I have a friend who is looking for a reliable car for around $5,000. That's not exactly my area of expertise (if I was looking in that price range I'd be drawn to decrepit Alfas, a miled-up SLK or a dead 924). Thanks for any and all suggestions!
Yeah spend 3500 on the car, 750 on what you know about, 750 on surprises.Does he have a budget for repairs, at least to freshen up the car? Change all fluids, brakes, filters, probably some hoses, tires, etc.
My co-worker was selling his '12 coupe EX w/nav and same mileage for $7k, but I opted for a '16 Santa Fe for $5k from a colleague; hopefully the 2.4 won't grenade on me if I keep it.I recently sold a slightly hail damaged '12 Honda Accord LX with 150k to the neighbors daughter for $4,500. Keep an eye out, you can get a LOT of car for $5k.
Oh boy... Good luck. Will send a couple prayers your way.My co-worker was selling his '12 coupe EX w/nav and same mileage for $7k, but I opted for the '16 Santa Fe for $5k from a colleague; hopefully the 2.4 won't grenade on me if I keep it.
Had some cars from Florida, rust will still be present. Salty air does it's job. It's also very common to see how one side of the car is more rusty than the other. That's usually a result of which side faces the ocean, when the owner parks it in driveway.I just searched AutoTrader in Zip Code 33478, 100 mile radius, $4,000-6,000, and got a number of results. Some "seem" viable. While many were from 2002-2006, there were some newer cars, and a few EV's.
As always, a low price used car is a risk and even a good inspection won't pick up all internal problems.
South Florida is a great place to pick up a used car. No rust, and smooth roads, so suspension components are not destroyed and cars don't rattle. They can be sun-baked though.
Found a clean, local 2011 Equinox with 3.0L engine, 110K miles in that list. Those engines make about 170K if maintained at all and transmissions over 200K.