we are looking for a reliable and inexspensive used car.one of our relatives has fallen on hard times and needs a safe car to getaround in .can anyone suggest a good place to look for such a car.we live in mass.thank you very much we are not looking for anything fancy.how much do you think a car like this will cost?
If funds are limited, a 7-10 year old car which was well maintained and not too complex in design might fit the bill.
I’ve steered people to used Ford Crown Victorias, Mercury grand Marquis, for instance, and used Chevy Prizms (realyy Toyota Corollas).
In all cases, good past maintenance will determine whether the upkeep will be affordable.
In genral, I would stay away from any car with a turbo charger and too mamy expensive acessories. Stay away from old luxury cars and anything German.
A quick trip to the library and youw ill find the Consumer Reports Used Cr Buying Guide. It lists good cars by price class. Those recommended have generally had a good reliability record.
Happy shopping!
Any well maintained older car will probably be fine. The ones with the problems won’t make it that long. A well maintained 2002 base-level Chevy Prizm with a 4-speed automatic transmission will cost around $3000. The equivalent Toyota Corolla CE will cost about $4200. The cars are almost identical and were assembled on the same assembly line. An idea of how much they can spend is useful for us. The problem will be finding an older car that is in excellent shape. I suggest that you look for a senior citizen selling his car. Seniors have learned by that age that good maintenance translates into fewer repairs.
The best used car value is one that nobody wants. One of the ugliest cars was the Pontiac Aztec. It shared most parts with other GM cars, van, and SUV’s and is reliable. If you can find one it will be cheap to buy.
Stick to a basic domestic brand sedan. Next up would be a Toyota or Honda. Stay away from European brands due to high cost of frequent repairs.
Generally, if price is a major factor, you can probably get a nicer, newer, lower mileage domestic car than an Asian car. Everybody wants the Hondas and Toyotas because of their (well-deserved) reputation for superior reliability. Domestic makes still aren’t bad, and their prices are lower because they are less desirable. Some good bets in the 5-10 year old range are Ford Escort, Ford Focus, Chevy Cavalier, Buick Century, and Buick LeSabre/Park Avenue. All are common and easy to find, and tend to be cheap since few people seem to want them.
does anyone have any thoughts on a 2000 jetter.good condition,with 75,ooo miles?is this worth considering.or would an american made pick up truck be better.they are both selling for about $3000.
both of these can be pretty troublesome. A Volkswagen Jetta has a pretty bad service record, lots of repairs. Pickup trucks can live a pretty hard life and you wouldn’t always know it by looking. I think you should look a little further, Nissan makes some pretty good cars. So does Mazda, and their prices are not quite as high as Toyota, Honda.
Don’t you have another thread on these two vehicles? It might be better to not mix the threads.
Look for something domestic or Korean(Kia, Hyundai) and low resale. You will be able to get the newest vehicle possible. Remember MA has very good used lemon laws so don’t go over the border to buy in NH where of unsaleable MA cars are dumped.
Toyota/Honda/Subaru adds an automatic $1000-$3000 premium so you are paying mostly for a badge at this price range not leaving much for a decent car.
Skip any European as repair costs are over the top.
Make sure to pay a trusted mechanic to look it over before purchase. Some cars can be really bad as the price range you interested in is cars people are dumping more than likely.
These cars are out there. For example my MIL purchased a vomit beige 2000 Ford Windstar minivan with 45k 5 years ago for $3200. She now has 100k and only had to do brakes, tires, exhaust and recently a transmission related electrical component a mouse was chewing away at. The AC still blows ice cold and it runs fine.
hi!thank you for your welcome advice.since we have not purchased a used car ,we do not know where to shop for one.do you have any suggestions?thank you again,steve
thank you for the good solid advice!steve this has been difficult but we will keep looking