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Selecting and Buying My First Car

764 messages,  Last post on Aug 17, 2009 at 12:29 PM

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#172 of 764 Re: elantra ad [latham] by isellhondas Feb 15, 2005 (5:55 pm)
Replying to: latham (Feb 15, 2005 4:33 pm) Anytime something is being sold well below market value there is usually a reason. Picking my words carefully here....there are people who make a living selling these salvage title cars.   They are NOT a bargain. Run away from it!
#173 of 764 Re: College Student looking for used car around 6k [accordv603] by jchan2 Feb 15, 2005 (6:43 pm)
Replying to: accordv603 (Feb 14, 2005 6:11 pm) If you don't mind not having a warranty and driving an "American" car, you could try the Ford Taurus. Sure, its boring, and they're everywhere (at least at airports) but they're cheap, fairly reliable, and resale is pretty horrible. You could try eBay and buy one off of there.   I once had a friend who had a 6 month old Taurus with 20,000 miles which sold for $13,500...   Words of Advice: If you get a Taurus, try and splurge for the higher priced Duratec 3.0L 200 horsepower engine.
#174 of 764 Re: elantra ad [latham] by qbrozen Feb 16, 2005 (6:44 am)
Replying to: latham (Feb 15, 2005 4:33 pm) I just want to support what others have stated. Avoid this car!   EVEN if you have it thoroughly checked over and determine its never been in an accident, that salvage title never goes away. So try explaining it when you want to sell or trade it. Not to mention, I believe such a thing would void the warranty completely.
#175 of 764 by ateixeira Feb 16, 2005 (1:56 pm)
I agree, run, don't walk, away from that car.   I doubt the frame is truly straight. Or can you imagine the mold coming in a few months after you buy a flooded one?   -juice
#176 of 764 by jchan2 Feb 16, 2005 (2:24 pm)
I'll say what everybody else says: Avoid the car. It'll be worth $0 when you try and trade it in, not to mention there could be some crucial structural problems involved. If your budget is tight, you might try an older car. Maybe an older Elantra or Sonata. Or possibly a Chevrolet Classic. Do whatever you can to avoid any cars with salvage titles. It'll be impossible to explain to the next potential buyer when its time to sell.
#177 of 764 what about this one? by latham Feb 16, 2005 (3:26 pm)
Thanks for the tips, I walked away from the salvage Elantra. Someone mentioned a Mazda Protege before. What do you think about this one?   2000 Mazda Protege LX Sedan 4D $ 4950 ob 64k miles Automatic link
#178 of 764 Good cars... by isellhondas Feb 16, 2005 (4:58 pm)
Nothing fancy but decent cars for less money than a Civic or a Corolla. Be sure to get it checked out. I don't know why but the Craig's List stuff always hits me as second rate but that's me.   I guess I figure that if they cheaped out on advertising they may have done the same thing with maintenance.   It could be a good car for you.
#179 of 764 Current favs by latham Feb 16, 2005 (5:55 pm)
After looking so far, here are four I'm currently considering. I haven't yet followed up on these ads, so I'm not yet certain that there's not something hidden wrong, or that perhaps the price is negotiable lower. Which do you think is the best long term value?   $4950 - 2000 Mazda Protege LX Sedan 4D 64k miles Automatic link $6450 - 2002 Chevy Prizm Sedan 40k miles Automatic link $4000 - 2001 Ford Focus 63k miles Manual link $9999 - 2005 Toyota Corolla 4k miles link Replies to this message: qbrozen (Feb 16, 2005 6:56 pm) jlawrence01 (Feb 16, 2005 8:15 pm) kirstie_h (Feb 17, 2005 4:02 am)
#181 of 764 Re: Current favs [latham] by qbrozen Feb 16, 2005 (6:56 pm)
Replying to: latham (Feb 16, 2005 5:55 pm) I think you should be able to get that Prizm for $6K without much of a fight ... and that would be the pick of the list, in my opinion. I mean, you figure the 23K and 24K miles the other 2 of the first 3 have puts them about 2 years closer to the grave. As much as I'm a fan of the Protege, it would need to represent a bigger savings over the Prizm to justify itself.   The Corolla COULD be ok, but the lack of information is not very helpful. If its a completely stripped base model, I don't think its so hot.

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