ok guys. i'm seriously looking for a car for my 16 year old son. i'm always scared to buy an inexpensive car because it's a throw of the dice as to what problems are gonna show up just after you drive it off the lot. so any help or advise you could throw my way would be appreciated!!

1. 4 cylinder (for good gas mileage)
2. automatic (new driver, doesn't know how to drive a stick and i don't know if it's a good thingfor an inexperienced driver.)
3. 4 door (for lower insurance rate)
4. mileage under 100, would prefer 75ish
5. $5K to $7K (prefer the 5K)
6. easiestmodel for maintanence
7. as reliable as a cheap car can be.

A. does buying from a dealer assure me any more than buying from an individual?
B. is there any place i should take the car to be checked out prior to purchase? if so...what types of things specifically do i ask them to look at.
C. is there a certain car i should definitely stay away from?
D. what do you think about Hyundai and Saturn?

whatever advise you have would be helpful. i'd like to purchase within the next couple of weeks. i don't like driving him around and i won't let him take my car!!

 

What you need to do is look for a car around 7k and bargain the hell out of it offer like 750 lower then what they want, as the market for these cars isnt the hottest. Even if its around 6k bargain way lower until you can come to an price you like. Just go to auto trader and type in exactly what you told us and look around. Private sellers are the best. Ask things like why are you selling it, get a carfax always. Pay attention to how the seller answers your questions as it can give away if they are lieing or not. Also the car brands I listed below will be hard to find around 75k mileage for your price range, but the cars below are known for having great realiability so going into the 100k mileages range shouldnt be something you need to worry about.

Nissan/Honda/Acura/Jeep

I know you want good gas mileage but man you can get great jeep cherokees for that price that will last a lifetime it was my first car and I loved it to death.

First Car - 1999 Nissan Maxima GXE

Second Car - 2002 Honda Civic LX

Third Car - 2001 Grand Cherokee

Just some ideas.

 

yeah i'm looking at autotrader and every other site i can find.
i figured with those you listed, i'd have to go higher mileage, but if they are known to have better reliability, then i'll modify my search requirements.

funny that i saw car #2, the 2002 civic. immedieatly passed it up since it looked like it had been modded with that hood...therefore probably driven hard, don't ya think???

thanks...i'll keep looking.

 

Hmm.

My first car (my 2nd actually, but the 1st one I didnt have to share with my twin brother) was a 96 Honda civic, and I drove the hell out of it. It needed a new tranny and eventuallya new engine (which wasnt my fault, it was because of the tranny install - long story). The only problems I had with it were completely my fault.

Point being, whenever I help people look for reasonable used cars, I always suggest Honda, Toyota, sometimes nissan.

You cant go wrong with a civic or accord, espically if it has been driven by a mom or grandparents. The only maintenance I had to pay for was timing belt and water pump, which should be replaced between 80k-90k inhondas - so if you find a car with that kind of mileage, maybe you can use that as an advantage.

Nothing ever went wrong in that car without my doing (Ie the tranny).

Maintenance is cheap on honda's, and they're not hard to work on, so a local shop should suffice (so you dont have to go to a honda specialist (like vw/audi) or the dealership).


I'm sure you want a safe car as well, because I know most teenagers get into accidents in their first car, the honda had airbags and what not.

I cant speak to toyota's because i've never owned one, but they're pretty solid as well. A few year old camry would be perfect.

As for hyundai, the wife to be (2 weeks!) has one, an 06, and is in love with it (Santa Fe). Im not sure what type of car you're going to get for only 5-7k, and chances are that you're not going to get much out of the 10yr 100k warranty for that price range (75-85k miles might last you a year or 2).

http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail...eadExists=true

Not sure if that car has any warranty left or it might be before the 10yr 100k mile warranty.

Im rambling at this point - I guess I would just suggest looking around at the different dealerships in their "Budget" lots. You might have a hard time right now because the type of car you want to get is very hot (Efficient 4 cylinder), so dealers might not have many and are probably charging too much for them.

It took me nearly 1.5 monts to finally find the car I wanted. GL and Ill be looking out for you!

(PS my parents want to sell my bro's neon, but I wouldnt sell it to you , I know how he drove it)

 

+1 on Honda. They may not be the nicest cars, but they sure seem to run a long time. Pretty safe, too.

 

I'll keep posting ones that i find. you can comment if you like.

http://stlouis.craigslist.org/car/644880767.html

 

^ Mods like that on an LX (Lowest horsepower model) = beat to ****. (I see header and intake)

sounds like a V8? You have a v8, you know what it sounds like a 2.2L I4 sounds like farting.

Sorry, I'd pass - if you found a non modded on Id say thats a pretty good car - as long as the TB/water pumphas been replaced

 

guess your right. what was i thinking???
what is TB stand for? (TB/water pump)

i guess i really need to find a "grandma" car, huh. (do grandmas drive hondas??)
i have a decent list of cars to look at and i've been comparing their asking price to what i see on KBB.

i'm nervous about buying from a private seller just as i am a small dealer!
since i'm looking at a higher mileage/low cost car, it's usually the "joe's auto sales" that i see them advertised at.

 

TB = Timing belt

And yes, grandma's drive hondas. its just a matter of finding them - which again, given the high prices for gas right now people will probably be hanging onto the more economical cars

Sometimes I think its almost better to buy from a private seller, because its easier to guage whether or not they are lying about something being wrong with the car - on the other hand somtimes its nice having the dealer to fall back on if the thing craps out on you.

GL with the search, Ill keep my eyes open

 

Scion xB
Toyota Camry
Honda Accord

...in that order.