Getting Rid of the Lexus and Need Help

[RunHappy]

I had always been one of those car owners who would drive their cars into the ground. Then when I hit my mid 30's I decided to lease a Lexus <don't judge>.  The lease is now nearing the end and I am planning to just turn it back in and consider it a lesson learned.

Since the time I leased it, I embraced a new level of frugality and would like to be a lot smarter about buying my next car.  The 3 cars (all Saturns) I had before never cost more than $15k, but I always bought them from a dealer.

I'm looking for a commuter car now and my car budget is $10k.  Most of the cars at the dealers in that price range are very high in milage, but I see some cars on Autotrader.com with lower miles.  The only thing is these cars are from private sellers or local car shops.

How do I go about buying a good used car for less than $10k when I know nothing about cars.  I've been doing my research here  and on Edmunds, so I've narrowed down the cars that would fit my needs.  I'm not a mechanic (and I don't know one), but  want to make sure I'm not just buying someone else's problem. 

Thank you!

P.S. I am a woman and one reason I always drove my cars into the ground is because I find the car lot an intimidating place.

[Fishingmn]

I think you have 3 options ranking from most expensive/reliable to least expensive/risky -

1 - Find a mechanic and do a pre-sale inspection. Ask friends for recommendations or check Yelp, Google+ or Angie's List for reviews.

2 - Pay for a Carfax - This should give you some vehicle history on accidents and service

3 - Ask seller for maintenance records and hope you can trust what you're getting. I'd be more trusting if I was meeting them at their own residence and they were a little older.

If you aren't comfortable with any of those I'd just pay the premium and go to a dealer used car lot. You can do a lot of research on places like Autotrader and even negotiate online so you don't have to deal with the stress of being there in person.

[luigi49]

I had always been one of those car owners who would drive their cars into the ground. Then when I hit my mid 30's I decided to lease a Lexus <don't judge>.  The lease is now nearing the end and I am planning to just turn it back in and consider it a lesson learned.

Since the time I leased it, I embraced a new level of frugality and would like to be a lot smarter about buying my next car.  The 3 cars (all Saturns) I had before never cost more than $15k, but I always bought them from a dealer.

I'm looking for a commuter car now and my car budget is $10k.  Most of the cars at the dealers in that price range are very high in milage, but I see some cars on Autotrader.com with lower miles.  The only thing is these cars are from private sellers or local car shops.

How do I go about buying a good used car for less than $10k when I know nothing about cars.  I've been doing my research here  and on Edmunds, so I've narrowed down the cars that would fit my needs.  I'm not a mechanic (and I don't know one), but  want to make sure I'm not just buying someone else's problem. 

Thank you!

P.S. I am a woman and one reason I always drove my cars into the ground is because I find the car lot an intimidating place.

Bring a mechanic with you. 

[mpg350]

I would use the website truedelta.com you can research the cars you like and find out which years
are better than others.

You would be surprised for some models say a 2008 might be just avg but the 2009 model might be super reliable.

[Retired To Win]

I would ask:

-- Why $10K for a budget?  How did you come up with that number?

-- What would you consider high mileage?  My 1996 Dodge Dakota has over 136,000 miles on it and runs like a champ.

-- Why worry about running a car into the ground when there are Jiffy Lubes all over the place?  I know very little about vehicle maintenance, but I credit regular visits to Jiffy Lubes for having an older vehicle that runs great.

And, yes, have a mechanic check your prospective vehicle before closing the deal.  That is something that has always paid off for me.

Good luck with the car purchase!

[Eric]

How have you been able to drive your cars into the ground in the past without having a mechanic?  Cars need maintenance.  This is a fact of car ownership.  I would find a reliable trustworthy local mechanic who you feel comfortable with.  You're going to need to have a mechanic after you buy the car anyway.  I'd ask my social network for recommendations and then use Yelp to narrow it down to a couple.  Then call or stop by and just talk to the owner or operator and see if you click.  Communication is as important as skill in my opinion.  Let them know you're buying a car and ask them how they handle pre-purchase inspections.

One note, the best shops are usually not the cheapest.  However, in the long run, you're going to save money over going to a Pep Boys, Midas, Firestone, or any of the other chain stores that lure you in with cheaper prices only to perform worse work.

[RunHappy]

I guess I didn't give enough background info.  I drove 2 to the point of costing too much for maintenance.   They both hadapprox 250k miles on them (awesome cross country trips).  The third one is actually still running.  It is a 2004 Saturn Vue.  When I got my Lexus I didnt see a need for 2 cars so I gave it to my cousin who needed a "new" one but didnt have any money.  When I last saw it it had 190k miles on it.

I moved from MD to Texas last year so I've just been taking my Lexus to the dealer for maintenance since it is free.  So I don't have a mechanic in Texas.

I came up 10k as a budget because it is about 1/3 of my cash on hand savings (not investments).  I am a road warrior so most of my trips are to and from the airport although I may be moving to NH.

Ive been looking at the Nissan Versa (sedan and hatchback) and the Toyota Yaris. 

[Airc00led]

Hi Runhappy, I hope I can offer some advice and encouragement. I'm a lifelong car nut and DIY mechanic which may seem counter to Mustachianism but my frugality has always held my wallet in check.

Based on my experience in buying used, I recommend a prepurchase inspection. There are people who are "mobile inspectors" meaning they will meet you where you need them. That will depend on your geographic location but they are pretty common. You may be able to find one on Yelp or other such websites.

I've had better luck buying from private sellers. I've typically seen much better records that they tend to keep in their glove box. I've seen where dealer employees threw out old records as they cleaned the car for sale.

$10k is a good sized budget IMO. I don't know what size and brands you're partial to but if you liked the Lexus, a Toyota would suit your tastes and budget well. Plus, with Camrys and Corollas so plentiful due to production numbers you should have a big selection with many different price points.

Finally, an out of the blue recommendation. I believe everyone is much more mechanically capable than they give themselves credit for, certainly able to learn more than they think they can. While I would still recommend a PPI from a mobile inspector or indie mechanic, IF you decided in advance on a particular model, you could purchase the repair manual for it in advance and commit to learning one simple thing like an oil change. Or, I bet there is a YouTube video for it. One small victory under your belt like that dispels much of the mystery under the hood of a car. Which in turn reduces the intimidation you may feel around the whole car process.

[WESTOFTHEHUDSON]

I would tell everyone you know that you're interested in buying a new (to you) vehicle. We bought our most recent car from a coworker of my husband's. We knew that they bought it with bells and whistles and took great care of it (i.e. she never came to work wearing a neck brace from having an accident with it....). We don't have a mechanic friend but knowing who drove it made us feel a lot more confident.

We also recently sold a car and the person who bought it from us, took it down to the dealership that handles that make and they paid for an oil change (because it was due) and a once over of the car. I'm not sure how much it cost them but I doubt a lot and he was a lot happier when he told us what we already knew, that it ran like a beauty and just needed one thing tightened somewhere.

Good Luck!

I also heart consumer reports in a huge way and your library card most likely allows you to access it for free.

[Dicey]

I had always been one of those car owners who would drive their cars into the ground. Then when I hit my mid 30's I decided to lease a Lexus <don't judge>.  The lease is now nearing the end and I am planning to just turn it back in and consider it a lesson learned.

Since the time I leased it, I embraced a new level of frugality and would like to be a lot smarter about buying my next car.  The 3 cars (all Saturns) I had before never cost more than $15k, but I always bought them from a dealer.

I'm looking for a commuter car now and my car budget is $10k.  Most of the cars at the dealers in that price range are very high in milage, but I see some cars on Autotrader.com with lower miles.  The only thing is these cars are from private sellers or local car shops.

How do I go about buying a good used car for less than $10k when I know nothing about cars.  I've been doing my research here  and on Edmunds, so I've narrowed down the cars that would fit my needs.  I'm not a mechanic (and I don't know one), but  want to make sure I'm not just buying someone else's problem. 

Thank you!

P.S. I am a woman and one reason I always drove my cars into the ground is because I find the car lot an intimidating place.

Bring a mechanic with you.

Luigi49, since the OP said she didn't know a mechanic, would you have any suggestions as to how, exactly, she should find one?

[luigi49]

yaris is a good choice.

[luigi49]

I had always been one of those car owners who would drive their cars into the ground. Then when I hit my mid 30's I decided to lease a Lexus <don't judge>.  The lease is now nearing the end and I am planning to just turn it back in and consider it a lesson learned.

Since the time I leased it, I embraced a new level of frugality and would like to be a lot smarter about buying my next car.  The 3 cars (all Saturns) I had before never cost more than $15k, but I always bought them from a dealer.

I'm looking for a commuter car now and my car budget is $10k.  Most of the cars at the dealers in that price range are very high in milage, but I see some cars on Autotrader.com with lower miles.  The only thing is these cars are from private sellers or local car shops.

How do I go about buying a good used car for less than $10k when I know nothing about cars.  I've been doing my research here  and on Edmunds, so I've narrowed down the cars that would fit my needs.  I'm not a mechanic (and I don't know one), but  want to make sure I'm not just buying someone else's problem. 

Thank you!

P.S. I am a woman and one reason I always drove my cars into the ground is because I find the car lot an intimidating place.

Bring a mechanic with you.

Luigi49, since the OP said she didn't know a mechanic, would you have any suggestions as to how, exactly, she should find one?

I would go with word of mouth.  Ask from people she works with if they know any good mechanic. 

[RunHappy]

These are all good suggestions and I think I'll reach out to a couple of my parents friends who know just about everyone in the community to find a good mechamic recommendation.

I think Ill take the advice and learn basic maintenence like changing oil, and whatever else basic entails.  It will save some money.

Thanks for all the help, I'll post back with the outcome.

[daverobev]

Same reply as ever:

Civic, Corolla, Vibe/Matrix. Ideally manual trans (autos have known probs certain years in most of these). Avoid 2006-2009 Civics (engine issues).

The Vibe is basically the same as a Matrix; the matrix is basically a Corolla. Any of them should go to 250+ thousand miles no problem.

There should be a glut of 3-4 year old cars on the market, as after the recession everyone bought new.

As to the mechanic - agreed, reach out to people who know someone they can recommend.But also - you've driven cars several hundred thousand miles. If you drive 2-3 of the same model/engine you should be able to feel if they are good or not.