Girlfriend's daughter wants to get a cheap car - what are some good cheap options

[jayhat]

She's barely going to afford oil changes. Just get the simplest shitbox. Camry, Corolla, Accord, or Civic.

Yeah lol. Her mom will probably bankroll her a little. The plan is for her to get a job first (looking now) and then she wants to get a car shortly after. She'll have to pay for her own insurance and gas. I still think she ought to start working and then save up a few thousand more. We'll see...

 

[RUNTHAT]

Something like this:

https://phoenix.craigslist.org/cph/cto/d/2001-honda-cr-title-clean/6611929966.html

 

[BiggieT4R]

Anything but a civic or accord.... the my are the 2 most expensive cars to insure

 

[YOTAGUY93]

I owned a 98 corolla for 8 years no problems whatsoever picked it up for 1800 and sold it for 1800. Super ultra reliable cheap to insure, fills up with 30 bucks, easy to fix.

 

[Gunslinger-13]

Can't go wrong with a corolla or Camry as others have suggested.

I'll throw this one out there- a Ford Crown Victoria.

There are tons of them at really cheap prices, they are easy to work on and I've owned a few, all were tanks.

Not as good of fuel economy, but they are more comfortable than a Corolla is when you're 6'1" 235 lbs.

I've purchased several for under $800.00 at police auctions and a few from older folks that had really low miles and were basically brand new for around $1.5K-$2K.

First one I bought was a 1985 LTD with police engine/mods. It was a huge vehicle that went crazy fast for it's size. Got it for $650.00 back in the nineties.

I put endless miles on that thing and it just needed oil/filter, air filter and tires and brakes.

A few friends of mine got together and did our own demolition derby with old vehicles we owned that we moded with internal roll cages to ram into each other and see which would die first. Old caddies, Lincolns and Chryslers.

That Crown Vic couldn't be killed, it was rammed to pieces and just kept going, so I drove it to the dump and sold it for scrap metal/parts and got $350.00 out of it.

Fun times.

 

[WVhillbilly]

I'm gonna second the Crown Vic, I know a few guys who swear by that platform.
VERY tough cars.

 

[wcjeep]

Here's a Youtuber with some valid points. He has various video's of Buy, Don't buy, best value under / over some dollar amount. Should give you a decent start.



Youtube

 

[theoutbackdream]

If you hang around Facebook groups for schools and stuff, she might be able to find someone selling their car for dirt cheap since they can't afford to make payments/fix it up/etc...

Source: I'm in college and in the FB group for my school. From time to time, I'll see some cars on sale for a killer deal because of some small reason like "It's too expensive for me to afford", "Mechanic wants x amount, and I can't pay for it", etc..

FWIW, if the main priority is to have a car just to get from point A to B, a miata. I got mine for dirt cheap, ~$1k. It had 220k when I first got it, but I put a lot of miles on it, and autocrossed that thing to 265k when I sold it. I think I put about $200 in repairs. Well worth it.

 

[iseeu1001]

Why cant you just go on craigslist, autotrader, autotempest etc... I started out with a 2001 le camry 2.2l when I was 16 and now I own a toyota venza at age of 24 and soon to own a 2015 roush mustang warrior edition t/c.

 

[Rodtheviking]

Geo Prizm (toyota)
Pontiac Vibe (also a toyota)
Corolloa
Camry
RAV4

CRV

Avoid Honda sedans, it will get stolen.

 

[Antmac]

Honda Civic, Toyota carolla/Camry are solid daily drivers that last forever

 

[derek3988]

This is my wheelhouse. We see early 2000's Camry's get traded in for 1000 bucks everyday. Doesn't matter if it has 100k or 300k.

 

[derek3988]

Good luck with the search!

 

[tcbaklash]

Probably gonna get flak for this but...

- Ford Ranger with the 2.3L Lima engine, any year, any transmission. Usually found in the base model ones, fleet specials, etc. so very inexpensive to buy. Engine is indestructible, front and rear end for all years incredibly beefy as well. Can take an absolute beating, won't fold after low speed crashes, I can vouch for this. Transmissions are meh but super available. Everything regarding parts and maintenance will be very inexpensive. ridiculously easy to work on. Downside is that they're terrible passenger vehicles.

- late-90s Corolla. Friend had one that kept running forever with little maintenance. Nobody really wants them so they're cheap to purchase.

 

[swampdodo]

I agree that those Rangers are good small trucks...but probably not good for a first car...new driver.

Why? The light rear end. Even though there isn't much power, the truck's relatively light rear end can tend to oversteer in certain situations, and for a new driver, that might get scary (uncontrollable) for them. Understeer is usually better for a novice driver.

 

[TacoRunn0517]

Honda Civic, Toyota carolla/Camry are solid daily drivers that last forever

Amen to that. Prior to my current 4Runner, I bought a 1997 Honda Civic off of Craigslist for $1.3K. Had 200K miles on it. Needed some work but the transmission and engine were well intact. Sold it 2.5 years and 45K additional miles later for $650.

 

[RAD4Runner]

...She's got around $2k saved up and she wants to buy her first car.

One more vote for Camry or Corolla.

I am not super mechanical (I am "bolt on" mechanical) and don't want to get stuck working on some POS...

Then definitely Toyota.
How do you like the fact that Corolla's (2007 - not sure about other years) serpentine belt can be removed and replaced in 10 minutes?

 

[tcbaklash]

I agree that those Rangers are good small trucks...but probably not good for a first car...new driver.

Why? The light rear end. Even though there isn't much power, the truck's relatively light rear end can tend to oversteer in certain situations, and for a new driver, that might get scary (uncontrollable) for them. Understeer is usually better for a novice driver.

I had a 3.0L 2WD as my first vehicle and owned it for 4 years. I never had any problems besides blowing a power steering reservoir gasket and the light rear end didn’t get me until I moved to a place where it snows and that’s when I replaced it with a 4x4

 

[Quantumkiwi]

Honda Civic, Toyota carolla/Camry are solid daily drivers that last forever

Another vote for the 90's Toyota sedan. Super reliable V6, I've got a 96 Avalon that has over 290k miles on it and is still going with no major replacements ever needed to the drivetrain. Faster than my 4runner too.

 

[mcgrizzler]

I vote anything toyota with a 4cylinder in it like a corolla. It'll be easy for you to work on anyways because of your Runner