need helping buying the right car

so I'm planning on moving.. by myself.. so its just me. about $10 an hour job... a car with an open trunk would be nice.. a car.. not a Van or SUV, but of course the price per month is important as well as miles per gallon, live in Florida so idk if that's important... because of the heat.

any recommendation would help, links would be awesome as well

originally posted by: saiyankev
so I'm planning on moving.. by myself.. so its just me. about $10 an hour job... a car with an open trunk would be nice.. a car.. not a Van or SUV, but of course the price per month is important as well as miles per gallon, live in Florida so idk if that's important... because of the heat.

any recommendation would help, links would be awesome as well

I put almost 250k miles on a Honda civic and it was still running great when I traded it in for a PU.

originally posted by: olaru12

originally posted by: saiyankev
so I'm planning on moving.. by myself.. so its just me. about $10 an hour job... a car with an open trunk would be nice.. a car.. not a Van or SUV, but of course the price per month is important as well as miles per gallon, live in Florida so idk if that's important... because of the heat.

any recommendation would help, links would be awesome as well

I put almost 250k miles on a Honda civic and it was still running great when I traded it in for a PU.

how much was it per month? what year was it? (I know that doesn't usually matter)

A good, used compact or sub-compact that's a few years old should be affordable and they have decent trunk space, and most modern ones get in the upper 30's to lower 40 mpg. The turbos get better gas mileage than the the non-turbos, but they cost more to maintain. Manuals will also get better mileage than automatics, but not a lot of people are comfortable driving manuals nowadays, especially on long drives. Of course it's worth looking into similar cars from various manufacturers that fall in the compact and sub-compact catagories, like the Chevy Sonic or Cruze, Ford Fiesta, Dodge Dart, Honda Civic, Nissan Versa, Toyota Yaris, etc. Like I said before, just find a good used one from a few years ago and they should have lost enough value that they're extremely affordable.

I have a 97 honda accord, has 242,200 miles on it, transmission is good, engine is still good, picked it up for a steal at $400.00.

I would highly recommend an older honda, as they last very long, parts are very cheap, and cost of labor is cheap also, very easy to work on. They also get great gas mileage, sounds like you want a 2 door hatchback, or a CRV according to your open trunk requirement.

a reply to: saiyankev

Whatever you do, avoid PT Cruisers like the plague. That's all I've really got for ya, sorry!

a reply to: saiyankev

Go to a bank or credit union and tell them what your planning. They can give you an idea what you can afford by the payment youre after.

Do not go to a dealer that offers weekly payments.

originally posted by: FamCore
a reply to: saiyankev

Whatever you do, avoid PT Cruisers like the plague. That's all I've really got for ya, sorry!

Bahahaha!

Unfortunately, that's probably good advice too.

honda....toyota....nissan....kia.....lexus.....

best most fun car i ever had was an 81 corolla......historically one of the most bullet proof cars ever.


hondas are highest on the auto theft list.....so think about that....still good cars tho

kia...i have/had a 2001 kia rio that was bullet proof....drove the hell out of it and its still going today


older lexus's like the 300 series are cheap and if in good condition are built and run like tanks.


good luck!

originally posted by: neomaximus10
I have a 97 honda accord, has 242,200 miles on it, transmission is good, engine is still good, picked it up for a steal at $400.00.

I would highly recommend an older honda, as they last very long, parts are very cheap, and cost of labor is cheap also, very easy to work on. They also get great gas mileage, sounds like you want a 2 door hatchback, or a CRV according to your open trunk requirement.

CRV are big cars tho... SUV type... ive seen smaller cars that had easy open backs, I'm asking for that because I'm gonna need room for my stuff.. boxes, etc. fit all in 1 car and go... fill up once and bye bye, but I wont need all that space after I get to the new place (wherever it's going to be... )


edit: but of course if having a car with more space saves me money than if I got a smaller car with less space then of course id be all for it as long as the mileage isn't crazy high compared

If you want a good car don't buy one from someone on the far left.

A lot of times old people have cars and can't drive anymore, sometimes they sell them at a decent price.

Don't buy one from one of those places where they say bad credit is not a problem. They jack the price way up and charge high interest rates most times. Buy an older one at a decent price that doesn't have many problems, aunts, uncles, and parents sometimes will sell you a decent car for a decent price. Take care of it and start saving towards another one right away. A couple of hundred bucks a month can add up over a couple of years. Remember also to start a savings for tires, oil changes, and maintence on the car. That way you have money to work with. I suggest to the kids to put twenty five bucks a month away for tires and oil changes and the sort. It may be more down in Florida, tires wear out on the hot pavement faster. A harder rubber down south lasts longer, up here they do not have good traction in winter.

Just start looking around, look at the beaters and the good cars. Just because a car is selling at a cheap price does not mean it is junk, lots of people just want to get rid of a car they don't need, maybe a car their parents had when they died. Not all people are greedy, some like to give people a good deal, especially young people who are just getting started.

a reply to: saiyankev

Understand that a vehicle requires you to have some general knowledge on its maintenance, or you will just get swindled for an $800 engine overhaul when all you need is a $12 valve cover gasket that takes ten minutes to install or a $2 hose.

Do your own brake pads, its really simple work that only takes 30 minutes. That means you can pay less than $10 for pads and pay only your own time, or go to a shop and let them pretend to spend an hour on it for $100. I use lifetime warranty pads myself.

DO not use the services of a "Buy Here Pay Here".

I recommend you just buy a used import in craigslist, and narrow it down to a private buyer. I bought a '96 Nissan Sentra in 2011 with 89,000 miles and I paid $1400 cash. it still had power windows, sunroof, alarm, A/C and wonderful paint and body. I am still driving it today, but the wear and age is finally coming through. Only major parts I have replaced in six years was distributor in year one (easy self install), a starter in year two with a warranty replacement in year three. And CV joints like twice. Other than that, not too bad.

I only recommended imports because many of the vehicles made here are very difficult to work on for even simple tasks. I have seen many Chevy's that are not very welcoming under the hood for something as simple as changing spark plugs. Asian Imports have all treated me well. Honda, Toyota, Nissan and Mazda. Everyone of these ars that me or my friends have owned all had very cooperatively laid out engines that placed routine parts like fuel filters, spark plugs, pulleys and such easy to access.

If you want to make payments on a leased or new car on a $10 hour job, I would probably re-think that. Don't forget insurance with full coverage is mandatory on such. If you own the vehicle yourself though, there's a bit more flexibility in what you will pay for Ins.

a reply to: saiyankev

Not following conventional wisdom, I bought a new car. I don't really regret it, but it is pricey - I make ten dollars an hour as well.

But if you're willing to drive a stick shift, you really might be able to score a new car with a 5 or 10 year warranty for around 12 grand.

If that's a way you want to go.

I just imagine if many cars are meant to last 150, 200k miles - starting at zero can be a good idea if you are okay having the same car for twenty to thirty years.

Don't know the US market but some basic advice

1. Take a friend or two to look at it, they'll spot problems that you miss and could make it basically a write off and if possible take one that actually works in the business so they can check the state of the vehicle so you do not drive off and it turns into a clown car after 30 yards.

2. Check spare parts status, no point having the only vehicle in the US that needs a specific spare part and has to be shipped in.

3. Look at the seller, are they a bit too interested in selling it shall we say?

4. Moving by yourself is a pain...get someone just offer beers and pizza and the cost will pay off in the long run when you're trying to hump half a ton of crap up 6 flights or more of steps as the lifts broke (you get the drift)

a reply to: saiyankev

live in Florida so idk if that's important... because of the heat.

Also important to consider corrosion form salt air. Used cars that 'lived' near the beach might have hidden corrosion in places underneath, around wheel wells, etc.

Whatever lowest mileage, cheapest maintenance, good mileage used import you settle on... make sure it has current reg. and (passed) smog certificate with it.

You can check its running performance with a good test drive on the hi way, too. Making sure it is well maintained by having a mechanic giving it the once over, usually for free, called "diagnose and advise".

a reply to: worldstarcountry

I taught my granddaughter to change brakes when she was around thirteen years old, she used my floor jack to jack a car and take off a tire when she was only six. Of course, I have all the pneumatic tools and a full garage to do this in. She is now eighteen and it is winter, I paid the garage to change the ball joint on her Honda last week when they did the alignment. She wanted to do it, but another car is stored on my lift for the winter and the garage furnace isn't working, it needs an exhaust fan. I have all the tools for ball joints sitting in the cabinet and I am getting so that I would rather just have one of the garage owners I know fix it. I get decent prices from some of these guys on some things.

Brakes are easy though, brake line replacement sucks though.

originally posted by: Maxatoria
Don't know the US market but some basic advice

1. Take a friend or two to look at it, they'll spot problems that you miss and could make it basically a write off and if possible take one that actually works in the business so they can check the state of the vehicle so you do not drive off and it turns into a clown car after 30 yards.

2. Check spare parts status, no point having the only vehicle in the US that needs a specific spare part and has to be shipped in.

3. Look at the seller, are they a bit too interested in selling it shall we say?

4. Moving by yourself is a pain...get someone just offer beers and pizza and the cost will pay off in the long run when you're trying to hump half a ton of crap up 6 flights or more of steps as the lifts broke (you get the drift)

1: ya I have someone who could maybe help me, but I need to research more cars... find more in the area then go around with em to check em out


4: I don't mind trips up but I'm also not going to live somewhere I need to go up stairs.. 1 set maybe... but 3rd floor... hell no,

Don't buy a car until you have about 7000 bucks to put down for a decent car. Finance the rest. Pick a pre-owned with less than 50000 miles. Toyota.

a reply to: saiyankev

10$$ a hour eh

Buy German or Japanese. Not these new Japanese things with French engines though.