What to get for reliable cheap commuter

[B00mb00m]

I have a buddy that drives a ‘yota Prius C for his commuter. I think he paid 13k or something, about 3 years and 100,000 miles ago and hasn’t put any other money into it since (other than minimal maintenance). It had 80k or so miles when he bought it too.

how does one test to know condition of the Prius hybrid battery? Id be down for hybridness but dam the batteries go and its more than the price of the car. They all have 10yr warranties too, which means they're in my price range once they are probably needing new battery

 

[CreepinDeth]

Are you okay with a rebuilt title?

That way you get a better condition car for cheaper, and not care about it as much.

I would NEVER make the claim “better condition” for a totaled out car. To me its mind boggling to say such a thing

Sure it may LOOK better, but anyone can polish a turd. The hidden issues below the surface for the ignorant buyer to miss are plentiful. This is like a spackled up basketcase in the dating scene

Its literally a salvage title because the repairs for a smasher upper were so extensive it was too close to the total value, and this is where shops and hacks LOVE to sell polished turds with missing airbags that deployed

Why?? Because no one checks…..

 

[CreepinDeth]

how does one test to know condition of the Prius hybrid battery? Id be down for hybridness but dam the batteries go and its more than the price of the car. They all have 10yr warranties too, which means they're in my price range once they are probably needing new battery

In your expected price range, a Hybrid is a liability
This is coming from someone who daily drives a new hybrid SUV

 

[CreepinDeth]

More options

2002 Lexus ES 300 FWD - $8,495 (FAIR_PRICE)
Mileage: 109,554
https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/link/369216042

 

[Squatch]

I would NEVER make the claim “better condition” for a totaled out car. To me its mind boggling to say such a thing

Sure it may LOOK better, but anyone can polish a turd. The hidden issues below the surface for the ignorant buyer to miss are plentiful.

Its literally a salvage title because the repairs for a smasher upper were so extensive it was too close to the total value, and this is where shops and hacks LOVE to sell polished turds with missing airbags that deployed

Why?? Because no one checks…..

While I tend to agree with you on this, I do have to say that I've seen my friends with vehicles in the 5-7 year old range have their vehicles totaled out for such nonsense as a badly damaged hatch, with no evidence of any structural or even body damage to the surrounding area. I assume this is due to the insane body shop rates. Anyways, just saying that these situations exist. A truly car-savvy individual would at least have that option available to them without a ton of worry, I would think.

 

[CreepinDeth]

Of course

Variations of damage can be there, but keep in mind this is the greasy side of the business where AFTER a salvage total out happens, they dont need to report everything accurately as to where all the damage was or how extensive it was

This is where sheister dealers will change out ECMs and Gauges to hide the true mileage because its a salvage title. This is where hurricane flooded damaged vehicles WERE mint before bein submerged in salt water that corrodes and destroys the electronics as time goes on

Been to these little car lot places and theyre notorious for doing this, and CarFax isnt always accurate and not all states report

Most of your salvage title vehicles come from the shady corner lots that play in that cesspool. Even larger Toyota dealers began falsely selling vehicles with damages that werent reported during the height of the pamdemic.

I know this because I test drove a Camry that had a clean carfax but had major fender damage, and they boldfaced lied to me about it. They werent repaired yet and the salesman errored by letting me take it. I was appalled to say the least

 

[Ocho]

is ride share an option? 30 miles with traffic I'd be parking my rig close by my domicile, taking that ride share, setting my office hours from the time I sit down in said ride share until the time I leave the office, pocketing the 8k and saving some time behind the desk.

 

[psrivats]

Anyone have good advice for what to get for a daily commuter ~30 miles round trip with traffic. Looking for something around $8000 or less. I’d like to be as close to an appliance on wheels as possible. I can drive the Jeep or truck when it snows just need something to rack up cheap miles and not care if it gets stolen.

Mid 2000s Toyota with as low miles as you can find. Have to be a bit patient.

 

[Squatch]

Of course

Variations of damage can be there, but keep in mind this is the greasy side of the business where AFTER a salvage total out happens, they dont need to report everything accurately as to where all the damage was or how extensive it was

This is where sheister dealers will change out ECMs and Gauges to hide the true mileage because its a salvage title. This is where hurricane flooded damaged vehicles WERE mint before bein submerged in salt water that corrodes and destroys the electronics as time goes on

Been to these little car lot places and theyre notorious for doing this, and CarFax isnt always accurate and not all states report

Most of your salvage title vehicles come from the shady corner lots that play in that cesspool. Even larger Toyota dealers began falsely selling vehicles with damages that werent reported during the height of the pamdemic.

I know this because I test drove a Camry that had a clean carfax but had major fender damage, and they boldfaced lied to me about it. They werent repaired yet and the salesman errored by letting me take it. I was appalled to say the least

I bought a 2008 Toyota Sienna AWD minivan for my daughter two years ago. It was a 4.5 hour drive to go see it. I had a certified check in hand for the seller. Turns out they were a "dealer", and this had been an auction car. Though it had a clean Carfax report, and I had every reason to believe (based on a multitude of things) that the 45,000+ miles showing were legit, I also knew that this thing had been repaired by someone. There's not a straight panel on it. It looks like they had a friend do the job, or some back-alley "body man", and then splashed it with a decent paint job. But again, a clean Carfax report. I drove the thing for an hour, and crawled all over and under it before determining that it had not been in any major collision. I then negotiated the price, and drove it home. The point is that you are correct, and that a Carfax is not the whole story. This van had obviously never been reported to the insurance company. It just appeared to suffer a series of incidences, and then again suffered at the hands of a hobbyist body man. But knowing how my daughter drives, I was fine with what I purchased.

 

[Mike_H]

how does one test to know condition of the Prius hybrid battery? Id be down for hybridness but dam the batteries go and its more than the price of the car. They all have 10yr warranties too, which means they're in my price range once they are probably needing new battery

Its a very light hybrid...I know he's not done anything with the batteries and he still gets like 40 MPG and it isn't scary to drive in traffic.

 

[B00mb00m]

Mid 2000s Toyota with as low miles as you can find. Have to be a bit patient.

toyota what

 

[psrivats]

toyota what

Camry 4cyl. My brother has one. Very good car and upto 2006 is very reliable. The later ones are good too but there was some concerns with burning oil in the next gen.

 

[Squatch]

Camry 4cyl. My brother has one. Very good car and upto 2006 is very reliable. The later ones are good too but there was some concerns with burning oil in the next gen.

Or he could spring for the Solara coupe or ragtop. Ain't nothing but a sexier Camry, with all the Camry benefits.

 

[Zorba]

Only if it's available with , Oh let's say a 5 liter 60 degree V - 6 weighing around 750lbs.

That engine would outweigh the car!

 

[Shank]

If you're considering an XJ you obviously have skewed priorities (like me) to where gas mileage isn't entirely important.... I'd look at a 2006-2009 V6 4runner in that price range, though I am biased.

 

[BlueC]

Cvt just went out in my daughter's Nissan Versa..dealer didn't seem surprised even though the car only has 120k miles.

I was told by a transmission guy that Nissan, and Mazda (I think), CVTs typically die around 80K, which is crazy. Civics started running CVTs (again) around '15, but they hold up. My dad has a '15 Civic with CVT and 240K on it with no issues, and he only does minimal maintenance.

 

[Westtown Willy]

This is exactly what I’m finding, everything sub 10k is haggard

hit pay dirt yesterday after close to two months of searching, a 2013 Yaris with 135,000 miles in reasonably good shape for $5,700; mechanic says it's in decent condition. Hopefully the thing was reasonably well maintained up until now, if so she oughta get a couple/few years out of it. I haven't personally seen it yet nor do I know anything about that particular model, but she was on seriously borrowed time in a loaner from her dad all this time so the trigger had to be pulled. We missed out on a really nice looking Fit a couple weeks ago, some people got there 15 minutes earlier and were on a test drive & immediately closed the deal.

It used to take 10 minutes to find something like this, and for less money, times sure have changed.

 

[BlueC]

But again, a clean Carfax report.

Yeah, Carfax and the like are only as good as the info that's provided to them. Garbage in, garbage out. I can think of two examples, one was a car my dad sold. The car had 40-some thousand miles on it, but some shop monkey keyed that in as 140k during a state inspection. So Carfax had the car flagged as a possible theft or something, showing the miles had been tampered with. Their info said the cars' mileage went something like 38k, 142k, 45k, so that got it flagged.

The other one I know about is a truck my buddy fixed. A guy he knows fell asleep and rolled his truck. They bought a similar truck without drivetrain and swapped body parts. Carfax has no idea.

 

[cliffish]

I was told by a transmission guy that Nissan, and Mazda (I think), CVTs typically die around 80K, which is crazy. Civics started running CVTs (again) around '15, but they hold up. My dad has a '15 Civic with CVT and 240K on it with no issues, and he only does minimal maintenance.

shit I better get an extended warranty on the 2023 Rogue I bought my daughter over the summer! Time to go on a Rogue forum and find a dealer that does them cheap just to beef up the dealerships bottom line.

 

[BlueC]

shit I better get an extended warranty on the 2023 Rogue I bought my daughter over the summer! Time to go on a Rogue forum and find a dealer that does them cheap just to beef up the dealerships bottom line.

That, or plan on getting it gone around 50K. My info is about 3 years old now, so maybe things have changed?