Civic, Corolla, Fit, maybe Prius. Just put under 10k on cars or autotrader and you should find a bunch and most with reasonable mileage.

The only thing I'd caution about the Prius is battery age. There were a bunch for sale last summer at Too Good to Be True prices

Yeah, I'd probably not go past like 2012 on one of those I guess.

Also be suspicious of really cheap cars with low mileage - they may be rebuilt cars that were in serious wrecks or even flooded. Clean Carfax is essential.

swishnicholson wrote:My daughter needs a cheap (like sub 10K) but reliable used car, and I haven't searched for one of those since the days of want ads (and sadly there aren't any being passed on by the family right now). Not sure where to pint her in terms of searching for one. Carsense has virtually nothing in that price range.

If she can drive a standard, and you can find one, that might be a good way to save some money.

thanks for the advice, guys!

So the clutch in my car needs to be repaired and the shop quoted it for $2700. The main issue is that the transmission needs to be taken out to get to the clutch in my Cruze so it’s labor intensive.

I was actually going to trade this car in once I knew if/when I get this new job. Also sucks that I still have 7 months on the loan. Anyone want to push my car to a dealer?

slugsrbad wrote:So the clutch in my car needs to be repaired and the shop quoted it for $2700. The main issue is that the transmission needs to be taken out to get to the clutch in my Cruze so it’s labor intensive.

I was actually going to trade this car in once I knew if/when I get this new job. Also sucks that I still have 7 months on the loan. Anyone want to push my car to a dealer?

https://repairpal.com/estimator/chevrolet/cruze/clutch-replacement-cost

check out another shop? i've had clutches replaced and never heard of a quote that high.

yeah, i cringed when you said "push it to a DEALER" . The don't call them stealerships for nothin'.

Find a good independent mechanic. I have a great one, but I'm not sure if it's worth the towing cost to Eagleville.

@slugsrbad, is the clutch so bad that driving it would make it catch fire?

Since you're still making payments, I assume it's a relatively new car--odd for a clutch to go out. Might it be a defect? Are you still under warranty? Don't Chevys come with a 5 year warranty? (One reason to always consider a used Hyundai is that it's likely you'll pay a used car price and still have at least a few years of new car warranty on it.)

And yeah, Bucky is right about the dealership services prices--basically, only use them for warranty/factory recall repairs.

I was thinking he meant push it to a dealer so he can trade it in as is and just buy a new car.

TenuredVulture wrote:Since you're still making payments, I assume it's a relatively new car--odd for a clutch to go out. Might it be a defect? Are you still under warranty? Don't Chevys come with a 5 year warranty? (One reason to always consider a used Hyundai is that it's likely you'll pay a used car price and still have at least a few years of new car warranty on it.)

And yeah, Bucky is right about the dealership services prices--basically, only use them for warranty/factory recall repairs.

The car is 5.5 years old but I’ve done a lot of driving on it (80k). I also came back to a clutch after 4 or so years off so I probably wasn’t the gentlest when I first got the car.

McNeal is right, the plan is to trade it in at a dealer not get it repaired. Outside the clutch everything else is in good enough condition. I’ll just have to call around to shops and see if I can get a quote I can work with.

Who's our resident car expert?

Looks like the car I just bought has flooding issues. Worried it might be a lost cause.

gr wrote:Who's our resident car expert?

Looks like the car I just bought has flooding issues. Worried it might be a lost cause.

You mean it was in a flood, and this wasn't noted on the carfax? Or that the engine floods with gasoline when you try to start it? (I'm guessing the former, since modern cars have all kinds of computers and sensors to prevent the latter.

If I'm not mistaken, TCC once sold used cars.

Found standing water and mold in the car after I pulled up the carpet and padding. Not noted on Carfax or by the dealer to me at time of sale. My best guess is the second of 2 owners had the car during flood conditions or backed it a little too far into the water with a boat. The car was then sold to an auction in MD and then a dealer in VA bought it and sold it to me.

This is in addition to about a dozen other issues, including a potential inspection fraud, so we're taking action.

The used pickup truck market is ridiculous. Guess I'll look for a old SUV and a bigger cargo trailer.

Uncle Milty wrote:The used pickup truck market is ridiculous. Guess I'll look for a old SUV and a bigger cargo trailer.

yep, just rent a trailer from uhaul when you need to.

Uncle Milty wrote:The used pickup truck market is ridiculous. Guess I'll look for a old SUV and a bigger cargo trailer.

What are you looking for specifically? I was thinking about getting a truck to replace my wife's aging Mazda5 minivan-ish thing with something with more utility and snow capability. Was leaning Tacoma but they're hella expensive even used.

Agree but it's amazing the value the Tacoma's retain.

I wasn't set on any particular year or model. Think I want full-size and extended or crew cab. I'm mostly looking for increased towing capacity since I limited to 3,500 lbs right now.

It's just crazy to me that 15-20 year old, 1/2 ton, gas V8s with >200k miles are 5 grand.

Right now I think the sweet spot is 3-5 years old with a good service history. Given how slow they seem to depreciate from there it might be the best value in used vehicles (except the gas mileage).