broke as $hit but I need a car; what should I do?

Learn to fix stuff -- or make friends with an indy mechanic (or both).

I just looked on Craigslist in my metro area: several running, "passed inspection" vehicles as low as $300... Heck, if you get 6 mos., it's a bargain.

Back in the day, I owned a series of cheapos. Some crapped out pretty quick. Some lasted years. Some I sold for more than I paid.

OP, from you posts it doesn't sound like you know much about cars and are not particularly mechanically inclined. If that is in fact the case, then I would stay away from

Argh. Only the first line of my post showed up.

Summary: If you don't know how to work on cars, don't want to learn, and have decent credit just go lease a Mitsubishi Mirage, Hyundai Accent, Kia Rio or similar for no money down and ~$150 per month for 3 years. You'll have a reliable car with a bumper to bumper warranty for 3 years while you look for a better job.

I bought a 1980 Toyota pickup when I was 16 for 500$. I gave it to my dad years ago. Still runs like a sewing machine.

Be careful with very old cars. Your cost of "maintaining" it could be very high every month. It is hit or miss. Costs add up quickly unless you know how to fix cars. Couldn't you buy a new Corolla (the lowest trim) on finance? You should be able to get good deals on new sedans these days with everyone buying SUV. Look for 2017 model.

Moo Goo wrote:

Be careful with very old cars. Your cost of "maintaining" it could be very high every month. It is hit or miss. Costs add up quickly unless you know how to fix cars. Couldn't you buy a new Corolla (the lowest trim) on finance? You should be able to get good deals on new sedans these days with everyone buying SUV. Look for 2017 model.

Corolla? This guy is more in Yaris territory.

Getting Old wrote:

Argh. Only the first line of my post showed up.

Summary: If you don't know how to work on cars, don't want to learn, and have decent credit just go lease a Mitsubishi Mirage, Hyundai Accent, Kia Rio or similar for no money down and ~$150 per month for 3 years. You'll have a reliable car with a bumper to bumper warranty for 3 years while you look for a better job.

+1

You don't want to spend time or money on a mechanic.

You don't NEED a car. You WANT one. It's something American car propaganda machine wants you to believe though. Get a bike for one. Also car ownership is dying. Uber/Lyft are options. I live car free . Love how much money I am saving

You buy a 1998 Corolla with 150,000 miles on it and it will easily last you 5-10 years with basically zero repairs. At least that's my story.

San Diego hobby jogger wrote:

You don't NEED a car. You WANT one. It's something American car propaganda machine wants you to believe though. Get a bike for one. Also car ownership is dying. Uber/Lyft are options. I live car free . Love how much money I am saving

That's cheesy dude...how do you haul groceries, buy big items, take lovey women out on dates, etc? And those Ubers can cost an arm & leg. I'd go motorcycle with a side car - girls love to ride in side cars and you have cheap, economical transformation to boot:

have you tried being a kept man, i.e. look for a sugar daddy? you sound cute.

I love cars and have owned various cars from basic to high end cars. I think for you to have least amount of problems would be to lease new Yaris so it’ll be trouble free and I bet lease deals are pretty good for them since they hold their value pretty well.

Or, another option would be to buy 10 year old Camry. We have 2005 Camry still and we’ve had it since 2008, and absolutely nothing has gone wrong and has 150k miles.

I’d stick to Toyota as they’re the most reliable, hold value, and will give you the most peace of mind.

I love having our Camry as I have couple of other older European cars and helps to have one rock solid vehicle in case one of my other two cars don’t start. Yea, it’s a waste owning older European cars, but I love them!

Let's Get To The Bottom Of This wrote:

San Diego hobby jogger wrote:

You don't NEED a car. You WANT one. It's something American car propaganda machine wants you to believe though. Get a bike for one. Also car ownership is dying. Uber/Lyft are options. I live car free . Love how much money I am saving

That's cheesy dude...how do you haul groceries, buy big items, take lovey women out on dates, etc? And those Ubers can cost an arm & leg. I'd go motorcycle with a side car - girls love to ride in side cars and you have cheap, economical transformation to boot:

https://youtu.be/6Epj_XeYT1c

As a motorcylist, this is a decent idea if you live in a place where it is not cold. As much as you can suit up, it's hard to maintain your dexterity when it's below freezing with potential snow or ice on the road. Ural Motorcycles are basically the only motocycle these days with a sidecar included, but good luck finding a decent one in this guy's price range and a dealer/mechanic nearby.

And don't fool yourself. Motorcycles are not that economical unless you live in a place where you can use them all year round and you can fix them yourself. If you want the most economical car on the road, get a used Prius. Best fuel economy and lower cost of ownership than almost anything else out there.

Let's Get To The Bottom Of This wrote:

San Diego hobby jogger wrote:

You don't NEED a car. You WANT one. It's something American car propaganda machine wants you to believe though. Get a bike for one. Also car ownership is dying. Uber/Lyft are options. I live car free . Love how much money I am saving

That's cheesy dude...how do you haul groceries, buy big items, take lovey women out on dates, etc? And those Ubers can cost an arm & leg. I'd go motorcycle with a side car - girls love to ride in side cars and you have cheap, economical transformation to boot:

https://youtu.be/6Epj_XeYT1c

I take a big backpack, or a cart for groceries

San Diego hobby jogger wrote:

Let's Get To The Bottom Of This wrote:

That's cheesy dude...how do you haul groceries, buy big items, take lovey women out on dates, etc? And those Ubers can cost an arm & leg. I'd go motorcycle with a side car - girls love to ride in side cars and you have cheap, economical transformation to boot:

https://youtu.be/6Epj_XeYT1c

I take a big backpack, or a cart for groceries

And the ladies? Generally women are turned off by a guy who doesn't have a set of wheels. Their attitude is: No car...No date...No way. ?

F'ing Finance it!

And the ladies? Generally women are turned off by a guy who doesn't have a set of wheels. Their attitude is: No car...No date...No way. ?

Sadly a car for most Americans is to make up for lack of game

Also, lifted trucks

vivalarepublica wrote:

Remember, that you can buy these cars for very little down payment, if any at all, and get a low payment plan or lease. They are so cheap that monthly payments can easily be under $200.

And this is why the poor stay poor. If you can't pay off a car in 3 years, then you can't afford it. If you get a 6+ year car loan then you'll hit a point where you owe more on the car than it's worth. Lets say you miss a few payments and your car get's repo'd and your car is currently worth $3k less than you owe on it. Even in the best case scenario where your lender resells the car for it's full value, you still owe them the $3k difference. Or if it breaks down and you go to trade it in and realize it has negative value. I've sat in a dealer's showroom where the couple next to me couldn't understand how their car wasn't worth what they wanted to trade it in for. The dealer tried explaining over and over how they were underwater on their car. To his credit, the he kept trying to get them to settle for a less expensive car.

Leasing is an even stupider idea. Leasing is for people who want to look like they have more money than they do.

I'd say ask friends and family if they have a beater car they would be willing to part with.