@WhereisRick
a 4WD vehicle doesn’t mean it’s expensive. However I do agree with the buy here/pay here scams.
@WheresRick is absolutely right !!!
Under $3k Jeeps and Blazers will burn gas like you wouldn’t believe compared to an Escort. If you can only afford $3k for a new car, I hope you use bikes and public transport to make up the difference in repair and gas of these two money pits. Even the simplest of each at this price will either be rust buckets or have a gazillion miles. If you have only $3k to spend, spend it on another Escort ! The only use I can think of for these two old Junkers , is to just once, drive them off road into the deep woods…to use as target practice. ( with permission from the land owner of course, )
It has been my experience that 4WD vehicles, especially $3000 ones, can be expensive to maintain and repair…More-so than an equal 2WD version of the same vehicle…
A 4wd vehicle is not necessarily more expensive to purchase if its older, but it will generally cost more in gas, and more in maintenance and repair in the long run. Not many 4x4 trucks get good mileage.
In 100,000 miles of driving my 4x4 truck I put over 16,000 dollars in fuel in it. I paid 14,500 for the truck. In 7 years I have spent more in fuel than the initial purchase price. The high mpg car I drive now uses so much less fuel it would pay for itself if i had a car payment on it, I would be money ahead. I have been in love with my 4x4’s before, until I add up the numbers.
I can afford the fuel in the 4x4 if I want, I have just decided I would rather have that money in the bank. The OP is needing to finance a 3k dollar vehicle, He doesn’t seem to have a lot of money to throw away, if he buys a 18mpg blazer or jeep thats exactly what he will do.
I WISH I had all the money in fuel I have wasted in my Camaro, Truck, ect… Now at least the camaro was fast and fun. My 4x4 truck handles poorly, and guzzles fuel. Since I have bought the Prius and my caprice the truck sits 95% of the time.
Could you fix the escort by putting a used trans in?
What are the terms at the BHPH lot? I know your young, you want a jeep or a 4x4, I get it. Your 40 year old self is telling you not to do it, believe me. I have been in the exact same shoes, I really wanted something, was willing to pay anything within my means to buy it, and was willing to overlook flaws in a vehicle.
Best way to buy something is cash.
I would caution against “buying” at a BHPH lot
I live in Los Angeles, and the LA times has villified the BHPH industry in the past few months. Once you start reading up on it, you realize that the BHPH industry is bloodthirsty, savage, and is preying on those individuals with poor credit, no credit, limited income, etc.
They apparently “sell” well used, . . . actually, used up cars . . . for outrageous sums of money.
I put sell in parentheses, because, ASFAIK, people with cash to buy a POS outright do not go to these places.
You have to go to the lot IN PERSON to make your payments
If you get behind, they will lure you into the lot under false pretenses
They will block your car in, so that you can’t drive off
Your car is, in effect, repossessed
Your money is gone, and you have no ride
Then they “sell” the car to the next guy
The cars are “sold” multiple times
It is shocking how much money can be made off of these overpriced POS cars that should be retired
Little update on this after once agian being sidetracked by life. The dealership was crap, not buying from the first one. As for the Escort didn’t have enough time for it so sold it for what I can get, maybe getting another escort (five speed) form a coworker for the amount I got out of the old one. MIxed feelings on everything atm, working full force full time job and finishing school.
Spending no more for the “new” Escort than what you got for the old one is a smart move
It is smart in the sense that you are not committing yourself to new payments
Making wise financial decisions is not always easy
I’ve made my share of mistakes, as have most of us, I would imagine
“The salesman told me since I was putting a good chunk of money down, they wouldn’t require me to have a co-signer on the loan; though I did get hit with a 9% interest rate”
There was a time when 9% was a good rate on a 30 year mortgage. 9% on a car note isn’t that bad.
Indeed. Like my Dad I’m a huge fan of buying cars that need some repairs (if I can do the fixes) and just driving em’. Don’t care much about the bodies etc. Its how a learn what I know now of vehicles. And well if I do go through with this offer I’ll learn five speed:)
If I understand this correctly, you do NOT know how to drive stick?
Who is going to teach you?
If you teach yourself, there is a chance you may severely shorten the clutch lifespan
No offense intended
@Hartland
"like my dad, I am a huge fan of buying cars that need repairs ( if I can do the fixes)…don’t care much about the bodies… "
Just a couple of comments. You don’t seem to have money and the resources to repair these Junkers. They are less then Stella reliability wise when new. What makes you think you will ever be able to " just drive 'm ", very far and long ?
Secondly, the body is the most valuable part of a car or truck. Not caring about it leaves you in a situation where it could quickly become uninspectable and the price to repair could make $3k look like chicken feed. Regardless of your good intension, with all due respect, you and I aren’t Jay Leno who can’t afford to have such a cavalier attitude about cars. This is especially true given you can only afford an old $3k 4wd used up vehicle to begin with that most of the rest of auto buying public has seen fit to avoid.
@db4690: What a lot of these fly-by-night lots do is install an electronic device that interfaces with the car’s ignition and security system. If the buyer doesn’t make their payment on time, they don’t receive the code valid for that week or month to punch in to the little box that sits in the glove compartment. Without the code, the car won’t start and the buyer goes nowhere. Cheaper than tracking down a repo car, and I wouldn’t doubt there’s some form of Lojack in there to let the lien holder know where the car is.