whats good cars

[lblk32]

im getting a car soon. what are some good used cars under $10,000

 

[kellyan95]

Sometimes it just suprises me how stupidly people will spend their money. Do you think the majority of members here (most under 18) would know anything about that? This is not the right place to ask.

 

[Taras]

Definitely foreign. Try to round up a Toyota or even a Mercedes. Yes, Mercedes. I've seen 320 & 420 E & S classes for

 

[modshroom128]

Sometimes it just suprises me how stupidly people will spend their money. Do you think the majority of members here (most under 18) would know anything about that? This is not the right place to ask.

u just got pwnd by taras

 

[FAST6191]

I can do cars to a degree, I drove a bucket (learnt in one too) and it is not an experience I suggest you repeat.

First what do you want? Town/city or something that can hack a regular interstate run. Does it need to carry a sofa or just a suitcase? Does it need 7 seats or will 4/5 do?

$10K could possibly net you a very low end new car but a pretty decent used car so I would go with the latter. For that kind of cash the only thing you will really want to pay extra for after the sale is perhaps a stereo, oil change and some tax. Something 5-7 years old will be quite nice, anything newer and it will be nice but not quite so many features.

Best advice is find yourself a ex-government car lot or a police auction and pick yourself up a car there, they tend to be well maintained with the only bad thing being aerials mounting brackets/holes (and they come with a nice engine).

Ex company cars are usually pretty good. But take special care: if the previous owner does not want to buy it (leaving it for sale to you) there may be a reason.

If there are cars from a small island that is also a good place to look (UK based but some of the mechanics I know buy them in from Jersey, Isle of Man.... and run them on a bed for a couple of hours to get the mileage up.

I am not sure how many ex Japanese cars appear around you (them being right hand drive and all) but they are usually very well maintained (Japan has some serious emissions laws). Import parts can be a pain/expensive to get ahold of though.

Try and bring a decent mechanic with you (a recent service is nice to sell a car with but very little else) but if you are looking by yourself

check for corrosion and check the seals:
wheel arches, lower front panel, boot, doors, front bumper, rear bumper and exhaust mounts are the big ones (this is especially important if you live by the sea/ some area with a lot of salt/ice which is salted. Seals are doors, boot and sunroof (watering can/bottle of water on the sunroof if you can, it is summer and people try to let things slide). Check the paintwork to see if/what has been repaired/dented, the unscrupulous tend to not repair that well.

History, get one and try and see if you new car has been clocked back (a hard one to tell on occasion).
If not at an auction then test drive it or walk away, cars in the US are mainly point and squirt but ram it is 1st, second, reverse and get revs up a bit. Get on an interstate and hit high speed as well for at least 10 minutes.

Tracking, wheel balancing can cost a bit to do and neglecting it can cost a fortune in tyres, at high speed it is fairly obvious if it is out and manuvres/braking heavily can also pick it up.

Brakes: disc brakes only (drum need not apply), check the hand/parking brake on a hill and you will want to emergency stop, the "good options" above should be OK but if they have "just been replaced" make sure they are not bottom of the barrel sort of thing (bad ones will feel soft, may squeal (squealing can also just be a matter of resonance), dust up in a bad way and smoke). Same applies to tyres.

Electrics, save aftermarket stuff not really my area but if you have sensors then check they work (some of the oiks they have changing wheels seem to have tendency to knock them off when you take your car to a change while you wait type place).

Engine:
Open the bonnet up and look to see if the vin matches the one in the car (the last thing you want is a stolen car), call someone and get them to tap it into a database (there are some free ones online).
For functionality you really want someone who knows that they are doing, rev it and listen for rattling, it may just indicate something is not bolted down properly but if it is coming from the cylinders then I say walk away, flushing the cylinders is not hard with the right tools but it is usually several hours labour. Check pipes for holes (both before and after your test run). Check the exhaust while you are at it, you should already know if it is corroded from first inspection but see how it runs (does it rattle and does it kick out too much smoke during normal operation).

Check lights (inside and out), speakers, AC in all possible combinations.

Interior, one of my last concerns usually save a check for seat mountings and belts (if the vehicle has crashed make sure the belts are replaced, a hard one to test in the field). Check the dash is not loose and the that it is comfortable to drive (some smaller cars I can not agree with because of the wheel hitting my legs.

Finally:
There are always more cars and more deals to be had so if there is nothing for you, try again later.