Need used car advice.

One of the conditions of me going back "home" (Moms house) is that I save enough money to buy a car when I get back.

I plan on saving between $1,500 and $2,000 by the time I leave in late Nov/Dec.

Now, I've been looking at some cars locally in Charlotte/Concord (where my Mom is) and there are seemingly a ton of used cars in that price range, so right now I'm pretty clueless as to what I want. So, that's where you guys come in . This is my first car, so what should I get? I'm looking for something that looks good, but is also very reliable and good on gas.

My grandfather was a mechanic for 40+ years, and knows the in's and out's and tricks of the trade, and will no doubt try to accompany me in my search for a car. I want to learn atleast a few reliable choices so he doesn't get on my case, lol.

I had a Honda Accord that was fun and decent on gas.

Honda Civic

Once again, Honda or Toyota. They're cheap, get decent gas mileage, and run forever with normal maintenance.

~Will Courtier~

Honda or Toyota obviously, but also consider a nice Ford Ranger. Those things are pretty durable, and easy / cheap as hell to work on. Plus it's a truck, which is alway handy to have even if you get another car later.

But whatever you buy here's a good tip - buy from someone you know who takes good care of their stuff. I have a few friends who are grease monkeys and their cars are always mint when the sell them. In some cases losing money on the sale because they insist on perfection. Hell, one of my buddies had a car crushed rather than sell it because it wasn't up to his standards...

And if no deal like that fall in your lap, take a mechanic with you. They can spot problems that auto pedestrians like you and I wouldn't see, and can save you a bunch of money down the road. Most will perform such a service for as little as a case of beer.

More of the same. Honda or Toyota.

In that price range however its no so much what car you find, but the condition its in. you WILL eventually find a steal if you’re willing to shop around, when I say shop around I mean seriously go look at like 50 cars.

It may seem crazy, but spend a couple days looks at ALL the cars you can of the models you like and purchase the least mileage, most taken care of one you can. And go over it with a fine tooth comb. It may seem a little ridiculous now on a $2000 car, but you’ll probably feel a lot worse if you buy the first one that comes up and have a 3K repair bill within’ the first month or two.

You CAN get a decent car in that range but you need to be fuckin’ picky. There are a few different people who get cars like that.:

Poor stupid people who by junky cars because its all they can afford and drive them into the ground because their idiots by nature(this is the majority unfortunately and why you will need to look at so many cars) I’m also going to lump the normy college kid/young person who needed a car but doesn’t know a thing about them into this category to, they might not abuse the car, but they won’t have done any repairs or possibly the proper maintenance to it either, any repairs will be the cheapest possible in most cases to.

Then there are the thrifty people. if could be someone who looked for the same things in a car you should be, found one and maintained it, Maybe it was a mechanic who got a great deal on the car and fixed it up to be their own. Maybe its old people who felt no need to sell their car because everything is mint on it(and don’t know what its worth ideally ) there are ton’s of scenarios out their, look for the right seller.

Don’t fool you’re self, Honda and Toyota made some solid fucking car’s in the early 90’s, but there are parts of cars that simply aren’t made to last forever. If mainted properly they will last a long time, but aproching 20 years old, unless you find one that was stored its whole life somehow, things are bound to be at their breaking point. Check the breaks, suspension, engine/transmission mounts, make sure the timing belt/chain has been done. Ideally you want a car where some of this stuff has recently be doon.

Also check the oil/belts/tires/fluids etc, the every day shit. It will give you a good feel of the level of care the previous owner gave the car.

If you have winter where you live, CHECK FOR BAD RUST. In the early 90’s the japan car manufactures were still using cheap recycled steel to keep costs down and they rust away to nothingness pretty easy if they aren’t taken care off. The dream would be to find one that was originally undercoated but that’s rare. Surfice rust is common and probably something you will have to except in that price range if you guys get serious winters, but make sure its nothing structural that’s going to compimize the safty of the chassie or render the car undrivable in the near future.


Lastly, I’ve helped a lot of friends get decent cheap rides well we were all in college, I know it can be kind of intimidating to check all this stuff and be laying on the ground looking at the undercarriage of a car inform of a seller(esp for $2000) so what I use to do was take the car for a test drive, if you’re interested based on that, pull it over and check this stuff on your own. But do make sure to do it, I’ve seen way to many people rush out to get cars like this and then end up spending thousands on repairs within’ the first year or 2, and then you’re stuck with a POS you’re 6 grand into and no one will even look at for $3000.


Best of luck let me know if you have any questions.

i agree with everyone else.

try to find a mid 90s honda civic.

what about ex government cars? you can usually pick those up for a grand or so, and they are maintained well by certified mechanics.

i agree on the economy car, what about a camry? i see tons of those for sale cheap, and they seem to hold together

Cool, thanks for writing all of that up I appreciate it.

Same with everyone else. I have a day off of work tomorrow so I'm gonna sit down and do some online research, probably AutoTrader.com or just look for used cars in Charlotte on Google.

Thanks again everyone