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Hey! I am buying myself a car. I will have about 5000.00 cash to put down, and want really small payments. I want something good on gas, comfortable for me to get in and out of (I have a back problem - so no really high or really low) and want good gas mileage. Having said that - dependability with little up-keep is my main concern, but hey, I would love something that looks good too! Don't want a van or station wagon, but anything else is possible. Prefer 4 doors.
Hey! I am buying myself a car. I will have about 5000.00 cash to put down, and want really small payments. I want something good on gas, comfortable for me to get in and out of (I have a back problem - so no really high or really low) and want good gas mileage. Having said that - dependability with little up-keep is my main concern, but hey, I would love something that looks good too! Don't want a van or station wagon, but anything else is possible. Prefer 4 doors.
Any help is appreciated!
Honestly, If you have $5,000 and you want to buy a used car, it makes absolutely no sense to go and finance a vehicle. There are plenty of good used cars that you can buy outright for $5,000 or less. I am thinking a late 90's Camry or Accord would fit you just fine.
Mid-to-late-'90s Lincoln Town Car. Roomier inside and more comfortable seats than the imports. Only available in 4-door. 20 mpg average (that is what my '95 averages).
Doesn't look like every other car on the road, too.
The last generation of Chrylser 300's (ending in 2004 or'05 maybe) are nice and dime a dozen right now. Don't know about fuel economy but they had V6's, so they might get good mileage.
Honda Accord, Toyota Camry or Celica, Nissan, maybe Subaru if you want the AWD, which would be more for mud than for snow in Alabama.
You can definitely find a decent used car for $5000 or less, if you know where and how to look.
Don't be afraid to buy a car with *specific* needs, like a new muffler, or new tires/brakes, etc. So long as the price reflects the condition, this sort of maintenance can be done for a fixed price, generally.
Avoid ex-Yankee rust bucket cars, they are rare enough in Alabama, but you may find a few, make sure you are not getting into an ex-flood car, one that's been wrecked does not have to be rejected but I would want to know how badly it was damaged, and how it was repaired.
I have always got my best deals buying directly from individual owners. If you are not in a hurry, you don't need to bother with dealers.
Las Vegas:
Big deal! So you just replace the plastic manifold and drive the car for 200,000+ miles!
BTW, one of my friends has a '97 Ford Crown Victoria (with the plastic manifold) and has had no issues with it.
My '95 Town Car does not have that type of manifold because the plastic type was from '96 to 2000 or 2001.
Last edited by Fleet; 07-07-2009 at 02:09 PM..
Reason: correction
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Don't want a van or station wagon, but anything else is possible. Prefer 4 doors.
