Good Evening Scotty,
I am looking to purchase an older reliable car for my daily commute to Dental School, my daily commute is approximately 12 miles. What car would you recommend in the $1500 range?
Respectfully,
Adam
Where are you? Prices and things to consider vary by location in my experience so this is an important variable to know.
I am in the Cleveland Ohio area.
You can get an e-bike for $1,500; at least, that’s how much mine cost.
I looked into this option, we get lots of snow so it won't work for many months.
Your best bet might be to ask around friends and family who might have an old dog that's scrungy-looking but still has life left and they're going to be replacing it with something newer. Maybe the clearcoat has failed, it has cosmetic rust, cosmetic hail damage, the seats are torn, high mileage, etc, but it still runs OK. That's about the only scenario I can think of where you'd get a usable vehicle for $1500 the way things are right now. (I've been driving a $1500 car for 10 years now but we didn't have these crazy market conditions back then.) It helps if you can do your own repairs and maintenance. Any beater like that even if basically sound is going to wind up needing some repairs. If you have to run to a mechanic for every little thing a $1500 car can start getting very expensive.
If you catch yourself even forming a thought about looking at a buy-here pay-here used car lot, hit yourself up the side of the head. Those places are toxic.
Bicycle, motorcycle, moped, etc. might be low-cost options if you're in an area where the weather is good year-round but you might not like it much dealing with rain, snow, wind, and extreme temperatures. (Imagine walking into class after bicycling 12 miles in blazing 100-degree heat or subzero cold conditions, not to mention the inattentive drivers trying to kill you while they're texting.)
Your assessment is correct I live in the Cleveland area so the weather is a little tough in the winter. I am okay purchasing a car that doesn't have the looks as long as its mechanically sound. Whats the make and model of the car you purchased for $1500?
It's an old Saab 9000, Saabs are not a good choice for anyone who doesn't know them, but I've been driving those cars since the 1980s. I know their good and bad points and how to work on them. They can be reliable and long-lived when taken care of but being old niche vehicles from a dead company it would not be a good choice for most people. So I would advise not looking in that direction even though at that price level you can't be too picky about make and model.
Can you drive a stick shift? Many people can't and people selling standard-shift cars may have trouble unloading them making for a potentially lower price.
Good point, it would probably be difficult to find parts so I will stay away. I don't know how to drive stick shift, if I find a cheap car thats stick shift maybe ill learn how to drive it.
$1500 might get a "for parts" car.
Or you could buy a nice bicycle. 12 miles is nothing.
But you'll have to save up more than that if you want reliable.
Lol, it seems like even parts are expensive these days.
That's going to be hard to find. It would be hard enough to find a dependable motorcycle at that price.
For $1500 the car is either going to have high mileage, well north of 200,000 miles, very, very old, or in need of a major repair.
So, I guess a Toyota or Honda would probably be your best bet. Find one for sale by an original owner and ideally one of these older guys who kept all of his maintenance records. (not too old, around 80 years old they start running over curbs or over those concrete "parking place wheel stops").
It's good you're a college kid because you have to choose wisely. You'll be poring over (around) 25 years of maintenance records. You want to be sure that things like timely oil changes were done. It would be great to find one that the transmission fluid was changed every 60,000 miles or so.
At that age it would be nice to see that some of the suspension/front end parts were replaced, (tie rod ends, ball joints, cv axle, struts, etc.
This is going to be tough. Especially at the current used car prices. Be careful. Don't go by Looks. The nice shiny one will definitely have "issues" at a $1500 asking price.
I appreciate your thorough response, I am okay with a high mileage vehicle I am only going to use it for my commute to school. Hopefully in 4 years I will be able to afford a car with lower miles.
What are your actual options for $1500, in your area?
Your search is going to be limited by your budget, so it might be wise to see what’s actually on the market for $1500, and then you pick the best one to get inspected.
Thats a great point, I have been looking on Craigslist and Ebay I dont feel like I can trust the seller to give me the honest history and condition of the car.
No matter what you buy, have it inspected thoroughly by a professional mechanic, before purchase. You don’t want to end up with a clunker.
I'll absolutely do that, I am new to the area so I'll have to find a mechanic.