Help me pick a good used car

[RossMAN]

Dodge Neon's have one thing in their favor, they depreciate very quickly so you'll get a great bargain on a newer car.

I would suggest finding the perfect used car, older person, drove it selom, mostly highway miles, maintenence records for every oil change and wiper blade replacement, non-smoker, 1 owner, you catch my drift. If you can find a Dodge Neon that was properly maintained then I'd BUY IT! Make sure to have a mechanic you trust look over the car with you.

If you're determined and lucky you may find a 1995 Dodge Neon for around $2,000.

Check your local newspaper classifieds ads under AUTO.

 

[Turkey]

Neons are really good cars. Moderately sporty. BTW, you can't really trust anybody who "worked at a Dodge dealership" to tell you that the cars are good. Why? All they see are the problems. I've heard that from someone who's worked as a mechanic at every manufacturer: Toyota, Honda, Subaru, BMW, etc... they never recommend the cars they work on.

All cars have their problems... fwiw, Toyota and Honda are reputed to have the fewest for the price you're looking at, Subaru and Nissan next, then Europeans and Americans. But that's just a general rule.

On the other hand, you can get a pretty nice new motorcycle for $2k.

 

[coolred]

Yeah but I'm not gonna be the one who explains to the cops why I have a six month old baby in a car seat on the back of my motorcycle

 

[Dark4ng3l]

well hum their made by Chrysler...
Chrysler pro's: 1 Not so bad looking exterior and interior,
2 generally more powerful cars than the competition

con's: 1 The most horrible vehicle quality and reliability imginable,
2 High fuel consumption compared to other vehicles in same class,
3 World class depreciation medal.

 

[CraigRT]

I absolutely love mine.. good looks, good power, fun to drive..
it's been a year and i have put 34,000 kms on it and it's no different than it was when i got it.. it runs very well and i like the car alot.

see sig if you wish.

 

[coolred]

Depreciation is not really a con in this case, since it will allow me to pay less for a newer model year then other cars.

By the way on average how many miles a year does a person put on a car?

 

[Dark4ng3l]

Hmmm high depreciation=a bad sign. There is a reason for these cars to depreciate fast you know, people dont want then so they pay less. And the reason for that is what I said above piss poor reliability and quality.

 

[xirtam]

Well, I've got a neon. It was given to me as a gift after being salvaged from an accident. I am very grateful for it. I probably won't buy one when I go to purchase my next car, but it really isn't a bad vehicle. Pretty reliable, 25-30 miles to the gallon (you can get the cheap gas for it.) It's actually quite peppy for a 4-cylinder, and it gets me where I need to go. That's what I really look for in a car. If I had my choice between a neon and a civic or an accord or something similar, I'd go with the honda. Probably go with a civic eventually and remodel it to make it look even more like a BMW S3 series without spending the extra cash to get the "real" one. Then I've got a friend who has access to nitro... muahahaha... this will probably eventually be the way my poor little neon bites the dust.

 

[coolred]

<< Hmmm high depreciation=a bad sign. There is a reason for these cars to depreciate fast you know, people dont want then so they pay less >>



That makes more sense, but I can't see how you can say people don't want them, they are a very popular car. I haven't done enough research so I don't know exactly how reliable they are, but I haven't seen enough to say thier reliability is piss poor, can I ask were you get your info from?

 

[Babbles]

I already gave my opinion about getting the bang for your buck out of the Neon.
But, as a word of warning, the depreciated value of a Neon really sucks.
I got like a bag of chips and a soda for mine.

 

[coolred]

Thanks, I am not worried about the resale value it will have when I am ready to sell it. I just want something that is cheap now and will last me a few years

 

[toant103]

go with Honda or Toyota

 

[coolred]

Alright I will say this one more time. While I appreciate any and all comments, since at the very least they bump the thread, but could you please give reasons why I should go one way or another. By just saying go with honda that doesn't tell me much. Maybe you just rreally like honda or whatever other manufacturer, or maybe you just really don't like dodge for no good reaosn, or maybe your only 12 years old and just really like the look of hhonda cars. So please if you post about one manufacturer being better then another please give at least one valid reason why it would help me out a lot more then just saying don't buy that buy this.

 

[RossMAN]

1) Buy a freakin' Neon.
2) Assuming you have it inspected (as you would a Honda or Toyota) to make sure that it's in good condition.
3) Find a good deal.

It will be cheap, basic transportation and somewhat reliable.

 

[coolred]

Alright that sounds like a good idea.

One other question, how do you determine if you need full coverage on a car or just liability. I mean I'm sure there is no easy way to do it. But what would you go by, the year of the car, the price you paid for it, the condition it's in or a combination of things.

Also once again can someone tell me on average how many miles a year people put on thier cars?

 

[Jfrag Teh Foul]

If you have the title up for finance you have no choice but full coverage. I have full coverage on any vehicle that I own... the reasoning behind it is that if I fall asleep behind the wheel and fly off of the road and total my car I will be able to regain some of my cash back to buy the next one through my insurance policy. Liability, of course, won't do that. If you wreck your car under liability and its your fault it will take care of the other people involved, but not you... and wrecked cars aren't cheap to fix out of pocket. Save yourself some possible grief in the future and go full coverage.

BTW, I average about 20k Miles per year on my cars.

 

[RossMAN]

<< Alright that sounds like a good idea.

One other question, how do you determine if you need full coverage on a car or just liability. I mean I'm sure there is no easy way to do it. But what would you go by, the year of the car, the price you paid for it, the condition it's in or a combination of things. >>



Assuming you are not financing the car (you are buying it with cash, not getting a loan from a bank) you can choose to have either liability or full coverage. What I would do is call around insurance companies and ask them how much liability or full coverage would be. Since I'm male, over 25 and married full coverage (including comprehensive and collision) with $500 deductibles is only $69/month from American Family Insurance (amfam.com). When I was in my early 20's, LIABILITY only would cost $160 a month, $100 more for LESS insurance coverage. It might also help to ask the insurance company what the difference between liability and full coverage is. If you currently have no insurance coverage you will get screwed and will be charged higher premiums for at least 6-12 months because they like to see CONTINIOUS insurance coverage. I wasn't driving for a few years, then last September I bought a 1994 Toyota Corolla, my full coverage insurance with American Family was $136/month, after 6 months of continuous insurance coverage, they re-evaluated my file and lowered my premiums to $69/month.



<< Also once again can someone tell me on average how many miles a year people put on thier cars? >>



12,000 - 15,000 miles a year is the average.

 

[Turkey]

Light driving is 8k miles/yr, average is 14k, high is anything above that.

Get all the insurance you can afford, because you won't be able to afford even a minor accident without it.

 

[coolred]

Completely non car related, but why is papa smurf the only one that wears red?

 

[coolred]

Okay, I will not be financing and I have had continuous coverage for 3+ years. I have always had liability on my cars since thayhave all been old and crappy. Right now I am paying 113 a month for 2 cars liability only on both. I did an online quote once and made one of the cars with full coverage and it increased my payment by like 4 or 500 dollars over 6 months. I was just thinking if I kept that 1000.00 dollars a year in the bank after a few years I would have more money then the car is worth anyway. So if i wreck the car in the first few years I would be screwed, but if I don't then i will have saved a lot of money. I mean I wouldn't put full coverage on a car that is 20 years old and has 200,000 miles on it. I am just trying to figure out when you should put full coverage on a car. Do you go by how new the car is or how much it cost you or by how often you drive it?

So for a car that is 6-7 years old 80,000-90000 miles is average so cars with less than that are better

 

[coolred]

One other thing, I talked to a friend of mine that knows a good bit about cars and he said that an older civic with say 100,000 miles on it would be a better bet then a slightly newer neon with less miles for the same price, since he says foreign cars are built like tanks. But, and I am sure I will get flammed for this, but I don't really like the look of the civics and accords, and sentras and stuff. Don't get me wrong they aren't ugly, they just don't appeal to me, they seem plain. The neon isn't the greatest looking car, but it doesn't look like every other car otu there either. So if I do decide to go foreign what does everyone think of toyota tacomas. I haven't looked into them much, but I just think i would prefer a truck if I go foriegn

 

[CraigRT]

coolred.. I have a 2001 model and I have put 34,000 kms on it in 1 year without a single problem or repair other than ones i have chosen for my warranty to cover (fog light with condensation in it, corroded name badge) other than that, no mechanical problems at all, the car is running excellent.

 

[coolred]

By the way, I just did a small check on kelly blue book and it looks like to find a civic in the same price range as the neons I would have to get a 90 give or take a year or 2. So will a civic that is 3-5 years older then a neon be in the same or better working condition assuming that both cars were well maintained and driven in almost the same conditions?

 

[crypticlogin]

Just remember to do the Carfax thing on any used car you're looking at. My only $0.02 on the subject since I can't provide a substantiated opinion.

 

[coolred]

Yeah, how exactly do they get all the info for the cars