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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[manny1337 10+ year member]

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

haha wow go dig up your *** some more you might find some cool facts like that. toyotas and hondas cost more because they are more dependable and longer lasting than any other american car //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[manny1337 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.

yeah on the 80s chevy nova and some geos, and btw those engines were soild, so what are you talking about? LOLZ its rare to see a gm or ford get up too 300k ive seen quite a few toyotas do it though. ha i remember my ex's impala threw a rod at 130k. the reason they went bankrupt //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[plugitin 5,000+ posts]

yeah on the 80s chevy nova and some geos, and btw those engines were soild, so what are you talking about? LOLZ its rare to see a gm or ford get up too 300k ive seen quite a few toyotas do it though. ha i remember my ex's impala threw a rod at 130k. the reason they went bankrupt //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

lulz

Sorry, but seeing the design of many things on mid 90's chevys and fords, compared to my toyotas is ridiculous. Toyota's are so simple, easy to work on and easy to troubleshoot.

 

[Upgrayedd 10+ year member]

LOLZ its rare to see a gm or ford get up too 300k ive seen quite a few toyotas do it though. ha i remember my ex's impala threw a rod at 130k. the reason they went bankrupt //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

You cant blame build quality for lack of maintenance. The only real flaw in the 60# motors is the intake gaskets. If this lets go long enough it can put coolant in the oil, killing bearings. The 3800 had the plastic intake issue but isnt bad. I have seen many of them in the 200-300k range.

 

[plugitin 5,000+ posts]

You cant blame build quality for lack of maintenance. The only real flaw in the 60# motors is the intake gaskets. If this lets go long enough it can put coolant in the oil, killing bearings. The 3800 had the plastic intake issue but isnt bad. I have seen many of them in the 200-300k range.

90% of people know nothing of the plastic intake gaskets used...that is why those motors are not good in most peoples eyes.

i agree that they should of used a different material though

 

[FurbiesAndBeans 10+ year member]

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

Yes it can last as long if you take care of it, but you can't abuse it at all. You have to granny it the whole time. Watch these videos to see how well Toyotas hold up //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif Tell me of any american car that will hold up to that abuse and still run

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lrk6vsb77xk

 

[Upgrayedd 10+ year member]

There should have been a recall. Dexcool was the other issue.

 

[plugitin 5,000+ posts]

Yes it can last as long if you take care of it, but you can't abuse it at all. You have to granny it the whole time. Watch these videos to see how well Toyotas hold up //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif Tell me of any american car that will hold up to that abuse and still run
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lrk6vsb77xk

ahaha...yes, killing the toyota truck

dex cool was/is horrible

 

[manny1337 10+ year member]

dont get me wrong the 3800 was a good engine, mom had one go to 270, only gm i ever saw with such highmilage, and to this Sorry, but seeing the design of many things on mid 90's chevys and fords, compared to my toyotas is ridiculous. Toyota's are so simple, easy to work on and easy to troubleshoot. i dont know what youre trying to get at lol. i own a toyota and i love it too.

 

[Upgrayedd 10+ year member]

dont get me wrong the 3800 was a good engine, mom had one go to 270, only gm i ever saw with such highmilage, and to this Sorry, but seeing the design of many things on mid 90's chevys and fords, compared to my toyotas is ridiculous. Toyota's are so simple, easy to work on and easy to troubleshoot. i dont know what youre trying to get at lol. i own a toyota and i love it too.

I agree. 80s-late 90s was not the best time for GM. There were some exceptions. Trucks were good, v8s, 4.3,2.5, and 3800 were all great engines. Not all spectacular with output. Iron duke was pitiful with output, but you have to try to hurt them.

 

[manny1337 10+ year member]

the gm 4.3 vortec is a very very strong engine, in one of our work vans but... there transmissions are horrible //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[RJesus 10+ year member]

When you consider nothing buy the engine, yes toyota and honda have a clear superiority over mazda and most other competitors.

Even though the engine will last well over 200k miles, a number of other parts start to fail after that many years have passed. My brother has a 1994 acura with 250k miles on it. But the window motors are long gone, sunroof motor has seen better days, rear windsheild wiper doesn't move, plus a long list of other small problems.

When choosing between a super reliable toyota from the early 90's, or a lesser, but still reliable mazda from the early 00's, I'd go with the newer car.

a 2002 mazda vs a 2002 toyota, at the same price, of course the toyota is the better choice. But when you realize that your paying almost twice as much for a car thats 10 years older, you start to question whether or not your getting a better deal by going with what everyone else sees as the most reliable car on the market.

Demand increases prices. Everyone is flocking towards toyotas and hondas. So if you think about it, the price of toyotas and hondas are going to climb, while the price of other cars that are not as well known are going to drop. So go for the 3rd best option, not the first.

 

[RJesus 10+ year member]

haha wow go dig up your *** some more you might find some cool facts like that. toyotas and hondas cost more because they are more dependable and longer lasting than any other american car //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

demand raises price //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/fyi.gif.9f1f679348da7204ce960cfc74bca8e0.gif

simple economics.

Yes they're great cars, but compared to others, their price is inflated.

 

[manny1337 10+ year member]

there price is "inflated" becuase you get so much more out of it. its like buying candy at the store, you can buy the reg size for 75 cents, oh or you can go king size and get double the candy for 25 cents more. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif any car with highmilage is going to have problems plain and simple.

 

[plugitin 5,000+ posts]

When you consider nothing buy the engine, yes toyota and honda have a clear superiority over mazda and most other competitors.
Even though the engine will last well over 200k miles, a number of other parts start to fail after that many years have passed. My brother has a 1994 acura with 250k miles on it. But the window motors are long gone, sunroof motor has seen better days, rear windsheild wiper doesn't move, plus a long list of other small problems.

When choosing between a super reliable toyota from the early 90's, or a lesser, but still reliable mazda from the early 00's, I'd go with the newer car.

a 2002 mazda vs a 2002 toyota, at the same price, of course the toyota is the better choice. But when you realize that your paying almost twice as much for a car thats 10 years older, you start to question whether or not your getting a better deal by going with what everyone else sees as the most reliable car on the market.

Demand increases prices. Everyone is flocking towards toyotas and hondas. So if you think about it, the price of toyotas and hondas are going to climb, while the price of other cars that are not as well known are going to drop. So go for the 3rd best option, not the first.

that is why i would pick a toyota or honda with manual windows, no sunroof, and a manual ******.