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[Lost Fragment]

Had to scrap my car so I need a new ride, but I only have about $1k to spend. So I need to troll around craiglist, etc for a cheap car. I don't give a shit how nice it looks—I'll drive an ice cream truck with the jingle thing stuck on, I don't give a fuck—but I don't want to end up buying something that will just end up breaking down in a week. Kind of defeats the purpose.

But how do I make sure that I'm not buying something that's just gonna need a lot of work? I'm sure I won't be able to be certain until I take it to a mechanic, but there are general things I can look for to make sure things are on the up and up, right?

 

[shadyspace]

bring a dad with you.

 

[Requiem]

Find a specific model, research that model, find common problems, look for those problems during the sale.

My first car was $1000 (95' Maxima) and it had 258,000 miles on it. Lasted for a year. I would stick to old japanese cars (Honda, Toyota, Nissan)

 

[verbum]

Had to scrap my car so I need a new ride, but I only have about $1k to spend. So I need to troll around craiglist, etc for a cheap car. I don't give a shit how nice it looks—I'll drive an ice cream truck with the jingle thing stuck on, I don't give a fuck—but I don't want to end up buying something that will just end up breaking down in a week. Kind of defeats the purpose.

But how do I make sure that I'm not buying something that's just gonna need a lot of work? I'm sure I won't be able to be certain until I take it to a mechanic, but there are general things I can look for to make sure things are on the up and up, right?

If it starts is a good sign.
Look at where it is parked at the ground under the car. Is there any fresh black/ brown or reddish fluid underneath? Probably leaks oil or transmission fluid. Not good.
Pull out the oil dipstick. Look at the oil. If any white streaks in the oil, it may be a head gasket leak. Not good.
Look at the tires. Bald? Need replacements. Bald on one side only? Need an alignment with the new tires.
Push down on each of the front and rear corners several times. Strange noises are not good.
Any wet spots inside the car? Feel along the bottom of the windshield and back window. If wet, it probably leaks in the rain.
When it starts, any black smoke coming out the exhaust? May need a valve job.
How does the battery look? If it looks like the battery terminals been scratched with jumper cables a lot, it may mean the battery is dead and/or the alternator is going bad.
Look inside the radiator. Any signs of a leak stopper being used? May have to replace the radiator.

 

[Bururian]

I recently bought a '99 Ford Explorer with 312k miles on it. The guy had replaced the transmission, changed the radiator, and alternator as well. Ran the car with synthetic oil and ran premium gas through the car. Changed out the rear suspension at some point too. For how old the car is, it runs great. Only paid $1300 for it too.

Always make sure the transmission is okay. If that goes, you're our of a car since it'll cost double what you'll spend to fix it.

 

[SatansReverence]

Test drive it.

Is it hard to start?

Is it noisey?

Look for smoke.

Labouring the engine for a short period is a good way to know if it's going to get smokey (i.e low rpm/high gear and floor it)

Change through the gears to make sure they all work and smoothly.

Is there excessive lash in the drive train (i.e feels loose and shunts when changing from acceleration to deceleration.)

Test the brakes by braking without your hands on the wheel. It should go pretty straight (some deviation due to road surface can happen). be prepared to straighten the car incase it pulls hard in one direction

Has the steering got play in it?

Does it make strange noises on full lock?

As another poster noted, do a little research on the model to find common issues. (i.e google 1995 ford taurus common problems)

Check the engine oil for a chocolate milky look to it.

Look for dodgy workmanship.

Personally, in an older car I would go for a carburettered model as opposed to EFI as they are generally easier and cheaper to fix. That and since I know a bit about something I can generally fix these problems myself.

 

[BrokenEchelon]

Please try to save up at least $3000. You're buying a money pit for $1000 unless you get extremely lucky, and even $3000 isn't going to get you much these days.

Have a mechanic inspect it. Ask the owner if you or both of you can drive it to a shop and have it looked at. It might cost you some money now, but it could save you headaches, and thousands of dollars.

Keep your eye out for obvious issues like rust, ricer mods, weird smells, horrible noises, etc.

Accord/Camry and Civic/Corolla are your best friends, provided they haven't been beaten to hell.

 

[Ace 8095]

I would highly suggest you don't buy a $1000 car. You could get a small loan from your credit union and buy a Honda or Toyota and probably be better off. Honda and Toyota really are significantly more reliable than all other makes, even other Asians like Nissan and Kia. I price extended warranties for automobiles and have hundreds of thousands of warranties and rate filings from many other insurance companies to back this statement. Also stay 10,000 feet away from all European makes. Even Volkswagen is significantly worse than Asians or non-luxury domestics.

 

[Loofy]

Check if the timing belt/chain has been replaced at the recommended interval. No one ever replaces those.

 

[commedieu]

bring a dad with you.

 

[akira28]

Test drive it.

Test the brakes by braking without your hands on the wheel. It should go pretty straight (some deviation due to road surface can happen). be prepared to straighten the car incase it pulls hard in one direction

You don't have to really let go, just set the steering wheel straight and loosen the grip a bit. The wheel should yank to the side.

Also check the seams of doors, trunk, etc for matching paint. If you see different colors, might be a paint job from a body repair replacement. Means an accident or something.

I bought an old 87 Golf back in 02 for 800 bucks, and rode it till the wheels came off. Well, the forward passenger wheel. Luckily it was parked, but it lasted a good 2.7 years without a major issue.

 

[Kieli]

I would highly suggest you don't buy a $1000 car. You could get a small loan from your credit union and buy a Honda or Toyota and probably be better off. Honda and Toyota really are significantly more reliable than all other makes, even other Asians like Nissan and Kia. I price extended warranties for automobiles and have hundreds of thousands of warranties and rate filings from many other insurance companies to back this statement. Also stay 10,000 feet away from all European makes. Even Volkswagen is significantly worse than Asians or non-luxury domestics.

Is there any particular reason why you say this? I thought Toyota had significant brake issues a few years ago, which is a pretty bad flaw in my mind.

 

[QualityPixel]

Find cars in the $1000-$2000 range worth looking at, then research the car, then print post #6 from this thread and check all that stuff when you go to look at it.

That list of things to check looked very good. Then low ball and maybe you can get the $2000 car for $1000, or the $1000 car for $800.

 

[SatansReverence]

You don't have to really let go, just set the steering wheel straight and loosen the grip a bit. The wheel should yank to the side.

Same same

And I don't get the hate for $1000 dollar cars.

My first car was only $1000 and it's been more reliable than cars worth 10 or even 20 times as much.

 

[Rentahamster]

Is there any particular reason why you say this? I thought Toyota had significant brake issues a few years ago, which is a pretty bad flaw in my mind.

There was a recall, but it was caused by bullshit media sensationalism and (tinfoil hat on) politicians looking for a foreign car boogeyman to criticize at a time when their own government subsidized cars were coming to market.

A subsequent NHTSA investigation found that the cause of the crashes was shitty drivers.

 

[.Q.]

If your credit rating isn't totally trashed and you can afford to make payments, put $1k down and finance a newer used car. I did this at Carmax and ended up with a nice 3-year-old car for under $12k sticker (no haggling, you get a copy of its carfax report too). It'll be paid off in June--my 5-year mark.

 

[whatsinaname]

Same same

And I don't get the hate for $1000 dollar cars.

My first car was only $1000 and it's been more reliable than cars worth 10 or even 20 times as much.

Was this before 2009? Unfortunately, would have previously been $1000 cars are now more expensive because a lot of the $2000-$5000 cars were taken out of the market by the cash for clunkers program. And those were cars owned by people who could afford new cars, i.e. well maintained ones. Sandy took more cars off the market and there were also a lot fewer new cars bought between 2009 and 2011.

 

[highrider]

Please try to save up at least $3000. You're buying a money pit for $1000 unless you get extremely lucky, and even $3000 isn't going to get you much these days.

Have a mechanic inspect it. Ask the owner if you or both of you can drive it to a shop and have it looked at. It might cost you some money now, but it could save you headaches, and thousands of dollars.

Keep your eye out for obvious issues like rust, ricer mods, weird smells, horrible noises, etc.

Accord/Camry and Civic/Corolla are your best friends, provided they haven't been beaten to hell.

This.

 

[Vyroxis]

Was this before 2009? Unfortunately, would have previously been $1000 cars are now more expensive because a lot of the $2000-$5000 cars were taken out of the market by the cash for clunkers program. And those were cars owned by people who could afford new cars, i.e. well maintained ones. Sandy took more cars off the market and there were also a lot fewer new cars bought between 2009 and 2011.

Cash For Clunkers was a raging disaster. Well intentioned, not very well thought out. Combine that with the natural disasters over the past decade and the super cheap uses car market took a whoopin.

 

[Anion]

bring a dad with you.

LOL, dat first post

If it starts is a good sign.
Look at where it is parked at the ground under the car. Is there any fresh black/ brown or reddish fluid underneath? Probably leaks oil or transmission fluid. Not good.
Pull out the oil dipstick. Look at the oil. If any white streaks in the oil, it may be a head gasket leak. Not good.
Look at the tires. Bald? Need replacements. Bald on one side only? Need an alignment with the new tires.
Push down on each of the front and rear corners several times. Strange noises are not good.
Any wet spots inside the car? Feel along the bottom of the windshield and back window. If wet, it probably leaks in the rain.
When it starts, any black smoke coming out the exhaust? May need a valve job.
How does the battery look? If it looks like the battery terminals been scratched with jumper cables a lot, it may mean the battery is dead and/or the alternator is going bad.
Look inside the radiator. Any signs of a leak stopper being used? May have to replace the radiator.

OP, this man is your dad.


OP, a car for $1k is going to be really hard to find. Maybe ask a family member for an old car that you could pay $1k for, otherwise you'll end up with something that needs some work on it (which is fine if it's doable and not invasive, thanks to YouTube!). But yea, if you could manage 3k, you will have not only an easier time, but possibly a decent car that you can drive off in with very few issues (if any)

 

[bjork]

If it starts is a good sign.
Look at where it is parked at the ground under the car. Is there any fresh black/ brown or reddish fluid underneath? Probably leaks oil or transmission fluid. Not good.
Pull out the oil dipstick. Look at the oil. If any white streaks in the oil, it may be a head gasket leak. Not good.
Look at the tires. Bald? Need replacements. Bald on one side only? Need an alignment with the new tires.
Push down on each of the front and rear corners several times. Strange noises are not good.
Any wet spots inside the car? Feel along the bottom of the windshield and back window. If wet, it probably leaks in the rain.
When it starts, any black smoke coming out the exhaust? May need a valve job.
How does the battery look? If it looks like the battery terminals been scratched with jumper cables a lot, it may mean the battery is dead and/or the alternator is going bad.
Look inside the radiator. Any signs of a leak stopper being used? May have to replace the radiator.

Bold is absolutely the first thing I'd look for. My honda had a blown head gasket and it was miserable when I finally had to put the old gal down.

 

[lethial]

Pay the 50 bucks for a mechanic to inspect it.

 

[joelseph]

Start by asking your extended family if there are any old cars they are looking to offload for cheap.

 

[TylerD]

Watch these videos by Eric the Car Guy on buying a used car.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Tvgaix4jZ0

 

[Az]

- If possible try to save a bit more as 1k will usually only get you a "Mechanic Special".