Dd18 looking for first car.. egads!

[Night Elf]

Dd(almost 18) is ready to buy her first car. She wants to get a cheap starter car, which is awesome. But it's so hard to find something in her price range, less than $4000. This is going to be frustrating.

 

As Ellie says, That is All. :)

[AngieW in Texas]

There are a bunch of used cars available around here for around $3000. We're looking at getting a car for the kids to use. If I end up working this summer (distinct possibility), my oldest is going to need a car to get to her cc class. I'd also need her to drive her younger sister to her guitar lessons.

[elegantlion]

Ugh! that is one reason we're trying to keep my car to give to ds when he's 16. Even in 3 1/2 years it's going to be in better condition than anything he'd be able to afford at that point.

[Liz CA]

There are a bunch of used cars available around here for around $3000. We're looking at getting a car for the kids to use. If I end up working this summer (distinct possibility), my oldest is going to need a car to get to her cc class. I'd also need her to drive her younger sister to her guitar lessons.

 

Same here. There was even one for $1200 but we missed that opportunity. Never saw it other than pic on craig's list, odometer reading was 180xxx but it would have been fine as a starter car.

[Night Elf]

True, there are lots of cars in that price range, but they are all sold by small dealerships and private owners. It's just a scary thing because we're only used to dealing with a Honda dealership that my step-dad worked at and Carmax. All our car buying experiences have been pretty good. Well, I hated the Dodge Neon, but that wasn't the dealership's fault. The Honda dealership doesn't currently have any cars less than $4000, and neither does Carmax. I don't think they carry cars that cheap. At least there aren't any within a 250 mile radius of our zip code.

 

Because we aren't car people, we have to run a carfax on every possibility and take each one to our mechanic for inspection. We haven't asked a price yet, but I don't expect it to be under $50, and I'm wondering if it will be that cheap. We have 3 cars on our list so far. Carfax costs $45 for 5 reports, so if we look at more than 5 cars, that will cost another $45. It just seems like a lot of hassle and of course I'm terrified we'll get a car and it will fall apart in the first week.

 

We saw one car today that wasn't even cleaned up. It's at a small dealership that has 2 horrid reviews on a review site. I hate to listen to those reviews because I can't help but wonder how many people did like their deals. My dd18 works at a small restaurant that has 3 horrid reviews on the same site and the restaurant is fabulous. It's clean, the employees are nice, and the food is really good. So I am not sure if I should listento the bad reviews for the car sites. I haven't found a car site yet that doesn't have bad reviews. But what if we get a dud? It's just stressful. :( She's saved for quite a while and it's a lot of money.

[Liz CA]

 

Because we aren't car people, we have to run a carfax on every possibility and take each one to our mechanic for inspection. We haven't asked a price yet, but I don't expect it to be under $50, and I'm wondering if it will be that cheap. We have 3 cars on our list so far. Carfax costs $45 for 5 reports, so if we look at more than 5 cars, that will cost another $45. It just seems like a lot of hassle and of course I'm terrified we'll get a car and it will fall apart in the first week.

 

My dd18 works at a small restaurant that has 3 horrid reviews on the same site and the restaurant is fabulous. It's clean, the employees are nice, and the food is really good. So I am not sure if I should listen to the bad reviews for the car sites. I haven't found a car site yet that doesn't have bad reviews. But what if we get a dud? It's just stressful. :( She's saved for quite a while and it's a lot of money.

 

It's true that it ends up being a major purchase - even at $1500 when you have to add another $1000 or whatever into it in the first six months.

 

We never buy anything that our regular mechanic has not checked out and his fee for that is about $50.00 but he is also thorough...and he asks what do you want this car for. For instance, if it's supposed to be a family car that is going to run for years, or a car for my son who just needs to be able to get around to various jobs between classes. If a car like that does not last for years, it's okay because we have paid less.

 

Also, if you go with something that has a proven track record and the average miles that can be put on the vehicle are high, your chances are better - usually at least. We had a very bad experience with a Toyota

4Runner SR5 and now I don't want to even look at Toyotas anymore. :glare: But we had good luck with Volvos and Jeeps. :001_smile:

[May]

Start asking friends and relatives if they know anyone who wants to sell a car. We sold our Honda Accord to someone who asked my husband this question.

[Dana]

The Consumer Reports car issue also is very helpful with which cars/models are good to buy used and which are ones to avoid. We used it when buying all of our prior cars. And all our cars have been "beater" cars bought from individuals!

 

Good luck with it!

[SapphireStitch]

My daughter just bought her first car last week. She has been working for 1.5 years now and, fortunately, she has saved a lot of money.

 

In our area it seems to be very hard to find a decent, safe, used car below $4K. DH was afraid she would end up with something that would need constant repairs and suck up too much of her income in ongoing expenses.

 

She ended up spending quite a bit more than she planned (she had the $$, just didn't want to spend it) and got a 2000 Nissan Altima. I think with taxes and everything it was just over $7K. It has an extended warranty on it and fewer miles than most of the cars of similar age. I'm kind of holding my breath to see if it's going to be dependable. Our mechanic raved about Altimas and said they were great cars...so I hope he's right.

 

DH and I wonder if the used car market has been radically affected by the Cash For Clunkers program. IIRC, the "clunkers" that were traded in had to be destroyed...which would have taken quite a few cars out of the pool and perhaps bumped up the prices sellers can get for used cars.

[Guest ToGMom]

Just throwing this out there...I don't have any "real" advice for you...other than what others have already suggested.

 

*THE* reason that the car market is what it is right now is the "clunker program"...it has "killed" the used car market. Ask any car dealer and they will tell you this.

 

It's going to take YEARS to get decent, affordable used cars back in the market.

[Brigitte]

Let your mechanic know that you are looking and what you are looking for. He might know someone who is ready to sell. He would know how well the car had been maintained, too.

[Night Elf]

Let your mechanic know that you are looking and what you are looking for. He might know someone who is ready to sell. He would know how well the car had been maintained, too.

 

Yes, we thought of that. He promised to get in touch with us, but so far, nothing. But that would be excellent if he came through. :)

[twilkin]

I've found craig's list to be very helpful where we live.

[PentecostalMom]

Keep looking! We looked for months to find a car for our son that was around $2000. I simply was persistent. Also, don't be afraid to ask someone to come off the price.

 

As far as good cars, yes, Volvos are awesome. They are also expensive to maintain. I would stay away from anything European (Volvo, VW, Saab, etc.) and stay in the Japanese market (Toyota, Honda). They are well-made cars that are very cheap to maintain, as long as you stay up with the maintenance. (I took several college/ASE courses in mechanics and worked for Ford in their service department for several years).

 

Hope you find what you need, we have gotten great deals off of craigslit, just by asking for a lower price.

 

Good luck!

Michelle <><

[SproutMamaK]

We just bought a cheap little car for $3K - a Toyota Echo. They're nothing pretty, and they're BASIC (we got the deluxe model, which includes fantastic options like power steering, a CD player, and intermittent wipers, but still not power windows or doors ;)), but they are incredibly reliable. They're also much roomier than you would think from its' exterior. Read some reviews - these things hardly EVER break down, and if they do, they're cheap to fix. Civics are also a great option, but they're generally more expensive than an Echo because they don't look so strange. To an 18 year old, however, the look of a first car could be quite important.

 

I just wanted to make that recommendation! It's a great little car that often gets overlooked for some reason.