Going several hours to buy a car

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ram_man

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Hey everyone, so I am selling my dart and am going to buy a car that's paid for. Going to call it my Dave Ramsey mobile. Anyway I want a Saturn s series and I want a manual everything else isnt important to me
Which I realize this makes buying a cheap car harder but I found one that looks great its in Nashville. So quite a ways I cannot find any decent s series near me. Would you drive to buy a car like that? Am I crazy for even considering it? I want to spend no more than 2,000 what do you all think?
 
Sounds like a great idea!
Make sure to let us know how this works out for you
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I've done it before. The most recent vehicle I purchased was a road trip that was 6 hours one way. I am extremely satisfied with the result.
 
My sienna was 4-5 hours away, I forget. It was the only one in my region that had a cheaper option package that still had ABS. So I figured I would pay money in gas, to save several hundred if not over a thousand, that the next higher options package would cost. Price out the expenses of the trip, and add it to the car. Would you pay that much for it if it were down the street?
 
You own or what do you owe on the Dodge?
My dad use to be into old cars when I was growing up. He and a friend drove all the way from Toledo, OH to Iowa to look at a mid 60's GTO.
The guy selling it lied about it's condition. The same thing happened again when he drove to Cincinnati and a magnet wouldn't stick to the GTO he looked at that
had Bondo all over it. The same thing happened to me once. I drove a long distance to look at a Nissan Sentra SER that had a clean Carfax, but was apperenmley in an accident. White over spray was under the car and the airbags looked like they popped. I asked the owner and he stated he disabled the airbags because he had a young kid.
Forget the pictures you may have seen of the Saturn.

Going a long distance to look at one old cheap POS is often a mistake. But what Warstud said makes sense if your open minded.
 
If it’s a well maintained car at a good price it’s well worth the trip, don’t be afraid to say no just because you drove a long way though if there are any issues
 
3 years ago I drove with a friend and trailer 5 hours into California to buy a Mitsubishi Montero for a project. It was misrepresented and I drove home without it. Are you prepared to look at the car objectively and drive home empty if it isn't what you think?

New cars turn up every day on CL, Autotrader, etc. Maybe your search should be the best $2000 car possible and give yourself more options?
 
Originally Posted By: AZjeff
3 years ago I drove with a friend and trailer 5 hours into California to buy a Mitsubishi Montero for a project. It was misrepresented and I drove home without it. Are you prepared to look at the car objectively and drive home empty if it isn't what you think?

New cars turn up every day on CL, Autotrader, etc. Maybe your search should be the best $2000 car possible and give yourself more options?


Logically speaking I realize being open minded would make finding a car so much easier but I really just want a Saturn again. Besides the Saturn fans community that is awesome. I also have spare parts and a knowledge of them that I dont have with other cars. Granted I know how to work other cars, I really know the Saturns pretty well
 
Part of liking rare or unusual vehicles is a willingness to travel to get them.

More than once I have flown to a car with the intent to either drive it back or be out the money for flights.
 
Sure, I drove about 4 hours round trip for my Sonata.

Once I drove 5 hours round trip for a Corolla that was in absolute terrible shape, it looked like a brand new car in the pictures. I wasn't happy...
 
Wait a month. Your dart's running fine, right, so there's no super hurry. Set up a craigslist alert. Buy locally. I waited several months for my 2nd prius and bought it within a few hours of its being listed.

You could also consider a 98-02 corolla or prizm, they aren't much different from saturns and sell very cheap.
 
your bargaining power is severely diminished if the seller realizes you've drove all day to purchase...I'd keep the travel part quiet.
 
Back in 2010 I flew to Dallas to buy a neon. It was a one owner 54k mi 2005 sxt.

Now granted,That one owner was my brother...but I paid him cash, bought my buddy and I plane tickets,(ROAD TRIP!) and had an 1100mi "test drive"...

Id do it again in a heartbeat, but my brother moved back here...

As a side note, said buddy is currently driving said neon.

It now belongs to his little brother, who went into the army last year, and hasn't come to collect it yet. ( Why is he driving his brothers car? It's A/C still works, his vibe's doesn't...)
 
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Originally Posted By: ram_man

Logically speaking I realize being open minded would make finding a car so much easier but I really just want a Saturn again. Besides the Saturn fans community that is awesome. I also have spare parts and a knowledge of them that I dont have with other cars. Granted I know how to work other cars, I really know the Saturns pretty well


You're combining getting out of debt (Dave Ramsey angle)
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with a platform you're familiar with
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, with a Saturn fanboy forum you like
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- 2 out of 3 not bad. Fanboy forums tend to encourage spending on unnecessary mods.. who will win out, Dave or the fanboys?
 
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