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should i buy a used car for $700?

December 23rd, 2012 Leave a comment Go to comments

i really need a vehicle to move around, especially for commuting to and from school. i saw a few cars for $700-$900 on craiglist and ebay. i know they are not gonna be a smooth ride, but i need something asap. i cant afford anything more than 1000$. any personal experiences?

yes that is a tough price range, and the only way to tell if it is a jewel or a turd is to go test drive it. You can take what the owner says with a grain of salt, but the real test is the test drive. I always try to test drive used cars when cold. (after sitting overnight) Check the oil to make sure it is oil, (if its a quart low when you check, its burning oil, most likely, or if you see a couple of oil cans in the trunk. Check the transmission fluid to see if it is a pinkish color, (this is good) and sniff the fluid (old mechanics trick) the fluid should not be black and smell burnt, if it is, walk away.
Start it up, if should start easily, and within 5 to 10 seconds smooth into a high idle. There should be no loud bangs or clanging sounds, and no rattles and no big clouds of smoke. Give it a minute or two to warm up for oil circulation, then drive it like you stole it. A used car that runs,drives , and stops good cold may not be in too bad of shape. It should be able to get up to freeway speeds easily (55) and I like to take at least a 30 to 40 minute test drive. I like cars owned by older adults, they usually have nicer stuff, a good income, and take care of their vehicles well, and do not drive the pee out of them. A young adult, usually is a lot harder on the vehicle, and will try to unload a car after it gets a lot of miles on it.
The problem is you have to be patient to find a good used car, which of course is not easy, especially if you need a car, Sometimes you have to be creative, to find a good car, I have asked people to meet me somewhere near my like a shopping center if I could not find a ride, (and this tells you something about the owner too, in a way as far as confidence that thier car will make it there and back. I have had people ask me to bring a car I had for sale, and I did, and they bought it, So sometimes it works out. In the end, its a used car, patience is the key believe it or not, as for crappy cars, after you hop in and out of a few, you can almost drive one around the block, and know its junk, things like broken switches, bad brakes, a miss in the engine, busted taillight, wierd dents (THAT ARE FIST SHAPED, AND WAIST HIGH) these are all clues on what kind of care a vehicle had. Here is a website that can give you more information on looking for used cars, www.samarins.com has tons of info, its free, and there is a used car review section that can give you some car repair statistics. also www.nada.com is a price guide, it has a consumer section that is free, and you can price older cars in the classic section .

  1. Happy Gramps
    December 23rd, 2012 at 05:45 | #1

    Anything that cheap will either be non existant, or will not be in running condition; even if it does run, it would need work to be smogged + cragslist is well known for false ads
    References :

  2. Racer X
    December 23rd, 2012 at 05:53 | #2

    You sound like you already know what you’re going to get for less than $1000. It’s not going to pretty – but depending on what brand you buy you could be ok.

    From experience look for an older Honda – they’re reliable. And if it does break down, it’ll be easy and cheap to fix.

    Good luck!
    References :

  3. Matthew M
    December 23rd, 2012 at 06:21 | #3

    Out on somebody’s yard, maybe. Over the internet, I do not think so, because there is a pretty good chance that they maybe trying to rip you off.
    References :

  4. dick car guy
    December 23rd, 2012 at 06:37 | #4

    yes that is a tough price range, and the only way to tell if it is a jewel or a turd is to go test drive it. You can take what the owner says with a grain of salt, but the real test is the test drive. I always try to test drive used cars when cold. (after sitting overnight) Check the oil to make sure it is oil, (if its a quart low when you check, its burning oil, most likely, or if you see a couple of oil cans in the trunk. Check the transmission fluid to see if it is a pinkish color, (this is good) and sniff the fluid (old mechanics trick) the fluid should not be black and smell burnt, if it is, walk away.
    Start it up, if should start easily, and within 5 to 10 seconds smooth into a high idle. There should be no loud bangs or clanging sounds, and no rattles and no big clouds of smoke. Give it a minute or two to warm up for oil circulation, then drive it like you stole it. A used car that runs,drives , and stops good cold may not be in too bad of shape. It should be able to get up to freeway speeds easily (55) and I like to take at least a 30 to 40 minute test drive. I like cars owned by older adults, they usually have nicer stuff, a good income, and take care of their vehicles well, and do not drive the pee out of them. A young adult, usually is a lot harder on the vehicle, and will try to unload a car after it gets a lot of miles on it.
    The problem is you have to be patient to find a good used car, which of course is not easy, especially if you need a car, Sometimes you have to be creative, to find a good car, I have asked people to meet me somewhere near my like a shopping center if I could not find a ride, (and this tells you something about the owner too, in a way as far as confidence that thier car will make it there and back. I have had people ask me to bring a car I had for sale, and I did, and they bought it, So sometimes it works out. In the end, its a used car, patience is the key believe it or not, as for crappy cars, after you hop in and out of a few, you can almost drive one around the block, and know its junk, things like broken switches, bad brakes, a miss in the engine, busted taillight, wierd dents (THAT ARE FIST SHAPED, AND WAIST HIGH) these are all clues on what kind of care a vehicle had. Here is a website that can give you more information on looking for used cars, http://www.samarins.com has tons of info, its free, and there is a used car review section that can give you some car repair statistics. also http://www.nada.com is a price guide, it has a consumer section that is free, and you can price older cars in the classic section .
    References :

  5. Lee G
    December 23rd, 2012 at 07:05 | #5

    As long as it’s in decent shape, you might be able to find an old GM full size car (Chevy Caprice through 1990, Oldsmobile 88 and Buick LeSabre through 1985) that have generally bulletproof drivetrains. A bunch of other stuff on it may not be pretty, but the engines and chassis on them are pretty solid.
    References :

  6. Tomer Zazkis
    December 23rd, 2012 at 07:20 | #6

    Its fine if you have some mechanical knowledge and you plan to drive the car into the ground. I would definitely check the vehicle history first . CARFAX is a ripoff. I always use CHEAPVINSEARCH.COM. They are a relatively new site so not too many people know about them, but I think they are just a reseller of autocheck. But it only costs 9.99 and if you are spending a couple thousand on a car its def worth it. You might to get the car checked out by a mechanic for 200 dollars this could save you a lot of money in the future.
    References :

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