You are here: Forums Smart Shopper Good, Cheap Beater Cars & Inexpensive Commuter Cars - how to find one?

Good, Cheap Beater Cars & Inexpensive Commuter Cars - how to find one?

345 messages,  Last post on Nov 25, 2009 at 9:00 AM

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What is this discussion about? Acura Integra, Chevrolet Monte Carlo, Ford Escort, Honda Civic, Mazda Protege, Buying Insurance

#310 of 345 Top Gear and Jeremy Clarkson by joyrider147 Sep 08, 2007 (2:55 pm)
Here's a tale to beat all! Top Gear is a British car enthusiast show and they gave Jeremy Clarkson and his 2 co-presenters, James "Captain Slow" and Richard "Hamster" Hammond 100 British Pounds ($160 American Dollars) and were told to find a cheap car and they tested them to see if they could handle usual daily commutes. Jeremy bought a Volvo 760GLE fully loaded for $1.60 American dollars!!!   If you don't believe me, check youtube.com for "Top Gear cheap cars" and watch more funny and exciting Top Gear episodes! Replies to this message: kirstie_h (Sep 10, 2007 7:26 am) joyrider147 (Sep 15, 2007 12:32 pm)
#311 of 345 Re: 1987 BMW 528e...Good find! [joyrider147] by im_brentwood Sep 08, 2007 (10:33 pm)
Replying to: joyrider147 (Sep 08, 2007 2:35 pm) VERY good buy! I am big into E28s (I have an 88 M5, 86 535i and an 88 528e) and they are absolutely fantastic cars.   A 528e will last.. oh.. the engine should make it to 400k at least, automatic might hit 200-250k, diff at least as long as the engine.   They are indestructible and easy to work on. Buy the Bentley Manual on eBay.   Check out www.mye28.com   Change the timing belt!!! Unless you have PROOF that it's been done, do it and do the water pump too. It's easy DIY and there's lots of guides online to show you how to do it. The process is the same for any gasoline-engined 6-cyl BMW that uses a belt.   If you need any info on the car, let me know.. I've grown up around them and know them in and out. If it's clean it's a $2k car, you did very well. Oh, it only needs regular and if you use the cruise it gets 30 on the highway. Make sure you use 20W50 oil tho! 10W40 is winter oil for those, 10W30 for Alaskan winters.
#312 of 345 Beat-up beater... by oldfarmer50 Sep 10, 2007 (7:05 am)
My son may have come up with the best beater car I've seen. He rescued a 1988 Plymouth Reliant from a trip to the junk yard and it runs just fine. It looks like hell but for $350 you can't go wrong. Took less than $150 worth of repairs to pass inspection.   Sometimes you can get decent transportation cheap if you don't care about looks. I second that recommendation about Craigslist. Even though my son didn't go that route I've seen some pretty cheap cars on there. Sometimes the seller will tell you the whole life story of the car too.   I have a soft spot for beater cars. On the one hand if it blows up next week what have you really lost? If it runs for a couple of years you feel like a car buying genius.
#313 of 345 Re: Top Gear and Jeremy Clarkson [joyrider147] by kirstie_h HOST Sep 10, 2007 (7:26 am)
Replying to: joyrider147 (Sep 08, 2007 2:55 pm) Hey, where are you finding all of these deals? Do you just shop local ads, or do you have other resources? Replies to this message: joyrider147 (Sep 15, 2007 12:32 pm)
#314 of 345 Got ya all beat by im_brentwood Sep 10, 2007 (10:45 pm)
1990 BMW 735i. Runs and drives great, 225k miles, ice cold AC, nice paint and interior, no major problems.   $800 cash off of craigslist.   I used it as a loaner until some nitwit rear-ended it. Oh yes.. the guy's insurance co gave me a check for $4500. Replies to this message: qbrozen (Sep 11, 2007 5:50 am) british_rover (Sep 11, 2007 5:56 am) kyfdx (Sep 11, 2007 6:32 am) oldfarmer50 (Sep 11, 2007 7:00 am)
#315 of 345 Re: Got ya all beat [im_brentwood] by qbrozen Sep 11, 2007 (5:50 am)
Replying to: im_brentwood (Sep 10, 2007 10:45 pm) ~640% return. Nice!
#316 of 345 Re: Got ya all beat [im_brentwood] by british_rover Sep 11, 2007 (5:56 am)
Replying to: im_brentwood (Sep 10, 2007 10:45 pm) Yikes does that count as capital gains??? Replies to this message: kyfdx (Sep 11, 2007 6:32 am)
#317 of 345 Re: Got ya all beat [british_rover] by kyfdx HOST Sep 11, 2007 (6:32 am)
Replying to: british_rover (Sep 11, 2007 5:56 am) Of course.. the trick is finding someone to rear-end you..
#318 of 345 Re: Got ya all beat [im_brentwood] by oldfarmer50 Sep 11, 2007 (7:00 am)
Replying to: im_brentwood (Sep 10, 2007 10:45 pm) "...$800 cash off of Craigslist...the guy's insurance co. gave me a check for $4500..."   Hey, will you give me the name of the guy who sold you a $4500 car for $800? I'd like to buy one too.
#319 of 345 Re: Top Gear and Jeremy Clarkson [kirstie_h] by joyrider147 Sep 15, 2007 (12:32 pm)
Replying to: kirstie_h (Sep 10, 2007 7:26 am) READ THIS!!!! VERY INFORMATIVE!!!   Well, I do mostly internet searching, but you can probably find a lot of Philly cars for about $300 or $400 to under $1,000. Check ebay.com, autoshoppermagazine.com, autotrader.com, cars.com, and keep researching and comparing one car to another and its condition. Also, if you are PHYSICALLY going to check cars and not INTERNET SEARCH, here's a few tips:   1. Check for cheap cars for sale in "rich people" territories, based on your geography. Some guy who unloads $87,000 in his NEW Mercedes S550 isn't going to care about losing $500 on selling his 1982 Mercedes 300 Diesel so you can get a luxury car for about $1,300   2. Check junk yards for cars in good condition and ask the scrap dealer if he has the title and if it is a Clear Title. Cars with "Salvage" or "Junk" on the title is as good as parts only.   3. Keep in mind what junk yards have what. Philly junkyards may have cars or parts for cars that are normally used: Ford Explorer, GMC, Chevy Lumina. Other junkyards, based on speciality- Large Semi Trucks, trailers, foreign cars, luxury cars might help you out if you're looking for a discount specialty car or parts for a specialty car you bought.   4. Check police impounds for cars being sold to the public. There's more $300 cars available, or you can get them for maybe $50.00 And that's a BIG MAYBE. Don't confuse police impound auctions for auto auctions because some might look to make a profit. What'll help get a better selection of cheapos is this motto: "THE EARLY BIRD GETS THE WORM!" Need I say more?   5. Check the top 4 before you check a dealer's lot because keep in mind, he is looking to make money off the deal. So, he could jack up the price an extra $300 to $600 more because A- a car sitting on the lot is costing money because it's not being sold and a car that could get sold should be sitting there; B- Dealers need to make some profit off of selling ANY cars so what isn't getting sold might absorb higher prices to recoup discounts on sold cars; C- the dealer might've had to spend money fixing it before selling it.   BUT, JUST LIKE ANY USED CAR DEALER, "WHEELER DEALER," OR ANYBODY LOOKING TO FIND A GOOD SCORE, ALWAYS SEARCH, SEARCH, SEARCH, SEARCH!!! AND WHEN YOU'RE DONE, SEARCH SOME MORE!!!    Also, when you arrive at the location, it's best for you to thoroughly check it out without the dealer hovering around you. With cheap cars, chances are he isn't going to look because NOBODY ever really buys them. When you think you've found a solid buy, see if you can knock a little off the price, but if the car's $300, unless it is really crap that you can swap parts out with another car, you might not get much discount.   As for the 1987 BMW 528e I bought (it had an original sticker of $1,500 but I got it for $950 as a clearance sale), it was involved in a minor front end accident and it used to have a car phone until some dipstick ripped the console apart, but I lucked out and found EXACTLY what I needed for the car and it was simple repairs I can do at home, so that saves alot of money. And, I think they wanted to sell the car for $1,500, but couldn't find the parts it needed, which I think helped its overall value since its in great condition.

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