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Pester posted:Proposed Budget: Up to $1300. As was already mentioned, for 1300 you're looking at different colours of lightly-polished turds. I bought a 3rd-gen Prelude (laughably far from the practical vehicle you're looking for) for $1300 a few years ago; after 2 months it needed a new clutch and some other work that cost $1500 (I paid, because... uh... I had a reason at the time). Anecdote, but basically you can't buy a car for less than about $2000 unless you are or have reliable free access to a good mechanic. poo poo will break that will cost as much as the car did in short order. Having said that, gambling on a heap to see you through a few months or a few specific purposes ("I need to move two states over", "My friends are in a band and need a drummer for three weeks in May", etc.) is always at least an adventure, that at minimum leads to entertaining stories later on.
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Dec 30, 2012 12:53
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Seconding the "reliability is relative" at $3K. Rather than push your budget up, which won't really improve your odds of nothing important breaking in the next 6 months, plan to have another budget for necessary repairs / major maintenance in a few months. For $3K you can get a nearly-bulletproof Ranger, and if you will have another $1000 on-hand 3 months later to cover the inevitable something that goes bang, you're golden. Even $500 as fixit money on it's way in will make your life much, much easier.
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Jan 13, 2013 09:27
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Radio Talmudist posted:So, an aux input would be a huge quality of life improvement in any car I'd buy, but I'm getting the sense that installing one is pretty trivial on most cars. Can I just go to a mechanic and get one installed? What car? I know you said "any car you buy" but, as was mentioned above, there's a year-range that covers most cars that have pretty easy head-unit swap options, and then other years where car audio is a bit more complicated. If you buy a used car that has already had its head unit swapped for something aftermarket, a further upgrade is even easier - stick to the same brand (if available - Panasonic, despite the name, no longer makes car audio products) and the wiring should be exactly the same. You could get an additional AUX input installed by a mechanic or at a store that sells and installs car audio, and that would probably not cost too much and not take long. But a new unit is probably more fun for about the same cost. Most new head units these days have both AUX (3.5mm headphone) and USB inputs; some have a SD-card reader built in as well. You can fit a huge amount of music on a 8GB USB stick, and then you don't need to worry about phone or player batteries and a new unit will have playlist options. If you want to use your phone, many units are Android or iPhone compatible. If your car has a relatively easily swapped OEM head unit, putting in a new unit is actually very easy. Plus you get a shiny new aftermarket head unit - for like $100 - with more features than the factory basics. Most of those features will be "this unit can pump out a giant signal to your subwoofer so you can blow your rear windows out", but there are some surprising advantages to having a remote control, and multiple input modes. Check out Crutchfield, even if only to satisfy your curiosity.
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Feb 25, 2015 17:19
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Seconding the winter tires. Spend $3K on a Civic or similar, then $800 on good winter tires, mounted and balanced on basic wheels so you can swap your summers and winters yourself.
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Feb 26, 2015 05:43
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Cast Iron Brick posted:Say I went up to the 8-10k range. Could we start naming reliable mid-size or wagons then? Wagon or hatchback AWD Manual transmission and still have dozens of options. That's roughly the feature list and budget I'm considering (with the addition of 1996 or newer for OBD-II, and a registration history in the jurisdiction I'll be living in so there are no out-of-province inspection or emissions-testing surprises), and what I've seen includes Audi A4 wagons and Allroads from about 1998 to about 2004, a 2003 BMW 325iXT, a bunch of Subarus, and a handful of Volvos. And that's just the somewhat uncommon imports, I haven't seriously looked at the offerings from Ford/Chrysler/GM/Toyota/Honda. If low cost of ownership (insurance + expected maintenance) and low mileage were higher priorities for me, I'd be ignoring most of the Germans I've seen because it's pretty drat hard to find a BMW or Audi wagon for under $8K that doesn't have a million billion miles behind it. I should provide a disclaimer - the last time I went car shopping my list was "AWD and Turbocharger and not a Subaru" and I ended up with a BMW 328is, notable for being 2-wheel drive and naturally aspirated. Oh well.
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Feb 26, 2015 18:01
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Radio Talmudist posted:My dad found an 2007 Audi A4 with 130k~ miles on it for 7000$ for me. I told him that while Audis seem like very nice cars, they also seem very expensive to maintain...and they need premium gas. Given that I want a reliable, fuel efficient car that requires minimal maintenance, I feel like going with the Audi A4 is not a smart decision. Counter-counterpoint: A car outside the normal warranty period for unusually cheap has something wrong with it. Counter-counter-counterpoint: The seller is aware of this and is honest. Call the seller yourself and get the low-down.
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Feb 27, 2015 17:14
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I'll be moving from Saskatchewan to Ontario at the end of this month, taking my 2002 Chrysler 300M with me. I didn't buy this car - it was given to me by my parents and while it gets from A to B in reasonable comfort it's not the car I want to drive for the next few years. I'm starting a new job and some rough personal budget calculations tell me I can afford $400 a month in payments without too much pain. My bank, CIBC, has a loan calculator on their website and I've used it to get some estimates for loans and total costs and so forth. Kijiji tells me my 300M is worth around $2500, but I don't know how much it will cost to get it registered in Ontario; one idea I've had is to trade it in at a dealership and let them just make an offer so I don't have to worry about surprise expensive maintenance. They'll probably low-ball me, but avoiding nasty surprises is worth a few hundred bucks to me. I'm hoping to put together about $8000 to buy a used car in May. The car-loan calculator comes up with monthly payments of around $300 for 2 years on a $8000 loan with no down payment and $2500 trade-in on the Chrysler. They're quoting 2.85% as the rate, obviously they could come up with very different numbers if I talk to a real bank employee rather than their website but this is the only interest rate I see on their calculator at the moment. I could also get a line of credit, which is appealing because I'll have other moving expenses like buying furniture to deal with in April. Similar numbers - $8000 line of credit, no collateral to secure it, 2.85% - give me $240/month minimum payment and they state there's no penalty to paying off the capital early. I have a credit card that I've had for nearly 2 decades that will charge me about 7% on cash advances (my limit is frighteningly high); that seems like a bad idea if a much better rate is available from my bank. I've never had a loan, and I think a reasonable, affordable one would do good things for my credit history. I don't know my credit score, but my CC keeps offering me higher limits which I assume means they, at least, have some confidence in me, and I can't think of anything that would count as a big mark against me as far as things like paying rent and utility bills goes. Would a line of credit have a similar beneficial effect on my credit rating as a car loan? If I can arrange the LoC before I move I'll be able to keep more moving expenses off of my credit card, but if it doesn't count in my favour 5 or 10 years from now when I (might be) looking at buying a house it's not as useful to me. On the other hand, going several months in a row with zero balance on the CC is pretty drat appealing.
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Mar 4, 2015 23:08
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There's nothing wrong with the 300M, it's just a Chrysler automatic in a boring shade of boredom that doesn't make me happy. But you both provide good advice. As far as shopping on payment, I was mostly using that as a check on my total cost estimation. I know there are plenty of cars I would like at $8K, and playing with numbers makes it seem reasonable. But that's input into a brain that's desperately trying to rationalize a probably-bad decision (ooooh! a shiny thing!) so it's very, very useful to get a sanity check. Thank you. My question about line of credit vs. loan stands - does either have a bigger effect on a credit score half-a-decade down the line?
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Mar 4, 2015 23:25
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semicolonsrock posted:Proposed Budget: <$2,500 Automatic transmissions are fine things, but when they go wrong they tend to cost as much as the vehicle is worth (or more) to fix. Manuals are also cheaper to build (sometimes) and tend to be put into cars that otherwise have few options / luxuries, outside of the world of high-performance enthusiast cars. Driving a manual also makes the fantasies about owning a Porsche or Lambo or something a bit more realistic. Browse your local craigslist and take some cars for test drives. You'll be looking at small cars that are about 15 years old, or slightly larger cars that are a few years older. How tall are you? Honda is pretty solid, if you're lucky you'll find something like a Civic or an Accord that's had its timing belt done fairly recently - they need that every 100 000 km / 60 000 miles or bad things happen, and it's not a cheap job (either you pay a shop > $800 or you spend an entire weekend doing it yourself, plus you spend $200 on tools / supplies). The basic advice in AI used to be (still is?) "CCCA - Corolla, Camry, Civic, Accord" for the basic "I need a car" questions. Pretty much every car at that budget point is going to have risks and issues. High mileage isn't necessarily a sign of impending doom, but it's something to look out for. Avoid luxury brands - BMW, Audi, Acura, etc. - because those cars at that price / age are just as prone to problems as something like a basic Honda or Ford, but replacement parts carry a luxury price tag. So even if you see a screaming deal on a late-90's funcar you should assume there's $2000 worth of needs-this-done-very-soon repairs lurking underneath. Brakes, clutches (on manual-transmissions), pretty much all of the fluids (oil / coolant / powersteering / other hydraulic), light bulbs, and a bunch of other stuff are essentially "wear parts" - they'll need servicing or replacement every however many 1000s of miles. Tires are another, a full set of basic get-me-there-and-back tires will run around $400 new and are going to be needed within the first year, maybe year-and-a-half on any used car you buy that doesn't come with brand-spanking-new rubber. What kind of budget for basic maintenance can you put together? Where are you? Is winter weather going to be an issue?
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Apr 7, 2015 15:58
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semicolonsrock posted:Thanks for the advice all. What budget would realistically get a car which doesn't need as much maintenance? It's more a soft cap than anything else -- I don't really know what appropriate used car prices are. Starting at your initial $2,500 budget point, anything is going to require something, probably tires plus a handful of wear parts or common-failure-by-age parts (brakes, clutch, windshield, cooling system components such as radiator or water pump) and keeping $1000 on-hand to deal with that for the first year of ownership seems like a good idea. Up around $4,000-$5,000 you get a few nicer things, like non-astronomical mileage and conspicuously missing rust (rust is dependent on climate and age, and is as constant as death and taxes in some climates  ). You also get into car brands / models that started at higher values (luxury) or have higher depreciation floors because enthusiasts like them; for example, BMW and Audi. A BMW 325 in basically the same condition (age, mileage) as a Honda Civic will cost around twice the price of the Civic and still have twice the annual maintenance costs.Get into the $8,000-$10,000 range and your options open up dramatically. Huge choice here. Most non-enthusiast / non-exotic cars at this budget range will be very reliable for at least the first year or two of ownership, and you could probably expect to get by on just oil changes and tires for a few years. Set a budget - nothing wrong with $2,500 - for the purchase and a second budget (I suggest AT LEAST $1000) for whatever happens in the first year. Zero maintenance is not realistic, but cheap and relatively painless maintenance is possible if you buy the right car / get lucky. You always need new tires. Always. Just get a good set and be happy for a couple of years. Personal suggestion: 3rd gen Honda Prelude (1988-1991). I bought one in 2009 for $1,300, it needed $1,500 worth of work two months later but I drove that $3,000 car for two very happy years. Who doesn't love pop-up headlights?
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Apr 9, 2015 21:18
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Proposed Budget: $4000 New or Used: Used Body Style: compact pickup, 4x4 How will you be using the car?: Truck stuff - throw dirty things in the back (canoe / camping gear), drive on terrible roads, haul a pile of my possessions across the continent. What aspects are most important to you?: Fuel economy is never going to be stellar but I'd like relatively good. 4x4 is required. 1996 or later for OBDII and generally improved safety features (side impact beams, airbags, etc.) is also a priority if I can get it. I'm shopping for a small pickup truck because I'll be spending this summer in Alberta (near Edmonton) and driving back to Ontario in the fall after stopping in Saskatoon to clear out my old apartment. I have one big canoe trip planned with my GF and I know pretty much any truck will take the canoe easily. My GF used to have a 2WD Ranger and while she loved it, she is adamant that I get 4WD because her truck was almost undriveable in winter (even with winter tires). I'd also like to take a 4x4-for-beginners kind of weekend course in the fall because I'd like to learn more about getting myself unstuck / generally driving better. I just got off the phone with an insurance agent and I'm looking at $400 for 6 months of full coverage (or about $260 without collision & comprehensive) for a 1998 Toyota Tacoma 4x4 extended cab (I just picked an example from the kijiji search I did this morning), plus about $75 to register and plate it. This is entirely reasonable as far as I'm concerned. I've been told the Vulcan V6 Ford put into some late-90's / early 2000's Rangers is terrible and I should avoid it. So in a Ranger or Mazda B-series I'd be looking at the 2.3L or 2.5L engines. The most fuel-efficient S10 has the 4.3L V6 in it but Uncle Sam tells me those trucks get mileage similar to their larger brothers, the C/K Sierra/Silverado and I'm not interested in a full-size pickup. I had thought Toyotas would be out of my price range but a few are showing up for around $3000-4000 and I like the looks and their reputation. Nothing from Nissan is showing up in my budget range, everything is either old and broken or newer and much too expensive. A manual-transmission Dodge Dakota would also work (I've had bad experiences with Chrysler automatics), especially if I could find one with a V6, 4x4, and crew cab, but what I'm seeing for fuel economy is almost as bad as the S10. I can't think of any other small trucks that might fit, unless, I dunno, a Baja shows up or something. I'm open to suggestions, of course, and I could be persuaded to look at SUVs built on the same chassis as these trucks (e.g. 4Runner) if there was some clear benefit like cost or truck-specific parts that expensively break. Thanks goons!
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Apr 14, 2015 19:00
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If I see a Miata with a trailer hitch with room in the budget for a trailer I'll go for it, that would be hilarious and fun. I agree with you for the most part about the usefulness of 4x4 - I know I won't NEED it 99% of the time, even in winter - and rural southern Ontario can't hold a candle to rural Alberta when it comes to shyte roads and harsh terrain, regardless of season. I've been solidly maintaining exactly 2 calls to CAA (AAA to you Yanquis) every year for the past 6 years, and about half the time it's because I've done something dumb and gotten stuck. With 4x4 I'll either be able to get myself unstuck (with some training / experience) or I'll be so far in to the bush the tow truck won't come to me at all. I made it through two Prairie winters in my BMW 328is, I'm familiar with the relative importance of go/turn/stop when the road is extra-slippery. But thank you for the reminder, I don't want to be that guy when I'm chatting with a seller. And if there are truck nutz on the truck they'll be cut off with extreme prejudice. I saw an ad last week that featured a Confederate flag on the tailgate, not gonna call him. Though I also saw a truck done up in black-and-white digital camo... IOwnCalculus posted:Note that on the Ranger/B-series, the '98-up trucks do get better brakes and a bigger cab (as part of an overall update), but they lose the option for a 4WD four-cylinder - so you'd have to go with a 3.0 or 4.0 V6. Good to know, thanks!
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Apr 14, 2015 19:54
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Edgar Allan Pwned posted:In order to get a quote for insurance, don't I need to know the vehicle information before? I've gotten two friends to help me figure out if we can find a good used car on CL. I also want to set a meeting with a banker and ask them if it is at all possible.
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Apr 16, 2015 17:04
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I was posting here a little while ago about my search for a compact truck. Budget: $4000 Use: Truck stuff, canoe trips, hauling my poo poo across the continent, helping my GF move, playing at 4x4 because I want to go off road on purpose for once. Yes, 4x4 is unnecessary and wastes fuel and temps idiots to bend their trucks in half, but I want it. Priorities: manual transmission, 4x4, not ruined by some idiot bro with a giant lift or questionable go-fast stuff I'm near Edmonton, Alberta, which seems to be a good place to shop for a truck. I looked up the fuel efficiency for a handful of trucks that are for sale at the moment, and found something weird: according to the US EPA, a 1994 Mazda B4000 4x4 gets 18mpg while a 2004 Ford Ranger 4.0 4x4 with the same engine (newer by 10 years) gets a measly 15mpg. Is this just an weird artifact of how the EPA calculates these things? Would a 2004 Ranger really get that much worse mileage than a B4000 that's 10 years older? I'm also looking at a Dodge Dakotas from that same year range, and while they seem to be about the worst for fuel economy I know with a truck I'm never going to see "good" mileage, but I don't know much about the Dodges - is that V6 (I'm not looking at V8) a total dog? The 2004 Ranger for sale is suprising to see for my budget; the owner is asking $3500 for a FX4 "level II" - which I can't find any solid information about - and states quote:Truck is registered as a rebuild, was bought that way. I've had it for 5 years, recently bought a new vehicle so I don't need this anymore.
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May 10, 2015 05:07
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Gringo Heisenberg posted:It gets to almost -50C (not that often, plenty of ~-40 depending on the year though) with wind on some days during the winter where I live, and most of the taxis around here are Prius'. [/rant] My 1988 Honda Prelude - lacking a block heater because it was originally purchased new in Victoria, B.C. - refused to start at -29 C one day in Saskatoon, but once I swapped the battery for the brand new one I'd purchased the day before and left in the trunk, it fired right up. Similarly, the Florida-registered (hence, also no block heater) moving truck I used to move from southern Ontario to Saskatoon 6.5 years ago complained a bit after starting at -32 C in northwestern Ontario, but it was fine. I think any reasonably well-maintained car built in the last 25 years will start at any temperature you're willing to go outside for if the battery is less than a couple of years old or is otherwise in good shape. A Prius has a bigger battery than most cars, so I would think it could start at pretty much any temperature down to Antarctic levels, though it would need to run on gasoline because the battery wouldn't be able to hold much of a charge beyond what it needs to spin the starter. Over in the EV thread in AI there are a few people who live in reasonably cold places - Alaska, one of the northern states (Minnesota maybe?) - and are happy with their Leafs or whatever.
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May 17, 2015 04:06
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Does anybody know anything about interstate car sales in Australia? I've just moved to Armidale, NSW (from Canada) and we've decided to buy a Suzuki Jimny - it checks the boxes for us, (small 4x4) and there are a couple for sale in southern Queensland (Gold Coast/Brisbane area) that we want to check out. Our budget is up to about $10K AUD, and both cars we're currently looking at are advertised at $8500. One is at a Suzuki dealer and apparently has 6 months rego in QLD. The other is a private sale and is not currently registered. In either case, if we buy the car we'd drive it straight back to NSW and register it here. We've sent a message to the private seller asking if they could get a temporary rego for it so we could test drive it. For the dealer, we need to figure out how registration works - do we need to register it in NSW immediately, and lose the 6 months, or can we drive it on QLD rego for half a year? Has anyone ever bought a temporary registration in QLD? We can't even get an estimate for how much that might cost. The QLD government website suggests it's quite commonly used for getting a newly-purchased car home (you have to specify an individual journey when you get the temporary rego, presumably most people say "seller's place to my house"). Also, any advice for cheap and easy ways to get from Armidale to Brisbane, we've found the bus/train service but maybe somebody knows a better way? And a finance question: my Australian bank account (Commonwealth) comes with an app that lets me calculate loans available to me. Based on my income, expenses, and so forth they're willing to loan me up to $11K at 8.9% for a 2-year loan and about $500/mo repayment, on a secured-car loan. Quick google searches show a large number of car-loan places advertising 4.5 or 5% (usually in all caps with lots of bright colours). Most used-car dealerships advertise some sort of financing, though I haven't seen enough details to know what the interest or repayment schedule might be like. I'd rather keep the period under 3 years because that's the length of my job contract here, started a couple of weeks ago. A $500/month payment is reasonable for our budget. To summarize: Big Bank will loan me $11K at 8.9% for 2 years Internet Car Loans MAYBE $10K at 5% for an unknown period Used Dealership MAYBE $8 500 at unknown% for unknown period As a general rule, do interest rates go up or down with longer loan periods? Would I get a better rate on a 5-year loan, or a 1-year loan?
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Jan 27, 2019 03:59
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