Submitted by GNL
What is the best deal you ever got on a car?
-----------------------------------------------------
It is my sincere desire to provide readers of this site with the best unbiased information available, and a forum where it can be discussed openly, as our Founders intended. But it is not easy nor inexpensive to do so, especially when those who wish to prevent us from making the truth known, attack us without mercy on all fronts on a daily basis. So each time you visit the site, I would ask that you consider the value that you receive and have received from The Burning Platform and the community of which you are a vital part. I can't do it all alone, and I need your help and support to keep it alive. Please consider contributing an amount commensurate to the value that you receive from this site and community, or even by becoming a sustaining supporter through periodic contributions. [Burning Platform LLC - PO Box 1520 Kulpsville, PA 19443] or Paypal
-----------------------------------------------------
To donate via Stripe, click here.
-----------------------------------------------------
Use promo code ILMF2, and save up to 66% on all MyPillow purchases. (The Burning Platform benefits when you use this promo code.)
It is my sincere desire to provide readers of this site with the best unbiased information available, and a forum where it can be discussed openly, as our Founders intended. But it is not easy nor inexpensive to do so, especially when those who wish to prevent us from making the truth known, attack us without mercy on all fronts on a daily basis. So each time you visit the site, I would ask that you consider the value that you receive and have received from The Burning Platform and the community of which you are a vital part. I can't do it all alone, and I need your help and support to keep it alive. Please consider contributing an amount commensurate to the value that you receive from this site and community, or even by becoming a sustaining supporter through periodic contributions. [Burning Platform LLC - PO Box 1520 Kulpsville, PA 19443] or Paypal
-----------------------------------------------------
To donate via Stripe, click here.
-----------------------------------------------------
Use promo code ILMF2, and save up to 66% on all MyPillow purchases. (The Burning Platform benefits when you use this promo code.)
Click to visit the TBP Store for Great TBP Merchandise
In early 2009 bought a 2006 Buick LaCrosse w/ 25,000 mi. for $10K cash, the dealer wanted $17K.
Still have a VCR tape of “Used Cars”.
That’s a great movie.
In 1993 l bought a 1987 honda with a cracked head for $500.00 from a mechanic. Fixed it that day and drove it home that night. Wanted me to go to work for him but l told him l couldn’t because l made more money off of him on the golf course.
My 2nd best was buying a new, 2014 Jetta TDI Wagon. Drove it 250K, my grandson drives it today at Florence State, er North Alabama, w/ 310K miles. Spent $2K in repairs total, changed my own oil/filter.
Wow Florence State. I graduated from Athens State (third tier school), eh North Alabama too. ;0
2011 4×5 Tacoma for $18,250. It’s about worth that today (in devalued dollars of course). Still have it and it’s running great. Only 98k on it.
Bought it new in 2011
Bought 1978 Firebird Trans Am for just under $6k put almost 50k miles on it in 2yrs and sold it for what I paid for it! Drove for 2yrs for gas + oil changes + set of cheap tires. Although should have kept it….
Bought a 65 Mustang convertible, drove it until 1969. Much like you I sold it for what I paid for it and took a 64 Ford sedan on top of the deal. Only car I ever made money on.
I was 17. Went to the Ann Arbor city car auction. Bought a Chevy Nova station wagon with 89K miles full of porn in the back. Was owned by a service man that was stationed in Alaska. Paid $12. No key but stuck a screw driver in the ignition and it started right up. Drove it home that day. I drove that car until it had 175K miles. Gave it to my sister who abandoned it when something in the front end broke. Th car had 269K miles on it. Those Chevy straight six motors were unstoppable.
I read that the first time as $12,000. $12.00 was a helluva deal. The porn alone was worth that.
To a 17 y-o, the porn was worth much more, as it could be sold to your buddies after you finished using it for your own pleasure.
Repetitive stress injury leading to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is painful. but it does promote diversity. Could switch hands and gain a stroke.
you win. I paid $20 for my ’76 Nova with 60k on the odo.
It did have a key however.
And I sold it for $200 with 300k on the odometer.
The straight 6’s were unstoppable.
Tended to drift however, especially in Quebec ice storms
We got a Nissan cube. Funny looking, but big on the inside and big tires. Excellent for Alaska driving. The guy had advertised the car on Craigslist for about 10 Grand. He said it had 28,000 miles. When I looked at the car, I was this car seems brand new. Tires almost no wear, smelled new, windows perfect, etc… I looked at the mileage with my reading glasses off. I saw 28 something. It drove perfect and told wife it’s perfect, almost like it was never driven, and we got it for the 10 grand, and the brand-new studded snow tires were included. I drove it home and had a hunch, at a light I put my glasses on and saw the 2800 was on Trip A. When I looked at the real mileage it was 3,200 miles, a brand new car. So we got a perfect brand new 20,000 car for 10 grand. Car has been almost trouble free for about 10 years now.
Forgot to mention. My Taiwanese princess found the car. She also found our latest buy, a Kia Rio with 10,000 miles for about 10 grand, another steal.
In 1964, My first car. Bought a wrecked 55 Ford 4door for $20 and a 56 Ford 2dr hardtop with blown tranny for $25. My buddies and I converted the 56 to manual tranny/floor shifter ($10) with parts from the wrecked 55. At 16 I had the nicest and one of the hottest 2dr Hardtops in town for $55 and a lot of hard work. By the way, we did the conversion outdoors in the snow.
Best deal I ever got on a car and still proud of what we accomplished on a grocery store baggers salary. 😁
Best deal was the 1972 Plymouth Valiant I inherited from my grandmother when she gave up driving ($0). The slant 6 225 cu in engine was indestructible, but the Canadian winters eventually killed the frame after several years. Second best deal was the 1988 Olds Cutlass I inherited from my uncle when he gave up driving ($0). V6 engine was good but body, transmission and other systems were questionable, I eventually killed that car’s tranny. Drove both cars to the ground, but free is free.
But the best deal for a car I actually bought with money (perish the thought) was likely the 2005 Sunfire I bought with $2,000 of insurance money in 2013 when my 00 sunfire was written off in an accident. Its a cheap car with horrid electronics, but very reliable engine and tranny, never needed a repair for those. Brake lines, radiator, power steering box all failed eventually but that’s what Canadian winters do to cars here, especially cheap cars. But parts are plentiful and Sunfires/Cavaliers are mostly easy to repair. So, it may be a POS but one that still runs and drives after 9 years of owning it, and I’d likely get close to what I paid for it if I sold it, so near-zero capital depreciation (discounting inflation and maintenance).
My philosophy is that a car is just another tool, nothing more. For me, its not a status symbol, and I have my bikes for summer pleasure, so my cars are mostly for winter transport. I buy them used, I buy them cheap, and I do all repairs myself with junkyard parts. Guerrilla economics, once again.
In 1981 my dad sold me a 1972 Datsun mini truck for $150. It was my first vehicle. He couldn’t just give it to me, went against his principles. A year later he gave my sister a brand new Datsun 210. My brother and I had to work for everything we got, my sisters got everything handed to them. Even when I wanted a bike, he took me to Kmart, I thought holy shit he’s gona get me a bike. He took me to the Garden section where they kept the law mowers and said “pick one”. I made enough money that summer with my mower to buy a Schwinn Sting Ray.
In 1995 I bought a 1978 BMW 320/6 with original 20,000 km (14,000 mi.), on which many rubber parts (radiator hoses, brake line hoses, tires) had just been replaced by a BMW garage, for DM 4500 (~$3200).
Well 12 months and 10,000 miles later, the automatic transmission slowly died (started slipping when hot).
With some help by a friend -but mostly myself- I put in a stick-shift gearbox from the junkyard (and clutch, and longer driveshaft,…). Took me 2½ days.
Then drove it another 100,000 miles.
I have only owned 3 cars in my life, a 2000 Chevy Tracker, a 2006 Honda Civic and the current 2014 Honda Civic that I bought in January 2021 at 40K miles for $11K on Craigslist. I think that last purchase was not a bad deal, given that I put 12K miles on it and it is now worth more than what I bought it for.
I have a 2015 Civic and will drive it until the wheels fall off.
…which will be after the USA dissolves.
Traded a blown up 67 VW convertible even for a 63 or 64 Ford Fairlane with fallen ball joints. The ball joints cost me ~$150 to repair and the VW’s engine was destroyed in the most beautiful blue smoke ya ever saw.
In 2007 I got a 1999 Honda Accord all cash for $5,000 with 36,000 miles on it. Small dealer who got it somehow at salvage since apparently it was repaired after a telephone pole fell through the roof. I ended up putting another 100k miles on it prior to selling it in 2013 for $500 bucks. I still miss that car!
16 years old just got my license. Guy not far from where I grew up sold used cars. His name was Dave, smoked 4 packs of cigarettes a day, and was as shifty as they came. Gave me a “deal” on a 1989 Dodge Aries “K Car”. Paid $1500 for that jalopy and he laughed as I drove away. The steering wheel shook like a queer eating a hot dog over 45mph. It burned a quart of oil…a week. Transmission slipped like a greasy whore in Vegas. Rear brakes were drums and well, there were no pads in them. Wouldn’t start without a jump below 10 degrees. I could go on. It was a tank though.
But overall it was the best deal I ever got a car considering I did get almost 2 years out of it and my next car cost $10,000, and every vehicle following got progressively more expensive.
I’m feeling pretty good about the 2007 Corolla I just bought for $3k. It has only 70,000 miles. Mint condition. Owned by an old lady who barely drove it the last 10 years and kept it in a garage.
I once paid $150 for a Renault of some sort and $50 for a different Renault. In both cases I overpaid. OK, I drove each of them for a couple months. One of the had a front shock absorber coil spring shoot out from under me on the road. I looked in the rear view mirror and it was following me.
That Corolla should go another 10 years, or, $300 a year. A great deal. I wish I could get into a corolla. Fucking toyota.
$125 for a ’61 Ranchero, including the clutch that I had to put in myself.
My first car. In 1972 I bought a 64 Corvair as a dealer trade in for $100. Drove and fixed it for 2 years.
In November of ’77 I bought a 1967 Mustang Fastback GTA (390/C6, a/c, power everything, luxury interior) that had overheated and cracked the heads. Body was pristine but had been (poorly) repainted. Paid $600.
I pulled the 390 and replaced it with a warmed over 289 and C4 trans. Gave it to my wife as a wedding present. We took it on our honeymoon to Yosemite and Monterey.
A few years later replaced the 289 with a 351 Cleveland. We (mostly she) drove it for many years until the arrival of kids made it impractical as a family car. Parked it and it now awaits my impending retirement and the time and $$$ will be available to return it to the road.
mid 80s dodge omni bought in the early or mid 90s. paid 600 bucks for it, drove the hell out of it for three years, sold it for 300 bucks. i had written up a whole list of all the faults and problems it had for the guy who bought it, who was perfectly happy with it and drove it for another year and a half as basically a disposable car.
other pretty good deal, a 91 diesel vw i bought close to a decade ago for about a grand, still on the road (amazingly, it mainly drives on unpaved farm roads and has grass growing out of the dirt on the floor)..
I did find a ’94 Escort for $1800 and drove for 2 years and sold it for that, but honestly I have to say the best deal was a 1998 Nissan Frontier bought brand new at dealer list and I’m still driving it practically mint. That year Nissan was a horse of horses, the most reliable Nissan Frontier year ever made.
Forget the deals, how about the horror show of worst cars? I’d have a better story
‘78 T-bird new off the showroom floor. First breakdown at 22 miles. Nothing but trouble the 3 years we owned it
I bought a fully loaded 2010 Cadillac DTS in 2012 for $20,000. It only had 19,000 miles on it. The sticker price when it was new was $45,000.
In early 2008 I bought a 2007 dodge ram 4×4 pickup truck. It was new but left over from the previous year. Chrysler was in bankruptcy at that time. They gave me a factory “bumper to bumper” warranty forever – no time or mileage restrictions – if I would buy the truck that day. I bought it. The truck currently has $18,000 in warranty repairs in it. It has 246,000 miles on it and it is in the shop right now for a new trans and drive shaft. Best car deal I ever made.
An almost new Ford Maverick was hit hard in the rear and the two rear frame members buckled about 10% (imagine forming a church steeple) right over the axel and of course bent the whole rear body too wheel well to wheel well, jacking the whole rear end of the car up a bit. It was totaled but I was a poor 1st Lt, it drove OK, so I bought it for $300 and drove it for two years until I got orders for Turkey and gave it to my little brother.
In 2017 I bought a 2006 Toyota Camry with 25,000 miles on it for $2,400. I gave it to my daughter for graduation thinking she’d have it for 10 years if needed. Nope, 6 months later it was totaled.
Just yesterday, I scored another Toyota Camry. 2013 with 49,000 for $11,800. Not the deal of the century but, in this environment, I’ll take it.
1988 Fiero Formula, near mint. Small scratch on fender. $1500 (canadian pesos).
Still have it after 6 years. Minor maintenance required, no issues.
Not the fastest, but one of the sweetest handling cars ever. No ABS, No airbags, No power steering. Fantastic.
Well, it wasn’t the one that I bought last August. Got screwed on that one.
Best deal? My first new car, a ’68 Bug. $2,100, tax included. Not a bad car for what it was.
Best car? 1976 Datsun Z Car. $6,200 and a ton of fun. Pirellis and big fat sway bars and it became a slot car.
Here’s a fun car…
The last car I bought. 2009 Pontiac Vibe. Toyota drive train. Had a GM card and they were doing employee pricing so for it for $14k which was about $7k under sticker.
Has 90k miles now. Needed an alternator but otherwise oil, gas and rubber.
Friend of mine who’s a pretty good shade tree has his wife’s up to 320 K so far
Bought a 1964 Le Mans for a dollar in 1979
Back in 1997 I bought a 3 year old BMW 530i with only 6k miles on it for $1,800. Had it for over 10 years, half a million miles, and zero repairs. Sold it for $3,000!
!!!
2001 Lexus LS 430 100k mi. showroom mint cond. paid $6K (came with orig window sticker $79,000)
2011 Camry LE 10K mi. paid $11K in 2012
Wow, you chased me and my so-called best deals away!
Got a 64 Impala sedan for free in the 80’s. The frame was patched, the interior was shot and the paint was powdery but that thing was a tank. Had the 283, a 2 speed tranny, and had over 100 thousand miles on, it if I recall right. Drove it between PA and DC every weekend for a year or so. The looks I would get was something. I was young then and a damn fool. I’m surprised it never left me in a lurch. GOD was surely looking out for me. Built like a tank and people would generally avoid me especially in the mall parking lots.
Used Cars,…classic
Free – I was at college and my sister just graduated; she was going to get her own, so the 1974 Ford Maverick that we both used to get back and forth from college to farm became mine to use, and when my parents got back on their next annual leave they decided to just give it to me. No payments, no paperwork, just put the title in my name and its mine. It lasted another six years, until I bought my first ( a Chevy S10 truck) and I traded it in for that.
Some craziness from Europe. Bought a little Nissan K14 in 2019, new. Cheap, because “re-imported” from Denmark. Background: In Denmark, there is a “luxury tax”. It’s a tax to be paid when registering a new car. Up to 100% of the car’s price. No typo, plus vat. Manufacturers offer cars at lower prices in Denmark, to sell any. // Today’s models got 10% less power, because of “emission cleanup”. The Volkswagen scandals fallout, you know. So, mine got more power. ATM, my used car would sell for the same price I paid in 2019. Inflation, big demand. New cars are scare, as fuel. Taxes for fuel have been postponed, but prices are still up.
By the way, there is a racket concerning EVs. In Germany, there are subventions up to 8000 Euro, abroad not. Cars can be sold after 6 months, while keeping the money. EVs are then exported.
2008 Tacoma 4WD, just under $20000. Still drive it NO repairs or problems except new tires.
Best deal ever on a car was a 62 Ford Falcon that had been sitting in a basement garage with a dirt floor for years.
Owner wanted it gone and said if I could get it out, it was mine for free. Of course this was mid winter in Rochester NY. Brake lines had all rusted through and slamming any door caused rust chips to drop on the dirt from the body, but externally it looked fine with nice original blue paint. Replaced the brake lines right there on the dirt floor and bought a new battery. This being 1974, total investment 35 bucks in parts and 9 for a wrench set. It had fuel in the tank and actually fired right up. Drove that sucker 2 years and sold it for 50 bucks. Solid win in every column.
It was old and it was cheap and it ran until it quit.
And a rose is a….well you know.
Late uncle’s Chevelle for $1. My sibling and I went halvsies, so it was $0.50 each. The Honk if You’re Horny plate decoration came with but had to go. What was appropriate for a 30 something bachelor wasn’t so much for a couple of teenage girls.
$400 for an old Chevy from a little old lady who had it from new. She had it seatcovered on day she bought it. Tore those off and the entire upholstery was like brand new.
67 firebird 400 convertible, bought it for 900 cash in 1969 w/12k on odometer. 176 in a quarter at fremont drag in ca.
You hit 176 mph in the 1/4 mile with that? Not in stock form.
91 chevy s-10 v6 4×4 $700
Do all my own work. Stripped out anything not required to crawl mountains or pass a safety check. I paid more for the mud t/a’s. (I know it’s not technically a car, but I love it just the same.)
In March 1990, got a 1978 lime green Ford Pinto for $80 USD, with 93K miles and no rust!!! If you’ve seen Jodie Fosters car in “Silence of the lambs “, it’s the exact same car, down to the color and with a trunk, not a hatchback. Drove it for about 100K and 5 years before water pump failed and cracked the head. Never would have bought it but next door neighbor asked if someone needed a nice year old $250 car stereo for cheap so I got it for $40. Asked what she was going to listen to with no tunes, she says folks were buying her a new car after graduation and the best she could get for the pinto was $25 and a tow to the junkyard!! LOL, I test drove it, it needed a carb rebuild and new valve cover gasket but ran fine. Offered her $80, and she jumped on that like a crack whore on a key of coke, and I probably overpaid!! Cost $30 to fix, and when I went to get tags, registration and title, that cost $112!!! But, that’s another whole story….still miss that beater though…