I'm buying my first used car. Any advice?

Question

I don't know c**p about cars.

What brands are reliable? How old should it be? I'm planning to spend around 5-7k. How much would I spend on it per month including everything - gas, insurance, parking etc?

Answer 1

Don't buy a Ford!  

Answer 2

You need to take someone who knows how to work on cars with you... That's the best advice. Any dealer will try and tell you the car runs great, but you wouldn't know the difference. Insurance depends on your area, driving record, and age, so it's hard to give you an estimate. Gas is expensive, but still, depends on how far you travel. And for parking? Well, I don't know which area you live in, or where you will be parking, so again, hard to estimate.

Answer 3

Don't pay more than 2% over invoice.  Go in and let them know that you are serious about not doing so.  They have to let you see the invoice if you ask.  I'm not sure about your expenses because sometimes insurance can depend on your driving record and even credit.  If you're looking for a good company for insurance, I'd go with Traveler's.  Many people don't know about them.  It was the first Insurance company in the U.S.  They take care of you.  Gas and parking all depends on how far you have to travel and where you park.  Good luck!

Answer 4

these is my personal suggestion: I think Toyota, Honda, Mitsubishi are good brands, most japanese cars are gas savers. if you can grab an acura/infiniti/lexus that will be perfect. Ford is not a bad brand, it just got worse MPG than Japan cars. GM is even worse, their cars are only good in highway not in city. their city MPG is always 8-10 less than their good highway MPGs, like '09 cobalt XFE, runs 37MPG on highway but 25 only in city. if you want to save on gas you'd better get a high City MPG car, like chevy prizm, honda civic, toyota corolla, are good. also hybrids are good too, but I suggest you not to buy GM hybrids, they sucks. Like 09 Malibu & 09 Camry Hybrids, both uses 2.4L 4Cyl Engine, Camry runs 33/34 mpg but Malibu only runs 26/33, both are hybrids!!

Answer 5

Volkswagen, honda and Toyota are all reliable cars

you should try to stick to a car that's no older that a 1995

also those cars get great MPG and the insurance isn't to high on them because none of them are high performance cars

also make sure you get a CAR FAX report so you know what the car has been through. if its been through alot of accidents you might not want to get it then since nothing on the car is factory so parts might not fit right

also you should see if the car was regularly maintaince since that will help the car last longer

Answer 6

Try to find a Honda, Toyota, or Subaru no older than early 90's. 5-7k should get you a pretty decent, reliable car. Stay away from Kia's, Hyundai's, most luxury cars, anything without airbags or anti-lock brakes. Edmunds.com has some great advice and reviews about all kinds of cars. Gas, insurance, parking can vary a LOT, depending on where you live, the fuel economy of your car, etc. Insurance will usually be quite a bit higher for anything sporty or four wheel drive.