Help me pick out my first car!

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GTP_event / kevinr6287 (farming account)
Well, I had a car planned out to get, but this happened:

It was my brothers car. He is going to college on August 19th. My dad and I had planned to buy the car off of him since he won't need one for college. Then, my brother, decides he wants to stay at the place he is currently working at, a restaurant in our town. The college is only 20 miles away (ugh...) and he wants to keep his car, now. He says that if I buy his car off of him, I would have to give up my Friday nights to drive 20 miles to pick him up and 20 miles back on my gasoline to bring him to work. Plus, this will mean that he will be staying at home on the weekends (double ugh...). The only way he won't be home is if I don't buy his car. I NEED A CAR BEFORE SCHOOL STARTS ON AUGUST 25th!!! I will not ride the bus as a senior!! None of my friends live near me, so I cannot count on a ride.

My mission to you, if you choose to accept it, is to help me find a car for me to drive. Here are the guidelines:
  • Must be under $650 (I'm not rich)
  • Must be running
  • Must have good Gas mileage
  • Preffered models (1984 or later): Cavalier, Neon, Escort, Camry, Tercel, Olds 88 (the model of my ass-brother's car), other economy cars (please, no Korean cars... :indiff: )
  • Preffered to have AC, not mandatory
  • Must be in good condition, as little rust as possible, no structural damage, only minor dings.
  • Manual or Automatic, if it is manual, I can learn from my dad
  • Prefferably within 40 or 50 miles of my house (if you need my zip code, it's 60510), I don't want to spend $400 on shipping
  • Use your jugement, if you were in my situation and needed a car to get to school and back and work and back and had limited funds, would you drive it?
If you don't have the time or don't want to help me, that's fine, just teach me how to fish. The only used car website I know and have looked at is eBay. This help would be greatly appreciated. This sounds like a fun project for GTP'ers, being the car nuts you are. I will do my part, too in this search.
 
I doubt seriously that you will find a car with those parameters.
650 bucks pays for junk or if you are extremely lucky, a car that someone is getting rid of for something new and could car less about what he/ she sells the old car for.
If it was me, I'd check out some local Hondas, from individuals.
Cavaliers, Neons are good, reliable transportations and with so many of them being around, should find something in the 1000 price range.
Remember, in the 650 price range, your getting someone elses junk or about to be broke down car.
Ppl only sell cars for two things, something is going wrong with them and they are selling before they have to do the maintenance and them wanting to buy a new car.
Good luck in your search.
Check the classifieds, local auto news sales brochure and don't be picky when it comes to cars less than a grand.
Misnblu
 
Get an older motorcycle, there really cheap. 👍
 
Well, My brother bought his car for $475. 1989 Olds 88 with 140K miles. Power everything with A/C. All it needed were som tires and a tiny bit of brake work, which my dad can do. I've already found an 89 Cavalier with everything I am looking for for $600.
 
Sounds good on the Cavy.
They're easy cars to work on and parts are dirt cheap as there are so many of them.
Don't expect alot of power with the Cavy unless it has the 3.1v6 engine in it.
If you need some info on the car, check out J-body.org. This is the premier Cavalier/ Sunfire website on the planet.
Good luck.
Misnblu
 
I'm not looking for power. This is strictly a point A to point B an on weekends to point C car.
 
Get a mini, they look good, they are cheap to run and you could pretend to be in the italian job and drive all over the place!:dopey:
 
Keep checking the classifieds - in the past few weeks there's been 323s and B-series trucks for $650 or less.

I'm currently looking for another car before school starts on Aug 19th(yikes), I have more money to spend but more strict requirements.
 
Event Horizon
Well, I had a car planned out to get, but this happened:
Click to expand...

Okay - on cars.com, there are about nine vehicles which match your conditions. Not to worry! A few of them are okay! :)

- '89 Ford Probe GT: manual, 4-cylinder, 174,670mi, $695
This car seems okay - practically nothing on it; the pop-up headlights are stuck in the up position which is better than if they were stuck down. :D One problem is that it's at a Saturn dealer in Libertyville meaning that it won't come down on the price.
- '87 Ford Country Squire: auto, 5.0 V8, 151,700mi, $595
Good spec here - AM/FM/cassette, air-con, cruise control, power windows, mirrors, and locks, intermittent wipers, and power steering. I'll grant you that it's a huge station wagon, but it'd be easy to work on and practical if you can afford the gas mileage. It's also at a Chevrolet dealer in Bridgeview so they might come down to $570 if you really haggled. :D The vehicle was built in Canada.
- '91 Mercury Topaz GS: auto, 2.3 4-cylinder, 112,000mi, $500
The ad doesn't say much, but mileage is fairly low, the price is good, it's an automatic, and, best of all, it runs.
- '86 Toyota Corolla sedan: manual, 4-cylinder, 107,000mi, $499
It doesn't look like it's in the best condition, and even someone not looking for a powerful car will be disappointed by this thing's acceleration, but mileage is low, and it's got air-con, power windows and a radio.
- '92 Pontiac Sunbird SE: auto, 2.0 4-cylinder, 164,210mi, $495
It's $495, has average miles, is in average condition, and has average spec. I think this one's kind of funny because the ad says "deluxe wheel covers" when in reality the picture shows the hubcaps have fallen off leaving the unpainted steel wheel underneath. I'll admit - it seems deluxe.

Of those, the Ford Country Squire's my favourite - lots of stuff, easy to work on, huge storage area making it practical, cheap (except for gas), and considering it's 17 years old, good mileage. Second is that Topaz, for many of the same reasons.
 
Thanks for the Help, M5Power. I will run some of these and the ones that I found on Autotrader by my dad.
 
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