QuestionHey there. My wonderful, reliable 1997 Honda Civic was stolen awhile back, leaving me in the sad position of needing another car. As a student, I don't have a lot of money and I don't want to finance. I can spend around $1,500. Yes, that's it. One thousand, five hundred. I know it's not a lot, but I was wondering if you had any suggestions for vehicle types/make/year I should look for that would be reliable around that price point. Thanks!
AnswerWell Jennie, the best suggestion I can give you is to aim for either another civic (92 or so... maybe more... with higher miles)... or perhaps a newer car with cosmetic blemishes... perhaps a few small dents or faded paint... something that does not hurt the performance of the car but will lower the value. Now you have to be careful of damaged cars, so don't go that route without a mechanic friend - or actually taking it to a mechanic. Most cars you can grab for 1500 are crap... But you may be able to find a nice civic, corolla, camry, accord... use websites like craigslist.com, autotrader.com, cars.com - find a nice honda or toyota... this will be your best bet from the early 90's... set the search price to around 2500 or so.. figuring you can always haggle. If you can find a lightly damaged newer car, feel free, but get it checked out...what year and mileage will depend on the cars condition - aim for newer with higher mileage (but not over 150,000 if you can help it) - my sister has a 1996 civic with 175000 miles and still going strong.. any reliable car with ~150,000 should get you through college. Don't forget to factor in tax, tag, title, etc.. and any other costs to your budget.. especially the fact that right after purchase you will probably want to get an oil change and a tune-up.
Haggling info:
http://thestealership.com/usedcarguide.html
Vehicle inspecting:
http://thestealership.com/inspecting.html
Hope this helps!
