NWR Used Cars?

SpartanCat

Hey everyone,

My 13 year old car is rolling on it's last "legs" so I'm trying to do some research for a new one and I was wondering if anyone could give me some thoughts. If you could answer any of the following, it would be much appreciated : )

If you own a used car, how old was it when you bought it?

What model car do you own? Do you like it? Is it reliable?

What year did you buy your used car? In what price range did it fall (2-4k, 4-6k, 6-10k etc)? 

How many miles did you consider to be "too much" on a car to knock it out of the running?

If you could rebuy your current car, what would you do differently car shopping?

Do you have a nostolgic first car anecdote to share?

Thanks in advance for your help! This is kind of a post and run because my lunch is over at one.

SpartanCat

I'm not tremendously picky to be honest. My biggies are just that it's younger (five years old would be nice), four doors are my preference but I would do two, good gas milage, reliable and low milage. 

My family and BF live in MIchigan and where I am now is not conducive to using the train anymore so I drive back and forth quite often. I don't do a lot of hauling but it would be nice if it could fit my bike. If i really cram it, I can actually get my bike in my trunk/backseat lol. The biggest thing is price. I'm trying to stay as cheap as possible.

I have a 1999 oldsmobile alero that I LOVE but the 156k miles is getting scary and it's been nickel and diming us to death. If I could, I'd just buy a newer one of those lol. I love oldsmobile, my cutlass was a rock and lasted forever. I wish the company hadn't gone out of business.

brandichamberlain

You can also call around and ask if any place has a demo that they're selling.  They are priced really great and it's almost like a brand new car.

I would suggest not buying a car that was previously a rental.

In past years when I've purchased a used car I tried to keep it under 40,000 miles and only a few years old.  I typically paid around 10k for those. 

If you are going to finance, I would suggest going to a bank and getting a pre-approval amount.  You can sometimes negotiate better when you have financing in place and you might get a better rate!

Starqueg

I've had three used cars in the last 10 years.  The first one was a lemon.  My dad bought it for me for way too much money, trusting the guy who sold it to him because his then-gf had bought one from him too.  Her car was crap as well.  That was in 2001 and it was a 1988 Stanza.  Don't buy a lemon and get it checked by a mechanic you trust before you buy.  Dad eventually realized that he should stop paying to repair that POS.  

My next car was a 2001 Corolla.  I'd still be driving that car if it hadn't drowned in a flash flood in November of 2006.  I think that car cost my dad about $10,000 from a dealer.  It was a really good car.  

Now I drive a 1999 Passat.  Dad bought it with the insurance money from the drowned car.  A friend of my aunt was looking to sell his car, so we really didn't look any further than that.  In 2006 the car had just under 12,000 miles on it and a ding on the front bumper.  It cost around $12,000 I think.  I'm not really sure at this point.  I know it was more than the insurance paid for the old car by a couple thousand.

Good luck with the car hunt.  My only real advice is to get any car you're really interested in checked out by a mechanic you trust.  Also, don't be an idiot like my dad and buy a car with a broken odometer.  

jennamarie10

my only 2 cents is that cars are stupid annoying to buy and put money into. Insightful I am.

answering the q, we recently bought a used 2011 GMC Terrain. It had 21K miles on it and it was only a year old when we bought it. It rides like a dream but doesn't get the best mpg.

ETA: And what I would do differently is look at other smaller SUV's and reconsider our purchase once we found out the interest rate. H was just so excited for the car, we are probably paying more than we should be.

I currently drive an '07 Civic though and it gets great mpg and is very reliable. I would think you could get an '07-'08 for around $9-$10K?

SpartanCat

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_nwr-used-cars?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:55f6b524-1b16-4a78-afa4-3aa8fcd85c59Post:db905cfa-7887-4d76-ac29-3777ce9925ac">Re: NWR Used Cars?</a>:
[QUOTE]In Response to Re: NWR Used Cars? : My parents have an Alero as well. It's either a 1999 or 2000.  Mom has been complaining a lot lately about how much it's been costing them so they are looking to replace their's as well.  Maybe they just crap out around 13 years.
Posted by ILoveMilkDuds[/QUOTE]

<div>Entirely possible. In the past three years we've replaced the brakes twice, fixed overheating problems three times (oh and the last one that I got my burns from is still unresolved), and replaced the driver's side window motor. Blech. If it wasn't being so stupid about the overheating I would just drive it until it dies.</div><div>
</div><div>Brandi - Because of my student loans and debts, I'm really trying to avoid doing any kind of car loans but I don't know if that's going to work with my car's timeline : /</div>

SpartanCat

Okay I have to get back to work but thank you all for your suggestions! I don't have job 2 tonight so I will check back when I get home : )

brandichamberlain

Would you consider a standard over a manual?  That can definitely save some money.

lbarr088

I wouldn't get a VW but that's just from experience. Electrical problems, etc. Are pretty common with them. I got a '99 Acura with 101k right before freshman year of college '06. Its now almost at 170k and knock on wood still running pretty great. Just do your research. Certain makes generally last awhile and hold their value pretty well used.... Others do not so I'm typically wary of those. Again, do your research. There are a million plus car forums and also make sure to get a vehicle history report.

SpartanCat

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_nwr-used-cars?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:55f6b524-1b16-4a78-afa4-3aa8fcd85c59Post:5d8dd610-9419-4752-88c5-d5c3c89fa60c">Re: NWR Used Cars?</a>:
[QUOTE]Would you consider a standard over a manual?  That can definitely save some money.
Posted by brandichamberlain[/QUOTE]

<div>I woudn't be averse to it I guess but I don't know how to drive one : ( Not sure how steep the learning curve will be for me.</div><div>Okay. Going for real this time lol</div>

Starqueg

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_nwr-used-cars?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:55f6b524-1b16-4a78-afa4-3aa8fcd85c59Post:a52a80a0-5153-41b0-8b6c-84f1a5f470af">Re:NWR Used Cars?</a>:
[QUOTE]I wouldn't get a VW but that's just from experience. Electrical problems, etc. Are pretty common with them.  
Posted by lbarr088[/QUOTE]
That would explain why my cruise control, driver's side speaker, and trunk light no longer work.  I'm not looking forward to driving NY to ME without cruise control this summer.

LesPaul

I just got a 2007 Prius (4 door hatchback) and I LOVE it.  It had 86,000 miles on it, which I think is a little high, but honestly cars are made better than they were 20-30 years ago, and you can realistically expect more mileage in its lifetime.  DH has a truck, so we're covered in the utility vehicle/need 4wd in the snow area, and we decided to go for good mileage in a smaller car.  I can go a couple of weeks between fillups, and they're less than $40.

We have had very good luck with CraigsList (both buying and selling).  Most dealers now use CL as well - car buying has changed since the days when everyone went to the dealership to buy.

[Deleted User]

When I bought my car it was 12 years old, it's a '97 Monte Carlo and I LOVE IT!  Paid $4k for it a few years ago and it has gotten me through everything, been hit several times *assholes* and it keeps on kicking!  And stands up WELL!

I think any car with over 100,000 miles should be off your list of potential cars, also highly recommend a focus or taurus.  And definitely have a mechanic check over the car!  Carfax doesn't show everything.

SpartanCat

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys.
I am a little leery of craigslist, I'll be honest.
To those mentioning Honda Civics, are you happy with their acceleration? We have two as work vehicles but they are hybrids. Their acceleration is almost dangerously slow, especially in highway situations. Is this a hybrid thing or a Civic thing?

Wiscisbliss

We bought a 2009 Nissan Sentra a year ago.  I don't remember the mielage, maybe 30k?  I think it was $13k.  

IMHO used cars aren't a great bargain right now, or they are really hard to find.  There was the cash for clunkers program that cleared a ton of used cars off of the road and with the economy as it is more people are holding on to their cars for longer.  

We just bought a brand new Chevy Traverse because we couldn't find the type of vehicle we wanted at any real savings (or stupid high mileage) over a new car.  

It is worth looking for a used car, but you might want to carefully compare against new cars out there.  If you can find a new 2011 model, those might be an amazing cost savings.  

azdancer8

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_snarky-brides_nwr-used-cars?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:17Discussion:55f6b524-1b16-4a78-afa4-3aa8fcd85c59Post:514c5d25-ecc0-4590-b0d9-c3314aa69a60">Re: NWR Used Cars?</a>:
[QUOTE]Thanks for all the suggestions, guys. I am a little leery of craigslist, I'll be honest. To those mentioning Honda Civics, are you happy with their acceleration? We have two as work vehicles but they are hybrids. Their acceleration is almost dangerously slow, especially in highway situations. Is this a hybrid thing or a Civic thing?
Posted by SpartanCat[/QUOTE]

My Civic doesn't get quite as much power accelerating or going up a hill, but I've never noticed it to be dangerously so. Granted, it is 15 years old, so that might be part of it. ;)

Anysunrise

H has a 2001 Honda Accord that he bought with 30k miles on it. At 173k miles, it hasn't had any major issues; the only thing we've had to get fixed was air control or supply valve or something or other, and it was only a couple hundred dollars. Hondas are definitely reliable. I'm leaning towards a CR-V if we can ever save up enough money for a new car.

SpartanCat

Wiscis- New is a thought. The problem becomes the car payments as I'm scraping by right now and not in a position to take care of extra expendables.

Az-I honestly think a big part of the problem was that it's a hybrid. Some of the entrance ramps in Chi are short or you have to make quick passes. Pedal to the metal and it was so sluggish I was still underspeed after merging into traffic. It kind of soured me on Civics but I'd like to try one that's not a hybrid to see if I notice a difference.