Need A New Car :(

[Papa Elf]

Well, for a while now I was worried about the Month of April. I was worried because my car gets inspected and there was one fail-able problem that would cost me more than the car is worth. So I was trying to figure out how I was going to fix that, and what other issues would cause it to fail inspection. Why worry so early. I don't have much money, and I defiantly do have enough to get a new car.

That worry was taken care of by mother nature less than a mile from my parents place. Last night it snowed about 3 - 5". The temperature was about 38-40 degrees and sun was out. The road was wet but clear. I was driving up island pond road and approaching the curve at Gulf road doing about 25mph. I was the last person in line, and all the cars ahead of me made the turn. not me. I turn the wheel and nothing. car went straight into the ditch smack right into the center of a telephone pole. Amazing how much punch the airbags do. wiped out my hamper.

So now waiting on word from State Farm, and will be staying at my parents till I get another vehicle to drive. I wonder how much i will get because I need the money to get something else to drive.

 

[WillMarchant]

Dang, sorry to hear that! Glad you're OK though...

 

[shrox]

A good used Saturn with front wheel drive is what you need. Glad you are OK.

 

[sunward]

..... I wonder how much i will get because I need the money to get something else to drive.

What did you have?

 

[brianc]

An archived thread about car recommendations-
https://www.rocketryforumarchive.com/showthread.php?p=409678#post409678

See especially this post-
https://www.rocketryforumarchive.com/showthread.php?p=84989#post84989

 

[Papa Elf]

What did you have?

1997 Dodge Stratus Sedan

 

[sunward]

1997 Dodge Stratus Sedan

Mileage?

I hope you are not expecting that much. It is a 12 year old car.

 

[Papa Elf]

Mileage?

I hope you are not expecting that much. It is a 12 year old car.

Almost 200K.

 

[SecretSquirrel]

Mileage?

I hope you are not expecting that much. It is a 12 year old car.

Edmonds.com is usually pretty accurate on values.

 

[MysticalRockets]

Expect next to nothing. Remember, they WILL take your deductible off of whatever they give you.

They offered me 950 bucks for a car that I paid 4200 on 2 years before. The car was drivable, it just needed the ignition fixed after it was stolen. They said no, we're just going to total it. I told them got get stuffed.

 

[bobkrech]

Doug

What you buy will depend on what you want to pay.

A great way to save is to buy a low mileage used car from a car rental company. Most cars today will easily go 200,000+ miles. Car rental companies usually keep car 2 years and sell them at 60% of the sticker price which is a pretty good deal. I got my wife a 2008 Chevy Malibu Classic with 41K from Enterprise for $11,000 which was $700 below KBB value. Car rental companies have most makes and models so there's always lopts to choose from and you can check the inventory on-line.

Bob

 

[brianc]

A great way to save is to buy a low mileage used car from a car rental company.

DANGER! Danger, Will Robinson! Beware of any rental that was
ever based in Florida. Especially around Spring Break, Race Weeks or
Bike Week.

I've seen first hand the damage a bunch of high school and college
kids can cause to these vehicles...

 

[quickburst]

Well, for a while now I was worried about the Month of April. I was worried because my car gets inspected and there was one fail-able problem that would cost me more than the car is worth. So I was trying to figure out how I was going to fix that, and what other issues would cause it to fail inspection. Why worry so early. I don't have much money, and I defiantly do have enough to get a new car.

That worry was taken care of by mother nature less than a mile from my parents place. Last night it snowed about 3 - 5". The temperature was about 38-40 degrees and sun was out. The road was wet but clear. I was driving up island pond road and approaching the curve at Gulf road doing about 25mph. I was the last person in line, and all the cars ahead of me made the turn. not me. I turn the wheel and nothing. car went straight into the ditch smack right into the center of a telephone pole. Amazing how much punch the airbags do. wiped out my hamper.

So now waiting on word from State Farm, and will be staying at my parents till I get another vehicle to drive. I wonder how much i will get because I need the money to get something else to drive.

They will pay you blue book value for your old car, Less any deductable. The main thing is that you are OK. The car will be replaced.

 

[fox_racing_guy]

DANGER! Danger, Will Robinson! Beware of any rental that was
ever based in Florida. Especially around Spring Break, Race Weeks or
Bike Week.

I've seen first hand the damage a bunch of high school and college
kids can cause to these vehicles...

+1! I'd never purchase a a old rental car. 1 year at the Valvoline runoffs at Mid-Ohio sports car coarse they had a 5 lap race in reverse. The guy that 1 the thing was in a rented Dodge Neon and another guy in a rented Neon rolled his.

 

[Pem Tech]

Yikes!
Sorry to hear that...
Glad you are OK.

 

[Uncrichie]

I agree with the others you might get enough for a New York City dinner. The utility company on the otherhand will get thousands!

Personally I would buy a low mileage lease tradein before I would buy a rental car, but thats just me.

 

[luke strawwalker]

DANGER! Danger, Will Robinson! Beware of any rental that was
ever based in Florida. Especially around Spring Break, Race Weeks or
Bike Week.

I've seen first hand the damage a bunch of high school and college
kids can cause to these vehicles...

Yeah... When I was in the police academy and we did our practicals in combat driving techniques, the director of the academy (small community college) went and rented two brand new Ford Crown Victorias and turned us loose on the 'track' for the day-- we raced the $#!t out of those cars all day... next day they took them through the car wash, filled em up with gas, and took them back to the rental agency...

They didn't want to turn a bunch of green cadets loose in city cruisers...

Sorry, I'd have to get a LOT more than 60% off before I'd buy a rental... I can do that well just watching the internet and checking on the vehicle history on carfax...

Later! OL JR

 

[luke strawwalker]

Hey, I feel for you... and I know where you're coming from...

We're making the last note on the 02 F-150 Supercrew this month... it's my wife's work truck she drives to school, and so I only get to drive it on weekends and in the summer, and when I drive the family to Indiana twice a year... and occassionally hauling hay or cows... Anyway...

It was coming up on 200,000 miles about the time school was letting out, and we were planning our 1200 mile trip to Indiana, so I figured I'd go ahead and do all the 200K maintenance on it at once... I replaced the spark plugs, new O2 sensors, changed the coolant, motor oil, filter, tranny oil, tranny filter, rear end oil... to the tune of about $500 bucks in parts and materials. When we got back the front wheel bearings were pretty noisy, and so I pulled the rotors off and found the bearings had spun in the rotors, so I had to replace both front rotors and wheel bearings, and put new brake pads in at the same time. Just before school started, the rear end started making some noise, and one day I noticed Betty had picked up a nail somewhere on the road and tire was leaking slighty, so I pulled it off and took it to the gas station to be fixed. I inspected the rear brakes while I had it apart, and found the rear rotors worn, but still smooth, and the rear pads pretty well down to the steel... only about 1/8 inch left. So, I bought a new set of rear pads and replaced them. The brakes worked better, but the rear end was still noisy when you'd hit the brakes... so I've been keeping an eye on it but couldn't particularly find anything 'wrong' so I just kept an eye on it. Yesterday I was driving the family to Rosenberg on errands and noticed the truck sounded MARKEDLY different from last week, and figured that probably the rear axle bearings were going out. I picked up a set today, and new seals, and rented the slide hammer and bearing puller from the auto supply and came home in a pouring rain to tear it down and replace it. Sure enough, the axle shaft is worn down where the bearing cut into it and will have to be replaced. So tomorrow I have to go hunt the junkyards for an axle shaft. I replaced the other side-- it's axle was ok... SO I'm down $50 in parts, $100 deposit on the tool, and probably $100 for the axle tomorrow...

My 96 F150 is a MUCH better truck-- I did most of the same maintenance on it at the same time, because it was hitting 250,000 miles and I hadn't done much to it... mainly changed all the filters and oils in it, rear end, transmission, engine, coolant... I replaced the plugs and wires a couple weeks ago, and I need new O2 sensors but they'll have to wait until after New Years-- they'll be around $200 or so alone...

Old vehicles have their problems, but it beats $400 a month car notes...

Don't expect much out of the insurance. They'll do everything they can to keep from paying you any more than they have to. On a car that old, they consider them virtually worthless, despite the fact that they may well be a better car than most cars half their age... They wanted to total my brother's 96 Escort when a woman plowed into his front fender/wheel and bent the strut tower and stuff (requiring a frame job to fix) and was only going to pay him like $900... He kept the car and worked some kind of deal where he got $500 from insurance and then spent $1400 to repair it in the frame shop, but he had done a lot of mods and stuff to the car and REALLY likes it, and it's in good shape otherwise, so he wanted to keep it.

Good luck on finding a new ride, and glad you didn't get hurt. OL JR

 

[MysticalRockets]

I'm kinda lucky. I have a dealer I do alot of business with. I refer him to alot of people.

He sells cars to people who need them to go to work. He gets them from auctions all over the Northeast. Usually for about 4k-6k.

He self-finances. Which means a down payment and weekly payments for a year. He really doesn't care what your credit is, because he can always come and get the car.

Never had a problem with anything he ever sold me.

 

[Papa Elf]

Rented a Kia for a week. Will look around for a car and probably buy on Saturday. Borrowing money (again) from my Dad.

 

[bobkrech]

If you purchase a used rental car directly from a national car rental company, you can be pretty sure that it is a good car. I rent cars from 2 to 20 times a year and have done so for 30 years. If I got a bad car would I rent from that company again? Don't think so. They're pretty savy on the retail resale side. They are not going to sell a bad car because it will hurt there primary income source, renting cars.

The difference in the wholesale and retail KBB prices is not insignificant, but neither is the price premium for condition. Most rental cars are kept in excellent condition because otherwise the rental companies loose money big time if they fail on the road. If they get in an accident, they are more likely to be wholesaled than fixed because the company is loosing money by not having a car to rent and the renters insurance is compensating the rental car company for the loss anyway.

Major rental companies have inspection and repair facilities that certify the used cars before they make it to their own retail sales lots and they come with a warrantee. The rental cars that do not meet specs or need work significant work are wholesaled at auto actions to used car folks.

I would be far more concerned about buying a former rental car off a second hand car lot than from the car rental company. There's a reason why the car rental company didn't keep the car to sell it from their own sales lot and you have no clue what it was.

Bob

 

[bobkrech]

Rented a Kia for a week. Will look around for a car and probably buy on Saturday. Borrowing money (again) from my Dad.

Used Hyundais and Kias are cheap and they run for a long time if you maintain them.

 

[MarkII]

The Kia Optima is a really good car.

But if greasy roads are an issue at times where you live, I would suggest a Subaru Forester. You won't regret it.

MarkII

 

[rrobe99999]

Sorry to hear about your car troubles. There is a good lesson to be learned from many of these posts. Comprehensive insurance is worthless on an old car. I have never carried more insurance than required by law on any of my cars. I've never owned a car worth more than $10K. The money that I have saved by buying minimal insurance over 15 years of driving is more than I would ever get from any insurance claim.

 

[Papa Elf]

Put a down payment on a 2002 PT Cruiser today. Always liked those cars, rode in them many times, never got a chance to drive one till today . Searching the internet I found one for reasonable price, mileage. I had e-mailed my dad saying I was thinking about looking at this one and asked him to look up its history while I was at work. Only one owner prior, one minor finder bender three years ago. He talked to the dealership and gave me the blessing to try it out. I did go to several dealerships throughout the week, looked at several cars, Carfax'ed a few, and drove a total of 5 cars (one of them I drove to see if I still remember how to drive a stick lol). The PT Cruiser was the last I drove.

Its blue, excellent condition outside and inside, 5 speed standard. 2.4 4 cylinder engine. Leather heated seats, the works... The dealer my dad spoken to greated me, but passed me on to a new guy cause he was already with a client. So the dealer I got just moved from CA and did not know Manchester at all, so I took him on a highway tour of the city for the test drive. Driving it was so natural to me. It was smooth, shifting was smooth, brakes was smooth and powerful, very stable vehicle where I hardly noticed how windy it was outside. The dealer commented how natural I was with a standard (of course he may be complementing me in hopes of selling a car lol)

Anyway, I liked it negotiated a bit with the price, and signed the papers. Originally I wanted to take it home tomorrow, but the dealers fiance is 8 months pregnant and had an appointment, so I rearrange my schedule to finalize the deal on Saturday =). He helped me out, I help him out. I told him to go home and tell his fiance that he sold a car today

 

[Pem Tech]

WOOT!
Congrats on the new wheels....

 

[gerbs4me]

Awesome!
congrats on the new car, that car will haul your rocket gear nicely

 

[RimfireJim]

The comments about "don't expect much from insurance on a 12 yr old, 200k mile car" point out the fallacy of paying for comprehensive and collision insurance on such a vehicle. You're paying premiums for insurance of very little value.

 

[Papa Elf]

Here's my new ride

 

[Donaldsrockets]

Nice car.

I like the appearance of PT Cruisers.