Advice Needed -- DD for $1K
 

Hello all!

As the title implies, I'm trying to find a car for $1K or less.

Now, some background: I drive a BRZ 6MT, but my girlfriend is learning to drive. She's gotten by without knowing how to drive for longer than most, but she needs to learn as her job requires some travel around our region.

She's been practicing with friends and cousins, but it's tough for her to get enough practice-time since she doesn't want to learn to drive stick, and frankly I'm not sure I want her learning on my BRZ.

So, let's say she has $1000 to spend. The question is as follows: what should she buy to learn on and drive locally for the next 2-3 years? We live in a large city with plenty to choose from. For example, I'm looking at a 2001 Volvo V70 that has 150K+ miles but runs for $1K.

Craigslist seems the likely avenue for such a transaction, but I've never purchased a car off CL/from a private party. All she really cares about is having something that runs, will keep running with as little maintenance as possible, and seats 4. I can do very basic maintenance and would like to learn more, but am not mechanically skilled by any stretch of the imagination. I don't think it makes sense to pay a mechanic to check out a car that she'll be spending so little on, but how can I tell if the car is OK, beyond whether it runs?

Thanks for your insight!

Not much of budget, hopefully has backup money for repairs. I did get my Cherokee XJ for $1400 and put about $300 of parts to get it road ready. But I have mechanical skills to do my own work. Factor in getting raped by a mechanic if you have no skills


I wouldn't pay for a mechanic for a $1000 car. But I would give it a longer test drive than normal (maybe 20 mins). If it has a blown head gasket or CEL issues symptoms may not show up unless its taken on a longer ride.

Look for overheating in that long test drive along with any "abnormal" sounds (turn off the radio).

Check all electrical (lights, signals, wipers, a/c, heater, etc).

At that price don't expect any maintenance records, but ask anyways.

Check oil, rad fluid, brake fluid, etc.

Take a friend who knows cars a little more than you do.

Check tires (sometimes overlooked).

Check all the belts and look for cracks or aging.

Check under the car for any major rust issues.

Pretty much inspect as much as you can visually :)

Honda/Toyota/Nissan

Ask mechanically inclined friends or family to go with you, unless you're a jerk someone should be willing to blow an afternoon looking at a car or three.

And clutches are tougher than you think, too many people online afraid of a $1.5k clutch job from the dealership that their 'buddy/family member' got screwed on without any perspective just repeating that sentiment over and over. With proper instruction there should be no noticeable damage on the 86 teaching her or multiple other people.

@carczar87

With $1k, I'd narrow it down further to Honda Civic/Fit or Toyota Corolla/Yaris ONLY and even then you're going to need to put some money in the bank for repairs. A $1k car is a $1k car after all. The car should have plenty of documentation online and active forums for help.

The budget being what it is, a Volvo or Jeep is going to have a cost on parts you're not going to want to pay. Consider repairs (parts/labor) and fuel mileage carefully. You could easily spend 1k more a year in fuel in a car that gets 15 mpg vs 30-40mpg.

Geo Prism.

i would maybe try a Tercel or Echo. Easy and cheap and cheap to insure. hell, a NA Miata in auto trim would work too! that might be the best car...easy to maneuver out of emergency situations.

But i do want to point out one thing...if her max budget is $1k, then realistically, her car price should be $500...because you will definitely need to put money into it. Additionally, make sure it passes smog...

more importantly is this...sounds like your gf is a new driver...see if she can spend more money on a car. If she's traveling around the region for work, you definitely want a car that's safe, i.e. airbags, ABS, etc. the volvo you found might be ok but parts and maint on those are pricey.

if you still want a $1k car, i would look into non-popular brands but still reliable such as Suzuki. you can get a "newer" car versus some of the more popular brands

Found one in LA that looks OK...

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/la...268417808.html

As others have mentioned, at that price the cost of repairs could easily soon eclipse the cost of the car itself. I think the minimum price range to find something decent and reliable is going to be more like $5k, if there's any way to borrow or something to get there

M.I.A.T.A

Miata Is Always The Answer

For $1000, just go to Craigslist and type $1800 Max and see what comes up.
You're not exactly going to have much say in the matter.

https://stlouis.craigslist.org/cto/d...277419859.html
https://stlouis.craigslist.org/cto/d...277301109.html
https://stlouis.craigslist.org/cto/d...277265078.html

Thanks for all the suggestions and thoughts guys! Very helpful stuff.
Will try and nudge the budget up a bit, and will certainly budget for repairs.

2.2 liter Subaru.

First gen Legacy ('90-94) or Impreza ('93-'01). 2.5 Outbacks can be had that low occasionally, I but I would stick to the bulletproof 2.2s.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzim1iYhmGA"]Thousand Dollar Car-The Bottle Rockets - YouTube[/ame]