I have almost run the wheels off, time to start the search

At about 10:30 E.S.T. something happened for the first time in 9-1/2 years. I am officially in the market for a car. I have "looked" before, including a certain Cadillac in NV. But the failure of the safety inspection for so many items this time does not justify the cost vs cost to replace. Drop-dead to replace is 3/31, ironically the same month and day my dad had to replace at least one car when I was a kid.

It is a a weird decision so far. What I really want is about five grand more than I have in reserves. I have reserves because I do the "imaginary payment to yourself" thing as well as any money I make from various side hustles. The plan was to be 5 grand over the cost, not under. I refuse to go back to payments if I can avoid it. Five years without having to make one has been sweet. "What I want" is out for a year or two.

So the next logical idea is to just adjust what I would spend to the same five grand below what I already have. However, when I look at spending that much and what is available, I just cannot justify spending that much on something I don't like so well. I would simply rather spend $3-5K on something in the last phase of life than $10K on something that will lose more value. It probably has to do with the fact that growing up my family rarely had nice, newer cars and when we did we kept them forever. I am probably just predisposed to run the wheels off the things.

Which puts me in the market for $3-5,000 of vehicle, give or take some. I keep getting pulled in a few directions.

First is the shall we call "sensible" one. I had wanted a current generation Escape. I can find a few previous gen ones, but there are more Explorers out there. Way more. I mean, way, way more. I have been looking in West Palm Beach as I have some connections that make it the most viable. These things must have been built well because they all have 150K or more miles. When I was a kid it was a thing to go south and get an older car with a solid body so it kept running and still looked good. The issue is Explorers are gas hogs. They are trucks, not cars. I go through periods where I may drive over 150 miles per day. $7-10 per day more does add up in fuel costs. Curiously, there are few other options in a smaller SUV on the market. Ford really owned this market you can tell.

I would really consider a Ranger or S-10. Despite being lover of old MOPARs, I have found the Iaccocca-era-and-after ones to be total pieces of junk. Ford sold lots of Rangers. Again, they are over half the smaller trucks I seem to find. Finding the right one is a little hard. Must be an extended cab. Prefer 4WD on a pickup even if on the SUV not as important. Only need the 4cyl but would take the 6. But try to find this combo on a Ranger that has not been Hillbilly-ed up, it is hard to do.

Used Subarus? Good luck finding one that has not been driven to the moon and back. There are bigger SUVs but they are even bigger gas hogs. I do not particularly want another sedan as I want more utility for hauling the weird projects I seem to get myself into. I have used a small hatchback almost as a truck, can't go back.

So the last option is get something not perfect but that I can live with and can resell for at least what I paid for it over a year. I see the occasional 2003ish BMW but I know that is an expensive one to maintain and repair. Florida seems to have some DeVilles at about $2,000. They will have been driven by old folks and as a bonus I could drive the same car as Saul Goodman, even get his vanity plate. Downside is both a gas hog and hard to find parking in town where the courthouses are. I love convertibles so a Mustang at a few grand will sell for that in a year or two, just need one like the Ranger, not Hillbilly-ed up.

What I am glad is that I am not one of the people I used to talk to when I was in auto loans, taking what they were told would work as a deal. Perhaps I will post more details when I buy, I am sure some folks are amazed a guy would go though all this for a simple car.

You could make one of those bets where you bet your allotment and either double it or lose it.

Check craigslist
I've bought a tablet and an XBOX 360 off craigslist.

I've bought cars at auction with great success.
Find a late model car with a manual tranny
and crank windows and they go for about
half of what the book says. People want
automatics and power windows. I bought
a 3 year old Saturn with 40K miles doing this,
for $2K. They are dealer trade ins usually,
cars the dealer doesn't want taking up space
on the lot.

Tesla's should be coming down in price now that oil is so cheap.

Quote:

So the last option is get something not perfect but that I can live with and can resell for at least what I paid for it over a year. I see the occasional 2003ish BMW but I know that is an expensive one to maintain and repair.

If you can get a 2003 3-series for under 5 grand, even given car prices being cheaper down there, it'll probably in the phase of it's life where it needs replacement parts. And those aren't cheap, even if you can do the work yourself. The car will probably hold it's value well (I sold my 97 3-series after 3 years for more than I paid for it), but not after you consider the running costs.

They are a lot of fun to drive... something you can't say for any of the Saturns I've tried. Same with Kia and hyundais as well. On the plus side, they are all cheaper to run and maintain, and I believe will also hold value.

UPDATES:


Craigslist--yes, been living on it the past few days. Finally found the first two Subarus with less than 200K miles for a reasonable price. Going to see the guy Saturday. Guy said he would put new stickers on one if I buy so given the price ($3K) if they look good I may say, "I will meet your price if it includes the stickers." Time will tell,

Auctions--all dealer only around these parts or I would go that route. Face will hate me for saying it, but I do not want to do a stick again.

BMWs--only reason I would buy would be to drive a year and sell out at purchase price or more. Some kid will always want a car like that. But yeah on parts. Why I will not do it. My sister-in-law had a Lexus or something and I heard the cost. Kicker is they are not much better parts, just like the mechanics don't have to work "harder." Just more money.

The moral of the story remains, have time and money on your side.

UPDATE: I pulled the plug and made a deal. Cheapest car they had. No matter how much more I make than when I was younger, some quirk makes me look at something older but in better shape than average instead of loading up.

2003 Ford Escape. Looks great in the pic. 103,000 miles. My guess is that I will be able to run it for 2-3 years and get 90%+ what I am paying back out of it.

I ended up buying from that place in Florida. After it is all over I will make a detailed post about the adventure of buying a car without seeing it from a state you have not been to in 14 years and financing it from a city you last lived in 10 year before. And bringing it all the way back.

Scary? Yeah, but what isn't. My only gripe is the MPG are going to drop vs what I have now so I make less from my mileage pay at work. OTOH I have an actual SUV to haul projects instead of a little hatch I am using as one.

Stay tuned, final details in 2 weeks or so. Same Bat-Channel.

Quote: AZDuffman

UPDATE: I pulled the plug and made a deal. Cheapest car they had. No matter how much more I make than when I was younger, some quirk makes me look at something older but in better shape than average instead of loading up.

2003 Ford Escape. Looks great in the pic. 103,000 miles. My guess is that I will be able to run it for 2-3 years and get 90%+ what I am paying back out of it.

I ended up buying from that place in Florida. After it is all over I will make a detailed post about the adventure of buying a car without seeing it from a state you have not been to in 14 years and financing it from a city you last lived in 10 year before. And bringing it all the way back.

Scary? Yeah, but what isn't. My only gripe is the MPG are going to drop vs what I have now so I make less from my mileage pay at work. OTOH I have an actual SUV to haul projects instead of a little hatch I am using as one.

Stay tuned, final details in 2 weeks or so. Same Bat-Channel.

I love having an SUV.
got the racks on top to carry my kayak.
Got the tow package so I can pull my pop up camper.
I like gaving a lot of room in the back to haul a lot of stuff when I go camping.
Yea less MPG but being a bicycle commuter, I buy a lot less gas then an average car commuter.

Quote: AZDuffman

UPDATE: I pulled the plug and made a deal. Cheapest car they had. No matter how much more I make than when I was younger, some quirk makes me look at something older but in better shape than average instead of loading up.

2003 Ford Escape. Looks great in the pic. 103,000 miles. My guess is that I will be able to run it for 2-3 years and get 90%+ what I am paying back out of it.

I ended up buying from that place in Florida. After it is all over I will make a detailed post about the adventure of buying a car without seeing it from a state you have not been to in 14 years and financing it from a city you last lived in 10 year before. And bringing it all the way back.

Scary? Yeah, but what isn't. My only gripe is the MPG are going to drop vs what I have now so I make less from my mileage pay at work. OTOH I have an actual SUV to haul projects instead of a little hatch I am using as one.

Stay tuned, final details in 2 weeks or so. Same Bat-Channel.

Congratulations AZDuffman! I am looking forward to hearing how the rest of this story turns out. How does the registration work in PA? Do you have to send the paperwork to the DMV right away?