I'm of the mind that I'll drive the cheapest car that I won't feel embarrassed in and can be relied upon. I purchased a used (2001) car for $2000 a couple years ago and it's been generally good. I have put some money into it along the way (about $2000 excluding regular oil changes) where I felt were absolutely necessary. My car has in the past had an odd issues with fluctuating rpm's that eventually cause a stall or no-start situation. I have in the past been able to swap a part out and get it going again. I'm again reaching that point and have a couple ideas of what I can do to fix it but I can't do it myself - I will need to pay a professional. Taking your car to the mechanic is pretty stressful in these sorts of situations. Maybe he will be able to resolve it, and maybe not. Either way your due to pay more than you'd like.
What's everyone's strategy for situations like this? Cheap maintenance and drive it into the ground? Shell out some extra cash to keep it going from time to time? Buy new(ish) and do proper maintenance and unload it when it reaches a certain age? Thanks.
November 07, 2017 at 10:51PM
