Budget beaters: used cars under $100K
Published:Saturday | June 5, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Mario James, Gleaner Writer
There are those who are born lucky, and those who make their own luck. And then there's everyman - the students, up-and-comers and the rest of us that have to make a particular set of circumstances fit into an ever worsening financial situation.
Not everybody has the means to dial themselves into a Merc, Bimmer or Jag. Last time I checked, my new dream truck cost $180 large - on a monthly basis - for seven years. I don't know 'bout you, but my mortgage comes first.
This is most depressing, especially for a car guy. Even the deportees can cause brain freeze. The average '07 Corolla is now hovering just around the J$2-million mark. Fixed-income folks are walking on coals trying to meet the $30K car note, meet the mortgage and be ready for the certain eventualities that life coughs up. Thank God for the Jamaica Urban Transit Company!
The thing is, for that same 30 grand, it is possible to own your own set of wheels. Thinking of a car as a tool and not as an extension of one's self does have its benefits. Tools don't have to be flashy, they just have to do the job.
Check the classifieds - There are certain cars that keep returning to these pages like a recurring decimal. They never die. These subcompacts are mechanically very simple, and usually have minute three-cylinder engines that get around 50mpg.
Insurance is a breeze - third-party coverage is all you need. Then again, it's all you're gonna get! Unreliability is a non-issue because of their mechanical simplicity. These vehicles are between 15 and 20 years old but have found the afterlife because of the aftermarket - and they get the job done.
If you're thinking that the $30,000 price mentioned is an impossibility, David Tomlinson, a fireman from Kingston, bought a functional 1990 Fiat Uno for $25,000. His prize wasn't all dog either - it came with A/C! (It didn't work.)
David's Uno was equipped with a manual transmission and the attendant electrical gremlins of a 20-year-old car - but he was sold on the car because he was able to download its service manual off the Net. Needless to say, he intended to do most of the needed work himself. He says he had the car for all of four months, and then sold it for $55K!
Ground rules
When buying an older micro car like this, there are a few caveats. While mileage is important, condition, especially body work, is most important. Any more than surface rust - for example with any sign of pinholing or more advanced cases of body rot - is instant and immediate cause for rejection.
Look for vehicles driven by little old widowed ladies that were only driven to church on Sunday (cars that meet these criteria are getting so hard to find now) and were serviced at the dealer regularly. Stay away from small cars with automatic transmission. These systems were usually dodgy from the outset, and the techs that fix them are rather thin on the ground.
Plan to spend some money and invest some time in them even if they are already running - these cars usually have small wheels (12" to 13" diameter), and given today's road conditions, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack if you expect to find a pristine front end on one of these things.
Stay away from the original dealer for parts - new shocks from the new car guys may cost the price you paid for the car. Chuck conventional wisdom out the window - if the aftermarket parts weren't good enough, your new prize wouldn't be around this long!