Buying used car help me decide

[moolala]

Looking to buy a car that will run well for 2 years at which point I plan on selling it back to the market. Just browsing cragislist these seem to fit the bill best:

'03 Subaru Impreza

'04 Honda Accord
http://s277.photobucket.com/albums/k...t=IMG_6128.jpg

Out of running:
'98 Mustang GT with modz
'01 Camaro
'95 sub-$2,000 Infiniti
'00 Mustang GT

Plan on buying the carfax but other than that I'm fairly inexperienced with this kind of thing. Car experts/opiners please jump in.

 

[impolyt_one]

the G20 would be my choice. I'd not want a Camaro either way.

 

[mm84321]

For two years, buy a used Pre-War Bentley.

 

[impolyt_one]

I don't know if a roughly $4,000 budget would allow for that.

 

[downwithianbrown]

Get an old Toyota. like late 80's or early 90's. super cheap and indestructible. plus there is no pretense to them being anything besides transportation. G20 is lame.

 

[dcg]

In my opinion it makes little sense to buy from a used car dealer in this price range. The markup over what you'd pay for the same vehicle in a private sale is too substantial, plus you will surely be dealing with an individual who has no soul.

I would focus less on an exact brand/model and more on finding a car from an individual who can provide service history and is able to prove that they have kept up with the maintenance. The money you'll pay a mechanic to look it over will surely be less than the markup you'd pay to buy from a dealer (and frankly, you should be having a mechanic look at any car you'd buy from a dealer as well).

Carfax should be used to weed out the cars that you definitely SHOULD NOT buy (salvage, major accident, etc.). A clean carfax should not be considered a sufficient indication that a car is in good mechanical condition, for a variety of reasons.

 

[mm84321]

Originally Posted by impolyt_one

I don't know if a roughly $4,000 budget would allow for that.

Oh, he has a budget.

 

[Eponym]

Originally Posted by moolala

Looking to buy a car that will run well for 2 years at which point I plan on selling it back to the market. Just browsing cragislist these two seem to fit the bill best:

'99 Infiniti G20 (http://nh.craigslist.org/ctd/2334782805.html)
'01 Camaro (http://nh.craigslist.org/ctd/2336261301.html)

Plan on buying the carfax but other than that I'm fairly inexperienced with this kind of thing. Car experts/opiners please jump in.

I had a 2000 G20, and I'd highly recommend the car. When my wife and I finally got rid of it, it had nearly 180k miles on it and it was still going strong. I'd have a mechanic look over it. If it gets a clean bill of health, jump on it. It's really a great car.

 

[impolyt_one]

Originally Posted by downwithianbrown

G20 is lame.

Disagree, the G20 was a world car that came from a good period of Nissan/Japanese car engineering in general - bulletproof SR20DE, a few faux luxury touches - it's a good car. It's just like the Toyotas you described but 10 years newer and that much safer, and just as or more reliable.
It's hard to find cars as good as the G20 for $6000 any more.

 

[sonick]

G20 was one of the better handling FWD cars of it's time. I am also considering a G20, along with an E36 3-series in my search for a new used car.

How are part prices for the Infiniti being a luxury/niche brand?

 

[impolyt_one]

I think most of the mechanicals from a G20 would come from a Nissan Sentra catalogue.

 

[moolala]

Originally Posted by dcg

In my opinion it makes little sense to buy from a used car dealer in this price range. The markup over what you'd pay for the same vehicle in a private sale is too substantial, plus you will surely be dealing with an individual who has no soul.

I would focus less on an exact brand/model and more on finding a car from an individual who can provide service history and is able to prove that they have kept up with the maintenance. The money you'll pay a mechanic to look it over will surely be less than the markup you'd pay to buy from a dealer (and frankly, you should be having a mechanic look at any car you'd buy from a dealer as well).

Carfax should be used to weed out the cars that you definitely SHOULD NOT buy (salvage, major accident, etc.). A clean carfax should not be considered a sufficient indication that a car is in good mechanical condition, for a variety of reasons.

Good idea on the independent mechanic. Do I just hire these guys out of aftermarket auto shops locally?

 

[Logan]

The only thing I don't like about the Infiniti is the colour. The Camaro is just plain awful and ugly as ****. Not to mention the engine is huge with a ***** amount of power output for its size.

 

[951socal]

Those Nissan G20's are just preetied up Nissan Ser's with the FWD sr20, not too great of a car. and a ***** to find parts for cheaply, you'd have to do some expirmentation in swapping over some parts from the rear wheel drive based sr20det's that are swapped into 240sx's. most aftermarket maintence parts have been aimed toward that, not so much the nissan sentra SER's and your g20 there, market share just favors the det over the FWD de. alot of guys end up swapping in bluebird sr20det's after they blow the FWD sr20de's. all engines are different. red, black top RWD sr2odets, the stock sr20de and sr20det FWD.

if you're confused, expect this clusterfuck when searching for spark plugs, or a headgasket anything like that.

as with the camaro, you're better off getting one with an LS1 in it, they tend to retain their value a bit more, and the LS1 has been the choosen small block for hot rodding for more than 2 decades. parts available at any autozone anywhere, if not look to the trucks, most late model chevy and GMC trucks run a cast iron version of the LS power plant, nearly everything is a direct change over.

if you don't like the camaro, anything with an LS1 in it, trans am of the same year, although you can go older and grab an Lt1 equipped trans am. Not sure if the trans ams had the opti spark issue that the lt1 equipped imapals did (a mitsubishi designed ignition system that failed when the water pumps seaped water onto them) but if they did, multiple solutions have been brought up over time.

goodluck

 

[dcg]

Originally Posted by moolala

Good idea on the independent mechanic. Do I just hire these guys out of aftermarket auto shops locally?

Pretty much. If you have a mechanic you trust, go to him. If not, check for recommendations from friends/relatives in the area. Failing that, you could check out a few car forums for recommendations close to you.