Buying a car for the first time — what to look for / look out for?

August 1, 2015 6:27 AM

I'm in my 30s and finally learning to drive. My wife drives, but doesn't own a car, and we think it might make sense to buy a cheap-ish vehicle for me to practice on and for occasional trips etc. We are thinking of getting something cheap, under $2K. My question is: what the heck do I look for?

We live somewhere where we can normally walk/bike for most everything we need, and we both work from home, so we definitely won't be using it every day. I'm so out of the car universe (very few of my friends even own) that I don't even know what model, or class of models, to be looking for on craigslist/kijiji etc. And I certainly don't know what to look for when I go to look/test drive any of the cars for sale. (Warning signs, mileage, etc). I'm basically a total car idiot. Does anyone have any suggestions, both in terms of like, what models would be good values and likely for sale for cheap somewhere near me, and in terms of basic buyer's tips. (Links to helpful websites also appreciated.)

Thanks!

posted by saltykmurks to Shopping (19 answers total)

Where do you live? What do you plan on doing with the car? What sort of weather do you get? Answers to these will help us with the suggestions. In general, Hondas are the best bets for cheap, used cars.

Personally, I think $2000 is down in the range where you should expect to have some repairs done right away, though.
posted by Thorzdad at 6:47 AM on August 1, 2015 [2 favorites]

You're unlikely to get anything decent and reliable for that little money unless you're getting a great deal from a relative or a friend who wants to help you out. I say this as a lower-income person who has bought many used cars.
posted by mareli at 6:52 AM on August 1, 2015 [5 favorites]

I agree with Thorzdad that $2K is probably not enough to get a reliable car.

Given your lack of experience, I think you should get a car from a source that gives you at least a tiny bit of warranty. Even the 30 or 60 days you might get from a car dealer gives you time to discover an underlying problem.
posted by SemiSalt at 6:56 AM on August 1, 2015

Get your mechanic first. Then find your car. I have my mechanic check out anything I might think would be good to buy and he nixes all not-obvious-to-me-nightmare cars. I think the car talk mechanics files are still operational even though Tommy, RIP, is not and Raymie has retired. http://www.cartalk.com/mechanics-files
posted by Don Pepino at 7:00 AM on August 1, 2015 [2 favorites]

You'll probably need to up your cost another $1-2K or so to get something that won't fall apart ASAP. And even then you're in the realm of cars that are old enough that you have to spend money on them regularly just because parts wear out. Because you're new to cars I would suggest asking around to all your friends and family if they have anything in that price range that they would like to sell. That way you'll know the maintenance history and how relatable the car has been in the past. Buying at that price from a stranger could get you a car that runs for a week before something major breaks.
posted by MsMolly at 7:08 AM on August 1, 2015

Yeah, the days of decent $2K cars are long gone --- that's well into "got major problems" territory nowadays. Sure, you can find a $2K car, but figure it's pretty much a guarantee that it'd come already needing some serious money spent on it to keep it running. Better to spend more up front, and get something a little more trustworthy. I'd recommend budgeting a minimum of at least $5K.

Things to consider:
1. Are you looking for a basic commuter car, for just the two of you? Or will you need space for kids, camping gear, construction or gardening projects? In other words, size matters: a compact car like a Honda Fit will haul two people plus groceries, but a van or SUV might be needed for the local Little League team.
2. Consider per-mile driving costs, including maintenance, gas, insurance, taxes, etc. Insurance will be lower for you than for a lot of people getting their first car --- it drops once all drivers are over 25 years old --- but there's a big difference between a high-cost-to-maintain (like a Mercedes or BWM) or lower miles-per-gallon car and a low-cost-to-maintain (Toyotas or Hondas, for instance) or higher miles per gallon vehicle.
3. Weather conditions. This includes not only where the vehicle has spent its previous life (an area with lots of road salt will speed up rust on the undercarriage; floods kill cars; heavy sun in places like Arizona will bake the heck out of the paint and upholstery), but also where you will be driving it, and the road conditions you'll encounter.
4. Before you buy any used car from anyone, including from a dealership, get it checked out by a trusted mechanic of your own. it'll probably cost you around $100, but it's very, very worth the money. Sure, you don't have a mechanic now, but check around among your friends and coworkers, get recommendations ahead of time.
posted by easily confused at 7:17 AM on August 1, 2015

For $2000, you need to start looking for government auctions. A Craiglist car for $2000 isn't going to get you far. If you can spend a little more, try and find a respectable used car dealership that will give you some sort of warranty. Another option would be to post on you and your wife's fb page that you are looking for a used car and try to buy one from a friend.

Honda Civics are a good place to start.
posted by myselfasme at 7:22 AM on August 1, 2015

you sound like us (except younger :o) - we were in no real rush to buy a car (i don't think you are either) so we waited til a friend was selling one. we got a good price on a car we knew the entire history of.
posted by andrewcooke at 7:27 AM on August 1, 2015

For $2000 you will get a bag of hurt.
Please note that there are many more cost than just the purchase of the car. Insurance, taxes and for a cheap car like this maintenance and repairs that will easily exceed the purchase price....
Rent a car or sign up for one of these ride share plans like "zipcar".
If you become a frequent client of a rental company you will get deals.
posted by Mac-Expert at 7:36 AM on August 1, 2015

The answer to the "I need a car once a month or less" is "rent one"

The answer to the "I need a car once or twice a month" is "car share"

If you need more than that, then *maybe* look at buying. But cars, they are expensive beasts.
posted by eriko at 7:41 AM on August 1, 2015

The problem is that at least for now, you need a vehicle to practice on, so I can see why you want a car at your disposal. Car share and car rental are not going to permit that, but I nth everyone else that $2k is not going to be enough to buy a car reliable enough to practice on, and that car maintenance is an ongoing bloodsucker of an expense. We drive our Toyota sedan once a month; we fill up our tank maybe 1-2x/ a quarter. Insurance and maintenance/repairs on that car runs us on *average* $2500/year. The only reason we haven't given it up yet is because we hope to have kids soon, and we'd like to not have to buy another car to make it through those first couple of years when we expect to have to use said car more frequently than we do right now.

I would take a portion of that $2000 and enroll in one of those intensive learn-to-drive courses that teach you over the course of a full week or weekend. Once you have your license, *then* you can keep up your skills on rented/shared cars.
posted by Pandora Kouti at 8:14 AM on August 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

We were carless for 6 years and recently bought a Mazda 5 because we're about to have a second kid and winter without a car in Canada with two kids is just not an option.

We got by with renting cars (enterprise and discount have/had $9.99 weekend deals) and doing car sharing but you will obviously need a license for both of these. If I were in your situation, I think I'd sign up for driving lessons until I felt comfortable enough to do rentals.

If you really want to buy a car, Honda Civics are cheap and reliable but I have no idea if you can get one for $2000.
posted by betsybetsy at 8:54 AM on August 1, 2015

Nthing that $2K is... well, not necessarily a bad car, but almost certainly a bad car for you. The only way you'll get a reliable car for that price is if the seller under-prices it for some reason, which does happen, generally by accident. The thing is, there are very knowledgeable people constantly scanning craigslist for really good deals, and one of them will beat you to it. Because you don't know anything about cars, you'll find that someone else will always decide faster than you can, and buy every good deal right out from under you. As a newbie, planning to buy a reliable car for $2K is almost like planning to win the lottery.

If you want to tell us where you live and what you'd do with a car if you had one (i.e. what your basic needs are) then maybe we can tell you what to buy and how much to expect to spend. But it'll be more than $2k.
posted by jon1270 at 10:27 AM on August 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

I asked a related question about a year ago, and I think the answers might be useful for you too. As I said in my follow-up at the end of the thread, I ended up buying a circa-2000 Toyota Corolla for a bit under $2000 ($1800, I think it was), knowing that it needed an $800 repair going in (I had my parents' mechanic check it out before I bought it). I had that repair done immediately upon purchasing it. All told, with all the taxes and getting a license plate and the big repair and an annual inspection, it cost me a bit under $3000, and my sense from looking at cars was that that was pretty much the cheapest I was going to pay to get something that worked reliably. I'm sure a big part of it is luck, but a year later, my car runs just as well as the day I got it. I elaborated on the whole process at the end of that thread, in case you might find it helpful. Good luck!
posted by ClaireBear at 11:25 AM on August 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

Cash for clunkers ruined the used car market in that range. Both by eliminating a lot of the good stock, and driving up the prices of cheaper cars to more than they really should be worth. jon1270 is on the money here.

You CAN buy a good car for that much, but you either need an expert helping you or someone to basically directly hand you one. My friends have bought cars for that much... from friends who were mechanics, directly from the shop.

Honestly, i had a cheap car i bought as a "project"(i'm a bit of a shade tree mechanic and general fix-all person, and had the assistance of basically a mechanical genius guy who can fix as far as i can tell anything) and drove about that much. It was a nightmare, and a stupid waste of money.

I did the math and figured out that renting car2gos sometimes, and taking uber/lyfts other times was WAY cheaper. You might think "$10 just to get home from the grocery store?" but just your insurance will cost around 7 of those trips a month. Once you factor in gas, divide up the money you were going to spend on a car, maintenance...

It always FEELS like i'm wastefully spending more when i look and see i used $70 of car2go trips in 3 weeks, but then i realize just owning and operating the car was costing me around $200 a month not including if you amortized the car purchase price over the time period.

Oh, and it's really nice to never have to take the car to the shop, or wonder what that weird noise is, or any of that stuff. You just get in and drive, or wait for someone to pick you up. It's also opened avenues of driving to something, and then getting picked up after if you're drunk/just don't want to deal with it/need to transport more people or objects away from the place.

Honestly, if you can get away with not owning a car and would use it that infrequently and also are looking to spend this little, just DON'T get a car. Getting a car because you sort of want one and would use it occasionally is a rich person hobby. Rent someone elses car(or time) and leave the logistics up to them/that corporation.

(And seriously, car2go is awesome if you can get it in your area. Their software in the cars might be buggy, but the actual company is super helpful and legit)
posted by emptythought at 12:35 PM on August 1, 2015 [2 favorites]

There's a lot that goes into buying a car which in essence boils down to three things; ergonomics and/or usage parameters (how it fits and how you use it); purchase dynamics - what is it really worth and how the sale is completed (know what the seller is saying and looking for) and lastly mechanical viability. All of this is too much to cover here obviously. I would note that in your price range you need to be looking at private sellers and paying cash. The resource I recommend will make that last advice abundantly clear. One can deduce that you are not mechanically astute when it comes to motor vehicles so the support of a friend or trusted professional is recommended. Before you jump into that do your best to get your hands on the book "Don't Get Taken Every Time" Remar Sutton (if memory serves) covers this whole process including a chapter and checklist on how to check a car for issues. There is a very good chance it is out of print but if you can find a copy it is invaluable and will serve you well in all future car purchases.
posted by Jim_Jam at 6:43 PM on August 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

Honda or Toyota. Full stop. I'm slightly partial to Honda Civics.
posted by quincunx at 8:38 PM on August 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks everyone for all the helpful answers.

To answer some of your questions: we are in Canada, in a place that gets cold in the winter and features a lot of salt.

We also are enrolled in car-share programs which are terrific although at this point, only my wife can use them. And having done the math, I definitely agree that car share/rental is the best for our particular situation right now (no kids yet).

Annoyingly, it's still really hard to find a car just to practice driving on and get used to the whole... feel of it. It really seems to me that experience is the most necessary element of learning to drive. But maybe I'll see if I can just borrow someone's (although very few of my friends actually have cars.)
posted by saltykmurks at 5:23 AM on August 2, 2015

I think you just need to buckle down and spend the $500+ on a driver training program that lets you drive their own cars, and choose the option that gives you the most practice therein. Several of my friends who didn't get their license until after the normal age went that route and had no complaints, and even praise to sing.
posted by emptythought at 1:16 PM on August 4, 2015