Comments on Single Guy Money: How to Buy a Reliable Used Car (Repost)

im thinking of buying a car myself and your tips w...

2008-06-20T04:59:00.000-04:00

im thinking of buying a car myself and your tips will guide me to choose the best bargained car. wish me good luck

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great post man.. one of my passions is sport/luxur...

2008-06-17T12:35:00.000-04:00

great post man.. one of my passions is sport/luxury cars and i will never buy brand spanking new.. it's just a waste of money considering the fact that the car loses the most of it's value the first two years

i bought a 1998 lexus gs400 back in 2002.. 50k car brand new but i bought it for half that price.. the car has been paid off for 3 years now (nice not having a car payment)

now that the car is getting up there in mileage.. i've been looking at an infiniti G35 sedan (2007 models and above).. 306 hp v6.. i even joined the nissan/infiniti forums to do more research on the car itself

i heard they are coming out with a g37 (sedan) next year w/ a 7 speed automatic (which will help gas mileage hopefully).. i can't afford one brand new.. so i might have to wait a few more years

i still don't think i'll be able to pay in cash.. but i will have a nice down payment in hand by that time for sure..

i'm one of those people that don't mind paying a little extra for a nice car (quality)

I just purchased a 2002 Toyota Avalon on Saturday....

2008-06-17T11:43:00.000-04:00

I just purchased a 2002 Toyota Avalon on Saturday. It has 58k miles and I paid $12,500. The original sticker price was over $33,ooo. As much as I didn't want a payment, I am comfortable with a small payment knowing that the car will last much longer than the two years of paying the loan. I was also fortunate to work with the owner and know them though friends which helps with the background of the car. I had been looking for about 2 months as my 1996 Concorde was on it's last legs. I did my research on Edmunds and MSN auto and was very comfortable with this purchase.

@ traciatim - Sounds like you got a lemon. I purc...

2008-03-24T15:42:00.000-04:00

@ traciatim - Sounds like you got a lemon. I purchased a 1995 Honda Accord in 1999 with ~60K miles. I didn't pay anywhere near $9K in maintenance and I drove it for 8 years and to ~170K miles. My younger bro is now driving it and it's still going strong.

Part of the car buying process (whether you buy new or used) is do your research. When buying a car, I only consider makes/models that are known for their reliability (good examples - Honda, Toyota).

Well, I would recommend against this. Just buy new...

2008-03-24T10:23:00.000-04:00

Well, I would recommend against this. Just buy new and get your warranty, or buy used and make sure you have a darn good lawyer . . . er warranty.

I purchased a 2002 Ford Taurus in 2004 for 12,600 . . . which isn't a bad price to pay. Only in the last 4 years it's cost well over 9 grand in maintenance items that were not just the general fluids, brakes and junk. That's on TOP of what you normally would have to do with a car. All in all I've spent near 30K on it, I may as well have just bought a new 2004 car in 2004 and spent the money and not had all the crap. Even now, my battery light is on, my engine light is on, it has suspension noises coming from the front . . . but it's sucked my coffers dry, so it has to run as-is until I can save enough to do the work.

Carfax is no help, it just tells you if it's been in an accident. (Which mine hasn't, according to carfax).

... then take a moment to pat yourself on the back...

2008-03-23T00:25:00.000-04:00

... then take a moment to pat yourself on the back for NOT buying new. I saved $35k on my car by buying one 6 months old and with just 1,700 miles on the clock ... that's not a typo: $35k!

Bought a new 2009 Corolla last Wednesday after my ...

2008-03-22T18:52:00.000-04:00

Bought a new 2009 Corolla last Wednesday after my car died. I paid within $100 of the price of a 2008 Corolla sold by carmax and a another dealership here in town.

I did not have enough money saved to pay for it in cash. So my first stop from finding out that my car's engine was shot was to my credit union. They gave me a nice piece of paper that had my credit score and the percentage rate of the loan they could offer me. I took that to the Toyota dealership and they beat the rate.

I will never again drive a car until the engine is gone. It was a stressful experience. If my family was not in town to help me through it, it would have been even worse.

My plan now is to have enough money saved to replace this car at 150,000 miles. That way, if it goes, I won't be scrambling around wondering what I'm going to do. If it lasts longer, then that's all the better.