Cheap first cars...how much do they REALLY cost

[nouseferaname90]

Originally Posted by Spectre

My XJ6 was $800.

Thats because the person on ebay didn't know how to spell "Jaguar"

[ja404]

Cars I've bought for under 3k:

91 Taurus ($600)
91 Beretta GT ($3000)
91 Eclipse GSX ($3000)
87 MK 2 Golf GT ($400)
85 Delta 88 ($150)
92 Suzuki Katana ($1700)

And yeah, in my parts you can definitely get mx5's for under 3k.

[Posmo]

Originally Posted by JCE

Is it true that in order to ship one across the pond and getting taxed and registered (MOT?) you'll be looking at $5,000 or more before you even get to the price of the CAR?

This is the cheapest V8 manual Camaro I could find:

http://www.nettiauto.com/chevrolet/c...402?sitelang=1

I hate you.

[katwalk]

Where are you people finding these?! I can't find anything driveable for under 5k

[Spectre]

Originally Posted by nouseferaname90

Thats because the person on ebay didn't know how to spell "Jaguar"

That's not my problem. I mean, it's not like it doesn't spell it out for you on the back of the car or anything...


I once bought a Mercedes W123 300D for ~$400 at a police auction because some idiot didn't know how/couldn't be bothered to spell "Mercedes" and listed it as a "Mercury 300".

There are lots of idiots out there. If you shop carefully, you can relieve them of their goods.

Originally Posted by katwalk

Where are you people finding these?! I can't find anything driveable for under 5k

Careful shopping, looking for common misspellings, sorting by price, sacrificing to Lucas Prince of Darkness... little things like that.

[thevictor390]

Originally Posted by katwalk

Where are you people finding these?! I can't find anything driveable for under 5k

Seriously? Go to a used car lot and look around. So much 90s crap.

[Spectre]

Hm. That makes me want to go look around Craigslist to see what's for sale in the $1000 and under class today....

BRB, going to see what's there.

[nouseferaname90]

I found a supercharged thinderbird for $500 in a random cl search today

[thevictor390]

Originally Posted by thevictor390

Seriously? Go to a used car lot and look around. So much 90s crap.

Scratch that, I'll be getting a new(er) car some time in the next few months, and will likely be selling mine for well under $2k. I commute 45 minutes daily and it's showing no signs of slowing down.

[katwalk]

Originally Posted by thevictor390

Seriously? Go to a used car lot and look around. So much 90s crap.

And it's all waaaaay overpriced. I couldn't find anything for 3k that would be an improvement for the PT that only runs some of the time. It was a better deal to dump in 1500 than look for something else :/

[Spectre]

From today's Dallas Craigslist; criteria are $1000 or less, posted 6/24 only - that's only the ads from this past day.

Basic Transport (nothing fancy, something to buy to get you around - say until your real car is repaired or until you can save up enough money to get a better car - this is called the "cash car" class, may need a little work but can drive around without needing any repairs first):

God's own number of Tauruses (Note: If you ever find yourself stuck in a distant American city with $1000 and no transport, go look for a cheap Taurus and use the remainder of your cash to get you home or to someplace better.)
1995 Lumina V6, $1000: http://dallas.craigslist.org/sdf/cto/1237283290.html
1993 Camry LE I4, $1000: http://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/cto/1237143048.html
1994 Saturn SL2, $1000: http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/cto/1237343673.html
1996 Crown Victoria, $850: http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/1237797117.html
1986 Chevy Silverado Suburban 1500, $995: http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/1237900168.html
1991 Mazda Navajo, $800: http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/1237998142.html
1993 Honda Civic, $800: http://dallas.craigslist.org/mdf/cto/1238111543.html
1995 Saturn SL2, $1000 or best offer: http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/1238125276.html
1991 Honda Accord, $600: http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/1238533800.html


Interesting Projects:
VW-based dune buggy, $600: http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/cto/1238073269.html
1989 Volvo 240DL, $800: http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/cto/1238135463.html
1975 MGB, $600: http://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/cto/1238154690.html
1979 Firebird w/ Olds 403 engine, $700: http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/cto/1238175220.html
1992 Dodge Ramcharger, $1000: http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/1238226685.html
1997 VW Jetta, $1000: http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/1238258987.html
1997 Pontiac Grand Prix Supercharged, $400: http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/1238322430.html
1993 Ford Thunderbird, $500: http://dallas.craigslist.org/ndf/cto/1238459368.html
1989 Mitsubishi Sigma, $650 (nothing claimed to be wrong with it, but it's a Mitsu and all Mitsus are project cars): http://dallas.craigslist.org/ftw/cto/1237919530.html
1996 Ford E-250 work van, $1000; http://dallas.craigslist.org/mdf/cto/1238403273.html

Interesting Cars That You Could Drive Right Away:
1978 Mercedes Benz 280 CE, $850: http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/1237658897.html

And that's just from today's ads.

[thedguy]

Miata's/MX-5's are cheap. I've seen plenty of well sorted cars go for under 2k. Well and tastefully modded ones go for less than 3k with only the minor-est of body or paint issues.

Honestly, prior to my driving it, my car cost $600 to get to my door step with blown automatic trans. It cost me $1k to put a new timing belt, waterpump, radiator, clutch, flywheel, drive-shaft, and (used) transmission in the car and get it running. The car was otherwise mint besides oxidized paint and a couple of chips and nicks one can't avoid on a 17 year old car.

[nouseferaname90]

SF Bay Area

Normal Taurus's
Daily:
1993 Thunderbird 5.0 http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/1238623087.html
Volvo 740 Turbo http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/cto/1238599586.html
1990 Chrysler Minivan http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/1238591624.html
1991 Toyota Corolla http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/1238550318.html
1995 Saturn Coupe http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/1236333802.html
1988 Acura Legend http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/1238524783.html
1989 Jeep Cherokee http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/1238431151.html
1992 Lexus LS 400 http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/1237853446.html

and lastly:
Mustang Cobra rims http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/ctd/1238554667.html
according to the poster, that is a car or truck

More Interesting:
1979 Mercedes 300 CE coupe http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/1238629493.html
1997 Ford Ranger that needs some work http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/ctd/1238577439.html
1991 Subaru http://sfbay.craigslist.org/scz/cto/1238508114.html
1967 Chevrolet 1 ton Dually http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/cto/1238479809.html
4 Cyl Mercedes 190E with 4 sp manual http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/1238448236.html
1986 Toyota MR2 http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto/1238292262.html
and I'm bored. G'night

[GRtak]

Originally Posted by _HighVoltage_

Today I accidentally found an article on the US TopGear website, about Top 10 cars under $3,000. Here is the article in question:
http://www.topgear.com/us/features/m...t-on-a-budget/

There are some entries in that list that are logical, but most of them are completely out of place!
1. GMC Van - WTF? Really? Who would want such a thing, what exactly is fun about it?

RESPECT THE VAN



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myzwHDf3NhY

Did anyone see more than ONE Honda van in there?

[public]

Expenses so far:

CD player: free, needed some wiring for some euros
Front panel: 45 euro, paintjob 150 euro
Inspection including emissions: 72 euro
Wheel balancing, installing and 16 new bolts: 60 euro
Insurance 350 euro

After that it's just fuel and carwashes.

[public]

Yeah, it's not a first car; my Bluebird was the one but it didn't really need much.

Also, I forgot some parking light bulbs from the list.

[Austere]

I bought a 1971 Mercedes-Benz 280S for $3,500 a few years ago. I've spent, maybe.... fifteen-hundred on it? And that includes tyres!

Funny thing is, you can buy a car that's mechanically identical, from the same manufacturer, and the same time period and everything but with two less doors and no roof and it costs ten times as much! People are idiots.

It's actually quite cheap to run. It can get expensive to fix but thankfully there isn't much wrong with mine. Touch wood. Also, I can do a lot of work on it myself if I need to. When you the lift the bonnet all you see is a naked straight six and two carburettors. Granted, they're the most devious carburettors ever made but still, they're the only real complicated bits on the car.

My plan is to keep it forever and to just replace worn out parts as I need to. Surely that will be cheaper than buying a new car every 8-10 years.... Surely.

Plus, I've always got a nice S-Class handy. An ace in the hole as it were. You can't tell that I'm broke or that I don't bother to wear underpants half the time.

Oh and some day... just some day... they might go up in value.

[_HighVoltage_]

Originally Posted by thedguy

Honestly, prior to my driving it, my car cost $600 to get to my door step with blown automatic trans. It cost me $1k to put a new timing belt, waterpump, radiator, clutch, flywheel, drive-shaft, and (used) transmission in the car and get it running. The car was otherwise mint besides oxidized paint and a couple of chips and nicks one can't avoid on a 17 year old car.

I'm assuming you did all the work yourself. A shop would've charged you AT LEAST $1,500 just for the labor to fix all those things.

Anyways, I don't think most of you have gotten the idea here. I'm not talking about project cars. I'm not talking about beater cars. We are looking for reliable, fun cars that you can trust to drive across the country today.
This automatically excludes most cars over 200k miles or the cars from the 80s. Buying a car that can die any minute ain't fun.
Project cars - fun...if you already have another car. If this is you first car, let's face - you won't have the time, skill, money, tools to do the project.
Auctions - again, not an ideal choice for somebody shopping for a car for the first time ever.
Craigslist - it works if you're in a metropolitan area, because there are plenty of offerings. If you are from a city with less than 50k people, the choices are not so many.

Another big problem is that most of the cars listed so far have very little information listed about them. If not maintained regularly, these cars will need a lot of $$$ to get them to a state where you can drive them around the country.
Most used cars are sold right before a major service is due. Timing belt change costs around $800 with the labor (again, this is your first car - you can't fix it yourself). In my experience, 9 out of 10 cars with over 120k miles are with shot suspension. Changing all struts, strut mounts and spring seats (the parts that usually wear out) will cost around $1,000.


So, start the search over, trying to meet the above criteria.
(Personally, I don't see a point of buying a car just to drive it around town and go to the shops. That's what friends are for, or last resort - public transport)

[JScullin]

I have a '98 Crown Vic Police Interceptor I bought for $1,400. It has 170k on the clock and it's only needed some exhaust work (New England Winters) and a bearing for a pulley that was squealing. I actually just recently got into a wreck with it and, while her car was totaled, I was able to drive home w/a banged up bumper & misaligned headlights. Other than that, the engine and tranny are smooth for the cars age & history. It gets between 18-23mpg, seats a bunch of people, has a most capacious boot, decent in the snow with snow tires and people get out of your way when they see the alley light.

My Cougar could probably be picked up for $3k. I've had this since new and I've put 117k on it. It's relatively low maintenance and the only things that are factory quirks are the alternator and the electrical system makes the lights "pulse" at idle. But that's tied w/the shitty positioning of the alt (it's exposed to the elements near the half shaft). But the mileage is great (my 5-speed gets 23 city/28 hwy) and it's fun to drive and still, IMO, looks like a fresh design.

[LeVeL]

Originally Posted by No Boss

My MX5 was $900.... it's a 90 with only 73k AND a hardtop

Want. Where do I find a low mileage miata with a hardtop for under a grand? Because I will buy it right now.