Should I buy this car?

On February 09 2013 09:34 farvacola wrote:
Listen to MDJ, he knows a thing or two about buying cheap cars. Keep in mind though, he is a junkie.

On February 09 2013 08:26 MountainDewJunkie wrote:
First of all, you're asking the wrong questions at the wrong time. You need to test drive this mother fucker before you even contemplate spending money it. Never EVER EVER EVER buy a car without test driving it.

Make sure you drive at speeds where you can hit all 4 gears (I assume the AT is a 4 speeder). Test the brakes, listen to the idle, and drive long enough where you can observe the thermostat. Another thing is check the oil cap. If you find a little bit of whitish pasty stuff on the underside of the lid, it likely has/had a blown/bad head gasket (water in your oil), in which case do not touch the thing with a ten foot pole. Observe the engine block for oil leaks, which are usually manageable if light enough.

Other issues: all lights work? Is the check engine light on? If so, NO GO. Not for someone who doesn't know their stuff. Are the tabs current? Is the title in his name? Is it a CLEAN title and not a salvaged one?

Also, this whole "NEW tranny and Engine" thing... Ask to see the paperwork. Is it really new or does he just mean rebuilt? And by whom? Professionals or just his word-of-mouth (NEVER BELIEVE THE WORD OF MOUTH)? Why did this previous engine and tranny need to be replaced? How many miles are on the vehicle anyway. And there's a difference between rebuilding and engine and tranny professionally compared to just taking a block out of the junkyard and dropping it in. Engine rebuilds/works are usually quite expensive! Why is he only selling for 1k when professional engine and tranny work add up to well over that amount? And how "new?" 5k miles ago? 50k miles ago?

Overall: you don't have nearly enough info to even consider purchasing this vehicle. You need paperwork, a long test drive, and some investigative work.

Oh, and if it has bad tires, you're going to have to immediately eat another $300 - $450 bucks, so if the car isn't all that and a bag of chips, is it worth paying effectively 1400 for a bucket on wheels?

On February 09 2013 13:08 T.O.P. wrote:

Even at $1400, it's a good price to pay for a drive able car. Make sure this car is capable of passing the emissions test.

On February 09 2013 13:55 I_Love_Katheryn wrote:
My dad recently donated his '97 Toyota Corolla and he got zero money for it, probably because it had like 10 thousand miles on it. But I don't know anything about cars so I'm no help.