Need a junker that isn't complete junk!
September 4, 2010 4:15 PM   Subscribe

How to find a cheap but reliable car in the Seattle area? I've tried craigslist and some dealers.

Continuing the trend of my previous questions, I'm trying to help my mom out. She moved up here after being in a bad situation and she's gonna need a car to get to work (she works second shift so can't take a bus).

We have an apartment for her (put a $99 payment for the lease to hold it until she can move in) which is great but unfortunately she's gonna need a car and right now has no money and horrible credit. My husband and I have been paying for everything and we have no savings and currently are just getting by. We are going to have to pay her rent this month (plus another months rent since her credit was terrible), so we looked for cars we could buy outright (less than $1600) but couldn't find anything that wasn't absolute junk.

Where is a good place to find reliable (at least somewhat) cars? We've considered taking out a loan for her, but we really don't want to do this since there is a chance we would end up owing on it and she could very well just up and leave with said car, leaving us paying hundreds monthly.

It's been great helping her but it has been incredibly stressful and taxing, emotionally and financially, especially because she is still working to recover. Any suggestions on how to get a cheap car would be very much appreciated and any resources to consider! Thanks!
posted by rainygrl716 to Work & Money (4 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
I see a fair number of decent-looking cars on Seattle Craigslist right now around that price.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/cto/1937222091.html
http://seattle.craigslist.org/kit/cto/1937217381.html
http://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/cto/1937214054.html
http://seattle.craigslist.org/tac/cto/1937184723.html

All of those look decent. Obviously take it to a mechanic to get it looked over before you buy it.
posted by Slinga at 7:36 PM on September 4, 2010


Is ZipCar out of the question? It might be, depending on the location of the apartment and her job, but thought I'd throw it out there just in case. It could be a good stop-gap for a few months or this year.
posted by barnone at 1:23 AM on September 5, 2010


Also, the CarTalk website has good information. It has year/model reports and local mechanic recommendations. I'd take Craigslist cars to a good mechanic to make sure there aren't any immediate issues.
posted by barnone at 1:26 AM on September 5, 2010


And don't forget AutoTrader. It's actually worth time poking around the listings. I found a bunch of great looking cars for $1200-1800 including this 1992 Civic with 76k for $1400. A bunch of other Mazdas, Hondas, Nissans and Toyotas on there too.

Good luck and remember to keep good boundaries, and try to allot some extra TLC for you and your husband through this time.
posted by barnone at 1:38 AM on September 5, 2010


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