drefab5
I have a daughter, so I need a reliable car to get me from point a to b until I can save up enough to get something better. Does anyone know how I can look for cars around 1500...preferably less.
Answer
You are not give us much to work with. Your best bet is to shop and shop to get a MECHANICALLY great car, but with body that's all beat up. I drive such a car. Here in NYC, cars get beat up (the body) because everybody parks so closely. But my engine and tranny drives like news.
So these kinds of cars are CHEAP but will last another 100k miles (assuming you do your regular maintenance).
====
MSNBC had a news story on where is the best places to buy used cars. The used car dealers were on the BOTTOM of the list. They are pros at negotiations (and you and I are rank amateurs), they are pros at hiding problems on their cars, etc.
The private sales (newspaper, etc.) were the best places. The seller will not tell you all the problems, but they don't know how to hide them.
And a private seller are at MOST they are equal in negotiation skills to you and me.
====
Here's some rules you should consider when buying a used car
(1) don't get sold on the paint job = meaning cars having good exterior, fancy CD radio, etc.
(2) look for car with sound ENGINE + TRANNY + SUSPENSION.
(3) test every button, knob, switch, slider, etc.. Ex: even in the summer test out the heater & even in the winter test out the AC (if you can). Slide the AC/heater to fan1, fan2, fan3, etc. then slid the vent to defrost, front, bottom, etc. Test the high beam, low beam, etc. Test (flip) the visor. Test the alarm. Test all 4 doors. Test the rear defogger.
***** TEST EVERYTHING.
(4) BEFORE the first start, open the engine bay and see if the engine is already warmed up. Many engines starts well when already warmed up, but may have problems when cold (or cold start).
(5) test drive with the sound system off and window down. Listen for weird sound coming from the wheels & suspension.
(6) Look inside the engine bay to see if you can see see leaks, etc. It is normal to see some oil and grease. But too much means that the car is leaking oil somewhere. Too clean (really clean) means they just wash the engine bay - possibly hiding some oil leaks.
(7) check the engine oil dip stick. If the oil is BRAND NEW CLEAN, the seller MIGHT be hiding something. If the oil is jet black and /or smells like gasoline (or burnt), you might have engine problem).
(8) once you are satisfied with the above - you can NOW take it to the mechanic for the engine + tranny + suspension inspection. He won't find everything, but he will find the obvious. Take it to a mechanic EVEN if you are buying from a used car dealer. They cars are NO better than cars you buy from ebay and craigslist.com. Just more expensive.
good Luck...
1) Safety Ratings:
http://www.safercar.gov/
http://www.iihs.org/ratings/default.aspx
2) Reliability:
http://autos.msn.com/home/reliability_ra...
http://www.edmunds.com/apps/ratings/rati...
3) Fuel Economy:
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/sbs.htm
You are not give us much to work with. Your best bet is to shop and shop to get a MECHANICALLY great car, but with body that's all beat up. I drive such a car. Here in NYC, cars get beat up (the body) because everybody parks so closely. But my engine and tranny drives like news.
So these kinds of cars are CHEAP but will last another 100k miles (assuming you do your regular maintenance).
====
MSNBC had a news story on where is the best places to buy used cars. The used car dealers were on the BOTTOM of the list. They are pros at negotiations (and you and I are rank amateurs), they are pros at hiding problems on their cars, etc.
The private sales (newspaper, etc.) were the best places. The seller will not tell you all the problems, but they don't know how to hide them.
And a private seller are at MOST they are equal in negotiation skills to you and me.
====
Here's some rules you should consider when buying a used car
(1) don't get sold on the paint job = meaning cars having good exterior, fancy CD radio, etc.
(2) look for car with sound ENGINE + TRANNY + SUSPENSION.
(3) test every button, knob, switch, slider, etc.. Ex: even in the summer test out the heater & even in the winter test out the AC (if you can). Slide the AC/heater to fan1, fan2, fan3, etc. then slid the vent to defrost, front, bottom, etc. Test the high beam, low beam, etc. Test (flip) the visor. Test the alarm. Test all 4 doors. Test the rear defogger.
***** TEST EVERYTHING.
(4) BEFORE the first start, open the engine bay and see if the engine is already warmed up. Many engines starts well when already warmed up, but may have problems when cold (or cold start).
(5) test drive with the sound system off and window down. Listen for weird sound coming from the wheels & suspension.
(6) Look inside the engine bay to see if you can see see leaks, etc. It is normal to see some oil and grease. But too much means that the car is leaking oil somewhere. Too clean (really clean) means they just wash the engine bay - possibly hiding some oil leaks.
(7) check the engine oil dip stick. If the oil is BRAND NEW CLEAN, the seller MIGHT be hiding something. If the oil is jet black and /or smells like gasoline (or burnt), you might have engine problem).
(8) once you are satisfied with the above - you can NOW take it to the mechanic for the engine + tranny + suspension inspection. He won't find everything, but he will find the obvious. Take it to a mechanic EVEN if you are buying from a used car dealer. They cars are NO better than cars you buy from ebay and craigslist.com. Just more expensive.
good Luck...
1) Safety Ratings:
http://www.safercar.gov/
http://www.iihs.org/ratings/default.aspx
2) Reliability:
http://autos.msn.com/home/reliability_ra...
http://www.edmunds.com/apps/ratings/rati...
3) Fuel Economy:
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/sbs.htm
Why do US cars, now top Foreign Brands in Quality?
Q. It is now being reported that US cars, now top foreign cars in quality according to most general surveys. (see link). Question, "How do you think the US car makers managed to achieve this?" No trolls please! http://finance.yahoo.com/news/US-cars-toâ¦
It's amazing to watch people like Chris go ballistic just because someone asks a simple question that may seem to imply that Toyota has poor quality. Gee. I wonder if Chris drives a Toyota? LOL!
Here is another link to shoe US carmakers are beating Foreign cars.
http://editorial.autos.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1149477&icid=autos_0430>1=22009
It's amazing to watch people like Chris go ballistic just because someone asks a simple question that may seem to imply that Toyota has poor quality. Gee. I wonder if Chris drives a Toyota? LOL!
Here is another link to shoe US carmakers are beating Foreign cars.
http://editorial.autos.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1149477&icid=autos_0430>1=22009
Answer
Well, it is a partially inapropriate question only because all cars are foreign. Every car maker makes their cars from parts from other countries, or in other countries. If Toyota makes a car in the US, is it foreign? VW's are made in Mexico. The other part of this is that the companies all own eachother. There is actually only a small handful of car companies that each make many brands of cars.
As that probably is kind of sideways (although not unimportant or untrue) to your question, I will offer this.
A lot of trends has to do with production cycles. As a company, leaders have to decide how much money to put into research and development and quality control. Each of those things cost money, which reduce profits. It is a balance act of spending enough money in those areas to keep consumers happy (but only just enough). In the 70s-2000's, US automakers had a skewed version of reality. They didn't spend too much money on those areas because they were still making killer profits. Part of the problem was the "Buy American" ideal. With people buying American even though they were increasingly crappy products, automakers had no initiative to increase quality. Why should they have, they were still making money hand over fist, and pouring money into quality would have only taken it out of their own profits and hurt them as compared to their competition that wasn't 'wasting' money on that. The problem is that it caught up with them. Late 80's early 90's fewer people felt that the motivation of "buying American" wasn't enough of a justification to keep shelling out money for unreliable undesirable cars. Increasing fuel prices (partially from the '73 oil crisis) also helped people justify making the switch. They began buying foreign more. By the time the automakers started to feel the pinch, it was becoming too late to make a quick turn around. Most cars have a multiyear development time. If you wanted to take a new direction, it can be almost a decade before those cars start making enough production to make a difference. Forward to 2010, you are starting to see that effect now. Even though trends were heading down in the 80's, US car makers were slow to make changes, let alone drastic ones, so things didn't really start to happen until much later. That said, some makers didn't even make changes as of 2010, and that is why we saw several companies close.
The reason 'Foreign' cars seem to be lagging behind is because they are at a different point in their cycle. They had made reliable cars for a long time, so they began to trim R&D and reliabilty to increase their profit margin. Now that they are starting to get bit, they will probably make a shift back (but that will take quite a few years).
So that is what you are perceiving.
Well, it is a partially inapropriate question only because all cars are foreign. Every car maker makes their cars from parts from other countries, or in other countries. If Toyota makes a car in the US, is it foreign? VW's are made in Mexico. The other part of this is that the companies all own eachother. There is actually only a small handful of car companies that each make many brands of cars.
As that probably is kind of sideways (although not unimportant or untrue) to your question, I will offer this.
A lot of trends has to do with production cycles. As a company, leaders have to decide how much money to put into research and development and quality control. Each of those things cost money, which reduce profits. It is a balance act of spending enough money in those areas to keep consumers happy (but only just enough). In the 70s-2000's, US automakers had a skewed version of reality. They didn't spend too much money on those areas because they were still making killer profits. Part of the problem was the "Buy American" ideal. With people buying American even though they were increasingly crappy products, automakers had no initiative to increase quality. Why should they have, they were still making money hand over fist, and pouring money into quality would have only taken it out of their own profits and hurt them as compared to their competition that wasn't 'wasting' money on that. The problem is that it caught up with them. Late 80's early 90's fewer people felt that the motivation of "buying American" wasn't enough of a justification to keep shelling out money for unreliable undesirable cars. Increasing fuel prices (partially from the '73 oil crisis) also helped people justify making the switch. They began buying foreign more. By the time the automakers started to feel the pinch, it was becoming too late to make a quick turn around. Most cars have a multiyear development time. If you wanted to take a new direction, it can be almost a decade before those cars start making enough production to make a difference. Forward to 2010, you are starting to see that effect now. Even though trends were heading down in the 80's, US car makers were slow to make changes, let alone drastic ones, so things didn't really start to happen until much later. That said, some makers didn't even make changes as of 2010, and that is why we saw several companies close.
The reason 'Foreign' cars seem to be lagging behind is because they are at a different point in their cycle. They had made reliable cars for a long time, so they began to trim R&D and reliabilty to increase their profit margin. Now that they are starting to get bit, they will probably make a shift back (but that will take quite a few years).
So that is what you are perceiving.
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