Long story short - need to find a reliable vehicle for my teenage son. Nothing fancy and definitely a beater. No kid should have an expensive first car or a huge SUV. Have tried craigslist, but everything I've looked at has been a waste of time (obvious problems that would cost too much to be worth fixing). Not looking to spend more than 4K, so Carmax is out.

Anyone have experience with one of those used car lots you see around? I'm sure they're sketchy, but there has to be one that's more towards the honest end of the spectrum than the rest. I'd rather not go this route, but it may come to that.

Recomendations?

Just go to EBay and set the filter to <$4,000, sort by your zipcode and let 'er rip.

Wherever you go, I would spend $100 and have a trustworthy mechanic give it the once over for obvious shit like being under water or totaled and rebuilt.

We found our son's first car through cars.com. Set the parameters (make and model, price, distance) and go. There are usually multiple pictures of the car along with mileage and the Carfax report. You can tell that the cars have been detailed. Beats blindly going to used car lots.

Personally, I would make absolutely sure that the car had airbags and a decent crash rating. I did a lot of research and the Honda Accord came out on top in terms of safety (but you need to check the year). A quick search on cars.com shows 20+ Accords locally in your price range, most from the early 2000s with high mileage. Hope that helps.

Car Buyer Wrote:
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>
> Anyone have experience with one of those used car
> lots you see around? I'm sure they're sketchy,
> but there has to be one that's more towards the
> honest end of the spectrum than the rest. I'd
> rather not go this route, but it may come to
> that.
>
> Recomendations?


"Good" is a relative term I suppose but basically there are none.

All of those little lots get virtually all of their cars from the same place - wholesale auctions. Cars end up there mostly because they are high mileage, in poor condition, undesirable models, needing significant repairs, etc., and generally represent the dregs of the used car world. They're left over from what "better" dealers (also a relative term) can't put on their certified lots, aren't economically repaired relative to what they can get out of them, don't want to bother with, charity donations, etc. Virtually all of the better stuff and any deals get skimmed above that level before they get there. Once in a while something may slip through but that's very rare. Obviously, cars can be repaired/refurbished, but it's a business for them and that's done as cheaply as possible and/or the price goes up to recover those costs.

Not to say that you can't find any but the odds are against you as far as finding a good car at a good price just based on how that world works. Generally speaking, you're better off going with a private sale if you have the time to look. That puts you, at least potentially, a few rungs up on the ladder as far as "good" cars in the pool that you're looking at, you're not paying a premium to cover profit (which can then go to any needed repairs), and your likelihood for repairs basically is just as good or better.

All that said, over the years I have bought a few cars from such places. But when I did though it was cars that I knew very, very well and they were unusual deals where I was able to negotiate a price which took into account all major repairs that I knew potentially would need to be done and still come out at or below market value or where I could just bail and dump it.

Stabitha Wrote:
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> Wherever you go, I would spend $100 and have a
> trustworthy mechanic give it the once over for
> obvious shit like being under water or totaled and
> rebuilt.


Totally. The garage I use has a $100 "Pre purchase" inspection for stuff like this. The problem if you will is that they are so busy that something like that is best made on an appointment basis. Not exactly something that can be done on the spur of the moment if you find something you like. THen you have to negotiate with the seller to let you have the car for a few hours while it gets done

Look around there are cheap new cars that are reliable. Get one with a six year loan for low payments. Buying new is much better than a used car. A bum transmission or leaking head gasket can set you back $2,000 - 3,000.

You can find a brand new Kia for less than $17,000. Put $2,000 down and your payments on a six year loan would be around $275 a month.

Do not under any circumstances look at the cartalk website for advice. It's just a bunch of limp dick cranky old men who think they're tough. Stay away.

There are services that will come to your place to inspect cars.

http://www.restonmobilemechanic.com/

I think there's another on Prosperity Ave in Fairfax (Merrifield).

Mack T Wrote:
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> Look around there are cheap new cars that are
> reliable. Get one with a six year loan for low
> payments. Buying new is much better than a used
> car. A bum transmission or leaking head gasket can
> set you back $2,000 - 3,000.
>
> You can find a brand new Kia for less than
> $17,000. Put $2,000 down and your payments on a
> six year loan would be around $275 a month.


I agree here, as Kia is owned by Hyundai, and both car lines offer 5 year/60k bumper to bumper warranty, and I think a 10 year 100k powertrain warranty.

A Forte, or there is a smaller version, you can get one for about $15-16k, and the long term savings is much better than taking a chance on any used car.

Brown's in Fairfax. Just research what they have and have a mechanic check it over before you decide.

Whatever you do do not go to auto connection in manassas

I have a small SUV for sale for 3k. Passed Virginia safety and emission this month. Everything works, I would welcome a PPI

Bentley Wrote:
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> Brown's in Fairfax. Just research what they have
> and have a mechanic check it over before you
> decide.

I wouldnt exactly call Browns a "small used car lot". Browns is a huge dealership with multiple locations in VA/MD.

I would ask Pat Goss. He might get sore at you and call you a wiseguy, but it is very smart move on your part.

I would try Darcars of fairfax in the city of fairfax they stock like 250 cars under $10,000. I have gotten both of my kids cars there and got a great deal and have had no problem

Tony Dow Wrote:
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> I would ask Pat Goss. He might get sore at you
> and call you a wiseguy, but it is very smart move
> on your part.


+1.

And don't worry about any problems. Just dump a bottle of BG-44K in there and that'll fix it right up.

Stabitha Wrote:
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> Wherever you go, I would spend $100 and have a
> trustworthy mechanic give it the once over for
> obvious shit like being under water or totaled and
> rebuilt.

This is very good advice!

I would even go less than $4K. You know he is going to total it within a year anyway.

Find a early 2000's Jeep Cherokee with a 4.0 straight six cylinder. These this run forever like the 225 slant sixes. They manufactured many of them so parts are cheap and the repairs are simple. 4k should land you in a nice example with cold air. Check

www.nadaguides.com