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Buying used car under 5,000
This is the first time I buy a car in the US and I have a budget of around 5k. We live in NYC and need the car only for day trips during the weekend with family (we are 5 but can squeeze). I have zero experience with buying.
A few questions.
The most important one: what are the most reliable cars in this range? I don't want to buy a car and then have to pay a lot for maintenance. How much should I expect to pay in maintenance for a car like that?
Should I try to get cars with lower mileage or newer cars? What is the mileage range I can aim for? And would you rather go to a dealer or a private owner?
I hope this is not too many questions!!!
Thanks.
A few questions.
The most important one: what are the most reliable cars in this range? I don't want to buy a car and then have to pay a lot for maintenance. How much should I expect to pay in maintenance for a car like that?
Should I try to get cars with lower mileage or newer cars? What is the mileage range I can aim for? And would you rather go to a dealer or a private owner?
I hope this is not too many questions!!!
Thanks.
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A car that sells for that much is 75% used up, at least.
For best reliability, choose a car that was very low priced when new. That model will be the newest and lowest mileage example you'll find under $5000, and will give you a better chance of fewer problems.
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Just looked up Enterprise in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
$140/day for an Elantra, on the weekends.
But, you do have to look at the whole picture - not just the purchase price and maintenance/repairs, but insurance and parking, as well.
Where in the 5 boroughs are you, specifically?
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My back of the envelop calculation is the following.
If I buy a car for $5k-$6k and use it every weekend it pays off in about 50 weekends, which is about one year of rental. Of course I have to consider insurance on top of this.
But my biggest trouble is that I don't know how to quantify expenses for potential issues with the car. This is why I am asking this.
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No, unfortunately I don’t know anyone who can sell me a well maintained car.
Just a hard price point to gauge, is all.
If you lived in FL, you could get low mileage cars for that price, all day long, from estate sales.
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