Car Trouble, Need Advice

[mredskins]

Originally Posted by skinsguy

They had a Dave Ramsey class here in town back during the summer. I wanted to go to it, but couldn't at the time. I hear he can definitely change your life financially.

You lucked out by missing out.

[skinsguy]

Is he actually on the up and up or is this a scam? I haven't heard anything bad about the guy, although it does cost $100 to take the course. (Well to buy the materials for the course.)

[saden1]

Originally Posted by Angry

Don't buy brand new, buy a certified used that's only a year or three old. They are still in excellent condition and the major depreciation from driving it off of the lot has already occured. You can find one anywhere from 20K-30K

I have a serious issue with buying anything used. I have this fear that it will fail because of misuse by the prior owners. The thought of spending 20K on a used car literally frightens and I can't get passed it. I have never owned anything used in my life, ever!

[skinsguy]

Well, they do have car facts where you can look up vehicle history.

It is true that buying certified used vehicles is the way to go, although I'm not so sure about spending $20-$30k on a used vehicle.

[mredskins]

Originally Posted by skinsguy

Is he actually on the up and up or is this a scam? I haven't heard anything bad about the guy, although it does cost $100 to take the course. (Well to buy the materials for the course.)

It is not like he is scamming anyone it is just common sense stuff; to me at least.

[SolidSnake84]

what kind of cars do people want to buy then? if a 6K dollar car is too "cheap", and a 20K+ new car is a frightening investment, then what do people want?

I bought my wife a car in July for 1500 bucks. a 2001 Mitsubishi Mirage, that is loaded, and in great shape. I found it in the valley trader....the same car is valued on kelly blue book for twice as much....i think sometimes people can't be helped....

[MTK]

Originally Posted by mredskins

It is not like he is scamming anyone it is just common sense stuff; to me at least.

Yeah I mean there are no magic tricks when it comes to being smart about your finances. Live within your means, don't carry stupid debt, max out your savings for retirement with a 401k and an IRA. Common sense stuff, but it's crazy to think what is common sense for some is greek for others.

[mredskins]

Originally Posted by SolidSnake84

what kind of cars do people want to buy then? if a 6K dollar car is too "cheap", and a 20K+ new car is a frightening investment, then what do people want?

I bought my wife a car in July for 1500 bucks. a 2001 Mitsubishi Mirage, that is loaded, and in great shape. I found it in the valley trader....the same car is valued on kelly blue book for twice as much....i think sometimes people can't be helped....

I think your car purchase much like your home purchase is dependent on your income and staying with in your means. So you have to pick one that will last you the longest but yet not brake the bank.

For some a $6k car is out of the question and for others $60k car is going cheap.

[CRedskinsRule]

I will say this. I paid $5000 for a 1999 Honda Civic in 2005, it had 98000 miles. It now has 223,000 miles, and is starting to act quirky (although it could just need a basic service). $5000 may get you an older car, but if you are diligent in looking for a good buy (only driven on Sunday to church by a little old lady kinda thing) you can get a lot of mileage for a little bit of cost.

[skinsguy]

Originally Posted by SolidSnake84

what kind of cars do people want to buy then? if a 6K dollar car is too "cheap", and a 20K+ new car is a frightening investment, then what do people want?

I bought my wife a car in July for 1500 bucks. a 2001 Mitsubishi Mirage, that is loaded, and in great shape. I found it in the valley trader....the same car is valued on kelly blue book for twice as much....i think sometimes people can't be helped....

As soon as I pay my Mustang GT off, I want to get a good, used, pick up truck. Nothing full size, but something decent enough to haul a few things. Something around $12k.

I suppose it's what people are used to according to where they live. In my area, the economy is...well...we hardly have an economy! We have the highest unemployment rate in the state, possibly the country. So, you tend to see a lot of very used, very old, and even wrecked vehicles on the road. So, a used car for $20k in my area is probably expensive, even for the higher up, well to do residents. So if people decide to spend that much on a vehicle, they would much rather buy it brand new.....for the full warranty.

Back when I bought my Mustang, there was no way I was going to buy a used one, simply because I know a lot of people buy those to race. So, I didn't want to get one that was ragged out. Plus it was in the second year of the new body style (when they went with a more retro look in '05) and I didn't want the old body style mustang.

But, if it comes to a truck, I can deal with a good used truck, as long as it gets me from point a to point b and I can at least haul trash or mulch with.

[mredskins]

Originally Posted by CRedskinsRule

I will say this. I paid $5000 for a 1999 Honda Civic in 2005, it had 98000 miles. It now has 223,000 miles, and is starting to act quirky (although it could just need a basic service). $5000 may get you an older car, but if you are diligent in looking for a good buy (only driven on Sunday to church by a little old lady kinda thing) you can get a lot of mileage for a little bit of cost.

Actually that is a myth, that kind of stop and go driving is actually hard on a engine.

[skinsguy]

Originally Posted by CRedskinsRule

I will say this. I paid $5000 for a 1999 Honda Civic in 2005, it had 98000 miles. It now has 223,000 miles, and is starting to act quirky (although it could just need a basic service). $5000 may get you an older car, but if you are diligent in looking for a good buy (only driven on Sunday to church by a little old lady kinda thing) you can get a lot of mileage for a little bit of cost.

Agreed!

[CRedskinsRule]

Originally Posted by mredskins

Actually that is a myth, that kind of stop and go driving is actually hard on a engine.

Fine. My point is that if you look, you can find good used cars for reasonable prices. You want to look at brand, history, type of driving (highway is better as you say), and overall wear and tear on the car, but there are lots of good deals out there.

Another case, a co-worker of mine bought a Toyota Van, kept it immaculate and rarely drove it. Still did maintenance every 3000 miles and the thing was in mint condition. He decided to get it after 3 years, had paid way down on the loan, and could have sold it on market easily at or just below KBB. He took it back to the dealership, and they really did a job on him. Point being, if he had sold it on his own, some new family would have gotten a sweet deal on a used Toyota Sienna. Shame it didn't work out that way, and I imagine only the dealership got something positive from it.

[KLHJ2]

Originally Posted by saden1

I have a serious issue with buying anything used. I have this fear that it will fail because of misuse by the prior owners. The thought of spending 20K on a used car literally frightens and I can't get passed it. I have never owned anything used in my life, ever!

Well I have bought brand new several times as well as used. I fall out of love with cars too quickly to buy them brand new anymore. The whole point of buying a certified used vehicle is to eliminate the chance that you buy something that fails because of misuse by the prior owners. While at the same time not overpaying for a product just because no one has owned it.

[mlmdub130]

Originally Posted by skinsguy

But, if it comes to a truck, I can deal with a good used truck, as long as it gets me from point a to point b and I can at least haul trash or mulch with.

now thats where you have to be really careful, because chances are that used truck has been worked hard. trucks are a dime a dozen it's hard to buy used cars in general but if you have patience and don't mind waiting deals are out there.

i bought my 03 ram 1500 quad cab 4x4 with a towing package used in 05 with about 30k on it. i used carfax and took my time and found that truck for 15k. i'm a gerneral contractor and use my truck for work and personal use, i just sold it two weeks ago for 6200 straight cash. now i am saving some $ and am going to buy another 2 to 3 year old truck in the spring, most likely a 2007 or 8 gmc serria.

everyone has their preference some like new some like used some like beaters some actually take some form of pride in how their car looks and runs, to each his own. the main thing it comes down to when trying to find a new car or truck is do some research on what you want first, and have it checked out by a trusted mechanic before you buy it, if it's used. the people that blow my mind are the people that just drive to carmax and pick out a random ass car not really caring what it is. for me a car purchase is an investment granted it's a shitty one and you will lose money in the end the trick is not losing all of it

and off topic but kinda crazy when i was selling my truck one guy in richmond was really serious and wanted it bad but couldn't come up with enough cash. the reason he couldn't come up with enough cash is because even though his credit card limit was 7500 the most he could get in a cash advance was 5600. when he told me this i almost said to him do you know what the f you are doing. you wanna talk about a pretty crappy idea i would say taking out a cash advance on a credit card to buy a used truck is on the top of the list.