Buying a second hand car........advice?

[williamssam81]

Hi Friends.

Some nice fellow has recently plowed into the back of my car while i was waiting at a red light. His car was a nice big SUV. My car, while functioning perfectly, is now considered a writeoff which is quite irritating.

As a result im starting to think about buying a new (well, second hand) car. I probably have a budget of 5g's which i know aint much, but yeah, quite poor atm. A mid 90s corolla is what comes to mind at the moment. The problem is, im not really experienced in this area as my last car was bought off a family friend.

Any of you guys ever gone private? Used car dealerships? Other? Had any luck with private? What things have you done to ensure the car aint going to fall apart? Yeah pretty much screwed without a car so i need to get the ball rolling on this kinda soon. Any help is very much appreciated.

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[hatedonmostly 5,000+ posts]

Buy a $500 Ford Pinto

Spend the other $4500 on teh audioz

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

 

[loudcartunez 10+ year member]

buy mine >>>. http://www.caraudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=442394

 

[Upgrayedd 10+ year member]

90+ accord with an f22. As long as the timing belt is changed when it is supposed to be, they will not die. After he wrecked it, a friend purposely neglected his just to see how long it would last. in 3 years it maybe saw 4 oil changes. The tcu had an issue that would not let it go past 2nd a handful of times. He would drive on the highway in 2nd. timing belt had close to 90k on it. What ended up killing it was he let someone borrow it, a ****** cooler line popped off. They drove it until it would not move, added just enough fluid to get it back to him (about a 20 mile trip). The fluid was topped off and the ****** finally gave out about 4 months later. This car was also used to pull and push cars. It was ABUSED. If it can last like this with almost about 60k of pure abuse (car has ~170k on it) Imagine what it will do if taken care of.

This is the actual car.

^Legend

 

[RJesus 10+ year member]

typically hondas and toyotas are over priced because of their popularity.

Personally, when I was looking for my first car, I did about 6 months of research while watching the market and judging the values of cars. Eventually I decided that Mazda was the best bang for the buck car.

I bought a 2002 mazda protege w/ 90,000 miles on it for $4700 usd.

Right now it has about 110k miles and I haven't had any problems.

Basically, my best advice would be to look on craigslist or a similar site for your area and find a used car in good condition for a good price. As long as its anyone of the following brands / models:

acura, honda, toyota, hyunday, kia, mazda, 2004 ford focus and up, ford zx2 escort, chevy caviler, and there are some more but the above mentioned are some of the best.

the zx2 escort can be had for incredibly cheap, and is, for the price, a great car. Its something you'll spend some time on fixing small things though.

mazdas are amazing //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

acura is made by honda, its the more expensive brand name basically.

kia is made by hyundai, pretty much just a more expensive brand name.

chevy caviler is a 'no thrills' type of car. Its not spectacular in any way, its just a straight up reliable-get me from point a to b- type car. power windows and AC are OPTIONAL for this model chevy...

ford started using mazda engines in 2004, and after that year, for some unknown reason, ford's cars started receiving incredible reviews.

Mazdas are 'peppy' cars. Not the best mpg, take turns well, have more torque than comparable hondas and toyotas. However, if you drive slowly (under 45 mph) you will get better gas milage than its rated for. After that it starts to go down.

I drive 40 mph and I typically get 33 mpg, the most I've gotten was 36

 

[bigaudiofanati2 10+ year member]

Honda's and Toyota's are pricey BECAUSE THEY HOLD VALUE. Rather than a gm car or ford.

By my honda!!

http://www.caraudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=428048

 

[Upgrayedd 10+ year member]

typically hondas and toyotas are over priced because of their popularity.
Personally, when I was looking for my first car, I did about 6 months of research while watching the market and judging the values of cars. Eventually I decided that Mazda was the best bang for the buck car.

I bought a 2002 mazda protege w/ 90,000 miles on it for $4700 usd.

Right now it has about 110k miles and I haven't had any problems.

Basically, my best advice would be to look on craigslist or a similar site for your area and find a used car in good condition for a good price. As long as its anyone of the following brands / models:

acura, honda, toyota, hyunday, kia, mazda, 2004 ford focus and up, ford zx2 escort, chevy caviler, and there are some more but the above mentioned are some of the best.

the zx2 escort can be had for incredibly cheap, and is, for the price, a great car. Its something you'll spend some time on fixing small things though.

mazdas are amazing //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

acura is made by honda, its the more expensive brand name basically.

kia is made by hyundai, pretty much just a more expensive brand name.

chevy caviler is a 'no thrills' type of car. Its not spectacular in any way, its just a straight up reliable-get me from point a to b- type car. power windows and AC are OPTIONAL for this model chevy...

ford started using mazda engines in 2004, and after that year, for some unknown reason, ford's cars started receiving incredible reviews.

Mazdas are 'peppy' cars. Not the best mpg, take turns well, have more torque than comparable hondas and toyotas. However, if you drive slowly (under 45 mph) you will get better gas milage than its rated for. After that it starts to go down.

I drive 40 mph and I typically get 33 mpg, the most I've gotten was 36

As a tech I disagree with you slightly. Honda and toyota vehicles, despite the hype, are slightly better vehicles. This is more true mid 90s and back as anymore cars IMO are on a much more level playing field. Some of the cars you mentioned are cheap for a reason. While not terrible the zx2 vct is a problematic design that is VERY costly to fix when it goes out. The older escorts with the 1.9 and mazda 1.8 were solid. Cavaliers are sure no frills but IMO the motors worth having are the 2.2 iron ohv that is terribly under powered, and the ecotec but that is on newer vehicles. The 2.4dohc is not that great ( have one). They get sad mileage and have chain issues and for someone that isnt an mechanically inclined, they are not cheap to maintain.

Another honorable mention is a nissan maxima of any year. I am on my 2nd a32 (95-99) they are cheap and easily handle high miles. Last one had 210k when I sold it and my current has 190k. Biggest $$ if you get high mileage is a water pump because it is best to do atleast the rear timing guide and tensioner when you do the pump.

 

[plugitin 5,000+ posts]

typically hondas and toyotas are over priced because of their popularity.
Personally, when I was looking for my first car, I did about 6 months of research while watching the market and judging the values of cars. Eventually I decided that Mazda was the best bang for the buck car.

I bought a 2002 mazda protege w/ 90,000 miles on it for $4700 usd.

Right now it has about 110k miles and I haven't had any problems.

Basically, my best advice would be to look on craigslist or a similar site for your area and find a used car in good condition for a good price. As long as its anyone of the following brands / models:

acura, honda, toyota, hyunday, kia, mazda, 2004 ford focus and up, ford zx2 escort, chevy caviler, and there are some more but the above mentioned are some of the best.

the zx2 escort can be had for incredibly cheap, and is, for the price, a great car. Its something you'll spend some time on fixing small things though.

mazdas are amazing //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

acura is made by honda, its the more expensive brand name basically.

kia is made by hyundai, pretty much just a more expensive brand name.

chevy caviler is a 'no thrills' type of car. Its not spectacular in any way, its just a straight up reliable-get me from point a to b- type car. power windows and AC are OPTIONAL for this model chevy...

ford started using mazda engines in 2004, and after that year, for some unknown reason, ford's cars started receiving incredible reviews.

Mazdas are 'peppy' cars. Not the best mpg, take turns well, have more torque than comparable hondas and toyotas. However, if you drive slowly (under 45 mph) you will get better gas milage than its rated for. After that it starts to go down.

I drive 40 mph and I typically get 33 mpg, the most I've gotten was 36

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif

no...they are priced high because they last forever. Basic transportation, and thats it. My 93 toyota truck has 170k on her and doesnt miss a beat. I have a 94 Toyota truck with 220k on her and she runs great.

It does **** that they are priced so high, but, in the end they would be worth it.

 

[Upgrayedd 10+ year member]

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif
no...they are priced high because they last forever. Basic transportation, and thats it. My 93 toyota truck has 170k on her and doesnt miss a beat. I have a 94 Toyota truck with 220k on her and she runs great.

It does **** that they are priced so high, but, in the end they would be worth it.

Those trucks hold their value so well. The 22r is an amazing motor. The v6 is ok but I really dont recall ever seeing a blown 22r.

 

[hatedonmostly 5,000+ posts]

Any car can last if it's taken care of. My truck has 124K on it and I haven't had any problems since I got it 16K ago.

I love putting miles on it, because I want to see how long it will last. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[nastyaudioman 10+ year member]

I love how people say toyota makes better and more reliable engines. Obviously many people did not know that in the 80's and 90's that GM used toyota engines haha. Boy were they a piece of shit too.

Ford inline 6 300 / baddest most reliable engine EVAR.

 

[bigaudiofanati2 10+ year member]

So what are you smoking today audioman?

 

[Upgrayedd 10+ year member]

I love how people say toyota makes better and more reliable engines. Obviously many people did not know that in the 80's and 90's that GM used toyota engines haha. Boy were they a piece of shit too.
Ford inline 6 300 / baddest most reliable engine EVAR.

Those cars are hardly GM. The prism is straight up a corolla. The spectrum and sprint were also straight up import cars. What true GM uses a toyota motor?

 

[Upgrayedd 10+ year member]

Ford inline 6 300 / baddest most reliable engine EVAR.

I somewhat agree. When oil pan rust is the most common failure, you are doing good.

 

[plugitin 5,000+ posts]

Those trucks hold their value so well. The 22r is an amazing motor. The v6 is ok but I really dont recall ever seeing a blown 22r.

the 22re is one of the most reliable engines EVER. The 3vze (6 cylinder) is alright, but the major design flaw is the headgasket on it. The 22re does have drawbacks too...the timing chain guides wear through after awhile, and if you dont know what your doing, the chain can wear into the case. Easy fix with metal backed guides though. I love toyota's, and i have many of them...favorite being my 86 4runner 22re turbo //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

I love how people say toyota makes better and more reliable engines. Obviously many people did not know that in the 80's and 90's that GM used toyota engines haha. Boy were they a piece of shit too.

Ford inline 6 300 / baddest most reliable engine EVAR.

huh? you dont know what you be talkin bout foo