anyone selling their older cars for cheap? God sister is turning 16 soon, needs first car

Helping my aunt find a cheaper/older car for my god sister who is about to get her license. Found some stuff on Craigslist but figured I'd come here because I'd rather put my trust in the TW community hahaha

Shes looking to spend hopefully under 4k. The lower the better considering it is gonna be a "first car".

Let me know if you / anyone you know is trying to get rid of their older car!

Located in Orange county

 

Honda civic/accord or Toyota Corolla. Can personally vouch the older accords and civics are literally bulletproof. My first car was a 94 accord family got brand new, never changed the oil, tried slamming it in reverse while in drive etc, car simply would not die

 

Yeah I had a '96 4runner and that thing was my child for a whillleee. I'll have my aunt check those options too

 

Too bad you were not in Ontario, Canada. I will be selling my fathers 2006 Toyota Corolla with 97K Kms (about 60K miles) as he is in retirement home. It has AC, cruise, PW, remote entry etc. in great condition with no accidents or rust and he bought it new and serviced every 6 months. I will sell for $3000 Cdn. which is a little over $2000 US.

 

Wife and I are going to be getting rid of our 2009 Pontiac Vibe in the next few months. Let me know if you're interested.

 

I understand that it has been traditional for first time drivers to either get a hand me down or a cheap used car but. Is that the best way to go about it? All too often the cheap used car will need more repairs (may nickle and dime her), may not be as safe or reliable as a new car. If she has 4k I would consider a basic new car and if she has a job let her make payments. The car will have a warranty, should be reliable, safer and helps her develop a better credit history (as long as she does not default on it) as well as have a better value for her when she wants to move up. Of course insurance costs may be the biggest factor.

 

My brother looked for a car in this area for 5-6k for my nephew. Took him 8 months to find a Honda Civic he purchased. They go quick. You have to jump on it right away. By the time he got there, the seller realized his mistake and honored the price. He had 50 emails before my brother arrived cash in hand.

Most everything he looked at was junk. But there are decent cars if you're patient and quick to act. He looked at probably 20 cars that he walked away from. Anything good was priced accordingly. If not, they're gone in less than an hour.

 

Insurance will be the biggest factor. The older the car the cheaper it is. Watch out for craigslist though, when I was looking for a cheap vehicle to just leave in a different property, I came across lots of Honda's and Toyota's the said xxx miles then at the time I had unlimited carfax and they would come back with mileage 2 to 3 times more than what the odometer says.

 

Any year Toyota Corolla will suit her fine. I used a 93 for many years as my surf board/beach beater

 

Corolla. I miss mine

 

Called mine the silver surfer had to of had 15lbs of sand in the carpets and seats.

 

Same. Those seats had to have absorbed my body weight in salt water by the time it was totaled.

 

Damn total. I sold mine to my neighbor for his daughter for a plate lunch lol.

 

90s Camry, I swear those things are made from nokia phones, absolute tanks

 

Neighbors 95 Camry is still ticking. It was the purple one but the sun has turned into a gray fade now lol.

 

my dad had a baby blue 96, learned to drive in that thing and she took a beating, still ran like new when he sold it.

 

There’s a sign in my local dealership that says “1993 Camry has been recalled! Not cause of any mechanical or electrical issue, but because you should bought something new by now”. I laughed so hard

 

3 years ago my girlfriends honda died (engine)
She could not afford a new car so i found her a 92 corolla for $1100 with 100k and no rust
Car is still going - biggest repair was ac compressor which was done by a friend
Runs non stop great gas mileage

If you go corolla some where around 2000 they started using a timing chain which would be a plus
Have to be ready to buy they go fast

 

I agree with most sentiments here. If you want to get creative I really like the idea of a entry level new car, with new car incentives, co-sign and make sure she is on the loan. The credit bump she will get will be worth many times over the 4k in future financing rates. I work in finance and sadly, credit scores really drive many options for people. Just my 2c.

 

Corolla's and Camry's are great cars, just wasn't doing for me in the looks department. Civics and Accords are equally great and just as solid and go for about the same $. Plenty of them around in SoCal. I'd avoid the modded ones.
I'd spend no more than $2.5K on one as pretty much all used cars need something. Main thing to look out for are all the lights on the dash light up when the car is on/started. People hide the check engine light!