4 ms·

In the states? $5k would get you a great used car, a 5 year old mid-range sedan with <100k miles Or you could buy 2-3 20 year old Civics/Camrys, use one as the

In the states? $5k would get you a great used car, a 5 year old mid-range sedan with <100k miles Or you could buy 2-3 20 year old Civics/Camrys, use one as the primary and cannibalise parts from the others to keep it going

24gttghh 9y ago
Easier said than done! I can't imagine trying to find three of the same old car and expect each one to have the same critical parts that aren't already rusted out/failed. Where I am in the NE, road-salt destroys everything. To add to that, $5K might work in southern states, but I haven't had much luck finding something relatively new for $5K that didn't have serious rust issues as well.
- dsfyu404ed 9y ago
  Eventually you'll figure out that trying to inform a group of mostly (or at least they're the largest minority if they're not the majority) Californians about things like corrosion, winter, potholes, etc is a very lost cause... Source: BTDT
  - 24gttghh 9y ago
    Well SF is surrounded by salt water, so I would think that must have a corrosive effect when it rolls in on the fog.
- falsedan 9y ago
  > I can't imagine trying to find three of the same old car and expect each one to have the same critical parts that aren't already rusted out/failed Buy 2004 Camrys? Or spend that $5k on a decent single car instead…
  - ams6110 9y ago
    There are decent 2004 cars to be found. My newest car is a 2004, and it's perfectly reliable and comfortable.
    - falsedan 9y ago
      Yeah, nothing wrong with those cars. Toyotas are stupid easy to find & find parts for, and have great reliability: hence my specific suggestion for "what ~$1k non-rustbucket cars could I buy?"
- ams6110 9y ago
  You've hit it, buy in the south/southwest where there's no salt used. I don't buy into the parts car idea, myself. Although any e.g. Honda from the same model year will share a large number of parts with any other Honda, they will still be old and worn out. New parts are readily available for most older cars if you stick with mainstream models that were sold in large numbers. If you need something significant like a transmission, you can always get one from a salvage company.
- elif 9y ago
  yup! I have 3 1987-1991 Saab 900 turbo convertibles. (extremely fun cars to drive, almost no lag) Total spent: $4.2k. You nailed the problem, the same parts fail on all of them. But I've also gained my money's worth of car knowledge, which is more valuable to me than a banker collecting interest :)
Johnny555 9y ago
Or you could buy 2-3 20 year old Civics/Camrys, use one as the primary and cannibalise parts from the others to keep it going That probably works better if you don't put a value on your own time and have the tools and facilities to do heavy repair, I think most people would be better off buying a better car than trying to transfer parts from the donor car(s) to their commute car. Assuming they even have a place to park the donor car.

24gttghh 9y ago

Easier said than done! I can't imagine trying to find three of the same old car and expect each one to have the same critical parts that aren't already rusted out/failed. Where I am in the NE, road-salt destroys everything. To add to that, $5K might work in southern states, but I haven't had much luck finding something relatively new for $5K that didn't have serious rust issues as well.

dsfyu404ed 9y ago
Eventually you'll figure out that trying to inform a group of mostly (or at least they're the largest minority if they're not the majority) Californians about things like corrosion, winter, potholes, etc is a very lost cause... Source: BTDT
- 24gttghh 9y ago
  Well SF is surrounded by salt water, so I would think that must have a corrosive effect when it rolls in on the fog.
falsedan 9y ago
> I can't imagine trying to find three of the same old car and expect each one to have the same critical parts that aren't already rusted out/failed Buy 2004 Camrys? Or spend that $5k on a decent single car instead…
- ams6110 9y ago
  There are decent 2004 cars to be found. My newest car is a 2004, and it's perfectly reliable and comfortable.
  - falsedan 9y ago
    Yeah, nothing wrong with those cars. Toyotas are stupid easy to find & find parts for, and have great reliability: hence my specific suggestion for "what ~$1k non-rustbucket cars could I buy?"
ams6110 9y ago
You've hit it, buy in the south/southwest where there's no salt used. I don't buy into the parts car idea, myself. Although any e.g. Honda from the same model year will share a large number of parts with any other Honda, they will still be old and worn out. New parts are readily available for most older cars if you stick with mainstream models that were sold in large numbers. If you need something significant like a transmission, you can always get one from a salvage company.
elif 9y ago
yup! I have 3 1987-1991 Saab 900 turbo convertibles. (extremely fun cars to drive, almost no lag) Total spent: $4.2k. You nailed the problem, the same parts fail on all of them. But I've also gained my money's worth of car knowledge, which is more valuable to me than a banker collecting interest :)

Johnny555 9y ago

Or you could buy 2-3 20 year old Civics/Camrys, use one as the primary and cannibalise parts from the others to keep it going That probably works better if you don't put a value on your own time and have the tools and facilities to do heavy repair, I think most people would be better off buying a better car than trying to transfer parts from the donor car(s) to their commute car. Assuming they even have a place to park the donor car.