YACT: Need New car, have bad credit, what to do?

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Like Ornery said, research what you're considering.

An early 90's Accord/Civic/Corolla/Camry/etc. that was maintained well will be just fine

 

[Thegonagle]

Originally posted by: Nutdotnet

Originally posted by: CrackRabbit

Originally posted by: EyeMWing
$1300 will buy you a GREAT car from a private party. Just LOOK. And inspect. And DRIVE.

Did all of those things with the LHS I bought and I still ended up with a lemon.
I am just lucky that I am getting most of my money back out of it.

When he means great he means, vanilla, simple, relaible cars...which is what you want.

This is good advice.

For that you have three options:

Honda
Toyota
Subaru

Go find one of those.

Well, you do have more than three options. But it pays to look up some consumer reports relaibility stats and read some publisher and user reviews for anything your're looking at.

Also something to think about: For the same money, a newer economy car with lower mileage is usually a better buy than any older luxury car with 100,000+ miles.

 

[TheSlamma]

Just by something you can barely afford, thats what everyone else does.

 

[CrackRabbit]

Originally posted by: Thegonagle

Well, you do have more than three options. But it pays to look up some consumer reports relaibility stats and read some publisher and user reviews for anything your're looking at.

Also something to think about: For the same money, a newer economy car with lower mileage is usually a better buy than any older luxury car with 100,000+ miles.

Here is what I have been looking at in the way of newer cars.

03-05 Ford Focus (MTX only)
97-03 Honda Civic
99-03 Toyota Corolla
01-04 Ford Ranger (2.3ltr MTX only)
04 Chevy Malibu Classic
97-02 Buick Century / Regal
97-02 Toyota Camry

Any sugestions on any that I should add or delete from that list?

 

[Thegonagle]

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
Like Ornery said, research what you're considering.

An early 90's Accord/Civic/Corolla/Camry/etc. that was maintained well will be just fine

So will many, many other cars that are maintined well, including American cars.

What you have when shopping for a beater is to do is do your research and toss out the lemons; if you try to narrow it down to one or two models too soon, you'll just prolong your miserable search for the "perfect" car that may exist, but isn't for sale, and miss out on a lot of good deals.

I'm not saying to buy something that you don't like--because then you won't take good care of it, and it won't last.

But it's important not to be too picky. Good running and well maintained are the most important selling points at $1,300.

 

[Thegonagle]

Originally posted by: CrackRabbit

Originally posted by: Thegonagle

Well, you do have more than three options. But it pays to look up some consumer reports relaibility stats and read some publisher and user reviews for anything your're looking at.

Also something to think about: For the same money, a newer economy car with lower mileage is usually a better buy than any older luxury car with 100,000+ miles.

Here is what I have been looking at in the way of newer cars.

03-05 Ford Focus (MTX only)
97-03 Honda Civic
99-03 Toyota Corolla
01-04 Ford Ranger (2.3ltr MTX only)
04 Chevy Malibu Classic
97-02 Buick Century / Regal
97-02 Toyota Camry

Any sugestions on any that I should add or delete from that list?

How much money do you have? Those are all over the place, price wise. I thought you couldn't get a loan, so you must have a fairly firm budget for the car, right?

 

[CrackRabbit]

Originally posted by: Thegonagle

How much money do you have? Those are all over the place, price wise.

Those fall into the ~$7000 or under price range of cars that I was looking for.

 

[Thegonagle]

Also, drop the Malibu--one of GM's lemons.

Focus, not bad, but Mazda Protege would be better. Nissan Sentra, also one to consider.

The 2000 and 2001 Nissan Altima are very good, but good luck finding a manual.

Ford Rangers are common and parts are cheap. One of the better small trucks.

 

[CrackRabbit]

Originally posted by: Thegonagle
Also, drop the Malibu--one of GM's lemons.

Focus, not bad, but Mazda Protege would be better. Nissan Sentra, also one to consider.

The only reason I was considering the Malibu was the change in drivetrain for the 2004 YM went from the 3.1 v6 to the 2.2 ltr I4 used in the Cavalier and Cobalt.

Mazdas are on the list but they seem to be hard to find, most people want to hold on to them.
The Sentras as of late aren't so good from what I have read on Edmunds, bad crash ratings and lots of problems Nissan doesn't want to fix.

 

[mwtgg]

Originally posted by: Ornery
...you can buy many good cars for $1000-$1500. I've purchased many.

Same here. All full size, RWD, V8 domestics. A little research goes a LONG way!

Like?

 

[Thegonagle]

Sorry. I edit a lot.

 

[CrackRabbit]

Originally posted by: mwtgg

Originally posted by: Ornery
...you can buy many good cars for $1000-$1500. I've purchased many.

Same here. All full size, RWD, V8 domestics. A little research goes a LONG way!

Like?

There aren't that many left, Ford Crown Vic, Merc Gran Marquis and Lincoln Town Car.
And if you want to get a bit older the Chevy Caprice and Impala SS.

 

[mwtgg]

Originally posted by: CrackRabbit

Originally posted by: mwtgg

Originally posted by: Ornery
...you can buy many good cars for $1000-$1500. I've purchased many.

Same here. All full size, RWD, V8 domestics. A little research goes a LONG way!

Like?

There aren't that many left, Ford Crown Vic, Merc Gran Marquis and Lincolin Town Car.
And if you want to get a bit older the Chevy Caprice and Impala SS.

Mmmm Town Car.

Ok, enough jacking of your thread. Carry on.

 

[jaedaliu]

Originally posted by: CrackRabbit
Here is what I have been looking at in the way of newer cars.

03-05 Ford Focus (MTX only)
97-03 Honda Civic
99-03 Toyota Corolla
01-04 Ford Ranger (2.3ltr MTX only)
04 Chevy Malibu Classic
97-02 Buick Century / Regal
97-02 Toyota Camry

Any sugestions on any that I should add or delete from that list?

I'd look for older cars. If you can find private sellers, it shouldn't be hard to find a well maintained 100k honda/toyota/nissan for $5k or less. And if your credit problems are all taken care of, and the only reason you're getting rejected is your history, some of the smaller credit unions may be more willing to loan to you if you can explain why you're in a better place these days.

 

[CrackRabbit]

For those of you who think I should get a cash car I came across a 1998 Mazda 626 LX I-4 MTX for under $2000.
Any opinions on that model of car? Most of the reviews on edmunds show very crappy ATs, and a couple of blown headgaskets, but thats about it.

 

[flot]

I'm sure I'll get flamed, but in the dirt cheap car category, I'd check out Neons.

You can actually buy a very NICE used neon for $5500-6500. You can buy a POS one for $1500. There are a gazillion of them around, they are cheap to repair, plenty of parts, etc.

Just think about how many ragged out half destroyed Neons you see on the road. Then think about the fact that they are running and still look like that.

 

[CrackRabbit]

Originally posted by: flot
I'm sure I'll get flamed, but in the dirt cheap car category, I'd check out Neons.

You can actually buy a very NICE used neon for $5500-6500. You can buy a POS one for $1500. There are a gazillion of them around, they are cheap to repair, plenty of parts, etc.

Just think about how many ragged out half destroyed Neons you see on the road. Then think about the fact that they are running and still look like that.

Neons are a total crapshoot as to quality, the first gen had lots of problems with headgaskets and the frameless windows. The second gen had poor crash test scores and the 4 speed autos are piles of junk.

 

[spanky]

Originally posted by: CrackRabbit

Originally posted by: ironcrotch
By a honda accord off craigslist.

Where praytel is this magical Honda that is in my price range, isn't falling apart and has a working A/C?

Originally posted by: ElFenix
move to somewhere with a bus stop that'll take you right to where you need to go

If the Metro buses went to my workplace I would have no problems with riding them.

I could get a cosigner, but, I have been denied already with them. No reason to drag their credit through the mud.

u can get a mechanically sound 92 or 93 accord for your asking price. i would expect the body to have some rough patches here and there, but hey, as long as the engine runs and the ac works, u be a'ight.