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

356 messages,  Last post on Nov 14, 2010 at 10:25 AM

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Messages Page 33 of 36

#317 of 356 Re: Got ya all beat [british_rover] by kyfdx HOST

Sep 11, 2007 (7:32 am)

Replying to: british_rover (Sep 11, 2007 6:56 am)
Of course.. the trick is finding someone to rear-end you..

#318 of 356 Re: Got ya all beat [im_brentwood] by oldfarmer50

Sep 11, 2007 (8:00 am)

Replying to: im_brentwood (Sep 10, 2007 11:45 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 356 Re: Top Gear and Jeremy Clarkson [kirstie_h] by joyrider147

Sep 15, 2007 (1:32 pm)

Replying to: kirstie_h (Sep 10, 2007 8:26 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.

#320 of 356 Junked it this moring by gsemike

Sep 22, 2007 (10:38 am)

It' a shame that this went down but I did free ads for a couple of weeks and got no interest. I had two calls from people that were interested but neither called back when they said they would.
 
LeSabre
 
I really hoped that I'd find a working guy that could really use it because it served me pretty well for two years. Instead it went to the junkyard for 200

#321 of 356 Re: Junked it this moring [gsemike] by british_rover

Sep 22, 2007 (10:48 am)

Replying to: gsemike (Sep 22, 2007 10:38 am)
Loved the 480 and a case of beer comment.
 
I would have haggled over the type of beer and made that offer.

#322 of 356 Re: Junked it this moring [british_rover] by fezo

Sep 22, 2007 (11:52 am)

Replying to: british_rover (Sep 22, 2007 10:48 am)
"Hey! This is Bud. I said a case of BEER!"

#323 of 356 Re: Junked it this moring [british_rover] by gsemike

Sep 22, 2007 (12:30 pm)

Replying to: british_rover (Sep 22, 2007 10:48 am)
Since I only got 200 from the junkyard I guess I'm stuck with Meister Brau

#324 of 356 public auction by qbrozen

Sep 24, 2007 (10:06 am)

I guess this is really really really going to depend on your mechanical knowledge, but I just went to my first government/prosecutor's office type auction thingy yesterday. I was pretty entertaining. They had a few high-end items that went for top dollar, but they had roughly 100 other vehicles that were mostly junked or government owned. This included several plain-jane clean Escort wagons with ~100k miles and several plain-jane Crown Vics with ~100k miles ... most of these not clean, though. There were a couple of good ones. It seems (and it stands to reason) that the previous cop cars were pretty beat up, but there were other ones that were pretty nice. I'm not sure what they were used for, but they only had a small black number stuck on one fender (as opposed to all the other badging of a cop car ... most of which has been stripped away to leave nice shiney paint underneath to contrast the worn paint all around it).
 
There were a couple of cars I was interested in. One was of the aforementioned Crown Vics. 108k miles, darned clean, 1998, 4.6 V8 (of course). CEL was on, but she started right up with a bump of the key, air blew ice cold, tranny responded (can't drive them), and no leaks underneath. The other was an S10 pickup with the 4.3 V6 and auto tranny and working AC with 93k miles. Unfortunately, we just couldn't stay all day and after 3 hours and still not approaching the cars I might have bid on, we left. Just as well since my driveway is full anyway.
 
In general, the Crown Vics were fetching upwards of $1200. I figure if the clean ones stayed under $2k, it would be a pretty good beater. I didn't get to see what the Escorts fetched. Pickups seemed to be the hot item with the crowd that was there. A '97 F150 got $5k!

#325 of 356 good thread timing by stickguy

Sep 24, 2007 (10:29 am)

since my son is just starting to drive (has his permit, can't get a solo license until next June), this is going to be a timely thread, given his budget!
 
Probably going to look at a stick, depending on how he takes to driving my Accord. That's one reason to buy now, it will save wear and tear on my clutch!
 
Mike, i would have given the $200 for that Buick, plus the case of beer. then caught heck from the wife when I got it home.
 
Also, there is one other resource to consider (if you have one). My neighbor is the GSM at a local Ford dealer. i figure to talk to him at some point to see if he can intercept some cheap trade in that they won't retail and "divert" it to us, if it is just going to auction anyway.
 
Or I will just ask Bill to find us an older but clean running (attractive not a requirement) 3 or 5 series!
 
Actually, i saw a '92 5 series parked on a loawn yesterday, but wasn't able to stop. Not sure of the price, but it had "runs great" painted on the windows. Only thing I didn't like is it had heavy cheap tint on all the side windows.

#326 of 356 Re: good thread timing [stickguy] by thegraduate

Sep 24, 2007 (12:16 pm)

Replying to: stickguy (Sep 24, 2007 10:29 am)
Actually, i saw a '92 5 series parked on a loawn yesterday, but wasn't able to stop. Not sure of the price, but it had "runs great" painted on the windows. Only thing I didn't like is it had heavy cheap tint on all the side windows.
 
I'd be VERY reluctant to buy a 8+ year old European car. IT will cost a fortune to replace the normal wear/tear stuff versus a domestic, or even Japanese or Korean car.
 
I started my driving life in 2002 with a 1996 Accord Automatic. Perfect car for a new kid behind the wheel, just make sure you find one with ABS (mine is an LX therefore it was a rarely-found option in 1996).
 
I've been driving this car since then, put about 55,000 miles on it (plus 25,000 on my new 2006 Accord during that same time- I drive them both because my 1996 is so bulletproof!) I currently have 175k miles on the '96; the A/C is still cold, the automatic shifts like it always has, and I've spent about $300 a year on wear and tear replacements (brake master cylinder, cracked radiator, that sort of thing).
 
Same transmission, same A/C, same alternator, starter, even original rear brakes and full suspension. Getting new shocks soon as the car is starting to have a little more "bounce" over big dips in the road.
 
Depending on your budget, you could get a car similar to mine for $3,500 or so. An EX 4-cylinder (which would have ABS) with a stickshift would be a VERY nice/fun car with decent but-not-overwhelming power, safe handling, and stellar reliability. You know this, you have an Accord!
 
Let us know how your search goes!

Messages Page 33 of 36

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