9 ms·
Poll: Is my own car worth it?
I'm starting a new job that requires me to drive 30 miles each way. Someone offered to let me borrow their car for the summer (it's a summer job), but I don't exactly feel comfortable using their car, so I'm also looking for my own car.
I've been shopping on craigslist for used cars, and I've basically stumbled upon two choices that I can afford: cheap, older cars (c. 1995ish), or more expensive, newer cars (c. 2002ish).
Anybody have any ideas or suggestions?
- mcav 17y agoBorrowing someone else's car would save you the most money. (It has problems of its own, as others have pointed out.) That said, choosing between buying older and newer is a tradeoff between risk versus cost. The older a car, the more likely it will need repair sooner. But since you've ruled out the most recent model years, most of the cars you're looking at (ca. 2002) will have already gone through the biggest depreciation. If you want your own car, I'd aim for a used newer car (ca. 2002, for instance). Another factor to consider: whether or not you plan to have this car long-term, or if this is just to get you by until you can afford a better one.
- spkthed 17y agoBorrowing someone else's car is probably more hassle than it's worth. You'll have to deal with insurance, maintenance and there's problems, you risk that relationship. You assume that older cars are cheap and newer ones aren't. Get something reliable (good engine, good transmission) that's ugly or damaged in some non-functional way. I've had friends that have driven $500 cars all their lives and had them work. The secret is finding something that nobody else wants for non-functional reasons.
- vaksel 17y agoDo not borrow someone else's car, unless of course you plan to owe that person for the rest of your life. + it opens you up to huge problems if you get into an accident. Here is what you do, buy a reliable older car(something like a Honda Civic, Honda Accord, Acura Integra, Toyota Camry), Spend at most 4-5K. Drive that for the summer, then at the end of the summer you can sell it for the same amount. Hell, if you spend the time to find a deal, you can probably even make money on the transaction when you sell it. Since you'll be buying a reliable, popular car, you'll have no problem making a quick sale at the end of the summer, when everyone is buying cars for the start of the school year.
- nazgulnarsil 17y agoum...why not just buy insurance on the car?
- RiderOfGiraffes 17y agoIn the UK you cannot legally insure someone else's car, you have to have them extend their insurance to cover you.
- jkent 17y agoThis is not true with my UK insurance - I self insure my mum's car through Elephant - and declare it as such.
- RiderOfGiraffes 17y agoIt may be that my information is out of date, but I am genuinely surprised. It was declared legally impossible when I tried to do it - some years ago admittedly - and that was confirmed by my lawyer colleague. Perhaps it's changed. I would think it a legal minefield. It's a moot point - the other contributions have given sufficiently convincing reasons for getting your own car rather than borrowing one.
- vaksel 17y agoI'm pretty sure that you can't insure a car that you don't own.
- nazgulnarsil 17y agoright, the guy extends the insurance to include another driver. you pay him the extra funds it costs.
- vaksel 17y agoThat'll work if the person has full coverage. If they only have liability, you'll still be screwed if you have an accident.
- davidw 17y agoOlder car, for sure! During high school, a friend and I bought a car together to go to bike races with. The car was as old as we were (1975), and cost us 500$, plus several hundred dollars in needed repairs. It ran fine for the 2 years we used it. The last time I was in the states, I borrowed my parents' '87 camry (which I had owned previously). Great car - it was pushing 200K miles a few years ago when my dad got into a minor accident that had the unfortunate side effect of ruining the seal on the trunk, making it useless for hauling his camera gear around in rainy Oregon. It was still running great after all those years and miles, though. You could probably pick up a car like that for less than $2000, no problem and drive it well beyond just one summer. Now, with a family, I'd consider getting something nicer, but before having a kid, there's no way anyone would dissuade me from getting an older car that runs well.
- moe 17y agoIn HN spirit you shouldn't buy or borrow a car. You should build one.
- deleted 17y ago[deleted]
- Angostura 17y agoSee which one your mother prefers. You know it'll save arguments. Personally, I have better things to do with cash than spend it on a flash car, so buy a robust older model of car with a reputation for reliability. Learn enough to do simple servicing yourself. Purchase breakdown cover.
- bayareaguy 17y agoIf you only care about your own personal transportation and the weather and roads are good in your area you could consider a motorcycle. A used motorcycle shouldn't cost you much. They are very fuel efficient, easy to park and great at getting past traffic.
- icefox 17y agoOr even cheaper, a moped
- cellis 17y agoumm...dude...60 miles on a moped?
- vaksel 17y ago30 miles on a bike in traffic is not really a good idea. + chances are he doesn't know how to ride, or doesn't want to become an organ donor
- menloparkbum 17y agoMotorcycles aren't as helpful for avoiding traffic outside of California. You can't split lanes anywhere else.
- sp332 17y agoI'm not sure what you mean - is it illegal or something? Motorcycles split lanes all the time here in NH.
- menloparkbum 17y agoIt's illegal outside of California. Out of curiosity, why do people need to split lanes in New Hampshire? Is there traffic there? Just kidding, kind of. (from a former New England motorcyclist)
- hs 17y agoa very fuel efficient motorcycle (like 100 cc displacement) runs like 30 kilometers per liter, that's about 60 mile per gallon the fuel tank volume for small motorcycle is like 4 liter, the bigger ones is like 10 liter, so the tank ranges from 1 - 3 gallons so for 60 miles roundtrip expect to fill the tank every day or two (about 5 mins wasted at gas station) but still it's much cheaper unless your hourly rate is 100+ dollars it might be safer (paradoxically, riding a bike makes you feel unsafe, just like driving small car which in turn increases safety) i use it to train my perception (more feedbacks from wind, noise, smell, sights) but yeah, once you ride motorcycles, you'll never look back i agree, consider motorcycle, if you turn out not liking it the risk is very low (like < $500 USD) also, maintenance is super easy and cheap. just unscrew, dump dirty oil to recycle bin, screw back and fill 1 quart of motor oil. no filter required! total maintenance (tire, oil, lamp, gaskets, etc) is like $30 USD per year
- rue 17y agoFor those options, get the newer car; it will almost certainly be more environmentally friendly than an old one. If you do not care about such things, cars in need of body work will save you a decent amount -- just make sure there is no structural/mechanical damage. What does "required to drive 30 miles" mean, though? The first thing to check, of course, is whether you could relocate closer (at least part of the time.) Do the math on the car cost, insurance, gas, other upkeep and see if it might be worth it to just shack up closer by instead. The second thing, naturally, is mass transit: trains, buses? If the nearest station is a couple miles away, that is an easy bike ride (I think suggesting taking the bike 60mi/day would be a bit optimistic if you are not already cycling?)
- drp 17y agoCheck out insurance auctions. If you can find a car that was totalled from hail damage or extensive scratches you can pick it up for cheap ($400-$1000) and still have a realiable vehicle for the summer. In college, I had a '96 Jetta with 80k miles and pockmarks on every panel that set me back $400.
- safetytrick 17y agoI bought a 94 civic for the exact same problem and I've had zero problems, find something old and reliable (I paid very little)
- quellhorst 17y agoGet a scooter or get a newer car. Most old cars are sold because they started to give their owners problems. I have had many used cars and found Japanese cars to be more reliable and better engineered and after owning them for several years I sold most for nearly what I paid for them.
- asdf333 17y agohere is another option. buy a newer used car for the price of a cheap older car. how? At least until about 9 months ago, used hyundais of the post 2005 vintage were steals. hyundais post 2005 are extremely reliable, yet people still feel it has the reputation of a 'unreliable car'. reality is out of sync w/ perception. most people try for a reliable older car w/ a solid reputation. these cars have more miles on them and are, well, marked up b/c many people do this part of the cheapness of hyundai elantras comes from the fact that resale values are absolute garbage for older models. w/ improving brand perception and reliability of the products itself, resale values for post 2005 cars will be much higher than ppl expect. lower popularity means less chance of being stolen compared to an older vintage honda or toyota. i have had my older honda1993 stolen and had the police officer who took down the report brag to me about how he could've stolen my car w/ one hand tied behind his back too. Finally, if you look at the depreciation schedule of an average car (resale value over its lifetime) the steepest drops happen between years 1-3. then it flattens out to about year 10 or so. so best place to buy is year 3 or so, and sell it around year 10-12. (actually cheapest is to run it into the ground) My suggestion: buy a 2005 model hyundai elantra w/ low mileage (old drivers are awesome), with one previous owner only. You can find dealers on craigslist. I bagged on w/ 30K miles on it, which means I still have 20k miles of warranty left on this sucker for a bit over 7k out the door (you can do better in this current economy. got mine over a year ago).
- peregrine 17y agoWow thanks for that! I had no idea such new cars where selling for so very very cheap. I was always looking for hondas or toyotas but wow this is a steal.
- brc 17y agopart of the cheapness of hyundai elantras comes from the fact that resale values are absolute garbage for older models. w/ improving brand perception and reliability of the products itself, resale values for post 2005 cars will be much higher than ppl expect You're contradicting yourself here. The reason they are cheap is because they have poor resale value. Therefore, you will also get poor resale on the vehicle. Once a brand is tarnished with a 'bad resale' value tag, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, and one that would take decades to change. By all means purchase a Hyundai, but don't expect to have an easy time selling it. Brand reputations aren't fixed in 12 months. All the while Hyundai are priced low with long warranties, the resale value will be low, because it's more logical to go and purchase a new one.
- javert 17y agoBorrowing someone else's car is going to save you a lot of time and hassle. And if they offered, it's probably not going to make that big of a difference to them. I would go that route.
- mtrichardson 17y agoFrom Ignite Portland 3, here's a presentation on practices for buying a car for under $1,000: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zve_dpFkX_E http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zve_dpFkX_E
- b3b0p 17y agoThe problem with getting an older car cheaper is that there is a possibility that you will end up spending just as much on it as you would if you had spent more upfront on the newer model. There might be some immediate items that may need repair or replacement. A higher mileage (~100,000) 2000ish Toyota, Honda, Acura that was well maintained is more than you need for 3 months and the sweet spot in my opinion. If it's nice enough you might even consider keeping it and putting another 100,000 miles on it before passing it along.