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Commuter Car buying help

K

kia75

Senior member
This forum doesn't seem to have an FAQ, because I'm certain this question has been asked before, but I need help buying a car.

I just got a new job 45 miles away and start the job on the 14th. Problem is, I don't have a car to make the drive and haven't had one for 5 years. So... What car should I buy?


I have $2000 in savings and bad credit. I'm not car savvy, so I want something that won't break down every other day. My new job has given me a big pay raise (something like $550+ a month after taxes). Currently I spent $65 a month on bus fare but I don't know how this translates into gas money. My thinking is Insurance will cost me $300 a month, and I'll spend $250 a month on the car. Any idea how much I should portion out for gas money?

Ideally I want a commuter vehicle that will be reliable and get me there and back with no major problems. I can't afford to have the car in the shop or to pay enormous repair bills. Being pretty is not my major concern. Ideally I'd buy a cheap vehicle that I can pay off completely in a year, and in two years replace it with something nice. What should I buy?

Alternatively, my friend who doesn't believe in used cars, said he'd loan me $2000 (for a $4000 down payment) to buy a new car. He recommended I buy a cheap new car instead. Would this be a better idea?
 
Find a reliable beater for <= $500, get situated, save up, and go from there. I'm talking something like mid 80s early 90s Camry, Accord, Escort, Taurus, etc.
 
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nkgreen said:
$2k in savings and bad credit? You're friend is an idiot.
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extreme-ironing-04.jpg
 
$300 a month seems very high for car insurance (especially for an econobox). I'd run some #'s through geico.com or progressive.com to get a better estimate.
 
exdeath said:
Find a reliable beater for <= $500, get situated, save up, and go from there. I'm talking something like mid 80s early 90s Camry, Accord, Escort, Taurus, etc.
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The thing is I know absolutely NOTHING about cars, and don't know any car-savvy people. How would I know a beater is reliable? I really want something that ideally I wouldn't have to be taking into the shop every other week.
 
Do you at least personally know anyone who can help you fix the car if you get an older used car? I do not recommend a new car.. Ever, infact. They are a poor way to spend money no matter what.

That being said, it really helps make a used car purchase easier if you have ppl around you that know a thing or 2 about cars.

Take a look at japanese cars from the late 90's or so, a civic would be a good place to start.
 
No I don't. I'm not from around here and so far the only people I've met are computer people.

Are there any quick primer guides on telling lemons from good deals?
 
get a prius

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Op, I don't think you're going to be able to save your friend. There is a lot to know when it comes to buying cars and not getting ripped off. I'd just accept the fact that you don't know anything (not that there is anything wrong with that) and instead just buy your friend a carton of KY jelly.
 
I think there's some confusion. I'm the one buying a car and I'm considering buying used I have 2000 cash at the moment.

My friend said he would loan me an additional $2000 for $4000 total that I'd then be able to use on a down payment towards a new car. IMO, this would be a bad move, but I wanted to see what car buyers thought about it.

So the consensus seems to be to buy a ~$1000 Honda civic from the mid 90's? Is there a good way to tell one that'll work fine from one that'll break every week? And I'm guessing I shouldn't use the $2000 as a down payment to a $3000- $5000 car?
 
Do you have $2000 TOTAL in cash? You need at least 8 months emergency fund (8 months of income saved) and by the sounds of it, you don't have it. If $2000 is all you have, you're seriously strapped for cash and a car is the LAST thing you can afford.
 
Oh boy
late 90's Escort or Saturn, both are reliable good on gas cheap to fix

But any vehicle ev en a Honda or Toyota at the ages your looking at have more to do with who owned them and maintained them than the brand after a point. Find somebody who was meticulous and kept records.
Then take it to Triple A for an inspection if you don't have a mechanic you trust. They do a good job around here
 
If you have any friends who you know who know cars, take them with you when you go to check out cars. My friend went out and bought a 2003 Buick last year. So far he's had to replace the rearview mirror, wheel bearings, and something else. Comes out to like $1800 worth of work on a $3500 car.
 
kia75 said:
My thinking is Insurance will cost me $300 a month, and I'll spend $250 a month on the car. Any idea how much I should portion out for gas money?
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It's 45 miles each way, right? Just driving to work and back is going to cost you about $70 over a 5 day work week, assuming you get about 20mpg and gas costs around $3 a gallon.
 
CraigRT said:
Do you at least personally know anyone who can help you fix the car if you get an older used car? I do not recommend a new car.. Ever, infact. They are a poor way to spend money no matter what.

That being said, it really helps make a used car purchase easier if you have ppl around you that know a thing or 2 about cars.

Take a look at japanese cars from the late 90's or so, a civic would be a good place to start.
Click to expand...

For any car you actually desire, I would definitely consider new, unless the savings was immense.

That way you know how the car was driven, how it was maintain, whether the tranny had been abused and launched, etc etc.

For cars you just need to get from point A to point B, used is definitely the way to go.
 
What city/state do you live? Some areas have a credit program to purchase cars for people who have no/bad credit.
 
Can you get a 1-2 year old Hyundai with 8-9 years of warranty remaining? If you *need* reliable transportation, I'd be really wary of a late-90s beater, something with 150k miles, etc... unless you're skilled at auto repair. Since you don't currently own a car, I suspect you aren't ready to spend every other weekend fixing some worn out part on an older car.
 
Used Hyundai Accent or Nissan Sentra.

Really though, with such a limited budget, it would be a good idea to see if you can carpool with someone at the new job, and then you would just have to pay for your share of the gas. You could do it until you improve your credit enough to afford a decent used car.
 
kia75 said:
I think there's some confusion. I'm the one buying a car and I'm considering buying used I have 2000 cash at the moment.

My friend said he would loan me an additional $2000 for $4000 total that I'd then be able to use on a down payment towards a new car. IMO, this would be a bad move, but I wanted to see what car buyers thought about it.

So the consensus seems to be to buy a ~$1000 Honda civic from the mid 90's? Is there a good way to tell one that'll work fine from one that'll break every week? And I'm guessing I shouldn't use the $2000 as a down payment to a $3000- $5000 car?
Click to expand...

don't ever loan/barrow from a friend if you want to keep that friendship. that said, look on craigslist and you should be able to find a mid to late 90's econo box for around $2k or less. just don't buy the first car you look at.
 
You can definitely buy something OK for $2k but find somebody to help you look at the car. At a certain time, they were selling brand new Aveos here for $7500, the Accent is at $9999. With $2k down, you're not financing a huge amount.

I definitely would not go out and get something that's worth $15-20k, especially if you have bad credit. Won't be worth it and you'll stay broke.

If you find a car that seems decent within the $2k range then maybe have it inspected somewhere if you can't find anyone to look at it with you.

Isn't there a site where you can check car history (Carfax or something like that?) .. Not everybody does this , but some people keep all the bills from getting the car repaired.

Maybe not always but often it can be better to buy from an old person. Some young people are not crazy and they are honest, but soo many young people in my experience just beat their cars and don't maintain them (myself included at a certain time) ... so for this reason.. you might want to consider who you're buying it from, not just the car itself
 
obamanation said:
Do you have $2000 TOTAL in cash? You need at least 8 months emergency fund (8 months of income saved) and by the sounds of it, you don't have it. If $2000 is all you have, you're seriously strapped for cash and a car is the LAST thing you can afford.
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that may be a nice thought, unless you missed the part where he got a new job and must now drive to it.
 
OP with bad credit you're not going to get a loan in the single digits. do not get a new car if that is the case. it will simply cost too much.
 
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