car similar to my Maxima with good gas mileage in the $1k-3.5k area.
Meaning, I have to buy a new car. This summer, I will be able to work more and can save up.
Luckily, the company I'm working for will lend me a car for the summer since I'll be delivering materials.
I won't need the car until September, when I start school (my senior year).
Right now, I can spend $1500 on it. If I save a decent amount over the summer, I can easily add $1-2k to that, but that'd be better put to use in my college fund.
Basically, I'd like to know what to look for. I have NO clue and don't really want to get shafted. My dad will probably look at any car before I buy it, but I still want to make sure I'm going into this shit blind.
So you can tell me what to watch out for
OR
Recommend me good used cars, preferably a 4 door car similar to my Maxima with good gas mileage in the $1k-3.5k area.
Local H Jay on
0
Posts
we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
you can get them on craigslist for anywhere from $500-$3000
Honda Civics from around the same time period tend to last a long time as well.
If you can put 1-2k down and make monthly payments around 100-150 you open your options up to having a nicer/newer car option.
I mean, I don't want a junker, but I'm okay with older/ 'uglier' cars.
My graduation car was a 94 Chevy Prizm with a Toyota engine and that fucker was indestructible. I fried a fan belt on it once and ran it for 40 miles with no water/coolant running through the engine, not a scratch to the engine. The dealer I took it to get repaired was amazed.
3 years later it's still chugging along, other things on it have died, such as the brakes, a fan belt, muffler, a few leaky hoses, but it runs well. Probably has a couple more years left in it as long as it is maintained.
I would AVOID Lincolns. My roommate bought a mid 90's Lincoln Continental and every goddamn thing on that car has broken in the 6 months he's had it.
Another car I might be able to recommend is a Saturn S series, an older one. My father had one he used to drive from San Antonio to Lafeyette twice a month. 200k miles, very few complaints. The problem with the older S series Saturns are that they are very spartan and in my opinion not very comfortable. As a result they are also very cheap.
I would stay away from the L series though. I just dumped by 2000 Saturn LS 2 after having to do 2 grand of repairs to it in 2 months.
we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
how could you not want one :P
When you drive it, turn the radio off, and the A/C as low as you can, and listen for engine noise, feel for vibrations, etc, anything to indicate that there might be something wrong under the hood.
With cars as old as you are shopping for it's very difficult to get any sort of guarantees on them beyond maybe a thousand miles. So, be cautious.
we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
If i were you i would try and avoid dealers, in my opinion your prolly going to pay allot more then if you bought it from someone on say... craigslist. However factor in potential warranties.
They are the hidden gem in the Japanese ocean of used vehicles. Very good quality, comparable to a Toyota Corolla but overlooked because they aren't as prominent
My old roomate found a '92 Protege, manual, with 87k miles on it for $1,500 in Austin. And the thing is a trooper. The only thing wrong with it was no A/C. It just needed regular maintenance and a new pair of tires, no problem. He found it on Craigslist too, fyi.
For the price you're aiming at, those early '90s compact cars are the best bet. You may find a VW golf from that time, but VWs seem to have a domino effect on parts once they reach a certain limit on miles.
And Nissan Maximas don't die by themselves. I grew up driving a Nissan Maxima, they're bulletproof. They only die if you hurt them. You hurt it, didn't you? Admit it!
Ok, since you don't know much about cars I'll try to keep this as simple as possible.
When you go to look at the car, spend a good amount of time just looking at the exterior, before even getting inside, or looking under the hood.
Realize the body of the car is made up of several, molded metal pieces. The obvious ones are the hood, trunk, doors, and fenders. Look at the color of each, and the gaps between them. Make sure they are consistent all the way around. Any inconsistencies could indicate a previous accident. This is not always a problem, but its good to note.
When you open the hood, there are numerous things to look for, and your best bet is to take it to a local mechanic to give it the once over. Just make sure there aren't any leaking fluids from anything, the oil is a roughly amber color, antifreeze is clear (not cloudy at all), and everything looks roughly clean. If that all looks good, then take the time to get it checked out by someone who knows whats up.
Take a good look around the interior too. Obviously you don't want a dirty car, but a clean interior usually means the previous owner took car of it. So its a good sign of the overall condition.
Now take it for a drive. Try out EVERYTHING. Even before you drive it, test power anything. Doors, windows, seats, etc. Try the signals, lights, heater, A/C, radio. Shift the transmission into every gear slowly, and feel for shudders, or rough shifting. If you've driven a car before you generally know what a car feels like when doing things. Pay very close attention as you test it. Is there any lag from when you push the gas to when the car actually accelerates? Does the brake petal feel spongy? Does it pull to one side, either when you're driving or when you brake? Any funny noises?
Finally, deal with a good dealer, or seller. Get the Carfax report. Get as much information about the previous service as possible. If none is available, think really hard about the purchase. Higher mileage cars are at the point where the need a good deal of service, see what has already been done.
As for the car itself, you really cant go wrong with a Honda, or Toyota. They're practically bulletproof.