Used cars...?

[Odesseiron]

Hey all. I got my driver's license a couple of weeks ago. I've been driving for at least 10 plus years, just never legally until now. Anyhow with this, I am looking into buying my own car. I don't need anything immediately, I have a time frame of about 6 months. Probably after my tax check comes back in the spring, so about 6-8 months I am figuring. I am just looking into a lot of stuff now though, so I'll be ready when I do go for one.

My limit will probably be about 8-9k with a 4,500 dollar down payment. I'll probably look into a used civic,camry, accord, something of that nature. Don't want the payment of a new car, nor the insurance that comes with it.

I just wanted to know if you guys had any good suggestions on any car websites. I put in used cars on google and millions of sites show up, not sure really which ones are good or not. I'll search locally too of course. I already have a mechanic I can trust to look at the car who's been the family mechanic for years. He's very honest.

Also somewhat related, I'm doing some quotes on insurance. I've heard progressive is one of the better ones. I did a quote for geico, but they came up with $400 a month which is outrageous, even for a new driver.

Thanks in advance for anything you can share!

[Correction]

Anywhere you go for insurance is going to stick it to you because you've only had a license for a month. Good luck with that.

If you're still on speaking terms with your parents, ask them, I'm sure they've bought several cars and seriously they'll know where to buy used ones if they're not the 'lease and forget' types.

[Stromgarde]

Buy an old piece of shit, you will get raped (more) otherwise.

autobuyguide.com autotrader.com, and cars.com, and as always try before you buy

[Liseth]

Buy an old piece of shit, you will get raped (more) otherwise.

autobuyguide.com autotrader.com, and cars.com, and as always try before you buy

I agree with this chap here.

[Jotaru]

I did a quote for geico, but they came up with $400 a month which is outrageous, even for a new driver.

Try local places, a place around here does month to month insurance for me for like 60 a month since I was 18.

[SephYuyX]

I dunno how it is in NY, but you can get a great used car here for under 5k easily.

My sister just bought an 03 subaru with 40k miles for 4.3k lol.

I bought my 93 corolla car for used for 8k when i started driving (near 10 years ago @ 20k miles i think) and im still driving it, and it has near 200k miles.

Never buy new, it is a huge waste of money. You can find plenty used near new cars, for 10s of thousands dollars cheaper.

[Kiro]

Don't buy jack shit from a dealership. Period.

Just take a drive through some decent neighborhoods and you'll see cars around. If you see something with "FOR SALE" in the window, don't pay it any mind. Shit will be overpriced and there's always something wrong with it (out of date plates, fucked up starter, etc).

What I used to do for a living when I dropped out of H.S. was flip cars. You find these cars that have been sitting in the same place for ages. You can usually tell because they have tons of leaves / other shit on them, a flat tire maybe, etc. You can put a note in their window on a brightly colored piece of paper so they think they got a ticket and just put "Would like to buy this car, please call me at <your # here>." and put your name at the bottom. I shortened my name or used my middle name sometimes just to keep myself safe. I've bought so many cars for so damn cheap this way.

Clean 'em up, put a little work into 'em and flip 'em for a massive profit. I bought a $500 Dodge Neon one time, had a sick stereo system. Turned around and sold it within the week for $1500. All I did was wax it, lol.

[wyrmtung]

Ideally, everyone would like to get a car that is single owner and mint condition. But barring getting that lucky, I would recommend you try to get a certified used car with a warranty. Yes, buying a used car from someone is cheap on initial investment but you could end up paying a lot more in total cost of ownership. The warranty is a nice piece of mind.

I got a couple of friends who bought cars from Carmax. They seem like a pretty good outfit to me. Every time there was a problem they would take care of it right away, give a loaner car, and one friend even exchanged one car for another after a couple weeks of driving it.

Unfortunately there is no Carmax in New York but there is one in Connecticut. Maybe there is another outfit in New York that is just as big.

[Korremar]

Do a lot of looking around. I'm one of those people that got relatively lucky; got a 1993 Taurus wagon, 81k miles on it, the only thing it needed was 2 rear rotors and a good cleaning. $1500, and after that bit of work and the title/tax/etc., it was only about $2200. Look in the newspaper/local papers, check websites, etc.

Also, if you're not a big car guy, get someone who is. I took my father with me; he used to be a mechanic, so he knows exactly what to look for. There were so many things he looked at on a few of the cars we checked out that I wouldn't ever have even known to look for, it was amazing how often an otherwise good-looking car can be a piece of shit, or at least be guaranteed to cost you a lot of money in repairs in the long run.

[sephir]

Be sure to check out the Vin # with either the police or carfacts.com . Most used cars are a good deal but every now and then there are ones that should not legally be on the road. Just be careful about buying and dont jump into things too fast.

[Utile]

A lot of Solid advise here. As for not buying from a dealer, that just depends on what your looking for. Honestly, if you want to spend roughly 9k total, and are going to have 4kish to put down, I would just get a nice, newer compact car. There are lots of dealer incentives going on right now that will just keep getting better until the economy stabilizes so they can rip people off again.

Here is some other tips in general.

Never be afraid to walk away. This is where most people make the biggest and most expensive mistake of their lives. Don't get too excited if you think you found a great deal. Always make sure to take time to have a mechanic look the car over. If buying from a person or a used car dealer, if they are against you taking the car to be looked at by your personal mechanic, just walk away.

Carfax.com is your friend. When you're ready to buy, get a membership for it and use it for every car you are interested in.

New Cars, Used Cars, Car Reviews and Pricing - Edmunds.com is the best place to get a real estimate of a cars "true market value". Kelly blue book almost always has higher prices for vehicles because they don't really take into account the actual real life problems people have with the car.

If you buy from a dealership, ask friends and family members which ones they got their car from. Always look up the dealer for better business bureau complaints. Try to make sure the Dealer you buy from has actually been in business for a long time. Not just the same location, but same name and business license for several years.

If you are going to finance a car, Try to work out a deal from your bank first, or through a credit union. Unless your credit is trash, They are always willing to finance for a lower APR.