Best place to find a used car, under 2k.

Look locally as well as Craigslist…perhaps ebay. If you have a mechanic, consult them. With the economy such that it is, many folks are keeping their autos longer. Interpret that as, be extra careful in how you go about judging whether an automobile should be in your driveway! Good luck.

Here’s a list of vehicles in the under $2000 category:

Honda Accord (late 90s)
Ford Ranger (2000-ish)
Subaru Impreza (2000–02)
Hyundai Accent (2000-ish)
Chevy Cavalier (94–2000)
Toyota Celica (90–92)
Ford Taurus (94–99)

Bring a trusted mechanic, you don’t want to spend your hard earned money on a junk.

Spread the word to friends and family and others you know.

You never know when someone might have a vehicle that they would be willing to sell in your price range,

Craigslist is a good source, but…be careful, lots of unscrupulous types.

I’d suggest spending the extra cash on a diagnostic before purchase.

No gaurantees but a bit of an edge and more to go on than just anothers word.

Good luck, my 23 yr. daughter is shopping for a new lower priced car right now too.

There are good finds but you have to be patient.

Try to find an in-family automobile to purchase. an auto a family member is willing to sell you. at least you will know something about this auto.

Stay away from Tote The Note car lots!

You could also check eBay (just look at things that are local and ask if you can check it out before bidding) and in your local paper.

Do you live in a college town? We’ve gotten good used cars from foreign students who have graduated and are going back home. They usually drive conservatively, so the cars are in good shape, and are in a hurry to unload (read: willing to take less money to make a sale).

I have had good luck with private sales, but every car I’ve bought from a dealer was overpriced and had more issues than even the rattiest “Needs some TLC” private sale cars I’ve bought. Used car dealers have a bad rep for a reason, and I have two blown transmissions and a cracked engine block in my past to prove my point.

Sure, you need to know a bit about cars or have a friend who does to separate the junk from the good cars, but you can often tell from the way a CL post is written whether the seller is an unscrupulous jack-off, and those times that you are wrong, it’s pretty easy to figure out when you actually meet them face-to-face to look at the car.

Craigslist and the local paper’s classified ads are probably the best places to consistently find decent used cars. Referrals from friends can be a little iffy unless you have friends like me who are gearheads.

@john65pennington If you knew how most of my family treats cars, that is a good reason to not follow that part of your advice, at least for me. My skull-car and my stepfather’s ‘95 Celica are the only cars on either side of my family that aren’t either a lemon or poorly maintained enough to soon become one. And the last time I trusted my mother (an ex-mechanic) who had a friend (also mechanically inclined) who was looking to unload a car, I got something with irreparable frame rot (enough to never be able to pass state inspection), brake issues, electrical problems… I got my money back, but it cost a friendship.

@laureth The $300, 30MPG, “starts every time” old Corolla I bought off of Craigslist was from a college student. Sweet car and a great deal.

@Tropical_Willie I wouldn’t trust any $2000 Subaru built in this century unless the seller was truly desperate or you are prepared to spend a shitload on repairs.

@jerv

Still driving my 1993 Impreza with 316,000 miles. Couple of rust spots.

Family is your best bet.

it’s going to be tough. By the time a car is only worth 2K most of its usable life is behind it, Waaaaay behind it. Is there a way you can use your cash as a down pmt on a better car? Even a 4K or 5K car will be a better bet. And that is what it usually is, a bet, that the car won’t leave you spending money on it to keep it going. Used car dealers are shifty sometimes. It isn’t like they can honestly vouch for any particular car. They got it used too.

@woodcutter The worst cars I ever owned were the ones I paid the most for and that had the lowest mileage. Maybe it’s quirky luck, but I swear it’s true. I’ve had $500 beaters outlast the $3000 cars my folks got as well. Try replacing the suspension on a Legacy, the block on a Corsica, or the transmission on an SW1; all cost more than giving my far cheaper car a tune up.