$1,000 car that lasts two years (vehicle, best, pickup, buy)
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I did some rudimentary browsing on a used car website and was surprised that there wasn't much inventory under $1,000. Is it relatively easy or difficult to find a somewhat reliable car for under $1,000? I'd define somewhat reliable as having 1-3 good years left without needing a repair that costs more than $250.
I ask because I currently drive a 15+year old car with only 150,000 miles that needs a new timing belt. The mechanic that diagnosed it said that it would cost $700 for the repair. For some reason, I had this notion that I could get a whole car for less than that. I figured that I would just wait out the eventual timing belt failure and then just buy a cheap car that would hopefully last me through the next two years before I am back riding the subway for the foreseeable future afterwards.
I did some rudimentary browsing on a used car website and was surprised that there wasn't much inventory under $1,000. Is it relatively easy or difficult to find a somewhat reliable car for under $1,000? I'd define somewhat reliable as having 1-3 good years left without needing a repair that costs more than $250.
I ask because I currently drive a 15+year old car with only 150,000 miles that needs a new timing belt. The mechanic that diagnosed it said that it would cost $700 for the repair. For some reason, I had this notion that I could get a whole car for less than that. I figured that I would just wait out the eventual timing belt failure and then just buy a cheap car that would hopefully last me through the next two years before I am back riding the subway for the foreseeable future afterwards.
Depends on the condition of your car if it's good I'd have the timing belt done. Figure out if it's an interference or non-interference engine. If non-interference you can put it off as long as you don't mind being stranded.
Inflation has done a lot to car prices 10 years ago $1,000 was enough to get a serviceable car but not so much anymore unless you do the work.
If the rest of the car is decent, just fix it. Better to know the issues it has now rather than the unknown aspects of a "new" car.
I've had sub-$1k cars that were very serviceable. I've also had ones that were best served as parts. It's going to be a crap shoot when aiming at the bottom.
Inflation has done a lot to car prices 10 years ago $1,000 was enough to get a serviceable car but not so much anymore unless you do the work.
Definitely. My first car was a 14-year-old Volvo with 205k miles that I bought for $1500, and lasted me two years and 20,000 miles. That was 12 years ago. Nowadays, the same model 14 years old today costs over $3k, and will have almost 300k miles.
When I was shopping for my first car, it seemed that $2000 was the depreciation floor for cars at the time, so that was my target budget that I saved up for. You might still be able to find a serviceable car for $2k, but I wouldn't expect it to last more than a year.
I did some rudimentary browsing on a used car website and was surprised that there wasn't much inventory under $1,000. Is it relatively easy or difficult to find a somewhat reliable car for under $1,000? I'd define somewhat reliable as having 1-3 good years left without needing a repair that costs more than $250.
I ask because I currently drive a 15+year old car with only 150,000 miles that needs a new timing belt. The mechanic that diagnosed it said that it would cost $700 for the repair. For some reason, I had this notion that I could get a whole car for less than that. I figured that I would just wait out the eventual timing belt failure and then just buy a cheap car that would hopefully last me through the next two years before I am back riding the subway for the foreseeable future afterwards.
I would definitely have the timing belt done. Shop around for a better price, too, since you might be getting a high estimate.
If you buy a $1000 piece of shrapnel, you could end up with a car that needs $2000 worth of work in 6 months just to stay on the road. There is a lot of value in knowing what you have (or don't have). There are deals available, but you have to know what to look for, or you could end up in a world of hurt.
If I got a timing belt done on my 1995 Nissan 300ZX for $400 (a car that mechanics refuse to work on, they literally turned me down at any price) then you can certainly get it done for less than that.
More old vehicles exist west of 100 degrees longitude here in the United States so if you live in the west, a good vehicle for around $1,000 would be easier to find. The most common and reliable vehicles for around that price, all across the US are the older two wheel drive Ford and GM fullsize pickups.
Just get the issue fixed. Shop around for prices. That guy is charging you alot for labor on an older vehicle. Once you get it fixed then you know the vehicle will be running. If you buy another older vehicle, you have no idea what issues have been well hidden until you purchase it.
What type of vehicle do you have? Im thinking it is a common vehicle hence why you say its only worth 1k but most vehicles around 1995 are worth more than 1k in SoCal. I do think the prices here are higher than the rest of the country but the make and model make a huge difference as does location.
I don't know about in the US, but the cash for clunkers has pretty much killed off the market for cheap old cars in the UK.
For the last few years, I've run old cars as daily drivers, my current one is a 95 Escort diesel.
Paid $200 for it 2 and a half years ago, 15,000 miles later, all I've had to replace on it is a clutch (which was slipping when I bought it), and a few tyres.
It's never let me down, and still gives 50-60 mpg.
We also have a Volvo 240 we paid $100 for, it was filthy, inside and out, and had a few dents, but it was mechanically perfect.
An afternoon with a scrubbing brush soon sorted it out.
10,000 miles later, it's still running like a dream.
So, for $300, we've got 25'000 miles from the two cars.
Isn't that what you pay every month for a new car ?
In short, it's a gamble, but if you're handy with a spanner, and can do the work yourself if anything does break, then old cars are a bargain. Shop wisely, and you can't go wrong. Stick to models with reputation for reliability, and cheap parts availability.
Buy em with some inspection left, run 'em till they drop, then if they won't pass inspection, stick em on craigslist for spares.
You can park them anywhere, and not have to worry about dents and scrapes, if somebody does hit it, it doesn't matter.
If it's stolen, well !
If anybody steals my Escort, then it's their own fault !!
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