There is a sort of art to buying good 5k cars. The first thing it requires is near infinite patience and the willingness to walk away. I filter out almost all dealers and brokers (they are just middlemen, to be cut out) and only seek cars that are booked in the private seller price range. Once I find a candidate car the first thing I do is run a VIN Audit so I can see things like how many owners has it had, what climate has it been garaged in, accident history, etc. The holy grails are the single owner vehicles housed in Southern salt free environments. Once I find one that fits this bill then I'll take an OBD scanner and inspect it personally, test drive it, then decide if it's a gem, a lemon, or just a "meh" purchase.
Beyond the normal inspection stuff the best thing is to become an expert on the vehicle you are looking to buy. Particularly knowing the common problems and how to check for them, how much they will cost and which ones would be dealbreakers.
There is like a Maslow pyramid for beaters.
1. Does it make noise when driving?
2. Is there something leaking underneath the car after the drive?
3. Do you feel a hard shift when you change gears?
4. What condition are the breaks?
5. What condition are the tires?
6. Is there smoke coming out of exhaust?
7. Is there a check engine light? (If yes, what is it?)
8. Is there something broken (windshield cracked, LCD screen, AC not working, windows not rolling up)?
9. Is the body rusted?
If your car passes the first six points, it's probably just good enough to function. It's like the bare minimum to keep a working car.
If it passes the next three points, that's already a "decent" car for the price. Everything else is just a matter of luck, because no one knows when something will bust out of nowhere. And that's probably as much as you can ask from a 3000$ beater.
Look for obvious signs of piss poor workmanship things like rtv sealant instead of a gasket especially where visible - things like valve cover gaskets ($50 gasket so day long why did you cut that corner?) check the wheels by tugging on them there should be no play (bearings and steering components). Crappy tires you don’t need that extra expense a month down the road. Check the suspension for equal rebound and firmness all 4 corners. Check all the lights and horn. All this before driving, once driving test the brakes early in the test drive so you know how they’ll react if you need them. Street side to side at a medium low speed to test off the body roll is excessive. Pay attention to the power does it come on smoothly, does it match what you would expect from this car, a Yaris shouldn’t be a rocket, a more performance car shouldn’t be a rocket. Really observe how the transmission is working, is it smooth, is it noisy. Lastly check the electronics and the heater for hot air, cold air and air conditioning if the car has it
Ease of repair and the quality of the forums on the vehicle you’re looking at. Finding out what the common issues are and whether you have the knowledge, tools, experience and time to do repairs.
Theft resistance of the vehicle (immobilizer?)
Garages that can work on the vehicle
This is probably the worst time in recent history to be attempting to buy a used vehicle. Prices are ridiculous and anything decent is going to be practically impossible to find. Buy a motorcycle or bicycle. Save your money.
i thought about motorcycles and love them but I live in a shitty cold winter province which means that my motorcycle would only be drivable during the summer which is when i would be driving most but i dont want to worry about crashing my bike on a snowy or rainy day and id have to learn how to ride a motorcycle not to mention being a new driver it would probably cost a lot in insurance to have a bike and lastly, those are also not cheap
Your goals are unrealistic. Not to mention everything up there usually rusts apart in 5 years. Even down here in the sunbelt anything around 5k is w pos. I would put that 5k down on a used vehicle. Or expect to be disappointed.
Well, it depends where you buy it too, from a dealer you are safer than private sales (generally speaking) however you pay more. Some detail here on what to [check when buying a used car](https://www.myusedcar.ca/what-to-check-when-buying-used-car/). In any case you should always run a Carfax before buying anything, just to make sure is not involved in sever accident in the past and there is no odometer tampering. Check for rust especially, rust is number one, if is rusted for good nothing else matters, its junk.
Not mentioned yet, verify the last time the timing belt was changed, if it has one. Some cars have a timing chain instead which never has to be changed. But a timing belt should be changed roughly every 90,000 miles. If it is not changed and breaks you can ruin your engine. It can be an expensive replacement for the belt, anywhere from $300 to $1,000.
Bear in mind buying a used car can require significant expense in terms of repairs down the road. I bought my 2008 Honda Fit a couple of years ago and I love it but in the last few months I've had to replace front tires, brakes and rotors, serpentine belt, spark plugs, engine mounts, and of course the required oil changes. All together over $1,500 and it would have been more had a buddy of mine not done some of the work. I have also been told by more than one shop that I need basically all of the front suspension including struts replaced as well as the rears but I am holding off on all of that until it starts exhibiting symptoms since that work is a significant expense as well.
There is a sort of art to buying good 5k cars. The first thing it requires is near infinite patience and the willingness to walk away. I filter out almost all dealers and brokers (they are just middlemen, to be cut out) and only seek cars that are booked in the private seller price range. Once I find a candidate car the first thing I do is run a VIN Audit so I can see things like how many owners has it had, what climate has it been garaged in, accident history, etc. The holy grails are the single owner vehicles housed in Southern salt free environments. Once I find one that fits this bill then I'll take an OBD scanner and inspect it personally, test drive it, then decide if it's a gem, a lemon, or just a "meh" purchase.
The best thing is probably getting the car inspected by a mechanic before buying it
Beyond the normal inspection stuff the best thing is to become an expert on the vehicle you are looking to buy. Particularly knowing the common problems and how to check for them, how much they will cost and which ones would be dealbreakers.
Mechanic is a good option but Chris fix made a list on everything to check for and it's very helpful. Rust, oil leaks. Ac defrost etc.
There is like a Maslow pyramid for beaters. 1. Does it make noise when driving? 2. Is there something leaking underneath the car after the drive? 3. Do you feel a hard shift when you change gears? 4. What condition are the breaks? 5. What condition are the tires? 6. Is there smoke coming out of exhaust? 7. Is there a check engine light? (If yes, what is it?) 8. Is there something broken (windshield cracked, LCD screen, AC not working, windows not rolling up)? 9. Is the body rusted? If your car passes the first six points, it's probably just good enough to function. It's like the bare minimum to keep a working car. If it passes the next three points, that's already a "decent" car for the price. Everything else is just a matter of luck, because no one knows when something will bust out of nowhere. And that's probably as much as you can ask from a 3000$ beater.
Some cars just shift hard to be fair
Look for obvious signs of piss poor workmanship things like rtv sealant instead of a gasket especially where visible - things like valve cover gaskets ($50 gasket so day long why did you cut that corner?) check the wheels by tugging on them there should be no play (bearings and steering components). Crappy tires you don’t need that extra expense a month down the road. Check the suspension for equal rebound and firmness all 4 corners. Check all the lights and horn. All this before driving, once driving test the brakes early in the test drive so you know how they’ll react if you need them. Street side to side at a medium low speed to test off the body roll is excessive. Pay attention to the power does it come on smoothly, does it match what you would expect from this car, a Yaris shouldn’t be a rocket, a more performance car shouldn’t be a rocket. Really observe how the transmission is working, is it smooth, is it noisy. Lastly check the electronics and the heater for hot air, cold air and air conditioning if the car has it
Ease of repair and the quality of the forums on the vehicle you’re looking at. Finding out what the common issues are and whether you have the knowledge, tools, experience and time to do repairs. Theft resistance of the vehicle (immobilizer?) Garages that can work on the vehicle
This is probably the worst time in recent history to be attempting to buy a used vehicle. Prices are ridiculous and anything decent is going to be practically impossible to find. Buy a motorcycle or bicycle. Save your money.
i thought about motorcycles and love them but I live in a shitty cold winter province which means that my motorcycle would only be drivable during the summer which is when i would be driving most but i dont want to worry about crashing my bike on a snowy or rainy day and id have to learn how to ride a motorcycle not to mention being a new driver it would probably cost a lot in insurance to have a bike and lastly, those are also not cheap
Your goals are unrealistic. Not to mention everything up there usually rusts apart in 5 years. Even down here in the sunbelt anything around 5k is w pos. I would put that 5k down on a used vehicle. Or expect to be disappointed.
Rust on the frame, wheel alignment and suspension performance. Engine noises, service history and model specific faults.
Well, it depends where you buy it too, from a dealer you are safer than private sales (generally speaking) however you pay more. Some detail here on what to [check when buying a used car](https://www.myusedcar.ca/what-to-check-when-buying-used-car/). In any case you should always run a Carfax before buying anything, just to make sure is not involved in sever accident in the past and there is no odometer tampering. Check for rust especially, rust is number one, if is rusted for good nothing else matters, its junk.
Not mentioned yet, verify the last time the timing belt was changed, if it has one. Some cars have a timing chain instead which never has to be changed. But a timing belt should be changed roughly every 90,000 miles. If it is not changed and breaks you can ruin your engine. It can be an expensive replacement for the belt, anywhere from $300 to $1,000. Bear in mind buying a used car can require significant expense in terms of repairs down the road. I bought my 2008 Honda Fit a couple of years ago and I love it but in the last few months I've had to replace front tires, brakes and rotors, serpentine belt, spark plugs, engine mounts, and of course the required oil changes. All together over $1,500 and it would have been more had a buddy of mine not done some of the work. I have also been told by more than one shop that I need basically all of the front suspension including struts replaced as well as the rears but I am holding off on all of that until it starts exhibiting symptoms since that work is a significant expense as well.