Anyone in the SW have a sub-$3,000, reliable, MY 2000+, sub 150K miles car?

[motion]

My son is looking for a good Honda, Toyota, Kia, Neon, etc. first car. Cruising local Craigslist ads is really depressing and foreboding. Looking for an honest deal on a good car. No trucks, SUVs, etc. I know its a long shot, but just putting it out there. He's worked hard and saved his money, and we're trying to find a good car from a known seller.

[kaisen]

Edit: Crap, I read it wrong

You should be able to find that car easily

[vash]

just what do you consider the southwest? (reference spider thread)

[redstrosekNic]

As long as it doesn't have to be pretty, they are out there. My '01 civic was under $3K. It looks fine enough, no rust, just some dents.

[kaisen]

Originally Posted by motion

My son is looking for a good Honda, Toyota, Kia, Neon, etc. first car. Cruising local Craigslist ads is really depressing and foreboding. Looking for an honest deal on a good car. No trucks, SUVs, etc. I know its a long shot, but just putting it out there. He's worked hard and saved his money, and we're trying to find a good car from a known seller.

I do TONS of these cars. It's not glamorous, but my ROI % is better than expensive cars, the risk is near zero, and I can turn them very quickly.

Buyers are illogically sensitive to miles. You'll see sub-100K mile cars bringing the moon, and over 150K versions of the same car bringing one-third less. In reality, either car could be good or bad. They're more than 10 years old either way, so it's just about condition and what has been replaced when.

I buy them broken for distressed prices, fix EVERYTHING professionally, then resell them for about KBB Private Party within a couple days of listing them. Anything in MN under $3000 is a $10 flat tax. Anything over is 6.5%. So a $2999 car is $10 and a $3000 car is $195. Therefore, most every car I sell is $2999, firm, no negotiating. Like popcorn.

Good luck in your search, let me know if I can help

[motion]

Originally Posted by kaisen

Edit: Crap, I read it wrong

You should be able to find that car easily

LOL, thought there was an extra zero there, eh?

[onewhippedpuppy]

Watch Craigslist closely. When they pop up they tend to sell quick. When I've had nice clean sub-$5k cars for sale, even with high mileage, they usually sell within 24 hours. But what he really needs is a 2005 Mazda RX8 with only 26k on it, for just a wee bit more than your current price range.

[Laneco]

Lots of 3K cars out there, and lots of buyers to go with them. If they are good, they good pretty fast.

If you do not mind aesthetics, in the SW a hail damaged car that is unrepaired can be quite a bargain. Even a hail damaged car that WAS repaired but has a salvage title due to the hail damage can be a pretty nice and very affordable driver.

angela