Hola. Please help me buy a car.
 

Hey guys.

I am not very mechanical at all.
I had a leased Nissan leaf which was good bc/ it was $250/month and electric cost for 12000 miles/yr was about $300.

My wife has a leased Altima. I have been driving it bc/ I go to work and back 65 or 70 miles round trip. We are over miles and have 14 months on the lease. I have to pay $325/month and let it sit or pay 20cents/mile.

This led me to this site. I am trying to find a car that is appropriate. I recently started in sales so I need something respectable looking. Id like to get over 50 mpg without putting a backwards cone on my car or anything comparable. Is that possible?

I wouldn't mind the kill switch, hi tire pressure, maybe fix the front grill, & potentially change the mirrors depending on the car. Maybe a few other modifications, but like I said unfortunately I can't disregard appearances entirely.

I have been reading the site a ton and looking around all over. It makes me sick to spend $4000 per year on car payments,+higher insurance rates, + the waste of gas mileage. I will never lease or buy a car that has considerable depreciation & bad gas mileage EVER again.

I've created an archaic spreadsheet that shows how much more financially beneficial it is for me to find a nice ecomodder car.

I have some assumptions in this spreadsheet that aren't obvious to everyone. Anyways, Ill post this spreadsheet later on & maybe it can be something that we all work on together to determine the differential in value.

I'm rambling. So, can you help me find a car? I have money to purchase a car, but I don't want to throw away money. My goal is to purchase a car that is a great value. Given that I'm not very mechanical what do you recommend.

Does anyone have a car to sell that is doing this for a hobby?

Thank you in advance everyone I really, really appreciate your knowledge and patience.

I live in St. Louis, MO. (I figured this might help for craigslist or something.)

Thank you.

I'll help you buy it if I get to drive it.

I'm not sure how your hard earned $$$ can be in the same hand as what others think! You really shouldn't give a FUKK about what others think! Don't forget Its not them paying the car note! Its bad for the health brother!

All you are doing is going from point A to point B. am I right?

$$$ > haters

I would buy the Mitsubishi Mirage myself.

I wish I could do that. However, the world is vain and customers don't want to purchase $100,000 of product from someone driving a 1990 yellow chevrolet cavalier you know what I mean?

I don't care what anyone thinks about me unless it's affecting my income and growth.

The mitsubishi Mirage is like 14,000. I don't want to spend over 6,000 bc/ I don't want to be experiencing the depreciation of a newer car.

I am basing my decision entirely on finances & my current situation at work. I am looking for a happy medium or where Marginal Cost = Marginal Benefit.

Thanks again for your help.

How long do you want to drive it? I'm cool with that.

You didn't really specify your budget, but FYI in the St Louis area on Craigslist (for under 3,000 bucks) there are:

83 Honda Civics
95 Saturns
43 VWs

etc, etc . . . . . I'd start there!

What if the "1990 yellow chevrolet cavalier " is super clean? detailed once a week, stealth aeromods, nice 90's era style rims and blacked out interior.

Oh under 6K? $6K is a good price for the car to be good enough for other people?
Not $5K?

Ok so you want used? Then Toyota Yaris / echo / corolla.
You can't hate on Toyota! clean dependable cheap transportation
If someone laughed or turned there nose about any $6K toyota I would be pissed.

Maybe you need a new job that pays less money? Do a spreadsheet about taking a lower paying job that lets you roll in that 20 year old econobox. It might be worth it!

2007 Chevrolet Malibu LS

2011 Hyundai Accent REGULAR TITLE

There's a couple, the 2nd would be my choice, might still have some factory warranty.

http://www.usautolinks.com/cgi-bin/w...to_id%3D344120

This is were I got my Cobalt XFE, little dent in the hood but nice price.


http://www.samsriverside.com/vehiclesDetail.php?29789

Sharp Fiesta, I don't see any damage? Both places in Des Moines, I'm sure there are some salvage dealers closer to you.

Low Low Miles 2007 Yoyota Yaris Great Deal

A little outside your price range but the low mileage has to be worth a bit, been on cl 22 days so they may be willing to negotiate.

regards
mech

Toyota Corolla almost new going cheap

here is another low mile car.

regards
mech

This one here.

50k miles is about the sweet spot for the worst of the depreciation being done but still having very few mechanical problems.

Too bad it's not a manual though.

True about a manual but if he drives the Yaris versus the leased Altima then he can get the mileage range back down to where he does not suffer the 20 cent per mile surcharge, which works out to $2000 per 10k miles. At that rate if he puts 30k on the Yaris versus the Altima, it would just about pay for the Yaris.

Leasing a car is basically renting depreciation, much better to get out of that trap immediately than to worry about transmsission options if you're driving on perfectly flat land and highway almost exclusively. The Yaris at reasonable speeds should do 40+.

regards
mech

I may have missed it if you had a budget, but around my parts you can get used 3rd gen prius for 12-16k all day long. easy 50mpg and they look good.

http://carbondale.craigslist.org/cto/4846141765.html

http://stlouis.craigslist.org/ctd/4825798998.html Lots of miles, but under 10k

Honda Insight.
Either generation.

1st gen you can get easily 50mpg just by driving it. It is only a 2 passenger and would fit well within your budget.

2nd gen would be close to being out of your price range and would require a few mods to reach 50mpg BUT youd be getting a relatively new car 2009+ and it would cost about 7-9k.

You mentioned you don't want to spend more because of depreciation and other factors BUT the 2009-2010 Insights price is already so low that I bet in 5 years a well looked after 2009 insight will still fetch 5k+ Look at the 1st gens.

or a Honda Civic hybrid.

For what your looking for a hybrid or TDI would be all that would fit the bill. With current gas prices and the cost difference between diesel and petrol Id go with a gas hybrid.

I am trying to make owning a a car almost as cheap as possible without looking like a bum. This is one of the reasons I'm gravitating towards cars sub $3,000 bc/ the price tag does not have much room to move.

Like I said, there are a ton of Hondas in that price range in your area. You should have no trouble finding a nice looking ecomoddable platform to start with there.

I just quoted myself!

"Not very mechanical at all"
"Driving leased cars"

Apparently your appearance makes a difference in your sales-income. Rule 1, don't mess up the income, much too rare these days.

You were spending 8-9k a year on leases, not including property taxes, higher insurance and other fees.

If you buy a low mileage car, then pile the miles on it for several years, say 90 k in 3 years. Then the low mileage car now has average mileage and would still be worth $3k used, with very little out of the pocket maintenance costs.

I like the Yaris, it requires little maintenance and fits your needs to a t. It will also resolve the issue with the over mileage on your lease and give you the means to get things under some sort of control, auto expense wise. You must have decent credit so the price of the Yaris is within your capabilities and if anyone judges you for driving a Yaris then I hope they don't cost you too much income or job security.

regards
mech

Drop the 50 mpg requirement, go for a more reasonable 40 mpg, if you do 20,000 miles a year it's only 100 gallons mores, 30,000 miles/year, 150 gallons more. At $200 to $600($4 a gallon x 150 gallon). Plenty of cars can get there or close, and a if a Elantra won't due image wise and I understand that, IMO domestic's are better for sales vs driving Imports (built here or not doesn't mater).

With the Altima going away I'm thinking a 4 door, rated mid to 30's hwy, decent size for wife (?kids) wife would need to drive it so assuming Auto. Could be as big as a 4 cyl Malibu rated just over 30 or as small as a Sonic/Fiesta, a recent Focus or Cruze would be big enought and make the mid to high 30's, get 40 with careful driving(coasting really). Will take a little searching to find one for 6k, but a little more give a 2010+ rated upper 30's.

Get one with hail dents and park away from the building so they can't see them. Looks great at a distance.

In general I agree with rooster, but the hail damaged car is not worth what they are asking for it. Maybe at half that price which would be closer to what the insurance company allowed for the owner to keep the car.

Also if you buy a hail damaged car make sure your insurance company is aware of the prior damage, you might be able to get it fixed by a "dent doctor" using paintless processes then get it checked out by your insurance company so you could get full coverage assuming you want full coverage.

My brother had a Cadillac he bought for $3k. It got in a hail storm and they paid him $3k. He drove it another year and sold it for $1500 without fixing the hail damage.

regards
mech

One of my nieces boyfriend now husband used to buy at insurance auctions and told me they probably paid under 3k for my Cobalt XFE I paid almost 7 for. But they've moved to Arizona before I could use him. One of my older brothers in Kentucky is getting his at auctions.

I'll have to look into what it takes to be able to go when I'm looking for my next car and cut out the middleman.

My brother settled for 25k on his big diesel truck and kept it for 7k (total 32k). It had salt water up to the bottom of the cab, but not a drop inside and it had no damage or fluid contamination.

He later sold the truck for close to 27k.

Been buying at salvage auctions for 42 years, first was a 66 Chevy G10 van. Paid $400, junk yard played games with paying for the title while holding my money, bought it from the ins company for $200 and got my $400 back.

regards
mech

If your now leaning towards sub 3k and want to put alot of miles on it (leased cars) I think a 01 jetta TDI would be the only candidate. Obviously looks are important to you the newer body style jettas dont look dated.

a 1st gen insight can be had for around that if its a bit rough. Would lose absolutely 0 value driving it. Same goes for the jetta.

Besides that your looking at late model civics and the type. Not as nice looking but much more reliable.

I still think based on what youve said a 2nd Gen honda insight makes the most sense. It may cost 7-8k but you will get great gas mileage it fits 4 adults easy looks like a pretty normal sedan and Its depreciation in the next few years I think can easily be offset by dramatically lower repair bills.

Ok. I'm definitely going to go to a salvage auction if I can hold out. Right now I'm paying something like 20 cents per mile and im driving the very minimum 70 miles a day.

Is there a trick to these salvage auctions? a best time to go?

Brett don't buy a car from a salvage auction. In most states you have to go get it inspected as a salvaged car and who knows what they find. The frame could be bent and they may fail you and your left with a piece of scrap that can never be put on the road.

Makes no sense to me. Your paying 35$ a day right now to drive the altima and another $6-10 in gas. If you work close to 20 days a week plus other driving that's close to 1,000 a month.

Your big issue is not gas mileage or depreciation its that lease and the miles. If you drove a car with even 35mpg that you owned it would save you close to $800 a month. No car out there will depreciate at this rate. Getting any car quick is better than waiting UNLESS you just buy the car at the end of the lease and finance it.

That would be a much better option.

This is the first week that I've driven and been over my 45,000 miles. I am trying to expedite this and get it done by Sunday. I won't continue on driving this car; even if I have to buy a temporary car before I get my next real car.

Whats your buyout? Is your credit solid enough to finance it at the end of your lease? That way you avoid all mile overages?

The market has waaay too many Altima's available. The Supply is much higher than the demand so buy out is not a solution. At the end of my 3 year lease it will be like 14,000 to buy out a car that will have a market value of 10,000 & that is the value when the car has 45,000 miles.

Salvage auctions are like casinos, even for those with decades of experience repairing cars. You can get burned badly with no recourse.
You've got yourself in quite a pickle with 14 months left on a lease and 45 k miles in 22 months?
2k miles a month=$400, plus the lease $325, plus fuel, insurance and taxes. Sounds like a grand a month.
My advice would be to get the lease paid off and the Yaris financed, probably with a dedicated credit card ($10-12k total), assuming you're not in credit card trouble as well.
If you have the fortitude to really get yourself straightened out, pay the grand a month on the credit card and get out of short term debt.
I would negotiate turning the car in ASAP, or you just pay taxes and insurance plus other fees for a car you will not drive.

I don't expect this advice to be appreciated.

regards
mech

Buy a 92 Nissan Sentra for <1k. It will save you 11k per year. You're welcome :)

I have checked my options with the Altima. The best option is to let it sit.

I now need to find a car. My immediate thought is to get a junker for 2k or less and drive this while I try to find the car that will be my car for the next 2-8 yrs.

Here are a couple that I'm looking at .

$1500 is where I would like them to be with this car
Ford Focus 2003! Leaving the country!

I would pay 2084 and it makes me suspicious that they JUST recently got an inspection before they are selling it. Also, a picture of the plastidipped tire is interesting.
accord lx 2005 Low miles Fully loaded

Yes, this is 6 cylinder, but it's decent and I can maybe get them down to sub $1400 range.

Maybe this civic 2001, but I thought I remember 2001 being a troublesome year for the civic. Also, the words seem about salesy.
2001 Honda Civic Ex


I can try to jab this 98 corolla for $1200. They might reject, but it wont hurt anything.
98 Corolla with inspections

Maybe this POS in the country with triple sticker on the car door.
1996 Toyota Corolla

This car is like 10 minutes or less from me and doesnt have too many miles. I know it's salvage and maybe that will help me knock some money off the cost of the car. Maybe i buy it for $1350?
2002 toyota corolla

Anything I need to be looking out for when a car is 105,000?

2005 honda civic $1400, but no title in hand? Doesnt make sense to me.
2005 Honda civic

I was also looking at this which VW, but I'm scared of VW's apparently they need some super unique oil that you have to have imported and even the VW mechanics put the incorrect oil in the car. Also it's Turbo and I don't want that.
2004 VOLKSWAGEN PASSAT GLS 1.8T

Here is an image of a spreadsheet I created if I were to Lease the Altima for the rest of my life at $325/month with a Yearly increase of the lease by 5%.

There are a lot of assumptions in this spreadsheet and I am conservative when creating insight's numbers.

This might be too intricate for a forum.

https://plus.google.com/u/0/10240334...45103451714828

https://plus.google.com/u/0/10240334...45103451714828

Those are all decent options. Your in a situation I find myself in frequently. You really need reliability 1st and foremost who cares if you don't get the MPG you'd like you got to work.

Heres a maxima. These are bullet proof as anyone will tell you and this looks pretty clean.
99 Nissan Maxima SE

1250 for an 2002 sentra. 1.8L 40mpg all day.
2002 Nissan Sentra GXE, Reliable car

another CLEAN maxima for 1600.

97 Maxima- This Deal Won't Last!

Id get one of the bottom 2. Both look like theyd get you to work just fine for awhile.

I am willing to go up to $7,000. Can someone please help me with this. Thank you.

2006 Honda Civic Hybrid

Honda Insight Hybrid EX Civic 2010

Both of those I think are reasonable options....

Low Low Miles 2007 Yoyota Yaris Great Deal

It's still there with barely more miles than your lease Altima.

New enough to be totally reliable old enough to be lower taxes and insurance.

Or you could try to finance the balance on the Altima and get it off the lease.

regards
mech

That is a great option. I just don't know if I can stand to drive that color of car for so long. I know it's cosmetic, but its the truth.

Thank you.

Are you concerned that the title is rebuilt? If i could get it for $1500 less I'd probably do it.

2006 Honda Civic Hybrid
2006 hybrid, but needs new battery.

2003 Hyundai Sonata
seems like the owner is trustworthy since retiring. Gas mileage isnt stellar.


2004 Volvo S40
maybe i try this, but maintenance is pretty high on volvo.

I'll keep posting. Thanks guys.

It seems like the 2005, 2006 hybrid batteries are having issues. I see this a good amount on these craigslist posts & it seems to be these 2 years that everyone is selling.

Based on my recent experience with KT's cobalt vs my Cobalt XFE, I wouldn't buy another front end damaged car. Hail dent any day, dropped $609 at dealer for KT's cobalt BCM(almost 10% of purchase prices), stll not sure if that was the problem still symptoms afterwards. The longer from the rebuild the better, KT's was straight from the rebuilder even though he put 3,000 miles on it.

Looked in to getting to Iowa auctions, pretty much impossible for the average guy, need land line, 32 hours per week office hours and service bays. Apparently way different between states.

I'd jump on the 2010 Cobalt for $4950 if I hadn't already got KT's for over 7(less miles though).