Grim news for buying a car post BK

[TEW]

I got sick of driving 90 minutes to 2 hours (one way) to the dealer every time the thing broke down. It was a GM hybrid. It left us stranded in the dark in the middle of nowhere. Also they wanted to start charging us towing fees even though it was under warranty because we were more than 30 miles away from the dealer.

After talking to many BMW owners telling me how stupid I was for buying a cheap GM car, I went ahead and bought the Bimmer. I love the vehicle. I never have to go back for any repairs in almost 30,000 miles. I am just tired of paying over $800/mo. for it to sit in my front yard whether I drive it or not. Guess I'll have to go back to used and constant repairs.

I surrendered a CLK 500 ya wana talk about loving a car? Those days are over. it's used cars for me from now on. you just have to be careful of what you buy.

[landofpoor]

I got sick of driving 90 minutes to 2 hours (one way) to the dealer every time the thing broke down. It was a GM hybrid. It left us stranded in the dark in the middle of nowhere. Also they wanted to start charging us towing fees even though it was under warranty because we were more than 30 miles away from the dealer.

After talking to many BMW owners telling me how stupid I was for buying a cheap GM car, I went ahead and bought the Bimmer. I love the vehicle. I never have to go back for any repairs in almost 30,000 miles. I am just tired of paying over $800/mo. for it to sit in my front yard whether I drive it or not. Guess I'll have to go back to used and constant repairs.

You want some cheeze to go with that whine?You kill me lol. You do make the forum here very entertaining with your off the wall thinking.You arnt bipolar by any chance are you?

[nervousss]

This is such an odd conversation to me. This is a forum for people who are in enough financial trouble to ask for the grace of their government to forgive them their debts, and we're talking about the pros and cons of something that has been discussed ad nauseam by practically every financial expert?

Work the math. Financially, you're better off going with a reliable, used car, even if you happen to have to make some repairs. Nobody says you have to buy a junker. When getting your finances in order, that's probably a logical choice. Obviously it's your decision to make, but you probably wont get much support on the new or luxury car topic when most of us have been researching ways to not end up in the same situation again.

Edit: removed massive quote, here's some links instead
pro-used car

http://www.daveramsey.com/etc/cms/why_buy_a_used_car_5153.htmlc

looking at both sides

http://www.allbusiness.com/personal-finance/automobiles/2495-1.html

http://www.cars.com/go/advice/Story.jsp?section=buy&story=nuIntro&subject=new_used

[OhioFiler]

I've developed an exchange network with various people over the years. One of them is a long time mechanic. I suggest EVERYONE get to know a good mechanic. I do home repairs for him and he maintains my vehicles. We never charge each other for labor.

If you intend to buy a used car take it to a trusted mechanic and have them inspect it. Often they will identify serious problems you would overlook.

I've also had luck with my mechanic friend finding excellent deals on cars that are mechanically in bad shape. One major mechanical problem can devalue a car by thousands and a good mechanic can often fix the problem for a few hundred dollars.

Make friends with a mechanic!

[debtmonster]

You want some cheeze to go with that whine?You kill me lol. You do make the forum here very entertaining with your off the wall thinking.You arnt bipolar by any chance are you?

This forum is not for personal attacks.

[debtmonster]

Edit: removed massive quote, here's some links instead
pro-used car

http://www.daveramsey.com/etc/cms/why_buy_a_used_car_5153.htmlc

That article by Dave Ramsey was excellent. I think EVERYONE should have read that article. I wish I would have read that article 20 years ago. I've pissed away so much money on brand new cars over the years. Honda's, Toyota's, Chevy's, Saturn's, Hyundai's, Kia's, Volkswagens and then the BMW. This should be the last new car I should ever own for many years to come.

Thanks for posting that.

[Help!]

I've developed an exchange network with various people over the years. One of them is a long time mechanic. I suggest EVERYONE get to know a good mechanic. I do home repairs for him and he maintains my vehicles. We never charge each other for labor.

If you intend to buy a used car take it to a trusted mechanic and have them inspect it. Often they will identify serious problems you would overlook.

I've also had luck with my mechanic friend finding excellent deals on cars that are mechanically in bad shape. One major mechanical problem can devalue a car by thousands and a good mechanic can often fix the problem for a few hundred dollars.

Make friends with a mechanic!

Excellent point. One of the reasons we're able to get away with a $1500 car is that we paid for a mechanic to inspect it before we bought it. It helped us negotiate the price and we knew what repairs were likely in the future.

[debtmonster]

Excellent point. One of the reasons we're able to get away with a $1500 car is that we paid for a mechanic to inspect it before we bought it. It helped us negotiate the price and we knew what repairs were likely in the future.

How exactly did you negotiate the price? How much was the original asking price of the car? How much did the mechanic charge? How long did he spend looking over the car? Did the mechanic drive over and look at the car or did you drive the car over to the mechanic?

It would be nice to know all of the specific details.

I found an excellent mechanic and his prices are very reasonable. He's honest and only repairs what needs to be repaired. He also works from his home and does not have the overhead that regular shops have.

Problem is, he's 90 miles from me. That's why I need to foreclose and move to the city.

[imaloser]

let me chime in

i've only owned one new car - my very first when i was 17 - and paid CASH for it - with the help of my folks who donated a grand - and i ended up buying one of the first honda civics every marketed here in the u.s. i drove that thing until "the wheels fell off" and i have pictures to prove it ! ! ! that car was used and abused - cross country at least ten times loaded up with sometimes 5 people ! ! ! it had 289,000 miles on it ! ! !

i've driven either hondas or toyotas ever since. all used. only one financed (because it had under 50,000 miles on it). i'm driving a honda accord now that is going on its fourth year - bought it with 145,000 miles on it - loaded - everything works like a dream. paid 4 grand for it. not a single problem with it and i keep it well maintained.

you won't find decent used hondas or toyotas at a dealer (most of them on the dealer's lot are considered "new-used". look in your local papers, craig's list and wheels & deals. lots of good decent cars for under 5 grand.

use carfax - always ! ! ! some owners will even furnish this report. not only that, honda's toyota's and the mini hold their value real well and they're easy to sell at a decent price.

i remember in 1989 i bought my mom a brand new toyota corolla (cash) for 7 grand. ten years later i sold the car (because she moved here with me from out of state). in ten years, it only had 9-thousand-some miles on it ! ! !. i put an ad in her local paper and my phone rang off the hook ! ! ! i asked 4900for the car and i got my asking price. that money paid for her move here.

[debtmonster]

I WISH I could have had a brand new car at 17. I don't know how you guys do it. How on earth do you save up all of that cash when you're just a kid in high school? My father would not let me work. He said to just finish school. And even if I did work, how on earth would I be able to buy a brand new $9,000 Honda (back then) on making on $3.35/hr? By the time you pay living expenses, food, gas, etc., there's nothing left. It would take YEARS to save up $9,000 cash. Instead, I drove a 1970's Corolla as my first car. My father paid $50 out of pocket for it. This is the car I drove for 4 years with no car insurance. (Remember, I didn't have a job. Who's gonna pay $100+/mo. for car insurance with no job?)

This is the car that taught me how to work on cars. I did all of the mechanical work myself. My dad had all of the tools. I would put the car on jack stands. I changed the clutch myself. Replaced the motor mounts, noisy exhaust, timing-chain, did all of the tune-ups, wires and everything all on my own and never paid anything for anything other than $10 bucks to turn the rotors when they were warped.

I would be scared to death to buy a car with 145,000 miles. Did you change the timing belt? That should be changed every 60,000 miles. My old Corolla had the chain. It started making noise and it was affecting the fuel economy. After I changed it, the engine ran perfect. The car had 100,000 miles on it when I got it. I painted it and put wheels after I finished high school. I was able to finally do some small work on the side. It took me 6+ months just to save a couple hundred bucks to pay for the paint job.

I was born too early. I wish I was born in the late 80's. I would love to be a teenage right when the Internet first started becoming popular in the early 1990's.

[imaloser]

remember - back in 1974 - the base price on a civic was either 2200 or 2700 - i can't remember - they were unbelievably cheap - and honda made no bones about it ! ! ! plastic trim ? but hey - i was a kid. i had some graduation money. i babysat. and i car hopped. and saved practically every penny (for my new car). with my folks kicking in a grand i made it.

on december 22nd this past year, i purchased another toyota corrolla with 135,000 miles on it for 2350.00. i've driven two of these before - it's a basic simple good running car.

[debtmonster]

Lucky you. When I was 17, a brand new Honda Civic HF was $9,000 brand new back in 1985. I remember going to the dealer and looking at it.

I could save every penny from 10th grade to 12th and not even have enough money for a DOWN PAYMENT.

Why are you buying cars with such high mileage? What's wrong with buying cars with under 50,000 miles instead? They are on Auto Trader if you look.

[imaloser]

trust me - you won't find an accord/camry/corolla/civic with under 50,000 miles for under 5 grand - those are as good as new - with a price to match ! ! ! that's why ! ! ! if you look in all the trade papers for these cars you'll see what i mean. i did buy a toyota once with 45,000 miles on it but had to finance 10 grand ! ! ! that's the only car i have ever financed. and that was in 1998 ! ! i sold it to my next door neighbor four years ago - and it's really weird to still see that car in front of my house and it runs perfectly ! back when i purchased this accord that i'm driving now, four years ago, i had put 1000 deposit on a camry from a dealer, but something went wrong with the deal and i grew impatient. i had another honda dealership keeping their eyes peeled for a car, and the day this honda came in on trade, i snapped it up, over the phone, without even seeing it. called my girlfriend to pick me up because i knew i'd buy it. so, on my way home i drove my "new" car back to the toyota dealer to pick up my 1000 bucks - and the salesman looked at my car and said "you got a good deal - 145,000 miles ? that's nothin' for this car". and he's right. like i said, i've been driving it four years without a single problem (knock on some hard wood). the best part of it is that my cost of ownership month to month is next to nothing. both honda and toyota have had a lot of "misses" but you can't go wrong with a camry/accord/civic or corolla ! ! ! in fact, back on 12-22 i almost bought a camry instead of the corolla - guy was moving out of the country and needed to sell his car - i think he wanted 3 grand - and i offered him 2700 and he hemm-hawed, but finally called me back to accept my offer, but it was too late - i already bought the corolla. very, very, very nice clean car. clean carfax - he bought it from a dealer a year before for 4 grand.

[Bell30656]

What is odd is that my mailbox is full of offers from new car dealers wanting to sell me a car. I've called a couple of them and I do find that the interest rate is "in the teens" which is why I haven't bought a car from them. But nevertheless, they seem to really want to sell me a car.

There are many reasons that people purchase a late model used car or even a new car when they are in our situations. Some may travel a lot for work, some may need to have that positive trade line to start re-establishing credit, some may have to have the car payment to avoid having too much disposable income and thusly being put into a 13. Each person's situation is different.

[debtmonster]

trust me - you won't find an accord/camry/corolla/civic with under 50,000 miles for under 5 grand - those are as good as new - with a price to match ! ! ! that's why ! ! ! if you look in all the trade papers for these cars you'll see what i mean. i did buy a toyota once with 45,000 miles on it but had to finance 10 grand ! !

Okay, I'm trusting you. I won't find a Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla with under 50,000 miles for under $5,000....

WHOOOOOOPS!

1990 Honda Civic sedan 40,000 miles $3,995 obo

2000 Toyota Corolla VE 41,000 miles $3,990

1995 Honda Accord 27,384 miles $3,988

1994 Honda Civic EX 50,000 miles $3,500

2000 Toyota MR2 19,350 miles $3,100

1994 Toyota Corolla 46,817 miles $2,950

1994 Toyota Corolla 45,000 miles $1,700

1993 Toyota 41,xxx miles $4500

1989 Toyota Corolla 43,751 miles $4,995

1988 Honda Accord 47,305 miles $2,999

1990 Toyota pickup 30,644 miles $1,495

--- 0WNED!! ---