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Smart Shopper Article Comments - 10 Best Used Cars for Less Than $9,999
21 messages, Last post on Jun 20, 2009 at 5:11 PM
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10 Best Used Cars for Less Than $9,999 - Our recent feature, "The 10 Best Used Cars for Less Than $4,999" started us down this road of cheap car fun. (more)
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Ten grand will get you a new car. You know, something like a Nissan Versa 1.6 Base or Hyundai Accent GS three-door base — solid, basic transportation with all the charm of Tupperware. Or, that same $10,000 will buy you a used ride any car enthusiast would be proud to call his own. 10 Best Used Cars for Less Than $9,999
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Replying to: KarenS (Jun 02, 2009 6:32 am) 1. A car that cost $50,000 or more new will generate repair costs equivalent to its MSRP- not its current market value. The S4, 7er, and 944 are great cars but they are best suited for drivers who are willing to tackle minor maintenance and repairs. A good independent specialist will also be worth his or her weight in gold. If you go to the dealer to have your wiper blades changed and/or the thought of raising the hood makes you pee your pants, look elsewhere. 2. Many of these cars have been owned by brain-dead morons who did not heed the first caveat. Most of said cars have only been "serviced" at Jiffy Boob or some other chain store. Needless to say, proper maintenance has been ignored, corners have been cut, and substandard replacement parts have been used. Therefore, I consider a pre-purchase inspection by a professional who knows the marque to be mandatory.
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| It'd be cutting it close to the $10k mark, but you can find decently cared for first-year S2000s for around that price. Might be 80k+ miles on it, but they last. Well worth the money, and way better than a recently new Civic Si | |
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Replying to: roadburner (Jun 02, 2009 9:44 am) |
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| Lots of good advice above. I would add a couple of other great cars. If you want fun to drive, you can't beat a Mini. 2004-5 models with 60k miles are under $10k. For a classy ride, how about a 2000-2001 Mecedes E class with 70k miles. Both are easy to find on cars.com. I had a Mercedes E class that was a great car to drive and was actually not expensive to maintain, contrary to what everyone presumes. | |
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As enthusiast cars go, here's a few more: Ford Focus SVT Ford Contour SVT (this one could almost fit in the "Cars under 5k" category) Nissan Sentra SE-R (v?) VW Jetta GLI (same generation as the mk. IV GTI) Numerous BMWs |
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| Actually, I think the 1999 Civic Si did come with a spoiler option that looked a lot like the one in the picture. | |
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TO add to this list, you guys for got the early E46 BMWs, and late E36 BMWs I personally think the TurboS beetle counts too... But thats similar to GTI and GLI... SO maybe not. Oh and VR6 GTI had 200hp after 2001 |
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I loved the article, but I need to wholeheartedly agree with some of what's been said above. If you buy a $60,000 car for $10K, be prepared to face much larger maintenance costs. Some may argue that they can do the work themselves, but the large BMW in particular will get you on parts! I've know people personally have gone down this road, buying 10 year old big BMWs with 120K+ miles, and they got killed on the maintenance. Even at the good indy shops, you've got to be prepared to pay the price. It's one thing if you can afford a $25K car and buy a $10K BMW, do your homework to get a documented car, and put money aside for maintenance and repair. As long as you can and PLAN to spend $$ you probably will do OK What scares me is the people who spend every dime they have to buy a $10K 100K+ mile BMW, and expect it to not cost them more than the Mazda 626 they just upgraded from. They don't spend enough on maintenance, and are often sunk at the first $2K repair. Worst of all, some people even manage to get loans for a 10 year old BMW, and are making payments on a car that is surely going to cost them more than the payments. With that said, the 740 is a wonderful car. I think the lines were classic before they changed it! In fact every car they mention would be a great car to own ... as long as you're not under the impression that $$ wise it's equivalent to buying a new Versa or something.
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Replying to: gouldn (Jun 04, 2009 4:55 pm) That's where your BMW CCA discount comes in handy! |
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