should i buy a used car for $700?
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 .
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