[Courage Reborn]

Not for me. One of my girls is in the market. She has;

$4000 savings
Credit score in the mid 600's
A 9-5 job, which after she pays rent & expenses, is left with zero, to a couple hundred bucks depending on the month.

A $300 per month new car payment isn't gonna work for her financial situation, so I suggested she buy used. Still, that's gonna eat most of her savings.

Should she take out an auto loan (which bank)? Pay all cash? What's the best move?

[pheonix500000]

(01-22-2014 12:41 AM)Courage Reborn Wrote:  

Not for me. One of my girls is in the market. She has;

$4000 savings
Credit score in the mid 600's
A 9-5 job, which after she pays rent & expenses, is left with zero, to a couple hundred bucks depending on the month.

A $300 per month new car payment isn't gonna work for her financial situation, so I suggested she buy used. Still, that's gonna eat most of her savings.

Should she take out an auto loan (which bank)? Pay all cash? What's the best move?

El mech would handle this

[CaliforniaSupreme]

I'd pick up an old Asian car for that price, Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla, etc. No use falling under debt for a low amount.
Something similar to this would be perfect.
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/cto...07066.html


$4000 savings- ain't much
Credit score in the mid 600's- not very good, not terribly awful, difficult
A 9-5 job, which after she pays rent & expenses, is left with zero, to a couple hundred bucks depending on the month.- she isn't in a stable position to make more payments, I highly advise against taking a loan out in this circumstance

You have to consider that she is going to have to pay for the car, taxes, gas, insurance, license/registration, maintenance, unexpected costs, etc. Using up all her savings isn't a smart idea; neither is getting in a loan. She's going to be under a lot of pressure if she gets a loan, and the terms will probably be ridiculous anyways. In terms of high mileage vehicles, Japanese vehicles stand the test of time.

[paninaro]

Because of her credit score and unstable free cashflow, she would pretty much need to buy a car in cash.

If her score were higher and cashflow was more stable, I'd recommend a "certified" used car where the manufacturer is offering financing specials. You can get artificially low rates that way.

[commiejoe]

just get an old used one, mid 90's toyota corolla should be fine, easy to fix.
or go to an auction and get a fleet car.

[OMYG]

Try craigslist, most people that post ads there might offer a little too much but do research on the car and the estimated prices, look at the blue book. Also you can always haggle.
When you go check out the car I do recommend you take some one that knows about cars or if you do yourself fine. You want to make sure it has no serious problems that might end up costing you some money down the road. Look for cars with clean titles not salvaged.

[The Beast1]

x2 on Craigslist.

You could get an older Benz for that price that runs well and looks good. I used to own an old Benz and depending on the mileage you can get a problem free 150-200k car that will go at least another 100k before the rubber components start to wear out.

[DJ-Matt]

I love "cheap and usable" myself (for my second car). I already have a nice Jeep Wrangler and am shopping for my second car. Taking that top up and down when it rains is a bitch.

Your local state surplus (if you leave near the capital) or other government agencies often auction or sell their old vehicles for dirt cheap. They usually know about the flaws of the vehicle so you have a good idea of what you're buying. My state surplus lets you start and fiddle with but not drive. This won't point out any serious tranny problems but you can at least find out if it shifts into gear and smoothly. Some of these vehicles have REALLY low miles too. I'm considering biting on one right now, an Astro cargo van with only 84k that is cheap.

Tow lot auto auctions. Kansas City is full of these, but more than with the gov't surplus vehicles you need to know enough about cars to spot any major flaws without a lot of diagnostic tools.

In both cases you're rolling the dice a little, but I haven't been burned by a gov't car yet. The tow lot Jeep Cherokee I bought for $800 had a split radiator hose so I had to fix that in the lot before driving it off, but other than that it worked out great, and I flipped it for $1800 later on when I wanted another car.

[samsamsam]

Cash offers some buying power that credit won't. I agree with CL. I sometimes search on words like "must sell" "deal" "steal" granted some of that is just marketing.

1) Just be willing to walk away if you don't get your price
2) Her considerations must also include maintenance and insurance - I agree with the corolla/civic approach - well built and can last for years
3) May sound like a terrible idea - but look for cars with dents, depends how picky your girl is - use that as leverage to drive the price down - when things get better she can fix it
4) Consider salvage but get it checkd out - some cars get totalled by the insurance company but did not suffer real damage - some cars get salvaged because they got fucked up - but once again it is a negotiating point
5) Carfax and mechanic inspection - unless you know about cars - use any issues as negotiating points
6) CR - I think you're a sharp guy - but one more thing is, obviously, not to sign anything for her. Just trying to be helpful.

Good luck

[CaliforniaSupreme]

Don't go with old German cars, they can be reliable but if the maintenance was half-ass she's toast. Salvage is OK to consider at a serious discount- make sure everything was repaired perfectly, ask for pictures of the repairs and damage, plus have it inspected. It could be nothing too serious all the way to being a dangerous vehicle.

Other suggestions are non patrol/taxi decommissioned Ford Crown Victorias and the late 90's model Jeep Cherokee. Both aren't amazing on gas but the Crown Vic can be purchased dirt cheap and the Cherokee is relatively bulletproof and easy to fix. Detective or other non-patrol, heavy abuse vehicles are OK, but steer clear from heavily-driven and abused patrol cars. You can spot the 2-tone paint as a giveaway, wiring for lights, etc.

[Pizdetz]

Have her get a cheap lease on one of the new Japanses/Korean cars. Usually under $200 with little $$ down. Her credit is average, but they will do the deal now. It's a new year and they are hungry. Plus it will build her credit.

Do not get anything used, even with warranty.
Any major breakdown and she will nail it to your ass.

Good Luck!

[Screwston]

Man just get a Civic for a few thousand and give it a tune up, new tires, etc with the extra she'll have left over. I don't know why people are recommending jeeps, benzs and crown victorias for a female. Expensive to keep up, will have more problems, and she WILL go over curbs and fuck up the body in stupid ways.

[Professor Fox]

(01-22-2014 09:43 PM)Pizdetz Wrote:  

Have her get a cheap lease on one of the new Japanses/Korean cars. Usually under $200 with little $$ down. Her credit is average, but they will do the deal now. It's a new year and they are hungry. Plus it will build her credit.

Do not get anything used, even with warranty.
Any major breakdown and she will nail it to your ass.

Good Luck!

I support this idea. Cheap Corolla/Civic. Mid level trim. No money down lease. Build credit, trouble free car, dealer service, next to nonexistent hassle.

Don't buy used German products unless you are mechanically inclined, have tools, or have money to donate to your local independent foreign shop. Since this is a girl you're helping, if anything goes wrong with the car she'll blame you forever for it. Don't fall for the trap, get her to buy something bulletproof and inexpensive.

[CaliforniaSupreme]

Civic LX Sedan lease (base model, with AT)
$180/month
$0 down (~$700 for paperwork, license, registration, etc. at dealer)
36 months
12k miles a year, $0.15 per extra mileage over allotted
Offer from a large dealership in Ca.

$180 x 36= $6480
$6480+$700=$7180
$7180 x 0.1 (~ for tax)= $718
$7180+$718= Near $8000 for the car
She has $4,000 in savings and little/no budget for a lease
Extend the term, it'll get cheaper but she's stuck with it for that long, plus she may end up with negative equity somehow.
My advice is not to lease

[RockHard]

Guys above are giving solid advice. Buy what she can with cash. Don't have to limit to the Corolla/Civic either, Kia and Hyundai have got good reliability records lately. I'm about to get rid of my Camry and I've always been disappointed with the interior - stuff like the panel where the window switches started coming loose and there's no way to fix it. The interior overall has been a disappointment even though overall it's been reliable.

I'm out looking at used cars right now myself. Is it me, or are they a lot more expensive? It seems like you just don't get much discount for used. I'm looking at SUVs like the Explorer, Pilot or Highlander - Pilot for example lists at 42K for a top end model, but stuff coming off lease is selling for about 36K with 30K miles. That's about $2,000 for 10K miles, and it seems to keep depreciating around that rate. You get a bigger drop down when the thing gets past 60K miles and the manufacturers warranties start expiring.

[Virtus]

Fix the credit. will take 6 months - 1 year. get banks to want to give her money. should happen around 700 mark.

buy a 2011-2013 crashed car (worth 25-30) with a clean title off craigslist for 4000

call those banks that already gave you good credit cards (those that offer $5000 cards on good terms)

ask them to refinance your car on a title. they will put 30k into your checking account at 3%

buy a car and invest into something

[Hotwheels]

(01-24-2014 11:36 AM)RockHard Wrote:  

Guys above are giving solid advice. Buy what she can with cash. Don't have to limit to the Corolla/Civic either, Kia and Hyundai have got good reliability records lately. I'm about to get rid of my Camry and I've always been disappointed with the interior - stuff like the panel where the window switches started coming loose and there's no way to fix it. The interior overall has been a disappointment even though overall it's been reliable.

Finally someone that isn't completely fallating the imports.

As others have said, stay the fuck away from German cars as maintenance will be expensive.

My own advice would be anything GM that has a 3800 V6. Grand Prixs, La Crosse's, Impala's, etc. Reliable as hell and get good mileage while not being a little shitbox. Should be able to get a good example between 2 and 3 grand.

[samsamsam]

(01-24-2014 12:22 PM)Hotwheels Wrote:  

Finally someone that isn't completely fallating the imports.

LOL.

[Cincinnatus]

How has a thread about cars got this far without an appearance by our forum's trusty Greek mechanic?

[CaliforniaSupreme]

(01-24-2014 12:22 PM)Hotwheels Wrote:  

(01-24-2014 11:36 AM)RockHard Wrote:  

Guys above are giving solid advice. Buy what she can with cash. Don't have to limit to the Corolla/Civic either, Kia and Hyundai have got good reliability records lately. I'm about to get rid of my Camry and I've always been disappointed with the interior - stuff like the panel where the window switches started coming loose and there's no way to fix it. The interior overall has been a disappointment even though overall it's been reliable.

Finally someone that isn't completely fallating the imports.

As others have said, stay the fuck away from German cars as maintenance will be expensive.

My own advice would be anything GM that has a 3800 V6. Grand Prixs, La Crosse's, Impala's, etc. Reliable as hell and get good mileage while not being a little shitbox. Should be able to get a good example between 2 and 3 grand.

Reliable as hell? Lol.

[Mujeriego]

There was another thread on the subject where a member suggested going to the local military bases. Evidently there's usually a lot where service members have cars for sale to due to deployments or base reassignments. Sweet deals can be had due to most of them wanting to sell asap.