I know you said right now is a bad time to buy a used car . But it’s an emergency , I already made the mistake of buying a flashy car and it broke on me , I don’t wanna make the same mistake , is a 2009 Nissan Altima a reliable car I should look into or stick, having a hard time finding a a low mile Toyota , Mazda or Honda , Ford in my price range
Clarification: which transmission does it have and what is the mileage of the one you are looking at? And how many years/miles do you need it to last you?
If it has a CVT run away.
If your able to meet the owner at his house, how he takes care of his house/garage should give you an indicator about his mintenance habits. Next look over the car really well for things like matched/even wear tires, cleanliness under the hood and door jams, drivers seat wear besides all the fluid checks. If all look good then do yourself a favor and at least get the VIN# from owner so you can run a AUTOCHECK history report. If there is evidence of good maintenance history and no accidents, then your last check would be to take it to a mechanic is your still incomfortable with what you found so far. If this is a 10K or higher car then owners should not object. If its a 5k car or less car then owner may say no way to taking car to a mechanic. Then at least you know. Comes down to how much risk you are comfortabkle to take.
Of course the most important piece is if they have a "Clean" Title "In-Hand"!! Hope this helps.
