I don't have too much money... only about $850 right now... I also don't need a car. But JWC's thread about his $500 bus got me thinking:
Should I buy an old clunker for $500 or less (could be anything really, as long as it has a manual transmission), get it home somehow, and spend the rest of my money buying parts, selling what I don't need and registering it? I have my parents' driveway to store it and I could work on it over the summer. I could also get a year or two's worth out of it before selling it back for what I bought it for.
This probably won't even happen but I want to know if it's even feasible to do it?
Judging by the way you take care of your bicycle, this is a bad idea. :lol:
No. You can't "restore" something in a driveway. And if you don't have extra money right now then it's not the time to be buying something you don't need.
That's just what I think.
Quote from: NACar on October 20, 2008, 08:08:38 PM
Judging by the way you take care of your bicycle, this is a bad idea. :lol:
:cry:
And considering the way you go through cars like people go through food, I'd say you shouldn't be talking.
And my bicycle works fine now. There's nothing wrong with it really.
Quote from: Onslaught on October 20, 2008, 08:10:17 PM
No. You can't "restore" something in a driveway. And if you don't have extra money right now then it's not the time to be buying something you don't need.
That's just what I think.
I wasn't thinking of restoring an old Porsche or something. There's an old Saturn 5 speed something for $300. Get it to a point where it will run and drive it. :huh:
I guess it is a bad idea though. :cry:
http://sandiego.craigslist.org/esd/cto/881866689.html
CA is a lot stricter than OH when it comes to registering cars. My $800 car might not pass inspection over there.
Save your money.
Quote from: NACar on October 20, 2008, 08:13:30 PM
http://sandiego.craigslist.org/esd/cto/881866689.html
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/886390706.html
Fixing an broken car is usually more expensive than buying one that is already fixed, except in the case of retaredly-priced classic collectible cars.
Quote from: thecarnut on October 20, 2008, 08:14:54 PM
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/886390706.html
Aries is ready to go as is.
Saturn for $300 plus a clutch is probably more than $600. Also, a 1996 might need to have a title, or "PINK SLIP" as they call it, or you might not be able to register (depends on the state)
http://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/cto/877987771.html
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/883317130.html
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/scz/cto/880337486.html
Quote from: thecarnut on October 20, 2008, 08:19:43 PM
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/883317130.html
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/scz/cto/880337486.html
Get the NOVAROLLA!!! :cheers:
Quote from: thecarnut on October 20, 2008, 08:24:11 PM
Not the Civic? :cry:
Civic are cool :huh:
JUST GET ONE ALREADY!!!!! :heated:
Quote from: NACar on October 20, 2008, 08:34:33 PM
Civic are cool :huh:
JUST GET ONE ALREADY!!!!! :heated:
I THOUGHT YOU JUST TOLD ME IT'S A BAD IDEA. :rage:
Quote from: thecarnut on October 20, 2008, 08:36:11 PM
I THOUGHT YOU JUST TOLD ME IT'S A BAD IDEA. :rage:
IT'S NOT A $300 SATURN THAT NEEDS A CLUTCH. IT RUNS. GET IT.
I'm just sayin, the Nova looks like a better deal, with half the mileage, and it isn't in a junkyard.
Quote from: NACar on October 20, 2008, 08:36:52 PM
IT'S NOT A $300 SATURN THAT NEEDS A CLUTCH. IT RUNS. GET IT.
I WANT TO. I SHOULD ASK MY PARENTS.
NOVA
I paid $650 for my Novarolla, and it was fine. I paid $300 for the Volvo, and it just needed a power brake booster and a driveshaft U-joint (which brought the total to, like $900 or so). Both of those cars were shitty (well, the Novarolla was pretty decent, actually...), but both were reliable and cheap to keep (well, mostly the Novarolla...).
My advice is to not buy a car that needs real work, and not to go over the top. Don't by a "1984 Porsche 944! Totally runz and is good 2 go! $400". The Corolla and Novarolla both look OK, but the Civic is really high mileage (like the Volvo and that Jeep ;) ).
TELL THE RENTS "I'm buying this cheap, safe, reliable, effecient, Corolla (Nova) with MY money, because I NEED a car, so STFU and go make me a sammich"
Quote from: thecarnut on October 20, 2008, 08:37:17 PM
I WANT TO. I SHOULD ASK MY PARENTS.
Don't do it. NOVA!
Also, yer 18? Don't ask your parents. :huh:
Quote from: NACar on October 20, 2008, 08:41:10 PM
TELL THE RENTS "I'm buying this cheap, safe, reliable, effecient, Corolla (Nova) with MY money, because I NEED a car, so STFU and go make me a sammich"
Well, they'd have to pay for insurance. :lol:
I'm beginning to think this is a dumb idea. I'll have the car but no insurance or gas... I think I should wait till I get a job.
Quote from: thecarnut on October 20, 2008, 08:43:31 PM
Well, they'd have to pay for insurance. :lol:
I'm beginning to think this is a dumb idea. I'll have the car but no insurance or gas... I think I should wait till I get a job.
Buy the damn car. How fucking hard is it to go to your parents and say, "I'm buying a car, can you help me with insurance?"
Quote from: NACar on October 20, 2008, 08:46:27 PM
Buy the damn car. How fucking hard is it to go to your parents and say, "I'm buying a car, can you help me with insurance?"
If they say yes then of course I will buy the car...
They could cancel the insurance on their cars for me and pay way less as I'll be an uber ocassional driver. Plus I'll tell them that I won't go on the highway that much so I'll be safe. :devil:
Quote from: thecarnut on October 20, 2008, 08:47:43 PM
If they say yes then of course I will buy the car...
They could cancel the insurance on their cars for me and pay way less as I'll be an uber ocassional driver. Plus I'll tell them that I won't go on the highway that much so I'll be safe. :devil:
Limited access highways are like the safest places to drive. Accidents happen at intersections.
So anyway, you PROPOSE THIS PLAN TO THEM NOW> DO IT> OR ELSE> ok?
Quote from: NACar on October 20, 2008, 08:54:02 PM
Limited access highways are like the safest places to drive. Accidents happen at intersections.
So anyway, you PROPOSE THIS PLAN TO THEM NOW> DO IT> OR ELSE> ok?
I'll still go on the highway if needed... which isn't very much.
If they say no I'll tell them I'll save up for a bike instead. So it's either a rattley deathtrap or a crotch rocket. :lol:
Quote from: thecarnut on October 20, 2008, 08:57:09 PM
I'll still go on the highway if needed... which isn't very much.
If they say no I'll tell them I'll save up for a bike instead. So it's either a rattley deathtrap or a crotch rocket. :lol:
You won't save up for a bike, you'll buy an $800 bike right NOW if you DON"T GET UR NOVAROLLA!!!!!!! :heated:
Quote from: NACar on October 20, 2008, 09:02:38 PM
You won't save up for a bike, you'll buy an $800 bike right NOW if you DON"T GET UR NOVAROLLA!!!!!!! :heated:
Righit now I can buy the bike, or get the license and the gear, just not both. :cry:
Quote from: thecarnut on October 20, 2008, 09:03:20 PM
Righit now I can buy the bike, or get the license and the gear, just not both. :cry:
You're missing the point. Don't give your parents the choice of a car now, or a bike later. Give them the choice of a car now, or a bike
now.You have to play hardball.
Quote from: NACar on October 20, 2008, 09:04:48 PM
You're missing the point. Don't give your parents the choice of a car now, or a bike later. Give them the choice of a car now, or a bike now.
You have to play hardball.
Well they'll let me get the car and not pay for insurance and so I'll have 2,000 lbs of metal sitting out front.
Quote from: thecarnut on October 20, 2008, 09:06:03 PM
Well they'll let me get the car and not pay for insurance and so I'll have 2,000 lbs of metal sitting out front.
They said this just now? Get an insurance quote for yourself. Get a job. Pay for insurance. Pay for gas. Pay for m0dz.
Quote from: NACar on October 20, 2008, 09:06:58 PM
They said this just now? Get an insurance quote for yourself. Get a job. Pay for insurance. Pay for gas. Pay for m0dz.
If I had a job then I wouldn't even care about asking.
Insurance won't be cheap, necessarily.
Quote from: thecarnut on October 20, 2008, 09:07:50 PM
If I had a job then I wouldn't even care about asking.
If your parents are just going to be evil dictators, then get a fucking job and GTFO of the house.
Suriously.
Quote from: NACar on October 20, 2008, 09:09:00 PM
If your parents are just going to be evil dictators, then get a fucking job and GTFO of the house.
They will probably say no anyways since I don't even need a car...
Psilsos, will it really be that expensive to insure 1 person on a 20 year old car who uses it occasionally? :huh:
Save your money. If you're purchasing a sub-$1K car, you really should have $2K in the bank for repairs, insurance, etc.
Quote from: The Pirate on October 20, 2008, 10:41:16 PM
Save your money. If you're purchasing a sub-$1K car, you really should have $2K in the bank for repairs, insurance, etc.
But even if my parents agreed to pay for gas and insurance it's a bad idea?
Quote from: thecarnut on October 20, 2008, 10:43:41 PM
But even if my parents agreed to pay for gas and insurance it's a bad idea?
I think so. You said you have $850. That leaves almost nothing for repairs. First time something shits the bed (which it will), you'll be parking the the thing til you save up money for a repair.
I still say it's a bad idea.
Quote from: thecarnut on October 20, 2008, 10:37:17 PM
They will probably say no anyways since I don't even need a car...
Psilsos, will it really be that expensive to insure 1 person on a 20 year old car who uses it occasionally? :huh:
Lesse, yer 18, male, been driving for how long? Yeah, it'll be a bit, relative to the price of the car.
Quote from: The Pirate on October 20, 2008, 10:56:55 PM
I think so. You said you have $850. That leaves almost nothing for repairs. First time something shits the bed (which it will), you'll be parking the the thing til you save up money for a repair.
I still say it's a bad idea.
Big deal. :lol:
I had my Novarolla with a job, but still no money, and ditto the Miata (*gasp*). Guess what? No big deal. It's part of being young, doing stupid things.
I say, rag, if you want the car, can afford the car, can afford the insurance, can afford the gas, then get the car.
Quote from: Psilos on October 20, 2008, 11:01:26 PM
Big deal. :lol:
I had my Novarolla with a job, but still no money, and ditto the Miata (*gasp*). Guess what? No big deal. It's part of being young, doing stupid things.
I say, rag, if you want the car, can afford the car, can afford the insurance, can afford the gas, then get the car.
Hehe, not my philosophy at all, but whatever works, I guess. I'd be more inclined to agree with you if he had a job, but he doesn't, so income is going to be tough for repairs, tires, etc.
I do understand where he's coming from though. When I was 16, a buddy was going to sell me his ~1988 Chevy S-10 (super base model - no power steering, no power brakes, 4-cyl 5-speed 2WD). The body was in rough shape, but it ran. Five hundred bucks and it would have been mine. My parents said no, and I was incredibly pissed for a long time.
Income is an important step, anyway. Were I him, I wouldn't buy a car without insurance and gas money. But it's no big end of the world thing for a kid with no money to have a shitty beater.
Quote from: Psilos on October 20, 2008, 11:01:26 PM
Big deal. :lol:
I had my Novarolla with a job, but still no money, and ditto the Miata (*gasp*). Guess what? No big deal. It's part of being young, doing stupid things.
I say, rag, if you want the car, can afford the car, can afford the insurance, can afford the gas, then get the car.
Thing is, an old 5 speed Civic is more fun than any of my parents' cars. Cars are my passion yet I don't have my own car... I also want a stick. My parents will save money on insurance by insuring me in this car only and not in their cars, and gas because I won't have to drive their cars around. My dad could also save on gas and drive it to work when I'm not around if it's reliable enough.
Plus, I'd still have $250 or so for repairs after paying the fees. :lol:
That should cover some things, unless it's something huge like the engine/tranny asploding or the clutch dying.
Haha, no. That Civic is almost certainly a piecer. I managed to have a pretty good time with my Novarolla, and you can, too. It's not like the Civic is gonna handle any better then either 'Rolla with that many miles, anyway. The Nova has a 5-speed. That $250 would cover a bit on an old junker like that, but only if you do all the work. You might be surprised how much simple parts can cost. I paid over $100 for some damn molded plastic connector for the Ranger last May.
Remember, your goal is not most car for littlest money (OMG DIS FERRARI IS AWESEIM FAST AND RUN PERFECTLY $500), but best odds of a reliable car for not much money. It's not like you have an income to keep paying for parts and stuff on a high mileage car. You should look for simple mechanicals, lowest possible miles, and everything important working without signs of fuckery. If you really want a manual transmission, fine, but at that price point, there isn't gonna be a huge difference in how a Civic drives versus a Nova drives.
For that money you can't go for super shiny (perfect body) BUT you need to be looking for something that looks MOSTLY taken care of- too much rust or abuse means the owner probably didn't change the oil, etc...
The cheaper a car is means the less the owner cared about unloading it.
My current Subaru was $2600 from a shady used car dealer- blue book is near $3700-5200. (private party vs. dealership "Good"). It obviously had a bad axle when I drove it (he fixed it) but the dealership wants $1300 to fix the AC and the transmission seems to have some kind of issue that will need work AND it needs a serious valve adjustment.
Drives FINE (I'd take it cross country) but if I don't take care of that stuff soon it will eventually asplode.
Quote from: Psilos on October 21, 2008, 04:17:57 AM
Haha, no. That Civic is almost certainly a piecer. I managed to have a pretty good time with my Novarolla, and you can, too. It's not like the Civic is gonna handle any better then either 'Rolla with that many miles, anyway. The Nova has a 5-speed. That $250 would cover a bit on an old junker like that, but only if you do all the work. You might be surprised how much simple parts can cost. I paid over $100 for some damn molded plastic connector for the Ranger last May.
Remember, your goal is not most car for littlest money (OMG DIS FERRARI IS AWESEIM FAST AND RUN PERFECTLY $500), but best odds of a reliable car for not much money. It's not like you have an income to keep paying for parts and stuff on a high mileage car. You should look for simple mechanicals, lowest possible miles, and everything important working without signs of fuckery. If you really want a manual transmission, fine, but at that price point, there isn't gonna be a huge difference in how a Civic drives versus a Nova drives.
That is true. Plus the Nova is made in Japan right? I wouldn't really trust any American cars from that time period.
Although, you can have lots of fun in a Civic of that era. :lol:
Some of you guys need to learn when to pull the trigger on things and when not to. Don't just buy crap because you can. It might be fun, but saving your money up a little longer and buying something nicer is even more fun. Plus, if you start building your savings, you can start going for fun projects - like how I just bought my Elky. It's a lot more fun to save up, buy a car, build it up, have fun with it, save up more money, buy another car, etc. then to keep going from beater to beater.
Quote from: hotrodalex on October 21, 2008, 01:47:28 PM
Some of you guys need to learn when to pull the trigger on things. Don't just buy crap because you can. It might be fun, but saving your money up a little longer and buying something nicer is even more fun. Plus, if you start building your savings, you can start going for fun projects - like how I just bought my Elky. It's a lot more fun to save up, buy a car, build it up, have fun with it, save up more money, buy another car, etc. then to keep going from beater to beater.
Gotta start somewhere...
Quote from: thecarnut on October 21, 2008, 11:23:41 AM
That is true. Plus the Nova is made in Japan right? I wouldn't really trust any American cars from that time period.
Although, you can have lots of fun in a Civic of that era. :lol:
Yeah, it's actually a Corolla, hence everyone calling it a Novarolla. ;)
Lots of American cars from the '80s will be just as reliable as a crappy Toyota, but they'll be cheaper.
Yeah, but good costs money.
Quote from: hotrodalex on October 21, 2008, 01:47:28 PM
Some of you guys need to learn when to pull the trigger on things. Don't just buy crap because you can. It might be fun, but saving your money up a little longer and buying something nicer is even more fun. Plus, if you start building your savings, you can start going for fun projects - like how I just bought my Elky. It's a lot more fun to save up, buy a car, build it up, have fun with it, save up more money, buy another car, etc. then to keep going from beater to beater.
Whatever
Quote from: hotrodalex on October 21, 2008, 01:47:28 PM
Some of you guys need to learn when to pull the trigger on things. Don't just buy crap because you can. It might be fun, but saving your money up a little longer and buying something nicer is even more fun. Plus, if you start building your savings, you can start going for fun projects - like how I just bought my Elky. It's a lot more fun to save up, buy a car, build it up, have fun with it, save up more money, buy another car, etc. then to keep going from beater to beater.
You're using that phrase incorrectly.
Quote from: Tave on October 23, 2008, 06:55:23 PM
You're using that phrase incorrectly.
Oops, forgot to write half of the sentence. :lol:
It was supposed to say "Some of you guys need to learn when to pull the trigger on things and when not to."