Best and Worst vehicles under $6K

[Groves]

What are the darlings of the sub-$6,000 car market? What are the tempting stinkers?

My household knows that when I need knowledge & wisdom, with a side-salad of snark & buffoonery, I seek if from you all.

"I'll ask Chiefs Planet"

Child No. 3 had a 2005 Prius just go belly up. Main battery, we'll probably pay to find the bad cells to make it more sellable. So now they're in the market for a vehicle.

I used to be current in my "No subarus after 200k" and "No Buick Encores with the Ecotech" and "No Jeeps ever" type of 'wisdom', but I'm out of date. I know it's always a tradeoff between condition and miles and reliability.

I need your help.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I'm shocked at the prices of used cars these days. I've seen a few notices from friends selling cars and I thought they were way out of line. Then I checked and they weren't.

Lack of supply.

The minute we drive a car off the lot, the other "side" of the dealership starts calling wanting to know if we'll sell it back to them or trade it in.

[stevieray]

S10

[threebag]

Hell, I was offered 4k for the Fusion already

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Lack of supply.

The minute we drive a car off the lot, the other "side" of the dealership starts calling wanting to know if we'll sell it back to them or trade it in.

The frequency of that shit grinds my gears, but I also get a chuckle out of how brazen they can be about it...."I see you put 6000 miles on the car you paid in cash for just last year, do you want to trade that in at 40% of what you paid and then put yourself into a far ****ing worse situation by leasing a new car for roughly the cost of your mortgage???"

[threebag]

Buy an antique

[booger]

Got a family member looking at minivans and she wants to stay with domestic if possible. So she likes the 2011-2016 Chrysler town and country. Doesn’t look like those years changed much at all. I’ve been GM my whole life and don’t know shit about Chryslers. Any opinions on that van in those specific years?

[booger]

She may look at the Pacifica 2017 and newer but likes those years for town and country. Just glancing at some Pacificas and seeing the goofy ass dial knob gear shifter which seems odd to me

[KCJake]

Mercury Grand Marquis. Somebody mentioned it earlier. I've been in the car business for about 15 years now. If I had a $5,000 budget, that's what I'd buy. You can find them with fairly low miles, old man selling it because he can't drive anymore. Super reliable. Comfortable. Maintenace is fairly cheap

[Lzen]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Yeah, that is my problem.

If your computer doesn't work the way it should, I can fix it. Cars? Nah, I'm just not mechanically inclined. I don't have the experience or knowledge to do it myself "on the cheap" other than maybe an oil change or battery. By the way, my warranty just covered a battery swap that would have cost over $500 otherwise.

And it's funny you mentioned a headlamp - the headlamp that had to be repaired and re-seated (not wholly replaced) after the deer cost a cool $1400.

[burt]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Lack of supply.

The minute we drive a car off the lot, the other "side" of the dealership starts calling wanting to know if we'll sell it back to them or trade it in.

Yes we do.....

[burt]

Originally Posted by Bearcat

The frequency of that shit grinds my gears, but I also get a chuckle out of how brazen they can be about it...."I see you put 6000 miles on the car you paid in cash for just last year, do you want to trade that in at 40% of what you paid and then put yourself into a far ****ing worse situation by leasing a new car for roughly the cost of your mortgage???"

so very true.

[burt]

Originally Posted by KCJake

Mercury Grand Marquis. Somebody mentioned it earlier. I've been in the car business for about 15 years now. If I had a $5,000 budget, that's what I'd buy. You can find them with fairly low miles, old man selling it because he can't drive anymore. Super reliable. Comfortable. Maintenace is fairly cheap

Green pea. I've been on this roller coaster for 38 years now.

[crayzkirk]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Yeah, that is my problem.

If your computer doesn't work the way it should, I can fix it. Cars? Nah, I'm just not mechanically inclined. I don't have the experience or knowledge to do it myself "on the cheap" other than maybe an oil change or battery. By the way, my warranty just covered a battery swap that would have cost over $500 otherwise.

And it's funny you mentioned a headlamp - the headlamp that had to be repaired and re-seated (not wholly replaced) after the deer cost a cool $1400.

We all have to start somewhere; there's lots of things that are simple. Brake pads, oil changes, etc. Once you get into it, you can advance to more complex tasks.

Maybe it's a generational thing; I had to fix my own car, 1967 Mustang, because I couldn't afford to pay someone else. I also learned to work on go carts, mini bikes, lawnmowers, etc. and still do to this day.

Being a boomer has benefits; we learned to fix things because we had to.

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by crayzkirk

We all have to start somewhere; there's lots of things that are simple. Brake pads, oil changes, etc. Once you get into it, you can advance to more complex tasks.

Maybe it's a generational thing; I had to fix my own car, 1967 Mustang, because I couldn't afford to pay someone else. I also learned to work on go carts, mini bikes, lawnmowers, etc. and still do to this day.

Being a boomer has benefits; we learned to fix things because we had to.

Yeah, I don't have the time, patience, or willpower to do work that I could pay someone else to do. My time is more valuable to me than the money I would save doing the work myself.

[crayzkirk]

Originally Posted by htismaqe

Yeah, I don't have the time, patience, or willpower to do work that I could pay someone else to do. My time is more valuable to me than the money I would save doing the work myself.

I do that now on some things, like roofing, painting, etc. At one point, I had more time than money so learning things like auto repair, plumbing, electrical, etc. came in really handy. I have a natural interest in how things work so a lot comes 'easy'.

Worked in IT for 51 years so I know a little bit about computers, too...