Advice Needed -- DD for $1K

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by carczar87

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.

One thing I would suggest is to not plan to keep this car 2 to 3 years. Rather, remember that a $1,000 car is pretty much going to hold its value in the short term. I'd buy the $1,000 car and since you are going to have to budget for repairs, consider putting that money aside at, say $100 a month. Then, in 10 to 12 months you'll have the money to "double" the value of the car you are driving by selling the $1,000 car and add $1,000 to it for the next car.

If you really do get a $1,000 car of any decent shape you may very well make money on the sale. Even if you only get $1,100 for it that's a 10% bump.

I did this while in high school/college and went from driving a $300 car to a $3000 car in about 4 years, all for cash (mind you this was late 70s, early 80s so the $300 car is about equivalent to a $1,000 car today).

[darthpnoy1984]

Your best bet would be a Honda maybe a high miler Integra/Civic from the 90's would fit the bill, reasonable priced and plenty of parts out there as well.


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[JazzleSAURUS]

Originally Posted by PhyrraM

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.

This is the only subaru I would suggest for that budget and need. The EJ22 is an absolutely fantastic engine.

That said, I'd aim for a STOCK honda/toyota. Mileage be damned, drive that sucker fo-ev-uh

[Slammillionaire]

Get an e30

[krayzie]

I say late 90's stock Corolla should be your best bet.

[Darth Khan]

Chevy Cavalier. my daughter picked one up for $1000. for daily driving to college. I replaced spark plugs, air filter and etc. Parts are dirt cheap, still running good after 2 years.

Here is an example from local Craigslist.

https://charlotte.craigslist.org/cto...284169789.html

[why?]

I'd only trust Corolla or an Echo for that price. If you can actually find a Yaris that cheap and it looks good, take it. At this point though you are going to just have to look hard and get lucky to find something that inexpensive that you can trust.

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Yeah, it's going to be a very, very high mileage Yaris for $1k. I got lucky with mine, $5k with only 21k miles on it at the time I got it. It's now at 36k, and the FR-S has been sitting with 55k on it (been only driving it to meets since last December).

[daiheadjai]

About 5 years ago, I bought a ratty Celica GT for about $2,300 Canadian.
Those things do tend to burn a little oil but otherwise, assuming it hasn't been crashed or abused, I suspect they can last (fun to drive and practical too, being a hatchback).

[DarkSideFRS]

geo metro/prizm
OG corolla
OG celica
OG civic
OG accord

[krayzie]

Originally Posted by Slammillionaire

Get an e30

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSgZGOCyYcY"]Regular Car Reviews: 1991 BMW E30 318i - YouTube[/ame]

[strat61caster]

I mean, in Illinois even if there are E30's left without serious holes in the floor in I can't imagine they're in budget.

This is the cheapest E30 in my area that might be able to be driven home safely, and they want $1.5k
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/cto...255109749.html

Looks like E36/E34 with the base engine might be in budget that could have survived the snow, but whether or not they last a year without something major is going to be a coin toss.

But my market is irrelevant because we don't see rust unless something is extremely poorly made. I wouldn't be looking at MT BMW's unless I had $3k in hand.

aaaand there's an M3/4/5 in rough shape for $3k with 200k on the odometer nearby that I want now... damn... Good news is that I don't actually 'need' a family car so I can just close the tab anytime I feel like it. I'm totally in control. You don't know me. It's fine, I'll close the tab later.

[Spuds]

I don't think you are going to find a Honda or Toyota in half decent shape for 1k. Brand name alone makes prices higher and at 1k any car is a risk. 2.2 Subaru is a good idea. Also, you can pick up an 08+ Hyundai or Kia for pretty cheap. I have an 08 accent and most parts are REAL cheap. It's also an excellent city car, but not so great on highways. Also, don't get T-boned in it...

[carczar87]

Ended up with a 2003 Toyota Corolla with 198K miles that a co-workers mother happened to be selling. Paid $1300 for it. Good shape and passed smog, only issues is that the AC is non-functioning, but that's what got the price down to where we could snap it up... So far so good!