You look enough like my late husband that you could be twins

Question

Dear Scotty,

I am 70 yo, widow, without anyone knowledgeable enough to help me make car decisions.
I have been without a car since October 2021. I rent one for 24hrs every other week, plan appointments/errands for this day. Logistics are not always working for me.
I know that now is the worst time to buy a car, but I need to do something different.
I looked at 2 really cheap cars, took them to a mechanic. Both times it was recommended not to buy it cause the repairs would exceed the value of the car. This was before I started listening to your great presentations on U Tube (by the way, you look enough like my late husband that you could be twins).
My plan is to buy something inexpensive-below $5000- a Toyota Camry - with good mileage rates, that would be easy to sell later and get my money back when used car prices come down some. Odometer below 225,000.
And then buying either a 2016 or newer Toyota RAV4 or a 2016 or newer Highlander Hybrid V, 4cyl, V6. When prices come down.
Is this a good plan? Or can you suggest something different?
Should I pass on those with damages that were not repaired? Does it make sense to get them repaired?
- 1 has both front and rear bumpers hit. The styrofoam stuff is showing-painted coating cracked.
- Another hit a deer in front, left side, and crumpled the metal around the headlight. Also was rear-ended with the rear bumper cracked on both sides
I have listened to many of your you-tube presentations and found them very helpful as well as entertaining! There were some contradictions from 1 presentation to another that I would like clarification on.
- Example-you have warned not to buy a hybrid car in a couple of your presentations. But when you reviewed the Toyota Highlander 3 years ago you recommended the hybrid model in the 2016 4 cycle V6.
- But in a more recent presentation, you again warned about not buying a hybrid. Is this still your recommendation with the Highlander as an exception?
Also, I'm having problems finding cars for sale by owners (as you recommend). I think a lot of them are selling to dealerships because of the inflated prices and do not have to hassle with the process.
- Besides Craigslist, where else should I look?
- When I do a search, the dealers have it rigged to land on their sites and not on a private seller.

Please, if you would, answer my questions. I will be glad to pay you a consultation fee. Right now I am going around in circles looking for cars you recommended in earlier presentations not knowing if this is the route I should take. As I listen to other presentations, the more confused I am getting given the 51% increase in prices over the past year. I just watched the one on how to examine a used car to purchase before taking it to a mechanic. Very helpful!

Thank you for your help!

InThrustWeTrust · Accepted Answer

Posted by: @candace My plan is to buy something inexpensive-below $5000 With that budget, unless you stumble upon a goldmine, skip the Camry. Instead, look at cheap but reliable workhorses such as this -  https://youtu.be/860sExPATyc

Jpparisio · Answer

First I would like to say i am sorry for your loss.Buying a decent car for 5000 is going to very hard. I would try and raise the budget if possible. If you plan to keep a vehicle for a very long time hybrids are not the best because they can become extremely expensive as they age. Facebook marketplace has cars although I have never looked there. Hopefully someone can give you more places. I wish you the best luck in your vehicle search.

FJCruiser2014 · Answer

So hybrid is not bad and actually Toyota makes the best hybrids out there. What Scotty always mentions is that avoid used hybrids unless they are very low mileage or like a couple years old. Also, gasoline only is the best choice if you plan on keeping the car for a long time because with age hybrids become more expensive to maintain and repair compared to gasoline only.

Used car prices are very high right now so with $5k you won't find anything decent. Since you stated you want to buy something now and then sell it later to buy a newer vehicle (2016 or newer) if financially you can afford to buy new right now that would be a better choice to just buy it now instead of wasting your time looking for something cheap and buying in a very inflated used market. I know both rav4 and Highlander are SUVs but if you don't need SUV I would suggest looking at the new Corolla or Civic or the new Corolla Cross for a smaller SUV.

Places to look for used cars are Craigslist, Facebook marketplace, Autotrader, or sometimes even your mechanic might come across a car for sale from one of their clients and could let you know.

Hope this helps a bit and feel free to ask follow up questions.