I live in Greenville Texas and have been searching hard for a vehicle under $2000 that we could get from a reliable used car dealer or a trade in car from any dealer within 35 miles of 75401 zip code. I have searched online alot and I cannot find anything. Can anyone recommend a place to buy from.
A car today for under $2,000 is like the $500 car of yesteryear. There is little profit to be made by a dealer on cars in this price and still all the headaches. Folks buying the $2,000 car often expect it to be faultless. I think you need to find a private seller.
Newspaper classifieds used to be a good source of private sellers but they are getting too expensive. Some areas have local shoppers guide papers where cheap cars are advertised. The best source is your computer. Craigslist is a good place to start. Some private sellers use AutoTrader.com, Cars.com, and others. The private sellers listings are low budget so you need to type in your price range and some possible should turn up.
I would say craigslist and then “gold alley”. Nowadays I doubt someone with a $2000 car will pay $50 for an ad. Drive around the well off neighborhoods for cars with for sale signs. Have you budgeted for repairs?
You could try Kijiji - I think the closest one is Dallas, but usually rural places just use the nearest one. They have categories for under $5,000, cars, trucks, etc. Just watch out for the scammers - there are honest sellers on there - and some (lots) not so honest. Get the car checked over by an independent mechanic before you buy - even for 2000.
Craigslist is the place to find individual sellers getting rid of cars that are, many of them anyway, still fine.