Used Cars Under $1000
74Getting A Working Car For Less Than $1000
You are given 1000 dollars to buy a car, not just any car but one that runs good, and has little to no problems, the problem is you are not sure what types of things you should consider.
The first thing you want to do is expect the tires, how do they look? Are they wearing evenly, or is the wear uneven? If they are uneven, there could be several things wrong.
Here is a list of the most common problems:
- Toe wear- bad tie rod ends
- Camber wear- ball joint problems, also could be a front-wheel drive cradle, or a broken spring,
- cupped wear- shocks, or could also mean that the tire is out of balance.
- If the tires look like they were just replaced, try to find out why.
- The next best place to look is under the hood, this can tell you a lot about the car, when was the last time any maintenance was done; there should be stickers, with dates on them. If any of this looks fishy, then it probably is.
- Anyone who wants to sell a car knows that turning the odometer back, will bring in a higher profit, if there are any signs of tampering, then you may want to go to carfax to check it out.
- Another thing that you will want to check is the history of the car, has it been in a flood? Have there been any major recalls on it? What about any accidents make sure that you check all of this out before spending 1000 on the car.
- One of the biggest mistakes that people do is not to have the car checked by a mechanic, they can tell you if you are going to be throwing away your money.
- CV joints can be expensive to replace. And if they are loose they may be ready to break, and can put you in life or death situation
When buying a used car, the automatic transmission is one of the most important parts to check. Find out if the car was used to pull something, this can cause a transmission to go bad quickly. When trying to figure out if the transmission is any good, make sure you have a piece of white paper, a paper towel will work just as good. Wipe the dipstick, the fluid should look clear, there should be no metal or black flakes, and the fluid should not smell burnt. If you are not sure about the transmission, don’t buy the car as it may need a new transmission put in it before you can even drive it. If it a newer car without a dipstick, take it to a service station.
Ye Olde Clunker
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When you put the car into the reverse position it should shift smoothly, and should kick in almost instantly, when you remove your foot off of the gas, it should want to back up, without any jerks. Now place your foot back on to the brake, and shift gears, going through them one at a time and very slowly, it should also shift easily, if it seems to take a while for the transmission to kick , there is a bad transmission in the car, and you could be looking at another 2000 just for that part.
When you test drive a car, don’t do what a lot of people do to see how fast you can get it to go from 0 to 60, start out slow and feel for the gears, they should not jerk, when accelerating, instead you what you should feel and I have learned from experience is a nice what I like to call a kick in horse power, if you do not feel this then don’t buy the car.
Start speeding up but this time give the car a little more gas, what do you feel? Does it downshift properly? see how long you can drive the car, sometimes the transmission can act fine when its not warmed up, if the owner won’t let you drive it long, don’t buy the car, more then likely it has something wrong with the transmission and he knows it.
If you still have doubts have a mechanic look at it, also there are some places like auto zone that give free, system checks, you may want to have them check out, their machine will tell you if there are any mechanical items wrong with the car, I wish I would have known this when I bought my car, for 500 dollars, I would not have bought the car. However, you can still get used cars under $1000 if you look hard enough.
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nice tips - now need find $1000
Good article - I think most people buying a used car from an individual should have a mechanic that they can trust take a look at it. Obviously they won't tell you if you can buy it or not, but they can at least tell you whether or not it's sound or a money pit waiting to be bought.
WIth some of the insane prices that new cars go for I'm surprised more people don't look at used cars. I guess there's a sentiment that if it's a few years old it's no good anymore and that can be further from the truth. Some vehicles are really a lot cheaper and easier to maintain than going a new car route.
I have never had much luck with anything that cost less than $5,000. Anything below that seems to always need some work done on them which I do not know how to do.
I've truthfully never purchased a car for less than $1000 but I have come within $100 of that. I drove my last cheap car for 5 years doing only simple repairs before I hit a curb in an ice storm and messed up the front suspension. Got my money's worth for sure. Maybe one day I will spend more than $5k on a car, but the cheap ones are working well for me.
If you can find a good insurance agent, he (or she) can help. Sometimes people drop insurance on a car because someone died, kid goes into military, or an older individual that doesn't drive or illness.
Great tips on buying a used car for under $1000--I'll forward this to a friend's son who just got his first job and has been saving for awhile.
Nice hub. I'm sure this hub will help lots of people who are looking into buying used cars under $1000!
Very helpful hub, Dwilson. Guess it wouldn't hurt to recommend a Toyota or a Honda right? Another car that I found very reliable is a Geo Prism, believe it or not. Those cars are still around probably because they're really Toyota Corollas in disguise! Pop open the hood and you'll see what I mean.
dohn21: I did not know that about the Prism! Yeah, you can't really go wrong with an old Honda or Toyota.
very informative hub, check out my website and car tips http://www.redhottipsforyou.com
Nicely done. I appreciate your test drive tips. Just wrote a hub on the same topic at http://hubpages.com/t/a57cf
thanks for the good tips, and billary, i will definitly read urs hub too
Good tips for any car buyer, at any price.
I am a licensed used car dealer in Pennsylvania and I can tell you from our experience of buying thousands of cars that 98% of any of the cars that we have paid less than $1000 for were only trouble waiting to happen. And the trouble that a consumer recieves from buying a $1000 to $2000 car is just not worth the aggravation. Our best advice is to stay away from $1000 cars UNLESS you know the owner as a blood relative who has owned that vehicle from new.
For more information about buying and selling used cars, as well as eCommerce and the internet click here
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Thanks for sharing your opinion, but all the cars I've owned have been in that price range. I've had problems, sure, but I've done the math and I am still coming out way ahead. Of course, I'm not a afraid to make small repairs as they come up. Never had anything major (engine, transmission) fail on me, so that's worked out well.
Actually, I am a bit of a bargain hunter, with a love for cars under 1k. But, this article has been really helpful to me. Thanks a million!
There's always a bargain if you look hard enough for it is right. Always take the time to shop and do your homework. Even if you're not in the market for a $1000 used car, if you're in the market for a brand new car, check the used lots first for a model a couple of years old. You get a bit of warranty left over, and you get an amazing discount right off the bat.
I tend to believe one should pay cash or close to total cash for a vehicle purchase as well. It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever to pay interest on a vehicle loan when the value of the vehicle depreciates. You are essentially paying more on the front end when the value on the back end will be less. You also pay higher insurance because you have to have full coverage.
Good point to buy a used car under $1000. I'm a student and i can't afford more money to bought a car. Thanks for sharing this idea.
My take away from you hub is that I guess if you are in the market for a used car under a grand, then you should do some homework to find out what to look for in a potential car. Can't I just make friends with a mechanic who can look at the car for me? Ha ha. This is actually a great list of what to look for and what to avoid. Thanks for sharing it.
Thank you for this article you posted. It shall serve as a guide to buying cars under $1000 dollars.
Thanks for posting this hub very useful information for people looking to buy a used car
Hey Guys.
So I read all these reviews / comments ... interesting ... Presently, I am a New/Used Ford Guy out of Ontario,Canada. Its actually a passion of mine, my first job is Internet Marketing but I will never get out of the car industry - enjoy it!
But anyways, so $1000.00 cars ... I can tell you this much I have 10 cars on the lot at the moment around a Geno and they would drive out for 2 to 3 more years ... its all about smart buying! Dealers have to know what they are looking at ... now we do sometimes get the trades in right but trust me I can go to any Auction and find 10 to 20 diamonds in the ruff ... Now these are AS-IS cars .. so you would be looking at 2000.00 over the curb ... but still where can you get a car the owes you nothing to drive for 2 to 3 year!!
Car Dealers - Make Sure You Know Your Product :0)
" Buy a Ford! "
Good Hub. You give a lot of good ideas about what to look for.
When I was 18 I bought a Ford LTD for $250. The car lasted well over 3 years. I would only buy cars like this for a while. When I bought these cars they were throw-away vehicles. I would get what I could out of them. You make simple and cheap repairs to keep it running. Any major problems, sell it to the junk yard for $50 or take it to the scrap yard for around $250. For me it was like buying something from Wal-Mart. Use it until it breaks, then throw it out. I did not want a car payment, so cheap cars like this were perfect. I looked at it this way. If I spend in one month, the equivalent of a car payment in repairs, for three consecutive months, it's time to get rid of it.
Fantastic tips. Just keep in mind that cars under $1,000 may have lots of issues!
This is very useful
Thanks so much!
There are some points listed in the above blog those are really very useful and must be done while going for the used car to buy.
Find More options for used car under 1000 dollars at: http://www.motorexpress.net/usedcarsforsale/used_c
great website
Jen's Solitude Level 3 Commenter 2 years ago
Excellent hub and great tips, especially about the transmission and the type of road test to give the car. Thanks very much.
~Jen