Looking for a cheap used car

The rack and pinion on my car is drooling so I’m finally at the point where I’m ready to dump it for another car.

I’m looking for something in the $3,000-$7,000 range or $10,000 max. Reliable and fuel effecient. Sedan, coupe or hatch. There is a 2012 mazda 3 with 103,000 miles available for $4,600, theres also a 2008 yaris with the same mileage available for about $6,000. Are either of these worth it? I’m also seeing a lot of ford fusions, couple focuses and a bunch of chevy cruzes listed cheaper than other models, are these bad or something?

The last three cars sound like The Ghastly Trio but the price on the Mazda seems like it’s playable. Make sure the inside smells like a car and there aren’t any high water marks anywhere.

There were no pictures yet but its on a buy here pay here lot so that has me worried. I swung by to check it out myself and it has hail damage. Little dings all over it. I’m assuming thats why its setting there at that price, other than that I don’t know much about it yet.

Mazda seems like a good deal assuming it’s mechanically sound, the hail damage is why it’s cheap but for something that just needs to get you from A to B it’s probably worth it. Yaris isn’t a bad choice either, not as entertaining as a Honda Fit or Ford Fiesta but reliable.

The Focus was plagued with the Powershift Transmission for the 3rd generation cars in 2012 that basically gave the cars a bad name in the market. Chevy Cruze has had similar transmission and engine problems in the early cars.

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I don’t know where you live, but none of these cars seems like a good deal. A 2012 Mazda 3 at a BHPH dealer, with hail damage, and most likely a salvage title does not seem like a good deal. Neither does a 2008 Yaris with 100,000+ miles for $6k.

And I absolutely would not touch any Ford Fusion or Chevrolet Cruze, nor would I touch any Ford Focus newer than 2010. The older Focuses, especially the ones with the timing belt motors (2.0L SOHC, 2.0L Zetec) were rock-solid reliable. The ones with the Duratec and regular automatic transmission were also decent. The newer models with the dreaded dual-clutch “automatic”, I wouldn’t give to my worst enemy.

You don’t say where you live, or what kind of vehicle you already own, but if you aren’t in the rust belt, there should be plenty of decent older cars available for a reasonable price. Also, if your current car is a good model, and in decent overall condition, it might make better sense to repair versus replace.

If you must replace your car, and if you don’t live in the rust belt, the used vehicle offering the greatest bang-for-the-buck is the 1997-2001 Toyota Camry. There is literally no other vehicle which comes close to the value which this model offers.

I’m a big fan of the Mazda 3. It’s a reliable, just the right size kind of car.

My mechanic steered me away from Chevy Cruzes. He said they saw a lot of engine problems due to “plastic” parts.

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2010-14 Civic or Corolla my bets.

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What is your current vehicle, make, model, year, and mileage?

A Honda or Toyota is more reliable than a ford, Chrysler or Mazda, so it costs more to buy. But will need fewer repairs. So it will cost less in the end.

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I had a Yaris as a rental for several months. It ran well, although it was slow. If you just want basic transportation, this is a viable choice assuming it passes a prepurchase inspection.

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Cruz is very troublesome, Yaris rides like a buckboard, others are worth looking into.

I’m fortunate enough to not be in the rust belt. My car is a 2004 chevy with 280,000 miles and even if I were to replace the rack and get an alignment ($1,000 minimum) it would need an engine anyway. Lots of leaking and smoking. It runs and drives, thats the only thing keeping it out of the scrapyard.

I’ve done a bit of research and heard about the powershift transmission issues with fords like you mention. I just felt suspicious at all the cheap 20teen cruzes.

Theres a few camrys/corollas of varying years available but they pull a premium. I see an 03 corolla for $5,900 at 189,000 miles. It hit a deer and carfax says airbags did not deploy but later down the line it says the airbag and module were replaced anyway. Theres also a 2014 rav4 towards the top of my budget at $9,000 155,000 miles.

Even without the accident, this is crazy, stupid money for a 21-year old Corolla with nearly 200k miles. This must be at a BHPH dealer, because I see cars like this on Craigslist all the time for about $3k. And all of the 2003-2008 Corollas had the airbags and airbag modules replaced (or at least they SHOULD have) because of a nationwide safety recall.

You don’t say which Chevy model, nor what its overall condition (body/interior) is. Even with all these problems, if the body and interior are still decent, it might make sense to get a used motor and transmission from a low-mileage wreck, and keep this on the road for a while longer. Or just keep looking for something better to come along.

I wish I was seeing the same deals you were, nobody in my town even seems to use craigslist anymore.

The mazda was the only one in close enough proximity so I test drove it after work. The guy said it was a rebuilt title due to the hail damage and that he replaced the windshield. This lot has a shop on the property right next door.

The front driver side mirror is missing a piece of the housing, other than that and the dings it’s the only thing cosmetically that stands out on the exterior. I ran my fingers across the gaps between the body panels/hood/bumper at the front of the car and noticed a very slight discrepency where it seems the bumper is ever so slightly further out than the other piece. The gap between right fender and hood is very slightly different than that of the opposite side. You’d have to feel it or look close to notice. The paint looks good.

No obvious signs of rust or leaks to me at least. The inside didn’t have any weird smells and I made sure to get a nice wiff with the AC running. My OBD reader shows no codes and all the readiness monitors are green. The car runs and drives just fine. Seems to shift smoothely and the steering is tight and responsive. I let go of the wheel and it seems to track pretty straight. No uneven wear on the tires.

No excessive soot in the tailpipe, oil level and color was fine. All matching tires.

Seemed to be a very slight deadzone in the top of the brake pedal travel but I’m particularly picky about pedal feels everytime I get in a different car so it just might be me not used to it.

A few things I noticed. When driving down the road and I accelerate fast or blip the throttle I’m used to the RPM going down inmediately when let off. In this car the RPM seems to “wind down”. I don’t know if this is an issue or it’s just me not being used to newer cars. It doesn’t seem to effect the driving at all though.

Another thing I noticed when parked and I rev the engine, the RPM will fall when I let off thrn hang for a very brief moment at about 1200 RPM then fall down to idle.

The last thing I noticed and particularly more concerning is a soft groaning noise when I was turning left through a parking lot. I could barely feel it through the floor. Didn’t happen with the car parked and turning the wheel. I’m guessing maybe wheel bearing?

I know the general consensus around here is to avoid rebuilt titles but if it really is due to just hail damage is it a big issue?

Is it worth me going out and spending $45 to have the vehicle inspected by a trusted mechanic or should I just steer clear? I didn’t mention my discoveries to the guy so maybe it can be used to haggle?

Just pass on this one. Too many things that make you ask questions .

I might get Flagged for this but if you have a Carmax lot near you at least they have a limited warranty and a very good return policy if you don’t like the car .

I have no reason to say Carmax but I have sold them 3 vehicles .

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Used car sellers have the advantage over the buyers post-Covid, but it seems like the situation is improving for the buyer. If I needed a daily driver I’d be looking for a basic-equipped Corolla, Civic, or Mazda 3 myself. You’ll have to triage the candidates for what’s the most important to you. In my case I would not be considering the car if there is any difficult to repair rust, the check engine light fails to behave itself, or there are any readiness codes in the “incomplete” state. I would be more willing to accept some paint imperfections and sensor or actuator diagnostic codes. I’d try to find a car that has a seemingly impossible to resolve problem, but actually just needs a minor repair, minor overheating caused by a faulty radiator cap for example.

Suggest to obtain a pre-purchase inspection by your own shop before deciding. I’ve never had to deal with questionable title issues, so seek help about that from someone with that experience.

I would forget the Yaris but I worry about fords unless the mechanics here clear it. I’ll just say to buy quality. Mileage is less important depending on the previous owner and the quality of the car. Both of my rivieras had 100,000 miles when I bought them. One went to 350k and the other 520k. Just imho.

What would this Mazda be worth in perfect condition, with a regular title? With a salvage title, it’s worth half that. Without checking KBB and other similar sites, I’d assume a dealer would sell this car for $7995. Therefore, with a salvage title, it’s worth no more than $4k.

If you really like this car, and it drives well, and you looked inside the radiator and looked inside the engine oil fill cap, and checked the oil level and condition, and looked underneath for signs of flooding or frame damage, you could offer $4k and see if they bite. It doesn’t sound like this car is going to sell anytime soon, and the longer it sits, the more likely they are to accept such an offer. It sounds like your current car would cost so much to properly repair, that this is a better use of funds (assuming all of the above is true).

It goes without saying that if I am buying a used vehicle, any CEL or trouble codes, or incomplete monitors, overheating/rough idle, or other issues would be assumed to have the worst possible cause, i.e. a leaking head gasket or other internal engine issues, and my offer would be based on the assumption that I am going to have to do major engine/mechanical repairs. If the seller balks at my offer and claims that it’s an easy fix, or just a sensor, blah blah, then he can keep his car and sell it to someone else.

I have purchased vehicles with these kind of issues, and more often than not, I had to spend a lot of money and effort to get them running well. Sometimes, I got lucky. For example, I paid just $1800 for my truck, which was in decent physical condition, but kept overheating. I assumed it needed head gaskets, and the seller priced it accordingly, but I ended up solving the problem with a new water pump, radiator, thermostat, and coolant hoses. I never had to take the motor apart.

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