[km]

So basically today on the highway my brake lines failed and I rear ended some dude with a trailer hitch. I'm not even going to bother trying to get my car fixed - it's pretty well boned.

So! I am looking for a new (well, used) car. Something $5k-ish.

So far I've been looking at Accords and Camrys.

I'm sure there are other good options!

Selectbutton, advise me in this time of need!
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[internisus]

How are you surviving the whole "my car unexpectedly died and now I don't have a way to get around and owe dude with a trailer hitch money and also need to throw away $5k for another car" thing? and are you injured?

[km]

Actually I live an apartment complex with about 9 other co-workers who are also good people/friends. So the transportation thing is mostly taken care of.

The dude's car that I hit is totally fine. His trailer hitch literally took the whole force and focused it on my bumper which is actually kind of fortuitous because my insurance may not even go up if he doesn't claim anything. The trailer hitch itself had a few paint scuffs on it.

As far as the money goes, I was planning on saving up after I bought an xbox and some stuff, and it just looks like I will need to wait. So it goes. I have a pretty good paying full time job ($15.33/hr pre-tax), and the vast, vast majority of that is disposable income (parents pay rent for various reasons). I also had the luck of getting a $2k check from when my car got hit last August just arrive. So I have about $3k in cash, and I get paid next week. I also don't think getting a small car loan and paying it off quickly will be anything but good for my credit.


Oh, and I'm perfectly fine. Though it happened on the highway, I had been slowing down quite a bit before the brakes failed, and so apparently it was slow enough for my bumper to do it's job. The airbag didn't even deploy. Man, fucked my car UP though. Not to mention I'd never be able to trust the brakes ever again.
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[Panoptic]

Glad you're fine (didn't even know about the accident).

My recommendation would probably be a 1999 or 2000 Honda Civic DX. Not only is the Civic a solid compact car which is also fun to drive, but the D-series Honda motors are nigh indestructible. There was a Craigslist listing for a DX a while back with 998,*** miles on the clock with the original motor. There's also a video on You Tube of some guys who were going to swap the D-series out of their car to put in a more powerful motor, and they drained all of the oil and were dumping water into the valve cover and spraying nitrous into the intake and bouncing it off the rev limiter and they simply couldn't blow it up. It seized up on them, but moments later it turned over and started again.

Edmunds value of the 2000 DX is $5,700, but I'm sure you can find one cheaper than that. There's a 96 on a lot on my way to work that's priced at $3,200, and it looks super clean. In your price range, a 2002 Ford Focus could be had ($4,995), but... meh. Anyway, if I were in that market, the DX is what I'd spring for.

[edit] Nice word filter for "You_Tube" by the way.

[Kappuru]

Jeez, I'm glad you're fine, man.

Yeah, Hondas are pretty reliable. I have an old initial-d looking honda prelude that has a ton of miles on it, but it runs pretty decently still.
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[km]

Also, re: owe the dude with a trailer hitch money

If he files a claim, well, that's what insurance is for.
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[Felix]

for that much you might just be able to turn up an early prius, if you're that way inclined. otherwise, yeah, start looking at some ~7 year old high-end civics or maybe jettas?

[DaleNixon]

Get a used MX-5. Drifturo!
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[showka]

[Felix]

[CubaLibre]

Buy a minivan

Sienna at 180,000 and still going strong

Fear the Deerslayer
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[slipstream]

I drive a 1971 VW Beetle that cost me $1400. It's a pretty good car for the price. Old guys at the shop always wax nostalgic about VW Beetles, for whatever reason.

I've seen a lot of 80s MR2s on ebay for under 5k! The car is based on a Lotus prototype and is on more than few top 10 lists for the 1980s. I love rear engine cars, though.
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[Corinth]

I can vouch for the reliability of Hondas. My dad's 1984 Accord was still doing fine when we gave it to some volunteer place two years ago, and we got a new 2006 one that's everything you could want. Plus, 40MPG!

[km]

Yeah, I'm just poking around autotrader.

So far I've found a '95 Jetta GLS and a '95 BMW 325i that are decently priced.


Voting no on the minivan. I hate driving them.

I don't want a sports car either. I have no particular desire to go very fast, and the insurance would likely rape me being a male under the age of 25, now with an accident under my belt.


Does anyone know where or who I could ask about how titles, registrations, and tags work? I am a resident of Missouri, but I'll be buying this car here in Alabama, and I'm not sure how that all works.
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[Panoptic]

I bought my current car in Minnesota, and I live in Iowa. The dealer just applied Iowa's tax to the sale of the car and slapped a temp license on, then I drove it my county's license registration center and did everything in one go.

As far as the Jetta is concerned, find out where it was made. The German-made ones have electrical issues that pop up from time to time, and the Mexican-made ones tend to... fall apart. Just something to watch out for. The Bimmer's insurance will probably cost more on the merits of the fact that it's a Bimmer, even with the docile 2.5, so look that up first, as well.

[km]

[yellowlightman]

the mid-90's BMW 3-series are really solid cars. Repair costs might be a bit much, but they're good cars. Avoid the Jetta, Volkswagens aren't worth the extra premiums you pay for them.

Again, I'd really suggest a Toyota, Honda or Nissan. They're boring, but they're solid cars. Unless you have something else special in mind (like you're looking for a coupe, or something sportier) stick with those.
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[km]

Yeah a '98 Accord is basically my dream car at this point, but all I've been seeing from the other Japanese car makers have been beat to shit Maximas and the like.

I was looking at the Jetta because my friend had one a few years ago, and it was really fun to ride and and he really enjoyed driving it. Then he go distracted by a clown and totaled it.
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[Panoptic]

[CubaLibre]

[km]

I found a '96 Camry with 164k miles for $2.3k. Sold.

The owner is kind of a douche though. I have to pay to get it inspected, because he doesn't want to know if there's anything wrong with it. Maybe understandable, but gives me the impression he doesn't think the car will pass.
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[smartblue]

auto kaufen
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[Felix]

[DaleNixon]

I'm very fond of Mazda vehicles because I enjoy the act of driving immensely. The Protege is a very nimble car. If you can find a Protege5 or MP3 for cheap, even better!
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[shnozlak]

So your car ate trailer hitch? Ouch. So whats dead? the Radiator/coolant sytem, ac unit, battery ect? Or did you strike engine block?

Id say go as long as possible and buy either a new car or a low mileage vehicle. Why buy a 4 year old car and have to ditch it in 3 when you could have had a more advanced car from the start and have gotten 7 out of it?

I bought a Scion XB for 12k a year ago and it still looks fairly new (ignore scuffed bumper) 33mpg, stick, room for 4 full size adults, corners really nice, its fairly zippy at low revs, plays mp3 cd's, its huge inside and tiny outside. The seats are very upright, yet comfortable and all buckets so you don't get sleepy driving the thing and the windows are huge making it like the perfect road trip machine. I'm really in love with it. I didn't like them to look at until I drove it, seriously, the best car in that price range.
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[Panoptic]

[km]

[Felix]

[km]

Yes, bought. Even has keyless entry and remote start.

The CV joint situation is a little worse than I thought though. I went to the grocery store and I hear some clicking as a turned, even though I listened for it while I test drove it. This indicates a CV joint that is actually going bad.

Also needs a new coolant overflow tank. $20 (on Amazon, for no goddamn reason)

New driver's side door handle: $20 (again on amazon WTF)

Needs new paint. That's pretty cheap right?


Since the car was like $1600 below blue book, and most of this stuff doesn't need done anytime soon (damn that joint though, I might need a new half axle), I'm cool with it.


Got the insurance transferred over to the new car today too.


Got the old car hauled off.


What remains is to get that joint looked at and to get the thing registered. Driving without plates feels weird, but is apparently legal until this time next week.
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For adolescents; half-formed personalities roaming (in packs) in search of identity.

[Panoptic]

I've had a CV shaft replaced; IIRC it cost me $250 for the parts and labor.

Far as paint is concerned. It can vary. I'd guess $250-300 would be the cheapest you could find a decent paint job (I've heard MAACO falls into that range, but I've never seen one, sooo...). Anything fancy (removing panels and painting them separately) could cost well over 2 grand.

[km]

Got the shaft replaced, was $150 whatever.


Another question I'm hoping someone can answer: the fabric on the ceiling is coming down towards the back. I know this is a pretty common problem in older-ish cars. Is there a good way to fix this? It's not too bad, I didn't even notice it when I was looking at the car. But I would like to stop it before it spreads like a disease.
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[Felix]

staple gun?

[DaleNixon]

Push pins.
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[Felix]

PS your having a predicament as such is yet another reason why i like cheap, sensible cars so much; my accent's ceiling upholstery is so much a part of the actual body of the car that it is really not "upholstery" in any sense of the word and thus can never ever sag.

[km]

How is a mid-90's camry anything BUT a cheap sensible car?

It's basically the most middle of the road car in America. Not shitty, not spectacular, just a car that gets you places and doesn't look godawful doing so.


Also I've decided to do it the right way and just remove the headliner board and put a new headliner in. Woo, there goes another saturday.
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For adolescents; half-formed personalities roaming (in packs) in search of identity.

[Felix]

okay, "cheap, sensible" probably wasn't the right way to describe an accent.

is "among the three least expensive models of car available in america each year since its inception" any better?

and hey - a camry is not a yaris nor a corolla!

that's always amused me, honestly, the way car manufacturers all have their different tiers of sedan. do i want a camry, a sonata, an accord, or an altima? or perhaps an accent, yaris, fit (lol), or ... well i'm not sure nissan has a cheapo model but you get the idea.

[GcDiaz]

Word, Altimas FTW.

I'm on my second Alty right now, a 5spd '96 with 114k. Cost me about $2700 after everything.
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[km]

The idea of riding in, much less driving, a Korean car terrifies me.

Maybe the new ones aren't so bad.

Maybe.
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[Felix]

they supposedly got a lot better after about 01.

mine is from before 01.

[Rud31]

Dog, I am own a money-sucking 1994 Honda Accord. I've wanted to dump it since I got into college, but the parents are paying the bills for the money-sucker.

Oh well! Won't have to drive anymore anyways!!
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