Thanks!
1. Go to your local craigslist site 2. Find a car sold directly by a person (not dealers or shops). I would recommend going for a Honda Civic (best value for that amount and most reliable) 3. Go see the car for yourself in person 4. Get a local mechanic to check the car. pay them for it and then deduct that amount from the sale price if seller agrees. 5. Make sure seller has a clean title in THEIR name. If they cannot show you the title, walk away before the sale. Title should have NO LIENS (i.e. no loan remaining if financed). 6. Create a quick contract for your local state (get a template online) if both parties are ready for the sale. 7. Seller should accept a "Cashier's Check". Some may want cash but most will want a guaranteed way to get paid. 8. In most US states, you give them the check. Make sure the seller signs the title in YOUR name. 9. Go to local DMV and register immediately.
Why Honda Civic ? For less than 5k, you don't have a lot of options. Don't go for luxury brands. At that price, you will get really run down cars and will be very costly to maintain. You could possibly get a used Hyundai as well but Civics are just solid. I would get a Civic that is preferably less than 10 years old but don't shy away if they are even older. If the car was taken care of well, Hondas can easily go 200-400K miles with maintenance and updates.
I would add, do vin check and a recall check
Sure you might find a decent used car for $3-$5k. But it will be a decent $3-$5k car. Things will be worn out and shit will break and some stuff will already be broken. That's just the way old cars are. So finding the car is only half the equation. You need a mechanic you can trust. And who works reasonably quickly because your old car gets you too and from work. Good trust worthy mechanics aren't cheap, and tend to be busy.
It's easy to spend $1000 on repairs. Maybe not all at once, but easily across a couple of months: tires, fuel pump, shocks, valve cover gaskets, etc. That's without a transmission, head gasket, fuel injectors, or anything major. A $1000 every six months is $100 more than $150/month.
I like Autotrader.com.
Good luck.
1. Do your background checks on the car to make sure it's not stolen and to get a good idea about it's history. In the UK the car has to have an MOT each year to prove it's road worthy (you may have something similar in the US). This info is available online in the UK and shows when it passed and if there were any advisories. No advisories is ideal.
2. Only buy a car if the seller has paperwork that show it's service history. If a car has been serviced regularly it shows it's been looked after.
3. Inspect the body work to see if there are any signs of damage or if there are any panels are a slightly different colour. If a panel is a slightly different colour it's a telltale sign it's been in an accident.
4. Try to buy a car with as few previous owners as possible. If a car has been passed around to lots of different owners there's a higher chance it hasn't been looked after.
5. Check similar cars online to get a good idea of price and always haggle.
6. Never buy a car without taking it for a test drive. I'm guessing you're buying an automatic so check the car goes through the gears smoothly and there are no knocks etc. Make sure when you start the engine that the car is starting from cold and that it hasn't been warming up before you got there. Take your hands of the wheel to make sure the car doesn't drift of to the side as this is a sign something is wrong. Check underneath the car when you've done to check for oil / coolant leaks etc. Check the brakes and steering etc (there's lots more I could list but this is a basic idea.
7. Finally if you're not happy with it for any reason walk away. You are under no obligation to buy it so don't feel pressured into making a bad purchase.
Hope this helps
2. Learn about those specific cars. At $3-5K, we are looking at used cars: what are their common problems?
3. Look for low kilometers relative to age, needless to say.
3. Besides mechanical and structural things (engine, brakes, transmission, electrical, body), inspect the windows and windshield for damage. Don't forget to look at tires; don't buy a used car with bald tires. A battery that is five years old or older should be assumed end-of-life. Try all the accessories, A/C, power windows, speakers.
4. Buy only a "clean title" used car; no "salvage title". Most of the unusually good deals (cars 50% cheaper than others of the same make model and age) are suspicious: salvage cars that were so damaged they were written off by insurance. Salvage cars are a gamble: they can be repaired well and provide years of service, or they can be horrible. Don't gamble. If you're looking for a family car for transporting children, absolutely no salvage nonsense. Previously damaged cars are not safe in crashes, similarly to bike helmets. Their air bags may not have been professionally reset either.
5. Walk away from anything that has a problem in a test drive: engine stalling, difficult start, shifting problems or whatever else.
1) Buy domestic if possible. Parts, service and mechanics will be cheaper for the most part. Japanese cars can be cheap but make sure OEM parts are used.
2) Check the gaps between doors, panels and trunk. This is an easy way to spot sloppy body work or a wreck that was repaired poorly. More than likely it had a terrible wreck and got fixed at home or was done by a cheap shop on the low.
3) Look for any fluid leaks. Leaks == (Money + Time + Fixes)
4) Find out what the most common problem is for the car you are looking at. Some have rust problems, ECUs that die easily, bad fuel sensors, etc... Google will tell you about them. All cars have design flaws that need to be dealt with.
5) Check the mileage. The higher mileage means you should go and replace every single reasonably afforable maintenance part you can (belt/chain, brake pads, tires, fluids, filters, bushings, gaskets).
6) Haggle for every cent. I don't care if the car is some super rare model. The owner is getting rid of it and once you buy it they aren't going to give your money back. Also, when you buy a car, you buy the problems it has too. Get as much as you can knocked off the asking price because if you are going to rely on the vehicle spend that money on parts/labor that it needs (there is something that is on the out for sure at $5k).
7) Buy from a friend/a friend of a friend. Someone has a car that perfectly usable and doesn't need it or just wants it gone. Put the word out with friends and see what falls out from the woodwork. They'll be more honest and forthcoming about the car than some guy from craigslist.
There are many more but these are my main bits.
Best way is to look for a specific model, and educate yourself of the weak points. I always buy cars from people, not businesses since their warranties usually don't mean much. I'd rather buy a car on the cheap and use the remaining budget to replace things than to buy a more expensive car where the dealer assures you the timing belt has been changed recently.
For 3-5K I would buy an early 2000s Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Mitsubishi Galant or Subaru Legacy. These things are bulletproof, insanely reliable. Higher mileage is no problem, but learn how to spot worn clutches (if you get the manual) and replace the timing belt. At this price/age they won't be flawless and you won't look cool, but I care about reliability and costs over everything else.
My process; 1) Find out what seems to be the most reliable car via internet.
1) Decide car and parameters like kms/prices/4WD etc. Set up search alerts.
2) Go see cars within that. I dont know much about mechanics but general condition, oil quality, log book. Any noises or other that sets a red flag. I also judge the person a bit - tidy yard I assume they look after things better...who knows if true
3) Offer $$$ - if they accept I say it's on the condition my mechanic approves and get the car a quick once over from a professional.
4) Buy car. Or reject if surprises show up.
5) Get immediate service.
Personally i'd avoid an auction as I dont know enough. If you were mechanically skilled it would probably be a reasonable gamble.
They have a ton of inventory, can connect you directly with the dealer/seller (some are sold by owner), and they include the important aspects of a vehicle history search. This last part is critical at that price point, because you'll see things like flood-damaged cars, major collisions, etc. You may choose a car that has those things, but its better to be aware of it before you buy vs. finding out later. CarGurus also has a good metric of whether a car is a good deal, based on all similar cars being sold (and they have almost all the used car inventory in the US on their site).
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