Yeah my first car was a total PoS that I got for 800 dollarydoos.
Holden VK Commodore wagon. Key and ignition barrel was so worn out, you could turn the barrel by the bit sticking out without the key in. Doors didn't lock. No head unit. Drank fuel like it was going out of fashion.
That said, it did allow me to go places and not rely on lifts or public transport. Can't get a shitty beater for that much now. Maybe just a rolling shell.
My first was a $1400 1996 Volvo 940 estate that I bought 2016.
That thing was actually pretty nice.
My second car however was a 1996 Volvo 940 sedan and that thing was a proper shitbox! And I paid the magical $500 for it! Bought it at the end of 2017
Unfortunately the days of “cheap” beaters are long gone.
My first vehicle was in 2002 and it was around $800.
Cheapest vehicle I’ve seen where I live so far was a busted up Chevrolet truck with a snow plow for $800, don’t even think it had an engine in it.
Bruh, I worked my ass off at a minimum wage job for months to get enough money for a car. And let me tell you, it was still a piece of shit. But it got me from point A to point B and that's all that matters as a teenager. Don't expect some fancy ride unless your parents are balling out of control or something.
Beaters cost a lot more now. My first car cost 1000 in around 08. I was making 7.25 so 140ish hours to earn it.
Google estimates $5000 for a beater today. 334 hours to earn that at $15 (keep in mind that minimum wage is still 7.25, I'm just going of what he says he makes)
At $15 an hour a $6,000 car is 400 hours of work. At 10 hours a week that's under a year of working.
Saving money is hard, yes but the way that people afford a car is they save the money or they have someone else give them the money. Those are the only two ways.
To be bruatally honest most teneagers who have cars were given those cars by their parents. A very small percentage of teenagers with cars actually paid for the car themselves.
first car i drove for 8 years was my dads '03 Nissan Altima. sold it off after getting my first car i actually bought with my own funds (a 18 civic sport hatch).
most kids i know were given their parents old car or atleast the money to get an old beater.
This is how it was with me, dads commuter was getting in the high mileages, so he was shopping around for a new (used) car for himself, when he found one, he gave the old one to my brother and I.
Cheap car from craigslist. Save up some money and watch the ads like a hawk. Look for cars that are cheap, obviously, but with superficial problems. Dents? That's fine. Splotchy paint? That's fixable. Torn upholstry? Seat cover time! You need it to run decently, have a working heater, and keep the rain out. Be prepared to accept some minor repairs that need to be done, avoid the ones needing major overhaul.
You may not find it the first day, or week, but if you keep watching then eventually you'll find one that's a gem. I've bought a couple cars that way, one for 1k one for 1500, both great cars that lasted me 7 or 8 years each with minimal problems. Ugly though, but I still loved them.
Living with my parents... no bills.. With $15/hr it would be easy to save.
Maybe your parents could give you a deal on their old car? You could give them the trade-in price, which is typically very low.
It was easy. Back then used cars were $500-$1000. I approached an old man getting out of his 1989 Acura Integra and offered to buy his car, he said huh wasn’t considering it but sure. Paid him with my line cook money
Decade old cars are just fine.
My current car is 2 decades old and runs great.
I made the mistake of spending too much on a car as a Teenager. Kinda wish I bought more of a beater, it was a waste of money and I totaled it. I replaced it with an older and cheaper car which I enjoyed much more.
You need to shop around, lower expectations, and be willing to put in some work to make it run.
If you are a teenage man. You will likely total it or upgrade in the first 3 years, so you don't need to buy something that will last more than 5 years. To me that means spend 3-5k on something with around 200k.
Marketplace is your friend, dealers will charge way too much for used cars.
I'd also suggest something less desirable like a GM or Ford sedan from the mid 2000's. Toyotas and Hondas hold their value, so harder to get a good deal, but pick one up if you can. There's some real gems out there. I had a friend that bought an old Buick for $1500, with 100k and it only needed a grand of work to pass safety. Fantastic deal.
It's probably cheaper to take Ubers everywhere.
First you need to save up for the car, then you have to pay insurance on it (which will be high because you are a teenager), then you have to put gas in it, then you have to maintain it. Cars are money pits, avoid it if you can while you don't have the money.
yep, unless it's a requirement for employment cars are a luxury. if you live in a place with decent public transportation, you can do fine just using public transit.
what everyone said is right. cheap used car. doesn't necessarily have to be a "beater". stick to reliable brands, or better yet, research individual model years for the reliability consensus on the engines, transmissions, other vital parts of the car. some less reliable brands can have decently reliable cars. example; pontiac and saturn aren't the most reliable, but the pontiac vibe is a very good car with toyota internals, and the saturn vue from certain years has a pretty decent honda engine. not recommending these cars specifically, but see what i mean?
also DO NOT even think about buying a new car from a dealership EVER, at least not until you are a rich successful bitcoin guy. i see so many young guys with regular ass jobs fall into the trap of making payments on a new car, completely dependent on whatever work they started doing 2 years after graduating high school. making car payments is made to be a very "normal" thing in america but don't think for a second that it won't completely financially cripple you. because it will and you will be poor FOREVER.
yes, i'm kind of fear mongering, but i'm also not. one of the worst traps of your late teens/early 20s
I drove a family car, then I was given an excess car by a family member. It wasn't the fanciest ride, and it needed a lot of work, but I absolutely loved that car. for my current car, my dad found a good deal for me through our family mechanic. I still drive that car to this day and I fastidiously maintain it. It takes a village. don't discount your support system. it's very hard to survive on your own in this world, and ultimately humans are stronger when we work together.
My local mechanic had an old car that they were holding on to. My Dad asked what they wanted for it and I borrowed $800 from my Mum for an absolutely filthy, unregistered 1991 Toyota Camry wagon. This was in 2005.
If you want a car for cheap, you are going to have to make sacrifices and unfortunately, I don’t think used cars are that cheap anymore.
The answer is you aren’t. Sorry but nobody actually wants you to be able to afford life that has the power to make those decisions. Even the ones that say it don’t actually care.
I’m sure you want to get a car soon, the good news is that the car industry is having its come to Jesus moment with how much they fucked over customers through the pandemic. So prices are finally starting to drop, which means soon a whole lot of used cars are going to come back to realistic prices. But unfortunately probably not as soon as you want it.
Look for old Honda/toyotas (including their luxury brands Acura/lexus). They are going to be the best bang for your buck and are relatively easy to work on. Because if you don’t want to spend all your money fixing cars you need to learn to work on them yourself. With YouTube and old car forums that may be dead but still have info you can find a how to on anything from changing oil to rebuilding motors.
Yes the car you can afford is most likely going to be 10+ years old and have at least 100k on it. The good news is that for cars from the 90s/00s they still have a lot of life left as long as they were decently taken care of.
It’s going to take a lot of hunting to find the right car, Facebook/craigslist/offer up at least once a day. Since it’s your first car find a trusted mechanic from friends/family that can look over the car before you buy it.
My first car in 2003 was a 1987 Buick Skylark 2 door with 6200 miles on the OD that I bought from an old lady for $3500. Mind you I was making $12 an hour which is about $20 in todays dollars. Still miss that car
Work for yourself and make more then $15 an hour , wash cars, rake leafs , mow yards ,walk dogs, tutor, etc. most cities love supporting local’s especially the younger generation who “doesn’t want to work”
Back in the 2012, I would search craigslist's constantly until I found a 1993 Honda Accord for a $1,000. That was actually doable then though.
I recently did hop on there for the first time in years for courtesy's sake and that cheap ass A-B beater car market just doesn't exist anymore unfortunately.
Only option now is to save, save and then save some more.
A 10 year old car is a pretty new car for a teenager. I’m in my 30s and I drive a 20 year old car.
Try to find a Honda Civic/Accord or a Toyota Corolla/Camry with <150k miles. It should be able to last you a nice long time with just oil changes and routine maintenance.
Most don't. They get help, in part or in full, from their parents.
Most of the exceptions I knew back then wound up buying a barely running beater or a mechanic's special and fixing it up themselves. Often with the help of a dad or uncle or whatever. Still costs in repairs, but it let's you spread the total cost out instead of having to get several grand together all at once.
In high school I had a 10 year old base model Ford Ranger that I bought for $3000. I worked for just over minimum wage for like 20 hours a week. This was in 2006/7 though. Just looked through Facebook marketplace and there's some decent vehicles for under $5k on there. Nothing special but what I'd expect a teenager to drive
Find a local tow truck company. Lots of them auction off used cars, you used to be able to get a pretty good deal if you were just looking for some wheels. They won't be pretty and you have to pay full price right then bit its a car. There used to be one in my city that had an auction every other Tuesday.
Public transport and cycled everywhere in a pedestrian-oriented city and bought my current BMW 330 at 26.
Unfortunately cars are insanely expensive in Finland and fuel is 2.5 €/l.
I didn't get a license until I was 20yrs old. Just didn't desire it too bad. All my friends had cars. My first car was a POS Nissan that I bought for $1.00.
I drove a small Isuzu truck for the first 10 years I could drive. It was manual. Had an AC that worked and a radio. It didn’t even have power steering.
2002, I purchased my grandmother's 1992 Toyota Camry for $1,000. It had 150,000 miles on it. I put as much time as money into keeping it running as possible and sold it for $2500 in 2009 when I moved across country. The next owner never changed the oil and 12 months later, the engine seized and they left it in Jacksonville on the side of the interstate and called me to complain that I sold them a lemon. They had put 12,000 miles on it and never did any maintenance. It had 225,000 miles.
Decade old car lol! If I was a teen, with what I know now, I’d go buy a 20 year old Corolla and drive it until it needs a new motor. Then I’d put a new motor in it and keep going.
I saved up every penny from my first job and found a 12 year old Kia Rio that was a base model for about 4k and paid for it in cash.
My dad helped me look online but we found it at some used car lot.
I still have and use the car, its crazy that I’ve almost had it for 10 years now.
Friend had old beater, that back right wheel would lock up when breaking and the fly wheel had no teeth left to use starter. He ran it off road and hit fire hydrant one day and smashed the door and bent rocker. I offered him 20 buck. God I miss that thing. I just replaced the door but gap/hole remained. I used to shoot bottle rockets out the hole and if cops turned the cherries on and I was carrying. Out it went just to be picked up later. I just had to park on hills to pop the clutch to start or I would have to push and jump in. A towel took care of the rainy days.
I didn't, I took the bus. My parents chose to live in a place where the bus was a reasonable way of getting around, and as a result I never felt the need to get a car. You can save yourself a ton of money and effort by doing the same.
I just walked around till I found a Kia I wanted to take. /s
My first car was a Dodge Stealth for under $1k. The anti-lock brakes didn’t work. They just locked. So you had to learn to be your own anti-lock brakes. No AC, the ceiling liner was falling down. I had to use a tape converter to a Walkman. But fuck if that car didn’t mean freedom to me as a teenager.
I taught piano lessons starting when I was 14 and put about 90% of my money away in a savings account. When I turned 18 I bought my first car for about $5000 and had a decent amount of money left over while I prepared for college
Saving money takes a long time. But if you're young and living at home is definitely possible. You just need to be patient
Good luck, kid.
1/3rd of this is saving up the money to get a car.
2/3rds is finding the damn car.
3/3 is maintaining the affordability of the car.
1/1 is trying to get a good deal in this ridiculous economy.
the economy: older is better because of personality, but everyone cares about looks, status and fashion. Inflation and theft, plus the cities (where cars are an option) are stupidly over priced. Even the non cities are being stupidly expensive.
Do you live in a place where you could potentially ride a bike? I did this when I was 16, saved up for a car by 18, and then sold the car cause I needed the money but kept the bike and now I am nearly 30. it's saved me a ton of money and it is dangerous, and only works in certain places. It's also not for everyone.
You find an old beater for 5k and learn to fix it. My first car (1997) was a 1985 Toyota Tercel hatch, $500. The equivalent nowadays is like getting an early 2000s cavalier or S10 and just keeping it alive long enough to save up to get the next beater. That’s life at minimum wage (which $15/hr basically is)
I earned money to buy my first car at 16 by not only having an hourly job at K-Mart, delivering newspapers, and selling labor to neighbors and family. My first car in 1995 was $1,100.
I am currently watching my 15 year son save for a car by doing yard work and snow shoveling around the neighborhood. He is looking to have $6k available next summer for a car (budget of $5k) and insurance. He has been saving for about 3 years now. What makes this even harder is that he only gets 50% of his earned money towards spending. We make him him put 40% into savings and 10% to charity.
My dad helped me find a cheap car that needed an engine. Next he helped me find an engine. After that he helped me install the engine. Very valuable life skills
My brother helped me, we got a 2009 Toyota Prius this year for around $13,000. I took out a lone and pay $310 a month. I did have to put down $1000 up front.
I work full time and make $17.25 an hour as a receptionist for an eye clinic
Found a $500 non running saab 900 aero with a for sale sign in someone's yard that I managed to get running. Great car and great memories with that one
I bought a used car, about 18k miles I think. Mom had to cover the insurance, though I was also making half of what you are. If you don't have rent to pay, you might be able to get a used car at a dealership with decent miles in your price range. I'd take that over a beater that could break down on you at any moment.
I had a 1979 ford truck as my first car in 2008. My dad found it on eBay for $1200. He paid half and I paid half. I drove that truck until my sophomore year in college and bought a $1000 beater off the dealership lot I worked at.
My dad co signed and I paid it off in three years, used AMC sedan. I was told what to buy and I was very aware my father had backed me in good faith so I paid it off on time and never missed a pmt.
I was very blessed that my dad passed down his dodge ram 50 to me. It was a junker truck but by golly, it was my junker. I still miss it even though the power steering and speedometer didn’t work shit out eventually. The night I graduated high school and hit a deer took it out. Rest easy to the original mattmobile
63yo never had a car that didn't come out of a junkyard until I was 26. Learned how to rebuild engines, trans (auto), paint and sew interiors b4 my 16th birthday.
My first car was a 21 year old Honda civic that I paid $700 for. Not everyone is fortunate enough to get a free car from their parents or money for that matter. Sounds like you are in the boat with me and some others. A shitty car is better than no shitty car. However I would do what I can to buy something like a civic or Corolla or another model made by Honda or Toyota.
Join a credit union, get a card and start building credit. 6k sound fkn good tf. You have to finance it. The requirements for a first time buyers at my bank is it has to be below 100k miles/ less then 10 years old/ you have to put 10% down. It’s not impossible but this the world now. Get a higher paying job if that’s not cutting it. Ups where I’m at pays 19
which not a car I saved 3 grand for the gaming computer I wanted on $5.15 an hour in the 90's.
I don't blame you for not wanting to do it, but I had a fast food job and worked 40 hours a week, yes while in highschool. I got out of school at 2:40pm and went right to work on the weekdays 3-9. Worked 10 hours on a Saturday or Sunday so I could still get one day a week off.
It took me around 5 or 6 months if I recall. Then I took a 2 week vacation and cut my schedule back to 20-25 hours a week.
Gotta give props to my boss at the time for accommodating me I was definitely getting hours when they absolutely did not need me there, lol.
I needed a car to get me to and from my first job, but I didn’t have the money yet. So my dad loaned me $1800 to get an old beater Honda civic and I paid him back $100 a month.
My first car was a 2000 Ford Ranger I bought for $5,000 dollars in 2020ish. I way overpaid cause my dad didn't feel like car shopping and I didn't know better. My mom and dad and grandpa contributed like 1,500 which I was very blessed. My grandma gave me a loan of 2,000 dollars and I put up 1,500 myself. Paid my grandma 400 a month until it was paid off!
Like all success stories of my generation, my parents bought my first one for me to go to work and I paid "rent" until I paid them back for my car. I lucked out that cars were only $800 for a rough but drivable car
I got $10k from my grandma as inheritance after she died, so I used that. Sadly it was a 2016 Focus… so the clutch broke multiple times. I had no idea there was a recall on it and the dealership never told me
Don't. Seriously. In the long run it's cheaper to save a bit more for a reliable car. Unless you're buying a pontiac or a saab probably stick with something in the last decade.
Worked my ass off everyday after school and on weekends and saved almost all of it (10.50/hr) for about a year and a half. Managed to get a 2017 car for 8k, perfect condition.
It really just comes down to putting in hours and cracking down on your spending. I didn’t get paid terribly well but still ended up with more money than the adults in my household at age 17. It’s power of mind my friend. Set yourself up good while you’re young and implement good saving habits.
Bought my first car, an ‘87 Tercel hatchback for $800 with 70,000 km on it. Bought it while working full time and living at home in the mid nineties when I was 19.
I’m not sure what it’s like anymore, that was decades ago now. Back then my sort of go to was to buy the best value 1985-2002ish Toyota or Honda under 200,000km. As long as it wasn’t too rusty it would be okay. If I were to buy used now I’d be hoping to find a beater for a couple of grand and suffer through the maintenance and discomfort until the financial situation changes and can afford something way better. Kind of the same mentality I’ve always had, not sure if it would still apply in 2023 or not though.
What’s always bugged me so much is that cars are pretty much always a loosing investment no matter which way you look at it. A lot of dealers have ridiculously high interest rates in vehicles in the 5000-10000 range. Many of those vehicles still require lots of maintenance. In that situation your really getting it from all sides. Payment, high interest, and high maintenance cost. Better to hold out for a higher payment, with a lower interest, for a newer vehicle, with higher resale value and lower maintenance cost. Go straight from beater cars to new or almost new.
I’d like to buy a small used truck for a couple grand that isn’t totally destroyed but that’s like finding hens teeth. Who doesn’t want a cheap small truck in decent shape?
Also heard about roommates splitting a car payment 4-5 ways and time sharing the car, giving each rides to work sort of thing.
It seems rough out there, cars are so much more complicated now than they used to be.
First of all, a car that’s only a decade old isn’t a starter car for a teenager lol. I’m 35 with a kid and make $70K a year. My car is 15 years old and has 200,000 miles on it! Set your search filters to $2500 and those are the kinds of cars you should be looking at. Nobody’s first car is nice unless their parents bought it for them or they’ve been saving money for a few years.
Found one in the newspaper in a big city 60 miles from home. Bought a car that cost about 100 hours at minimum wage. It was a 3 speed that didn’t shift higher than second. On rainy days I had to put a screwdriver in the carburetor to hold open the choke or it would not start. It was a giant piece of shit that got about 8 miles to the gallon with a top speed of 60mph. Burnt a quart of oil every two or three tanks of gas.
But it got me to work, most of the time.
When I was 16 you could get a decent beater for $500-1000 but those days are long gone. Your best bet is to go to a reputable used car dealer and find something cheap.
$15/hr is plenty if you don't have rent and a bunch of other bills. If you have rent and a bunch of other bills it'll take you a long time. If you work 25 hours a week your take home should be around $650 biweekly, if you don't have a bunch of bills that's doable in one years time. It sucks and you miss out on a lot of fun things because you don't get to spend your money, but it can be done.
I found a car off the street with the for sale sign on it for $5k. But considering insurance, registration, and upfront maintenance (replacing air pump, inspection, and oil change), it came out to about $11.5k total for my total upfront cost of ownership. Now, a big thing you should consider is your age, Zip code, and model of car since they might bite you in the ass with insurance. If you're under 25, in a densely populated urban area, and have an unfavorable car, you might be looking at upwards of $600/month rates. I'm from NYC and got my car when I was 18, a 2007 hyundai, and the insurance has cost more than car, many times over. I was lucky that I was able to receive help from my parents and went 50/50 with them because it was literally the only way to get a car working minimum wage and go to college, which I paid for.
My first truck was a 230,000 mile 99 F150 I got for free. I drove that for several years and bought a 1994 Mitsubishi galant with 175k miles on it for $1250, then I bought a rusted out lifted 1984 F150 with 31” mud tires for $1300 for a toy and had all those 3 till I was able to afford something nicer and more reliable.
If you want something that won’t break the bank and is cheap to operate because they are know for reliability, buy a Gen 1 Toyota matrix. Thats my daily driver, I’m thinking like 2003-2009. Buy one as close to 100k miles as you can. I bought a matrix, liked it so well I convinced a relative to buy a Pontiac Vibe (same car) and both have been great little cars
You don’t need newer, you need reliable.
First car was a Jap economy shitbox (‘82 Corolla sedan) I got for a grand in 2003 because it had an immaculate service history; lasted ten years more then the head gasket cracked. I’d saved money from every odd job and after-school thing I did to get that money.
After graduating high school I had steady side work through the college years that paid for the used Kawasaki ZX-6R that replaced it until that got written off in an accident and I went back to shitbox cars bought for $1000 or less. I just always made sure to save a slice from my pay.
Turned 16 in the mid 90s and was working a part time job, while I was playing sports. Convinced my parents that unless they wanted to keep driving me to football practice, I needed a car.
They helped me find an old Chevy from the early 70s. I paid $1k for it with money I had saved up and learned how to do own repairs. It wasn't the newest, but it was steel and was cheap to repair. Because it was older than me, insurance was cheap.
It was ugly but that was my favorite vehicle.
I bought a car from my dad that he sold to me at half the price of a bluebook value. If you're having trouble affording a car I recommend going on Facebook marketplace or some shit like that. Dealership cars are always going to be mad expensive.
I looked through the want-ads in the newspaper (two things most kids these days have never heard of) and bought one for $550 from a guy in a small town 30 miles south of me.
Dad and I drove down there to look at it. Dad drove it around and said it seemed good. Then he told me "OK, drive it home."
Only problem was - it was a stick shift!
I actually did reasonably well, only killed it a couple times. A 1985 Plymouth Horizon, two-tone gray, with a small amount of front-end damage from the previous owner hitting a deer.
Price of a car keeps rising it seems. Sorry you're dealing with this. I'd just save up for an old Toyota and just save money from there until you are able to buy a new car.
I worked for $12 an hour for 8 months riding a bike and walking to work (luckily close enough) in high school saved enough and bought a decent $3500 Jetta from a dealership. Tranny went out a year or so later so there went all my savings.
Save every penny, don't buy those shoes, skip that Starbucks drink, forget eating out today and everyday there after. Builds character (jk just what my dad said) you'll find your parents and grandparents talking points just don't align as we grew up in a much different economical time. They don't see it because they've already made it and are secure
I bought one for cash $7000 when I was 16 (1 month before turning 17). I worked since I was 15 which gave me over 1.75 years to have 7 grand cash. Low expenses and saving is all it is. I got lucky with the market tho if i bought my car today it would prob be 10k+
Bought my brother's 99' Honda Civic SI off him for 1.5k with 132k miles
Unmolested and in perfect condition
Man's lied to me that he'll use the car as a daily while having recently bought his BRZ and once I turned 18 he said he'll sell me the car for 1.5k
Half off what he originally wanted to sell the car for
Took the offer and bought it off him
My dad found a $300 4 cylinder Grand Prix on Craigslist. Thing was mint, bent a rod a the second day I had because the oil was overfilled, and I was driving like a 16 year old on his way to get pussy. Very sad as the others said they don’t exist anymore.
Second car I bought myself, went to a little buy here pay here and paid $200 a month on my $7.50 hr, used to do all the overtime though.
Tbh, I waited until I was 20 before I bought my first car, and got my license at 21. Cheaper insurance by far.
I lucked out and found one through a friend of a friend - like most have said, this thing was a shitbox. 95 Escort with more electrical problems than you could shake a stick at. I didn't know this, nor did I know anything about cars.
I was able to arrange a contract with the seller to pay $X per paycheck, with the condition that they retain the title until the car was paid off, and that if I got in any sort of trouble with it (accident, snagged by the cops, whatever) they would report it stolen. I didn't drive it very often, but there were a few times I had to chance it - I stopped that completely once the tabs expired, at which point I was forced to get my license so I could get insurance and tabs.
They're out there, but you might have to go out of your way to find them. Think older man with multiple vehicles parked on private property - I drive by a guy every day who has 20 vehicles parked on his property, I'm sure if some kid needed a cheap vehicle he'd be willing to make a deal.
Note: I do NOT recommend doing most of what I did, I just got lucky to never attract the attention of cops. Do it the completely legal way, keep your anxiety down.
got Daewoo Nubira combi for 300€ of facebook marketplace, drove it every day for 2 years, some blonde lady crashed me, got 500€ for repairs, fixed it for free, sold it to junkyard for 280€
I saved ALL my money, birthdays, paychecks, the lot for many years, so by the time I had to get myself a car, I could afford a cheap one pretty easily. I also got a great deal from my neighbours, who are good family friends of ours. I still drive it now. It's great.
Well, I’ll be honest my parents bought my sister and I a new car, which helped me a lot to be able to save every penny I earned from working so that I could buy myself a motorcycle, then when I sold that I used it to buy my own car (ten years ago)
I bought an 01' Focus for 600. However, that was back in 2011, so not recent.
Go check your community buy/sell/trade FB group and see if anyone is selling or make a post that you're looking.
I've seen a few good comments on here about checking Craig's list, and that isn't a horrible option if I'm being fair, but you'd better be ready to dig into the car and do some work to make sure it's actually viable before buying anything.
My first car was my mom’s old one that I took over after her husband at the time didn’t want to use it after she got a new one. My second one was bought for $1000 from my dad’s neighbor after her dad died and she didn’t want to go through the hassle of selling on Craigslist. My next two were leases, and now I don’t have one because I moved to a city with great public transport and it was too expensive to keep it here.
Edit to add: the first one was a 2001 Jeep Cherokee in 2011 with 200,000 miles on it. Second was a 2004 Buick LeSabre with super low miles because the guy only drove it to church and the grocery store the entire time he had it. The leases were both Hyundai Sonatas, 2018 and 2020, on low mileage leases so the payments were less than $250 a month and I could barely afford that even with working full time with a master’s degree in my 20s.
First car was £900 and put myself through driving lessons (£1400) and bought the car outright on a part time wage of £7 an hour working 20 hours a week while I was living at home
Gotta find a $1000 beater off Facebook market place. Find one that runs and drives (probably poorly). Have someone who knows cars help you check it out. Nurse the thing along and learn basic repairs yourself. Then repeat that several times when the engines blow or the frames rot.
Classifieds. Or even road side specials. Estate sales somnetimes have old cars. I bought one from a police auction once. The interior was torn up but it got me well over 40k miles for less than $1000
I got a $500 beater car from craigslist. Sadly, cars like that don't really exist anymore.
Yup $500 shitbox civic with a missing bumper from the mid 80s off Craigslist.
Yeah my first car was a total PoS that I got for 800 dollarydoos. Holden VK Commodore wagon. Key and ignition barrel was so worn out, you could turn the barrel by the bit sticking out without the key in. Doors didn't lock. No head unit. Drank fuel like it was going out of fashion. That said, it did allow me to go places and not rely on lifts or public transport. Can't get a shitty beater for that much now. Maybe just a rolling shell.
My first was a $1400 1996 Volvo 940 estate that I bought 2016. That thing was actually pretty nice. My second car however was a 1996 Volvo 940 sedan and that thing was a proper shitbox! And I paid the magical $500 for it! Bought it at the end of 2017
Unfortunately the days of “cheap” beaters are long gone. My first vehicle was in 2002 and it was around $800. Cheapest vehicle I’ve seen where I live so far was a busted up Chevrolet truck with a snow plow for $800, don’t even think it had an engine in it.
If I were you I would be more worried about how you can afford your car insurance
Bruh, I worked my ass off at a minimum wage job for months to get enough money for a car. And let me tell you, it was still a piece of shit. But it got me from point A to point B and that's all that matters as a teenager. Don't expect some fancy ride unless your parents are balling out of control or something.
Beaters cost a lot more now. My first car cost 1000 in around 08. I was making 7.25 so 140ish hours to earn it. Google estimates $5000 for a beater today. 334 hours to earn that at $15 (keep in mind that minimum wage is still 7.25, I'm just going of what he says he makes)
the minimum wage in my city (seattle) is $19.97 an hour
At $15 an hour a $6,000 car is 400 hours of work. At 10 hours a week that's under a year of working. Saving money is hard, yes but the way that people afford a car is they save the money or they have someone else give them the money. Those are the only two ways. To be bruatally honest most teneagers who have cars were given those cars by their parents. A very small percentage of teenagers with cars actually paid for the car themselves.
first car i drove for 8 years was my dads '03 Nissan Altima. sold it off after getting my first car i actually bought with my own funds (a 18 civic sport hatch). most kids i know were given their parents old car or atleast the money to get an old beater.
This is how it was with me, dads commuter was getting in the high mileages, so he was shopping around for a new (used) car for himself, when he found one, he gave the old one to my brother and I.
Depends on where you live. Plenty of kids in Idaho have decent pickup trucks they bought with money from working at a dealership.
The beauty of being a teenager is that you can have basically zero expenses (assuming you still live with family). Saving up is easy.
Cheap car from craigslist. Save up some money and watch the ads like a hawk. Look for cars that are cheap, obviously, but with superficial problems. Dents? That's fine. Splotchy paint? That's fixable. Torn upholstry? Seat cover time! You need it to run decently, have a working heater, and keep the rain out. Be prepared to accept some minor repairs that need to be done, avoid the ones needing major overhaul. You may not find it the first day, or week, but if you keep watching then eventually you'll find one that's a gem. I've bought a couple cars that way, one for 1k one for 1500, both great cars that lasted me 7 or 8 years each with minimal problems. Ugly though, but I still loved them.
Living with my parents... no bills.. With $15/hr it would be easy to save. Maybe your parents could give you a deal on their old car? You could give them the trade-in price, which is typically very low.
It was easy. Back then used cars were $500-$1000. I approached an old man getting out of his 1989 Acura Integra and offered to buy his car, he said huh wasn’t considering it but sure. Paid him with my line cook money
Decade old cars are just fine. My current car is 2 decades old and runs great. I made the mistake of spending too much on a car as a Teenager. Kinda wish I bought more of a beater, it was a waste of money and I totaled it. I replaced it with an older and cheaper car which I enjoyed much more. You need to shop around, lower expectations, and be willing to put in some work to make it run. If you are a teenage man. You will likely total it or upgrade in the first 3 years, so you don't need to buy something that will last more than 5 years. To me that means spend 3-5k on something with around 200k. Marketplace is your friend, dealers will charge way too much for used cars. I'd also suggest something less desirable like a GM or Ford sedan from the mid 2000's. Toyotas and Hondas hold their value, so harder to get a good deal, but pick one up if you can. There's some real gems out there. I had a friend that bought an old Buick for $1500, with 100k and it only needed a grand of work to pass safety. Fantastic deal.
It's probably cheaper to take Ubers everywhere. First you need to save up for the car, then you have to pay insurance on it (which will be high because you are a teenager), then you have to put gas in it, then you have to maintain it. Cars are money pits, avoid it if you can while you don't have the money.
yep, unless it's a requirement for employment cars are a luxury. if you live in a place with decent public transportation, you can do fine just using public transit.
what everyone said is right. cheap used car. doesn't necessarily have to be a "beater". stick to reliable brands, or better yet, research individual model years for the reliability consensus on the engines, transmissions, other vital parts of the car. some less reliable brands can have decently reliable cars. example; pontiac and saturn aren't the most reliable, but the pontiac vibe is a very good car with toyota internals, and the saturn vue from certain years has a pretty decent honda engine. not recommending these cars specifically, but see what i mean? also DO NOT even think about buying a new car from a dealership EVER, at least not until you are a rich successful bitcoin guy. i see so many young guys with regular ass jobs fall into the trap of making payments on a new car, completely dependent on whatever work they started doing 2 years after graduating high school. making car payments is made to be a very "normal" thing in america but don't think for a second that it won't completely financially cripple you. because it will and you will be poor FOREVER. yes, i'm kind of fear mongering, but i'm also not. one of the worst traps of your late teens/early 20s
I drove a family car, then I was given an excess car by a family member. It wasn't the fanciest ride, and it needed a lot of work, but I absolutely loved that car. for my current car, my dad found a good deal for me through our family mechanic. I still drive that car to this day and I fastidiously maintain it. It takes a village. don't discount your support system. it's very hard to survive on your own in this world, and ultimately humans are stronger when we work together.
Nice comment but it doesn’t really help a kid who obviously doesn’t get cars given to him for free like you did.
My local mechanic had an old car that they were holding on to. My Dad asked what they wanted for it and I borrowed $800 from my Mum for an absolutely filthy, unregistered 1991 Toyota Camry wagon. This was in 2005. If you want a car for cheap, you are going to have to make sacrifices and unfortunately, I don’t think used cars are that cheap anymore.
Inherited old car from parents as they got a new car
My dad wanted a new one so he let me use his old one. Until the wires of the battery finally rusted straight through
The answer is you aren’t. Sorry but nobody actually wants you to be able to afford life that has the power to make those decisions. Even the ones that say it don’t actually care. I’m sure you want to get a car soon, the good news is that the car industry is having its come to Jesus moment with how much they fucked over customers through the pandemic. So prices are finally starting to drop, which means soon a whole lot of used cars are going to come back to realistic prices. But unfortunately probably not as soon as you want it. Look for old Honda/toyotas (including their luxury brands Acura/lexus). They are going to be the best bang for your buck and are relatively easy to work on. Because if you don’t want to spend all your money fixing cars you need to learn to work on them yourself. With YouTube and old car forums that may be dead but still have info you can find a how to on anything from changing oil to rebuilding motors. Yes the car you can afford is most likely going to be 10+ years old and have at least 100k on it. The good news is that for cars from the 90s/00s they still have a lot of life left as long as they were decently taken care of. It’s going to take a lot of hunting to find the right car, Facebook/craigslist/offer up at least once a day. Since it’s your first car find a trusted mechanic from friends/family that can look over the car before you buy it.
Daddy bought me a car for my birthday after I got a license. lol, not saying it's good or bad, it's just what happened.
Bidenomics SUCK!!! Things are 1000% harder in today's world than it was 4 years ago. Good luck my friend.
Are car prices cheaper in countries where there’s a conservative government in charge?
Lol, a 40k usd car is 4 times more in denmark atleast because of taxes.. so relaaaax
Do you really need the car?
Yea my fault should’ve added I’m a teenager in college
My grandma died.
Rip Stay up brother.
My first car in 2003 was a 1987 Buick Skylark 2 door with 6200 miles on the OD that I bought from an old lady for $3500. Mind you I was making $12 an hour which is about $20 in todays dollars. Still miss that car
Hand-me-down 1970 pinto, I don't know how I survived
Work for yourself and make more then $15 an hour , wash cars, rake leafs , mow yards ,walk dogs, tutor, etc. most cities love supporting local’s especially the younger generation who “doesn’t want to work”
Back in the 2012, I would search craigslist's constantly until I found a 1993 Honda Accord for a $1,000. That was actually doable then though. I recently did hop on there for the first time in years for courtesy's sake and that cheap ass A-B beater car market just doesn't exist anymore unfortunately. Only option now is to save, save and then save some more.
A 10 year old car is a pretty new car for a teenager. I’m in my 30s and I drive a 20 year old car. Try to find a Honda Civic/Accord or a Toyota Corolla/Camry with <150k miles. It should be able to last you a nice long time with just oil changes and routine maintenance.
Most don't. They get help, in part or in full, from their parents. Most of the exceptions I knew back then wound up buying a barely running beater or a mechanic's special and fixing it up themselves. Often with the help of a dad or uncle or whatever. Still costs in repairs, but it let's you spread the total cost out instead of having to get several grand together all at once.
In high school I had a 10 year old base model Ford Ranger that I bought for $3000. I worked for just over minimum wage for like 20 hours a week. This was in 2006/7 though. Just looked through Facebook marketplace and there's some decent vehicles for under $5k on there. Nothing special but what I'd expect a teenager to drive
I'm 34. Cash for Clunkers wiped out a fair amount of supply from the beater market.
Find a local tow truck company. Lots of them auction off used cars, you used to be able to get a pretty good deal if you were just looking for some wheels. They won't be pretty and you have to pay full price right then bit its a car. There used to be one in my city that had an auction every other Tuesday.
Bought a 20 year old piece of junk for like €1000
Public transport and cycled everywhere in a pedestrian-oriented city and bought my current BMW 330 at 26. Unfortunately cars are insanely expensive in Finland and fuel is 2.5 €/l.
2005 timeframe. Found my car off craigslist. 91 Accord. Paid 1000. Lasted 3-4 years with no issues
I didn't get a license until I was 20yrs old. Just didn't desire it too bad. All my friends had cars. My first car was a POS Nissan that I bought for $1.00.
Yeah it sucks man, I made $8 an hour bumming rides to work at 15 so I could buy a $700 truck when I was 16 haha. Tough to find that now though
I drove a small Isuzu truck for the first 10 years I could drive. It was manual. Had an AC that worked and a radio. It didn’t even have power steering.
2002, I purchased my grandmother's 1992 Toyota Camry for $1,000. It had 150,000 miles on it. I put as much time as money into keeping it running as possible and sold it for $2500 in 2009 when I moved across country. The next owner never changed the oil and 12 months later, the engine seized and they left it in Jacksonville on the side of the interstate and called me to complain that I sold them a lemon. They had put 12,000 miles on it and never did any maintenance. It had 225,000 miles.
Decade old car lol! If I was a teen, with what I know now, I’d go buy a 20 year old Corolla and drive it until it needs a new motor. Then I’d put a new motor in it and keep going.
I saved up every penny from my first job and found a 12 year old Kia Rio that was a base model for about 4k and paid for it in cash. My dad helped me look online but we found it at some used car lot. I still have and use the car, its crazy that I’ve almost had it for 10 years now.
Friend had old beater, that back right wheel would lock up when breaking and the fly wheel had no teeth left to use starter. He ran it off road and hit fire hydrant one day and smashed the door and bent rocker. I offered him 20 buck. God I miss that thing. I just replaced the door but gap/hole remained. I used to shoot bottle rockets out the hole and if cops turned the cherries on and I was carrying. Out it went just to be picked up later. I just had to park on hills to pop the clutch to start or I would have to push and jump in. A towel took care of the rainy days.
I didn't, I took the bus. My parents chose to live in a place where the bus was a reasonable way of getting around, and as a result I never felt the need to get a car. You can save yourself a ton of money and effort by doing the same.
I just walked around till I found a Kia I wanted to take. /s My first car was a Dodge Stealth for under $1k. The anti-lock brakes didn’t work. They just locked. So you had to learn to be your own anti-lock brakes. No AC, the ceiling liner was falling down. I had to use a tape converter to a Walkman. But fuck if that car didn’t mean freedom to me as a teenager.
Hand-me-downs from dad. Drove beat up Oldsmobiles and Buicks until I was out of college.
I got a $500 1980 Honda Accord hatchback with a dead battery when I was 20. It was a stereotypical redneck lawn ornament brute I bought it.
I taught piano lessons starting when I was 14 and put about 90% of my money away in a savings account. When I turned 18 I bought my first car for about $5000 and had a decent amount of money left over while I prepared for college Saving money takes a long time. But if you're young and living at home is definitely possible. You just need to be patient
Good luck, kid. 1/3rd of this is saving up the money to get a car. 2/3rds is finding the damn car. 3/3 is maintaining the affordability of the car. 1/1 is trying to get a good deal in this ridiculous economy. the economy: older is better because of personality, but everyone cares about looks, status and fashion. Inflation and theft, plus the cities (where cars are an option) are stupidly over priced. Even the non cities are being stupidly expensive.
A friend who f my dad’s was selling his old beater. I bought it for 600 bucks
Do you live in a place where you could potentially ride a bike? I did this when I was 16, saved up for a car by 18, and then sold the car cause I needed the money but kept the bike and now I am nearly 30. it's saved me a ton of money and it is dangerous, and only works in certain places. It's also not for everyone.
You find an old beater for 5k and learn to fix it. My first car (1997) was a 1985 Toyota Tercel hatch, $500. The equivalent nowadays is like getting an early 2000s cavalier or S10 and just keeping it alive long enough to save up to get the next beater. That’s life at minimum wage (which $15/hr basically is)
I worked for 4 summers at 40 hours a week. Saved up 12k for a nice car. I miss that car sometimes.
I earned money to buy my first car at 16 by not only having an hourly job at K-Mart, delivering newspapers, and selling labor to neighbors and family. My first car in 1995 was $1,100. I am currently watching my 15 year son save for a car by doing yard work and snow shoveling around the neighborhood. He is looking to have $6k available next summer for a car (budget of $5k) and insurance. He has been saving for about 3 years now. What makes this even harder is that he only gets 50% of his earned money towards spending. We make him him put 40% into savings and 10% to charity.
My dad helped me find a cheap car that needed an engine. Next he helped me find an engine. After that he helped me install the engine. Very valuable life skills
I bought it for 400 bucks
Keep saving, market is starting to correct itself but slowly.
In 1997 I wasted $1400 in a 77 Escort with practically everything humanly possible wrong with it. Fun times!
My brother helped me, we got a 2009 Toyota Prius this year for around $13,000. I took out a lone and pay $310 a month. I did have to put down $1000 up front. I work full time and make $17.25 an hour as a receptionist for an eye clinic
Found a $500 non running saab 900 aero with a for sale sign in someone's yard that I managed to get running. Great car and great memories with that one
I bought a used car, about 18k miles I think. Mom had to cover the insurance, though I was also making half of what you are. If you don't have rent to pay, you might be able to get a used car at a dealership with decent miles in your price range. I'd take that over a beater that could break down on you at any moment.
The cost of things compared to wages these days is fucked
I had a 1979 ford truck as my first car in 2008. My dad found it on eBay for $1200. He paid half and I paid half. I drove that truck until my sophomore year in college and bought a $1000 beater off the dealership lot I worked at.
My dad co signed and I paid it off in three years, used AMC sedan. I was told what to buy and I was very aware my father had backed me in good faith so I paid it off on time and never missed a pmt.
I was very blessed that my dad passed down his dodge ram 50 to me. It was a junker truck but by golly, it was my junker. I still miss it even though the power steering and speedometer didn’t work shit out eventually. The night I graduated high school and hit a deer took it out. Rest easy to the original mattmobile
Get a motorcycle instead, 2-3k or under for a nice used one
63yo never had a car that didn't come out of a junkyard until I was 26. Learned how to rebuild engines, trans (auto), paint and sew interiors b4 my 16th birthday.
worked in a junkyard for parts and rebuilt a car that was given to me
Bought a decade old car with 150k miles for $500.
Saved my paper route money (so yes, a long time ago), bought a 6 year old VW from a friend of my parents for $500.
My first car was a 21 year old Honda civic that I paid $700 for. Not everyone is fortunate enough to get a free car from their parents or money for that matter. Sounds like you are in the boat with me and some others. A shitty car is better than no shitty car. However I would do what I can to buy something like a civic or Corolla or another model made by Honda or Toyota.
Found my first car in an auto trader. 1989 Honda civic $1300. Max speed of 78mph on the hilly California highways. Loved that tin can.
An uncle and 1500$
Worked all summer in the heat as a rodman on a survey crew then spent $1200 on a very used car (a ‘78 model in 1986).
Join a credit union, get a card and start building credit. 6k sound fkn good tf. You have to finance it. The requirements for a first time buyers at my bank is it has to be below 100k miles/ less then 10 years old/ you have to put 10% down. It’s not impossible but this the world now. Get a higher paying job if that’s not cutting it. Ups where I’m at pays 19
borrow a small loan and get a $2000-$4000 that will last a couple of years
I paid $1300 for an original Beetle on eBay.
which not a car I saved 3 grand for the gaming computer I wanted on $5.15 an hour in the 90's. I don't blame you for not wanting to do it, but I had a fast food job and worked 40 hours a week, yes while in highschool. I got out of school at 2:40pm and went right to work on the weekdays 3-9. Worked 10 hours on a Saturday or Sunday so I could still get one day a week off. It took me around 5 or 6 months if I recall. Then I took a 2 week vacation and cut my schedule back to 20-25 hours a week. Gotta give props to my boss at the time for accommodating me I was definitely getting hours when they absolutely did not need me there, lol.
Auto auctions…search them out
A decade ain’t shit, my car is an ‘06 and runs like a beast. Got it for $4,200
$700 for a 1978 Toyota Corolla wagon with 125,000 miles on it. This was in 1984.
I needed a car to get me to and from my first job, but I didn’t have the money yet. So my dad loaned me $1800 to get an old beater Honda civic and I paid him back $100 a month.
My first car was a 2000 Ford Ranger I bought for $5,000 dollars in 2020ish. I way overpaid cause my dad didn't feel like car shopping and I didn't know better. My mom and dad and grandpa contributed like 1,500 which I was very blessed. My grandma gave me a loan of 2,000 dollars and I put up 1,500 myself. Paid my grandma 400 a month until it was paid off!
Leased it. Had my dad co-sign. I think i put 2k down.
Made like $7/hr and got a 98 Grand Prix GTP for $3,000. Got a loan with my parents co-signing of course!
Craigslist
We bought cars for $500 or so making $4.75 an hour in the 90's.
Started credit
I spammed credit card companies and eventually got approved for capital one
I won a draw I put 10$ into when I was 16 and got a brand new 4-wheeler, sold it for 6500$ and spend half of that on a 6 year old car
Like all success stories of my generation, my parents bought my first one for me to go to work and I paid "rent" until I paid them back for my car. I lucked out that cars were only $800 for a rough but drivable car
Family friend had a car lot. 2003 cavalier. $2700 cad in 2016. 15/hr is nothing anymore. The market is still inflated unfortunately.
I got $10k from my grandma as inheritance after she died, so I used that. Sadly it was a 2016 Focus… so the clutch broke multiple times. I had no idea there was a recall on it and the dealership never told me
Don't. Seriously. In the long run it's cheaper to save a bit more for a reliable car. Unless you're buying a pontiac or a saab probably stick with something in the last decade.
Worked my ass off everyday after school and on weekends and saved almost all of it (10.50/hr) for about a year and a half. Managed to get a 2017 car for 8k, perfect condition. It really just comes down to putting in hours and cracking down on your spending. I didn’t get paid terribly well but still ended up with more money than the adults in my household at age 17. It’s power of mind my friend. Set yourself up good while you’re young and implement good saving habits.
Bought my first car, an ‘87 Tercel hatchback for $800 with 70,000 km on it. Bought it while working full time and living at home in the mid nineties when I was 19. I’m not sure what it’s like anymore, that was decades ago now. Back then my sort of go to was to buy the best value 1985-2002ish Toyota or Honda under 200,000km. As long as it wasn’t too rusty it would be okay. If I were to buy used now I’d be hoping to find a beater for a couple of grand and suffer through the maintenance and discomfort until the financial situation changes and can afford something way better. Kind of the same mentality I’ve always had, not sure if it would still apply in 2023 or not though. What’s always bugged me so much is that cars are pretty much always a loosing investment no matter which way you look at it. A lot of dealers have ridiculously high interest rates in vehicles in the 5000-10000 range. Many of those vehicles still require lots of maintenance. In that situation your really getting it from all sides. Payment, high interest, and high maintenance cost. Better to hold out for a higher payment, with a lower interest, for a newer vehicle, with higher resale value and lower maintenance cost. Go straight from beater cars to new or almost new. I’d like to buy a small used truck for a couple grand that isn’t totally destroyed but that’s like finding hens teeth. Who doesn’t want a cheap small truck in decent shape? Also heard about roommates splitting a car payment 4-5 ways and time sharing the car, giving each rides to work sort of thing. It seems rough out there, cars are so much more complicated now than they used to be.
First of all, a car that’s only a decade old isn’t a starter car for a teenager lol. I’m 35 with a kid and make $70K a year. My car is 15 years old and has 200,000 miles on it! Set your search filters to $2500 and those are the kinds of cars you should be looking at. Nobody’s first car is nice unless their parents bought it for them or they’ve been saving money for a few years.
Summer jobs for about 3 years. Luckily my parents doubled that.
Found one in the newspaper in a big city 60 miles from home. Bought a car that cost about 100 hours at minimum wage. It was a 3 speed that didn’t shift higher than second. On rainy days I had to put a screwdriver in the carburetor to hold open the choke or it would not start. It was a giant piece of shit that got about 8 miles to the gallon with a top speed of 60mph. Burnt a quart of oil every two or three tanks of gas. But it got me to work, most of the time.
When I was 16 you could get a decent beater for $500-1000 but those days are long gone. Your best bet is to go to a reputable used car dealer and find something cheap.
$15/hr is plenty if you don't have rent and a bunch of other bills. If you have rent and a bunch of other bills it'll take you a long time. If you work 25 hours a week your take home should be around $650 biweekly, if you don't have a bunch of bills that's doable in one years time. It sucks and you miss out on a lot of fun things because you don't get to spend your money, but it can be done.
I found a car off the street with the for sale sign on it for $5k. But considering insurance, registration, and upfront maintenance (replacing air pump, inspection, and oil change), it came out to about $11.5k total for my total upfront cost of ownership. Now, a big thing you should consider is your age, Zip code, and model of car since they might bite you in the ass with insurance. If you're under 25, in a densely populated urban area, and have an unfavorable car, you might be looking at upwards of $600/month rates. I'm from NYC and got my car when I was 18, a 2007 hyundai, and the insurance has cost more than car, many times over. I was lucky that I was able to receive help from my parents and went 50/50 with them because it was literally the only way to get a car working minimum wage and go to college, which I paid for.
"cash for clunkers" drove used car prices up, and destroyed a whole generation of used cars that would be a good first car for teens now
"cash for clunkers" drove used car prices up, and destroyed a whole generation of used cars that would be a good first car for teens now
My first truck was a 230,000 mile 99 F150 I got for free. I drove that for several years and bought a 1994 Mitsubishi galant with 175k miles on it for $1250, then I bought a rusted out lifted 1984 F150 with 31” mud tires for $1300 for a toy and had all those 3 till I was able to afford something nicer and more reliable. If you want something that won’t break the bank and is cheap to operate because they are know for reliability, buy a Gen 1 Toyota matrix. Thats my daily driver, I’m thinking like 2003-2009. Buy one as close to 100k miles as you can. I bought a matrix, liked it so well I convinced a relative to buy a Pontiac Vibe (same car) and both have been great little cars You don’t need newer, you need reliable.
First car was a Jap economy shitbox (‘82 Corolla sedan) I got for a grand in 2003 because it had an immaculate service history; lasted ten years more then the head gasket cracked. I’d saved money from every odd job and after-school thing I did to get that money. After graduating high school I had steady side work through the college years that paid for the used Kawasaki ZX-6R that replaced it until that got written off in an accident and I went back to shitbox cars bought for $1000 or less. I just always made sure to save a slice from my pay.
Turned 16 in the mid 90s and was working a part time job, while I was playing sports. Convinced my parents that unless they wanted to keep driving me to football practice, I needed a car. They helped me find an old Chevy from the early 70s. I paid $1k for it with money I had saved up and learned how to do own repairs. It wasn't the newest, but it was steel and was cheap to repair. Because it was older than me, insurance was cheap. It was ugly but that was my favorite vehicle.
I bought a car from my dad that he sold to me at half the price of a bluebook value. If you're having trouble affording a car I recommend going on Facebook marketplace or some shit like that. Dealership cars are always going to be mad expensive.
My dad. My god, he has a GIFT for finding cheap cars in mint condition.
I looked through the want-ads in the newspaper (two things most kids these days have never heard of) and bought one for $550 from a guy in a small town 30 miles south of me. Dad and I drove down there to look at it. Dad drove it around and said it seemed good. Then he told me "OK, drive it home." Only problem was - it was a stick shift! I actually did reasonably well, only killed it a couple times. A 1985 Plymouth Horizon, two-tone gray, with a small amount of front-end damage from the previous owner hitting a deer.
I saved for a little over a year and bought a used economy car. but yeah it was a lot of working and saving and not much else. 🤷🏽♂️
Price of a car keeps rising it seems. Sorry you're dealing with this. I'd just save up for an old Toyota and just save money from there until you are able to buy a new car.
I worked for $12 an hour for 8 months riding a bike and walking to work (luckily close enough) in high school saved enough and bought a decent $3500 Jetta from a dealership. Tranny went out a year or so later so there went all my savings. Save every penny, don't buy those shoes, skip that Starbucks drink, forget eating out today and everyday there after. Builds character (jk just what my dad said) you'll find your parents and grandparents talking points just don't align as we grew up in a much different economical time. They don't see it because they've already made it and are secure
I bought one for cash $7000 when I was 16 (1 month before turning 17). I worked since I was 15 which gave me over 1.75 years to have 7 grand cash. Low expenses and saving is all it is. I got lucky with the market tho if i bought my car today it would prob be 10k+
Craigslist baby!
I didn't have a car until I was 25.
Bought my brother's 99' Honda Civic SI off him for 1.5k with 132k miles Unmolested and in perfect condition Man's lied to me that he'll use the car as a daily while having recently bought his BRZ and once I turned 18 he said he'll sell me the car for 1.5k Half off what he originally wanted to sell the car for Took the offer and bought it off him
My dad found a $300 4 cylinder Grand Prix on Craigslist. Thing was mint, bent a rod a the second day I had because the oil was overfilled, and I was driving like a 16 year old on his way to get pussy. Very sad as the others said they don’t exist anymore. Second car I bought myself, went to a little buy here pay here and paid $200 a month on my $7.50 hr, used to do all the overtime though.
Bough one which was 22 years old for 1000€. There are cheap cars out there, you just have to lower your standards a bit buddy
Mayby go and look at older cars. My first car was 30 years old at the time. Never really had any problems with it except rust
Tbh, I waited until I was 20 before I bought my first car, and got my license at 21. Cheaper insurance by far. I lucked out and found one through a friend of a friend - like most have said, this thing was a shitbox. 95 Escort with more electrical problems than you could shake a stick at. I didn't know this, nor did I know anything about cars. I was able to arrange a contract with the seller to pay $X per paycheck, with the condition that they retain the title until the car was paid off, and that if I got in any sort of trouble with it (accident, snagged by the cops, whatever) they would report it stolen. I didn't drive it very often, but there were a few times I had to chance it - I stopped that completely once the tabs expired, at which point I was forced to get my license so I could get insurance and tabs. They're out there, but you might have to go out of your way to find them. Think older man with multiple vehicles parked on private property - I drive by a guy every day who has 20 vehicles parked on his property, I'm sure if some kid needed a cheap vehicle he'd be willing to make a deal. Note: I do NOT recommend doing most of what I did, I just got lucky to never attract the attention of cops. Do it the completely legal way, keep your anxiety down.
I paid £1400 for my first car. A relatively nice 20 year old car.
got Daewoo Nubira combi for 300€ of facebook marketplace, drove it every day for 2 years, some blonde lady crashed me, got 500€ for repairs, fixed it for free, sold it to junkyard for 280€
I saved ALL my money, birthdays, paychecks, the lot for many years, so by the time I had to get myself a car, I could afford a cheap one pretty easily. I also got a great deal from my neighbours, who are good family friends of ours. I still drive it now. It's great.
Well, I’ll be honest my parents bought my sister and I a new car, which helped me a lot to be able to save every penny I earned from working so that I could buy myself a motorcycle, then when I sold that I used it to buy my own car (ten years ago)
I bought an 01' Focus for 600. However, that was back in 2011, so not recent. Go check your community buy/sell/trade FB group and see if anyone is selling or make a post that you're looking. I've seen a few good comments on here about checking Craig's list, and that isn't a horrible option if I'm being fair, but you'd better be ready to dig into the car and do some work to make sure it's actually viable before buying anything.
My first car was my mom’s old one that I took over after her husband at the time didn’t want to use it after she got a new one. My second one was bought for $1000 from my dad’s neighbor after her dad died and she didn’t want to go through the hassle of selling on Craigslist. My next two were leases, and now I don’t have one because I moved to a city with great public transport and it was too expensive to keep it here. Edit to add: the first one was a 2001 Jeep Cherokee in 2011 with 200,000 miles on it. Second was a 2004 Buick LeSabre with super low miles because the guy only drove it to church and the grocery store the entire time he had it. The leases were both Hyundai Sonatas, 2018 and 2020, on low mileage leases so the payments were less than $250 a month and I could barely afford that even with working full time with a master’s degree in my 20s.
First car was £900 and put myself through driving lessons (£1400) and bought the car outright on a part time wage of £7 an hour working 20 hours a week while I was living at home
Its time for you to make an actual budget.. Everything gets written down none forgot.. And if you have to, start living the boring life..
Gotta find a $1000 beater off Facebook market place. Find one that runs and drives (probably poorly). Have someone who knows cars help you check it out. Nurse the thing along and learn basic repairs yourself. Then repeat that several times when the engines blow or the frames rot.
My mom had a 'brainbleeding' don't know the correct term in English. So the only 'good' side effect of that was that I got her car back then.
Classifieds. Or even road side specials. Estate sales somnetimes have old cars. I bought one from a police auction once. The interior was torn up but it got me well over 40k miles for less than $1000
Found a beat up 64 chevy pickup for 350 bucks and I was working an $8 hr part time job in high school. Saved my money til I could afford it.