Recommend a beater

[Herr Kutz]

I’ll sell you a solid vehicle for $1k. Hatchback.

 

[Gillbot]

To me, a beater moves and has a heater. Craigslist or crappy car lot with the $1000 and under section is where I’d be for a beater. Any more than that, you are just car shopping.

 

[slackerinabox]

Hey guys, thanks so much for all the help - after an epic amount of back and forth we realized that a sedan would not fare well with the awful potholes and assorted road hazards she'll face driving to brooklyn. found a great deal on a relatively low mileage saturn vue hybrid (currently called the chevrolet captiva), 2008. Cheaper than any post 2005 civic/corolla i could find within 100 miles, at $2700. It has a modern design so I'm honestly fine if there's a tranny repair or engine issue in my near future, I may pick up one of those 6 month extended warranties just in case. It actually crossed off a lot of our must haves, even though it's not a sedan:
1. Easy to park - at 180 inches it's smaller than modern civics (182 inches) length wise.
2. Good gas mileage. Subject to pickup and inspection (hybrid battery replacement's about $800, I'm completely fine with that), EPA estimate is at 32mpg highway
3. Modern looking. I didn't mention it here because it's pretty pretentious, but my wife started a new job that's a senior title with a dozen support staff. I was really worried that our situation meant she'd show up in a rusty geo, so was aiming for "modern" design cues (with low standards, kias from the mid 2000s fit the bill)


Pretty stoked actually, I was really terrified that a big salary increase, being in a rush (back to school is around the corner) and keeping up with the jonses meant we'd rush into a car loan that we're not ready for yet. While we made epic strides (55 points score increase in 8 months) our interest rate still would have been up there - buying a car in cash bring a lot of peace of mind! Maybe we'll trade it in in a year, maybe not

 

[Jimzz]

If it checks out that is a good deal. Make sure to change the transmission fluid ASAP if you buy it.
And if I remember correct that was a light hybrid system. So even if the battery goes out it will still work ok, just lose some gas mileage.

Have a link to the listing? I would also skip the aftermarket warranty. Just not worth it.

 

[NutBucket]

I'd say you did just fine for $2700. Well done.

 

[Rifter]

I just bought a 2000 Camry XLE for $1500 that was neglected a bit by the PO, put around 2k into it after purchasing, and its been rock solid for past 6 months now, i would expect this thing to go at least another 100,000k without any major work being needed. The work done was the: Valve cover gasket and plugs/wires and PCV. Front brakes, Front struts, Timing belt and water pump, Rad hoses, Thermostat. Trans oil change, oil change, coolant change, brake fluid change, power steering fluid change, new tires and alignment.

All knobs dials locks etc work fine, sunroof doesnt leak, no tears in the leather seats, AC blows ice cold, all in all a solid vehicle now that the required maintenance was done.

 

[slackerinabox]

update:
incredibly satisfied owner of a 2008 saturn vue hybrid. Picked it up yesterday and, for $2675, am incredibly pleased - short so easy to park (180 inches, shorter than modern jetta's), great gas mileage at least over the 70 mile drive home (oldie but the hybrid system appears to be functioning properly), and shockingly clean interior for the price. I'd be fine if a transmission repair or other major is around the corner, I'd still be ahead in my mind. Parts are cheap too. MPG is rated at 32 highway, we were stuck in a lot of manhattan traffic and averaged closer to 25. Still, our 4x4 jeep gets 12. Handsome exterior with modern interior (we're throwing in a $200 backup cam/carplay head unt this week). There seems to be a lot out there selling for way under KBB - recommended.

pictures above. Looks like a bit like the equinox a bit like the srx

 

[mopardude87]

To me, a beater moves and has a heater. Craigslist or crappy car lot with the $1000 and under section is where I’d be for a beater. Any more than that, you are just car shopping.

I just picked up a $800 2000 corolla beater. Pretty clean body and paint working cruise control ice cold ac good tires and brakes.One window may need a motor but the rest roll up and down with ease which on corollas just love to go out it seems but not losing sleep over fixing that atm. Only mechanical issue is a misfire at operating temperature. Might be a crankshaft position sensor which is $26 and 30 minutes of work.

I guess my new car is more of a mechanic special. I fix the misfire and have a shop set the obd2 monitors to be ready and i am confident it will pass smog and i would be about $1200 in with luck. Those OBD2 monitors are a royal pain to set. Lots of non stop traffic and few places where the car can meet the requirements out here anyways.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I just picked up a $800 2000 corolla beater. Pretty clean body and paint working cruise control ice cold ac good tires and brakes.One window may need a motor but the rest roll up and down with ease which on corollas just love to go out it seems but not losing sleep over fixing that atm. Only mechanical issue is a misfire at operating temperature. Might be a crankshaft position sensor which is $26 and 30 minutes of work.

I guess my new car is more of a mechanic special. I fix the misfire and have a shop set the obd2 monitors to be ready and i am confident it will pass smog and i would be about $1200 in with luck. Those OBD2 monitors are a royal pain to set. Lots of non stop traffic and few places where the car can meet the requirements out here anyways.

We retired my Moms' '83 Corolla in 2016.

Somebody in another state is probably driving it now. A diaphragm in an emissions-control part was damaged; you couldn't find any new ones; finding one at a junkyard would be difficult, and the part might be broken anyway or would soon die. So it went to cash-for-clunkers, and the state of California gave us $1,000 for it.

I think Moms paid about $7,500 for it brand new. There might have been $2,000 in repairs that weren't ordinary maintenance expense.

Sadly, before we turned it in, it was in a perfect tune-up state (excluding the emissions part) and ran like a top -- a very zippy ride.

The Corolla is a great car -- new or used -- if that sort of vehicle satisfies you. I've been spoiled by mid-size SUV luxury, after driving Civics from '79 through '97.

 

[mopardude87]

We retired my Moms' '83 Corolla in 2016.

Somebody in another state is probably driving it now. A diaphragm in an emissions-control part was damaged; you couldn't find any new ones; finding one at a junkyard would be difficult, and the part might be broken anyway or would soon die. So it went to cash-for-clunkers, and the state of California gave us $1,000 for it.

I think Moms paid about $7,500 for it brand new. There might have been $2,000 in repairs that weren't ordinary maintenance expense.

Sadly, before we turned it in, it was in a perfect tune-up state (excluding the emissions part) and ran like a top -- a very zippy ride.

The Corolla is a great car -- new or used -- if that sort of vehicle satisfies you. I've been spoiled by mid-size SUV luxury, after driving Civics from '79 through '97.

Yeah i got a friend who usually sticks to Toyota and has a 2016 Nissan Versa and for whatever reason he loves his 1997 corolla 5 speed more it seems and when i bring it over he drives it over the Versa. Can't blame him the toyota loves to go, i should know as its been my daily driver for the last 4 months. That corolla since last october hasn't had a single issue period. The 91 i owned back in 2010 passed smog with flying colors and ran like a top too. Had like 180k miles on that one.

Its sad that a little thing on a car warrants it not road worthy smog wise. The obd2 thing is all new to me and from reading has been a true nightmare for some people. I got some faith this 2000 will be just fine. Checking plugs for the infamous o ring oil issue and not a single plug on this 210k motor shows signs of issues. No fishy business in the oil at all either. Prob gonna end up being just a solid overall car.

Always loved the body style of the 98-2002 and wanted one and now i got one. Been enjoying tooling on it but when the misfire is fixed i won't have a single mechanical thing left to fix. Kind of boring to drive sure but reliability is hard to beat with a Corolla. I had a nice flashy 2006 taurus i picked up in 2010 with low miles and not long later had transmission issues. Last time i jump into anything american.