What was the cheapest car you ever bought?

Question

Tell me about it. I wanna knw how to get a cheap car

Answer 1

A couple of years ago I got a 1991 Ford Probe for $175.
A dealer in our area needed to clear out some used inventory so he had a Slasher sale where you would sit in a car and honk the horn and "the slasher" would come and slash the price. You could then haggle with him from there. The car was marketed at like $3000 which was very high but I got it for $175. It had about 125k miles on it but was in pretty good shape.
I bought it so I could learn to drive stick shift so I wouldn't mess up the transmission on the acura that I really wanted to buy.
I drove the car for 6 months, got good at driving a manual transmission then sold it for $900.

One of the best negotiating techniques is not being afraid to walk away. I didn't need the car but thought it would be useful if I could get it cheap enough. You can't always make a great deal happen in your time either...sometimes you just have to wait and keep your eyes open and be patient.

Answer 2

When I was 16, I bought a 10 year old Toyota car (worth about $1000-1200) for $10. There was a promo going on at a local car lot where they said ALL PRICES WILL BE SLASHED and said that one (or more) cars would be marked to $10.

So the night before we scoped out the lot, and almost all the cars were 1-3 years old, and in the middle theres this 10 year old car... pretty obvious. So my dad dropped me off at 5Am with a sleeping bag and a lawn chair, and I camped out for a few hours until they let me sit in the car. And then at 10Am they came and slashed the price to $10, and I got first dibs on it since i was sitting in it. Bought it and took it home--- ran great too!!

Answer 3

I bought my first car from a lady my mom knew. It was a 1980 baby blue Ford Mustang P.O.S. Ran fine, 'til I got it home. After that I bought a 1995 Ford Escort LX for $8995 from the local Used Ford dealer. I loved that car. Got the financing on my own and paid it off all on my own.

Establish some type of credit before you go out and try to buy a car from a dealership. At least 1 year of good credit (paying off a department store credit card every month) will help tremendously!

Answer 4

I bought an Austin A30 car for £1, ($2) many years back. The engine had a failed big end bearing and the owner just wanted to get rid of it.
I actually did not repair it but took it apart for spares which I sold.
It was harder than I expected as I then had a non-mobile body to dispose of. Cut it into 4 pieces with a saw and cold chisel and loaded it into a van to take it to the dump.

Answer 5

anything that is cheap is not much of a bargain.--- a free car on the way out the door may cost mucho bucks to keep it on the road............... I bought a '55 Chevy 210-series when it was about 10 years old for $99.50 and it ran like a top for 2 years and then I sold it back to the guy I bought it from for $100.00.. If you want to find a low dollar price on a car -- start by going to all the big car dealers and try to buy a push-off or wholesale ride that they do not want on their lot.. talk to the sales manager and give him your sob story why you need a cheap car and see what works for you.and low $$$'s...............

Answer 6

The best way is to get one cheap or free from a friend or family member you trust.

Failing that: look in your local penny saver classified papers. Newspaper classifieds. Community bulletin boards (on school campuses or in supermarkets, usually). Look in large parking lots, usually near the road. Actually, keep a look out everywhere for cars with for sale signs on them. Also look in park-and-sell lots, where people park cars to sell themselves.

DO NOT look at dealers. Vanishingly few actually sell cheap (like sub-2000 dollar) cars, and if they do, they're usually complete basket cases, and WAY overpriced.

Go with someone who knows cars. The list of things you have to check is long...knowing what to look for will keep your cheap car from turning into an expensive one. The main thing: No unexplained or explained-but-bad sounds, and no smells from the engine bay other than a faint oily scent.


My cars:
1977 Chevy Nova - 1000 dollars in 1996
1984 Toyota Corolla - 1600 dollars in 2001 (this was in Alaska...it's a good Alaska car...the market there is a little weird)
1989 Plymouth Colt - 1100 dollars in 2002 (at a dealer...Otis Auto Sales in Seaside, CA...he's one of the good guys) Shouldn't have sold it.
1977 Datsun 280z - TOO MUCH. In 2003 Biggest mistake I ever made.
1996 Ford Thunderbird - 3200 in 2004
1996 Miata - 5000 in 2006. Crashed it.
1992 Honda Accord - 1200 in 2006. Excellent car, but beat to hell.

Answer 7

I 'took possession' of an Austin A30 in 19 Godknowswhen. i won't be in a position to declare that I 'offered it', as a chum gave me 4 shillings and one penny (approximately 20p right this moment) to take it far off from him. the quantity grow to be agreed through fact this grow to be the main inexpensive value for a gallon of petrol on the time! Ask your father if he recollects 'Jet'. besides, what are those litres? The A30 grow to be historical even then and grow to get replaced by using the up-marketplace A35 which had a distant gearbox quite than the previous direct hyperlink - and a brilliant rear window! Such luxurious! super autos. sluggish, poorly dealing with yet they went on continually - and nonetheless do. amazing warmers. So who's the fool? I offered the two the A30 and a later A35 for £17.50 each and each and theory that i grow to be damned clever. right this moment, sturdy ones fetch a relative fortune. perchance you and your dad might have cautioned me extra useful! nonetheless, if I had had a 'start up-up' fund of fifteen quid like your dad, in basic terms think of how many A30's and A35's i might desire to have offered! suitable desires and sustain the sturdy artwork. Britain desires human beings such as you.

Answer 8

Zero. I found it abandoned in an orange grove. I took the wheels and tires and got them to hold air and then pushed the car home with my buddies. I fixed it up in High School Auto Shop and registered it just before my sixteenth birthday.
When I told the DMV how I got it they gave me a stern lecture, but after the title search came back they let me license it.
The next car was $35.00 from a neighbor. Also not running. I took my driving test in that one.

Answer 9

I bought a car for $900.00 when I was in the military. I went to motor vehicle office with it and on the way home the brake master cylinder took a crap. It sat there for months until I sold it to a mechanic for $400.00.

Answer 10

'68 VW Golf when I was in Germany. It was a German spec car and I only paid $120 for it.

I did get an '85 Ford Ranger 4X4 for free from a guy going to jail for his 3rd DUI. It cost me $35 at the DMV to register it