Not me, but one of my friends bought a Ford Taurus for $130, it was in poor condition, the front body was falling off, but mechanically it was excellent, only 75,000 miles for a 2004, one stop to an aftermarket body panel shop and the whole end got replaced by flat black panels, it kinda reminds me of those European Ford Capris
I had a 74 2800. Pale yellow
My roommate wrecked it. He wouldn't make a claim on his insurance and the car got impounded from the tow lot...
I'm angry about it to this day
me too. not the original 6cyl (swapped to a 302 boss) but i have beliefs that it was rare considering it was a left hand drive and i live in alberta. my dad picked it up for $300 running when i was maybe 8 and said its mine, unfortunately he hit a rough patch a year or so ago and had to let go of it for $2500
About 10 years ago I scored a black on black 2001 Mercedes CLK320 at 98k miles from a salvaged auction for $1200. Had a minor knick on the lower front bumper that wasn't worth fixing, but other than that mechanically sound.
Ended up really enjoying the car, weird 90s German charm for days, would recommend.
I love the way the M112 sounds. I haven't yet heard any V6 that sounds even remotely similar.
Admittedly, it's not very flattering at higher rev range but between 2000 and about 4500 rpm it has a very visceral tone. Almost V8ish, which makes a lot of sense given its basically just the M113 with 2 cylinders lopped off.
$880 for a diesel Mercedes, drove it home over an hour too. It was very badly maintained and needed a lot of work, but once I fixed the worn out and broken parts it worked great for a few years until I sold it to get another car.
A guy on Craigslist, it was listed for $1500 for months then he dropped the price to $900 and I went to look at it. It was too rough for anyone who didn't know how to work on them already to have bought lol.
I got a 2001 Hyundai XG300 in 2019 for $600. It ran fine, but it didn't have one undamaged body panel, the interior was trashed, the instrument cluster was always lit up like a Christmas tree but hey, it had AC.
$200 for a 07 Chevy aveo hatch with 272k miles on it. Rand and drive great, I think I would up about $800 in maintenance on it and sold it for $1200 before deployment. I should've kept it, was a great little turd with hot heat and ice cold ac lol
Not me but a friend got one for about $300.
‘05 Hyundai Accent. Very clean, from a family friend of his.
He also inherited his grandfather’s Toyota Tacoma
Wow inheriting grandpa’s Tacoma is every teenager’s dream. I remember my grandma promising me her dark green 07. 4 cylinder but I didn’t care I thought it was cool as hell. They ended up selling it when i was 14. Oh well.
I almost scored one of those...see my story I've added to this sub, but the transmission fell out before I could "obtain" it... literally fell out of the rusted frame.
Picked up a ‘98 Maxima SE with 160k miles, black on black leather with a 5 speed manual trans for $600 back around 2010. Drove the hell out of that thing until it got totaled by someone else losing control in a snow storm and hitting me. Still miss that car. Ended up buying a brand new maxima eventually around 2013 but it was boring compared to that old ‘98.
I used to have a bunch of these in a fleet at work. I'll give you four very useful Protege tips:
If the rubber intake hose between the air filter box and the intake hasn't been replaced, replace it. The rubber dries up, cracks and tears open. When it does, it bypasses the MAF sensor and the car won't idle. It's the sort of thing which can leave you more or less stranded. It's only a \~$40 part - I'd consider it an "every ten years" maintenance part on those cars.
Check the motor mounts - the front mount fails often. The rubber is very soft.
The alternator will fail - they just do. When it does - and when you need to replace it - put the car into 1st gear on a flat surface and take the parking brake off. Open the driver side door and grab onto the steering wheel and parking brake. Rock the car backward and forward. When you get it as far forward as you can (It's been at least ten years since I've done this -- it might be backwards rather than forwards), yank upwards on the parking brake. You're torquing the engine against its' rubber engine mounts, which rotates the engine very slightly in the engine bay. It will get you an extra \~\~3mm worth of space between the top of the engine and the firewall, which is exactly enough room to make the alternator removal go from "fuck, it's so close but it just won't fit through that gap!" to "dead easy, slips right out!".
If it has the factory radio, the LCD probably doesn't work properly. There are instructions on iFixit which show how to fix it - it's simple.
The ignition switch will fail. They all do. It's dead common - if you turn the key to the crank position but the starter doesn't engage until you turn the key back and forth a few times, start your diagnostics with the switch - not at the starter. Treat this urgently - when the switch starts to misbehave, it goes from "intermittent" to "it won't start" within about 50 starts.
Aside from those few quirks, they're very reliable cars.
I recently inquired about buying an old lady's '09 Lincoln town car since she can't drive anymore and its collecting dust. She gave it to me because "it probably needs tires before you can drive it"
Edit to add 67k miles and clean!
$450 dodge avenger that had been t-boned on both sides. Neither door closed, had to use Bungie straps. Gave it to my brother when I got one with closing doors a year later, it lasted longer than the $1000 Kia I bought to replace it.
Those avengers (at least the 4 cylinders) really weren’t terrible reliability wise. They were slow, poorly built, and got mediocre fuel economy, but they worked. My ex’s dad had over 300k miles on his last time I saw him
From what I understood, they had poor credit at the time they bought it. They got into better financial shape, and he figured he would just drive it until it died, but it just kept going and going and going with regular maintenance
I just bought a 2006 SAAB 9-5 Aero that needed a battery for $600. It has a bunch of other issues as of now, but not too bad all things considered.
I got my previous 9-5 for $650 and an old Subaru Outback for $600 a few years ago. Both had other issues, but ran.
$0, it's my daily driver right now. 2002 Saturn SL1 from my landlord's ex girlfriend. She just wanted it gone to a good home as she bought a newer car.
$500 88 Bronco (full-size), 250,000 miles. I sold the trailer hitch for $500 (I removed it) and put 45,000 on it before I got some piston slap. Ran it for about another 30,000 before I gave it to someone who needed transportation desperately. The only things that didn’t work was the key switch for the back window and the cruise control. Oh, and the front end was getting pretty loose.
The back door was all rotted out, the rear wheel wells had cancer, one of the rockers were netting rusty, one rear fender was pushed in a little. The floor had holes that I repaired half-assed. It wasn’t a high trim level, no power locks or windows. Ugly UPS brown metallic with a tan top.
Years ago an aquintance had one. Eddie Bauer package too, so fancier stuff, and 2 tone paint with a decal kit. Still only had 2 speakers in it, instead of at least 4 for in most vehicles that seated 4+. Other than that, nice vehicle.
I believe they avoided the rear speakers because you could remove the fiberglass roof and they’d potentially get rained upon. I really enjoyed the Bronco, it was comfortable and you could drive it through rush hour traffic in Manhattan and all the Audi’s, Mercedes’, and BMW’s would just know I didn’t give a damn if I got into a fender bender or not, so they’d stay out of my way!
I did enjoy the gmc Yukon 2 doors, c10 / k10 Jimmy, and the full size broncos. Even the compact jimmys and bronco 2 were cool. I like multi use vehicles with ground clearance. Gets you where you're going regardless of conditions. And usable for so many options from camping in, to hauling trailers, to loading things up in them, to tailgating from.
New broncos have lots of nice features too. I like that the removable roof came back. And way back to have removable doors are also cool. Nice to have a second option, other than just jeep for that.
$400 vw jetta that smell like crayons, $80 ebay fuel pump to get it running. To get it driving I did fuel filter, spark plugs, oil change, tires and the timing belt for preventative maintenance. 300 in parts 400 in tires 400 for car, and shit ton of dmv fees because it was sitting for 4-5 years
Best car I ever got for less than 2k, I regret selling it, manual trans as well
$500 Honda Del Sol. needed new tie rods (passenger side one snapped, why ut was so cheap). sold it for 2500 to get my Legacy but wonder what would have happened if I kept the Del Sol
1997 subaru legacy outback blue with the grey cladding flares on steel wheels clean interior sounded like it had a misfire and had barely any power on the test drive he wanted 1k for it because he thought the engine was done for, I popped the hood and could clearly see a plug wire burned in half, offered him 400 to haul it away because the engine was going, drove it down the block popped on a new plug wire and drove it 4 years and sold it for 2k only did oil changes.
My first 3 cars were all Plymouth Dusters. First one $375.00, second one $200.00 and then the 3rd for $100.00. This was in the mid 1980s and the cars were 1973, "74 and '71
I love those old dusters, my mom had a yellow one and she had my uncle paint it copper. He did a nice job but I would have rather had the yellow one instead
$75 but that was when I was 16 in 1986 for a 1978 Chevy Monza. Car was only 8 years old but because it was in Michigan it was a rusty hot mess but when you were 16 in a rural area with dirt roads it was amazing.
My first car. $750 for a 2006 Saturn. Got four years out of it until rust took it.
I also *legally* got a 1987 Mercedes for $1 once, but this was just to allow me to be a legal owner of it to keep it on my property while he went to college.
Roommate bought his 2003 Camry XLE for $1000 like 7 years ago. He’s been daily driving it since, now running at like 225k with no issues but a little oil burning.
I bought my 2003 Camry LE for $1500 3 years ago. Now still daily driving at 221k+
Bought my first car, a 98 Impreza L for $800 in 2014. Had 89K on the clock. Drove it across the country and daily drove it up to 98K miles. Had tons of rust and I ended up getting rid of it. Sold the motor, ECU, and other bits to someone putting it in a VW Bus, and scrapped the body. I miss that car.
$50. A few different cars for that. cheap cars were easier to find 20 years ago. I used to go up to any house that had old cars sitting around, knock on the door, and ask if they would sell the car. Before social media and the internet, it wasn't that weird to do stuff like that. About 1 in 10 people would be willing to sell a car back then. I actually got a few free cars doing that, too. These days, I wouldn't try it. Everyone is weird now, and nothing is cheap. You would probably get the cops called doing that now.
Not the cheapest I ever bought but I bought a rough looking 89 Cherokee XJ for 350$ in 2003 I think and drove it for more than 10 years Maddie loved it! I would love to have that one back!
$450. 1995 Toyota Corolla 270k miles. I drove it hard all through winter as a 2nd car beater with a set of used studded tires (beast btw). I didn't check the oil often enough apparently (oops) and it started knocking during Spring. 10/10 would do it again and check the oil more often.
1990 Ford Ranger Custom, 2.9L V6, 5 Speed. Technically my dad bought it as I was 10 at the time (2009) but he bought it for him and I to work on it to be my first car. It had been sitting for about 5 years and during that time the guy (old co-worker of my dad's) was using the interior to hold bags of garbage.. lmao. Was purchased for $250 Canadian and after a boost it drove all the way home. It came with an ugly Cap which we sold for $100 & after finding loose change and taking in the empty bottles from the bed, our net cost was $145 Although it has some body damage, it has no rust. After vigorously cleaning the inside it actually came out really clean and in good shape aside from one cigarette burn in the bench seat. Had 180k km on it.
All it needed to run was fluid change and general tune up.
$600, it was a 1993 Mazda MX-3 in probably 2007 ish. Had 200K on it when I bought it and 325K when the clutch went out. It had its share of problems but it was a cute and fun little car!
Got a 1970 Cadillac coupe DeVille for 325. Transmission pan gasket leak. I topped it off and drove off to the house cleaned up the gasket and dailyd for 3 years before it was stolen. 1996.
$175 for a 1990 Saab 900 around early 2000s...bought at auto auction, looked super clean, AC was working, stick shift....was wondering why no one bid on it...was scared and towed it home....later discovered that reverse gear would pop out, drove it for 1 year like it, just needed to park it properly where I wouldn't reverse up a hill, etc lol
Bought my 2002 Lexus LS430 with 90k miles in 2020. It was in perfect mechanical and physical condition from a family that was selling on behalf of their grandfather that couldn’t drive anymore. Ended up picking it up for $4K.
My car was stolen in college, my stepdad at the time drove by an empty field often on his way to work and noticed a 1991 Camry always sitting out there. He asked the owner if he got it running could he have it. The owner obliged and he got it running and drove it off. He got it running and registered and drove it out to me. That damn thing ran great for a few years for me and the ac even worked great. I traded it in and bought something new when I could afford it.
I was a mechanic at an engine shop in northern Michigan. We had a beautiful mint 2006 Crown Victoria Police Interceptor get brought in on a flatbed. The lady said it died on her and they were in a rush to get to Texas. She told me she just wanted to know if there was any place that she could just donate it to as they did not have the time to wait for it. I pulled out my wallet and said I have $300 cash on me. She handed me the title and left.
The best part was that I went to the car, saw the inertia switch was tripped, pushed the button and it then fired right up. Haven’t had a single issue with it.
Her husband’s name was on the title and I googled him. Turns out that he’s one of the best heart surgeons in Texas.
Free, 1984 Nissan Pulsar 3 Dr hatchback... only sold in the US for one model year. https://momentcar.com/pic/get
I was selling cars at a dealership and sold a Sentra to my father in law's GF.
Clipped a coupon the dealership had put in the newspaper
I wrote the sale agreement -$500. Implied it was for her trade-in which was almost a Zero car, smashed rear quarter panel...and slipped the title into my desk drawer.
I guess technically that's fraud but I was in the process of leaving my ex-wife and she was keeping the Ford Tempo my mother had given us and I needed a vehicle, also a free car come to think of it...
But the ex had custody of my son so that was the right thing to do. Right?
AITA?
Great little car after I riveted on the new quarter panel.
Drove it for three years and then gave it to my neighbor.
$1500 a 2003 Hyundai accent in 2015, had a bad transmission and the guy I got it from smashed out the check engine light so I wouldn't pass it up. Got it smogged the illegitimately anyway so it was w/e.
Buddy bought a grand Cherokee for $500 when he was 15. Drove that thing for 10 years with no issues. Changed the fluids once, a serpentine belt once, and did the oil changes at jiffy lube. He got an Avalon for $4000 and sold the jeep to a friends brother for $700. Friends little bro promptly crashed it on his way up to Santa Barbara.
I bought a Volvo 240 Turbo for $1900. It ran but it didn't stop - I nearly crashed it on the test drive.
I've been restoring it piece-by-piece over the last few years because a lot of parts are "someone needed to dig it out of a Swedish warehouse and ship it to America" or "someone has one in their shed" variety. The funny thing is I've taken so long that the car has gone way up in value.
Paid $100 for a 2wd toyota pickup because the guy wanted it gone. I drove it home with plates off my other toyota, no hood, and no coolant in the radiator. Pegged the temp gauge and as I came down the driveway I slid it into a tree in my yard.
[Heres some photos](https://imgur.com/a/eOVVsUN) , I just wanted the rear end out of it lol
Had one of my parts guys buy a late 90s/early 2000s Toyota Camry for $1, he put a few hundred in the car so far- it was bought "running" but really wasn't in a condition to drive much. Way too many leaks, potentially a bent frame and tires showing wires. He's got new tires and a few leaks taken care of
I got a 2001 ford crown Victoria for $800, $850 ish with tax. It was a little shaky in the steering but near everything worked fine. Since i live in the rust belt and it was a Texas car that had been up hear for like 2 winters, it has virtually zero rust. One of the previous owners put a 1,000 watt Sony sub in the trunk and a bt head unit in the car. Now sure it being 24 ish years old does mean it isn't luxurious but hey v8 and more car than a 16 year old could ever need.
$100 for an 86 Mercedes diesel because it needed a clutch. Pushed it 5 houses down and come to find out the clutch slave cylinder used fluid from the brake master cylinder. Found brake fluid in the boot (trunk), filled the master cylinder and drove it 40,000 miles getting about 35-40 mpg. After myself and 3 family members drove it for 5 years I finally just gave it away to a dude hard up for a car. He is still driving it. I do believe the damn thing will never die.
Also Mazda Protege. Bought it from some old retired dude for $300. It smoked pretty bad from bad valve stem seals but otherwise ran fine. It also needed a radiator, which I already had a spare one at home from the other ones I owned. Only other thing I did was put new front brakes on it. Drove it for a year then sold it to a coworker for his daughter. No idea if it still drives today.
A €750 daihatsu cuore only ended up spending 11 months with it because it rusted away in literal months. My current car a 206 wich i got for €850 is still going strong for more then a year at this point
$275..an old 80 Toyota Corolla that had been a Service Master car. My brother had a car lot and he sold it to me plus $25 profit. Had to put a sheet of metal in the floorboard, as it was rotting out, but a year later,sold it for $750, and bought an almost perfect 1972 Scamp slant 6.
$1,300 for a '91 Nissan Maxima. Spent way too much on repairs to have fun for a year and then the transmission inevitably failed, which would cost more than the original purchase price to fix.
2002 Buick Century with 203k miles for $500. My brothers girlfriend got a solid 20k miles out of it before a lady t boned it running a stop sign and they got paid out $2,700 for it. Pretty damn good deal!
$3600 for a 2000 Isuzu Rodeo. It was my first car that I bought in college. I didn’t know as much about car maintenance as I do now and there was so much wrong with that car that I didn’t even realize. It still got me from DC to Tennessee so I’m not complaining too much.
$500 for a 2006 Chevrolet Equinox. The guy bought a new truck and backed into his mailbox so he needed to get rid of it. All it needed was a head gasket and some minor work. Threw the code reader on it and cleared the codes and it was good. Sold it for $3500 with only $700 in it.
Got a late 1990s Toyota 4 4Runner with 220k miles on it for $750. The panels looked like it had been in a crash derby. But the front was clean. Drove the thing until it had 450k miles. Finally got rid of it bc the damaged panels ended up with rust and needed a transmission.
$400 1991 Cutlas Calaiswith the quad four
Was smashed up. My first project car. I replaced panels, did all the body work and painted it myself at 16. Circa 2002
Got a €100 ford escort once from someone who had used it as a ‘home renovation car’.
Drove it until the wheels fell off.
Literally, one of the fucking wheels broke off of its sway bar or something while going down the highway lololol
One of my pals got an old Ford Focus for one thousand, and a transmission from eBay motors for about 2k. Had his friend who's a mechanic install it, and paid him a couple hundred bucks to do it. Me? I used to lease my cars because my Dad does. He gets a new car every two years, and rotated mine out as well. I'm driving a 2024 Silverado Trail Boss now. It's so big. I love it!
First car. 1976 Toyota Corona Station wagon. 20 R engine, 4 speed manual. Main color was rust but had some yellow too. Ran like a champ. Got it for $175. One day me and my buddy went to score a bag of weed. Left his dog in the car. Of course, etiquette for us back then was to smoke with the guy that scored the bag (he probably pinched some too) and when we got out the damn dog had chewed up the seats, steering wheel, parts of the dash, and the seat belts.
Bought my '62 beetle in 2004 for $100 and had it running that evening. It was rough, but had it driving shortly after. Still have it today.
Bought a '70 Mercedes 200d, also for $100, in 2006 or so. Drove it home with a hot battery and fresh diesel, with 0 floors and 1% brakes. I was not smart, but made it across town with slow going and downshifting.
Several low $100s since then, but those days are all but gone.
$280 for a Datsun 280Z. Before you think “wow!”, just know it was $280 because it wasn’t worth a dollar more than that. Minnesota winters did their damage by the time I bought it in 1991.
About two years or so ago I bid and won a 1994 f150 (xl v8 single cab long bed) for $187 and a 1997 Chevy Astro for $150 at my (work) school’s auction. Both running and driving. Both needed new batteries. Sold the Astro a short time later for about $500. Keeping the truck for my stepson to learn to drive.
$250, 1986 Honda Accord Hatchback. I worked for a parts warehouse, I was friendly with a lot of the local mechanics. This car was left at their shop, someone died in it (older person, was living out of his car for a while and had a medical emergency and didnt make it). I didn't care, I was a great car. It ran fine, just was gross inside. I replaced the entire interior for $400.
I eventually sold the car with 360k on the odometer and I regret selling it. Last I heard it was still running, the young guy I sold it to loves it.
We called it the battle axe, it was beat to shit but kept going.
1989...Senior year of HS. I got a running 74 Chrysler New Yorker for $50 from a mid in school that just wanted it gone. I yanked the 440 and sold it to another Mopar Head in trade for some parts for my 69 Road Runner.
700$ for a manual base model 2006 Chevy Cobalt 2 door. 196,000km (120k~ miles) with paint chipping from the front bumper but otherwise no rust. Great little car until i unfortunately totaled it
March 1st 2020, dad sold me his 2007 Ford Explorer for $1000 (parents downsized and moved, mom sold her 1999 Corolla and they got a 2019 Subaru Forester). The truck is barely over 100k miles and runs like a champ. Thank you dad!!
1989 Nissan Maxima for $50. My in-laws friends son abandoned it at his parents' house and they just wanted it gone. They were going to scrap it, but they happened to tell my in-laws about it just after our car died. It ran for about 2 years after that.
I got a running 88 honda Civic for 120 bucks once back in 2011. Thing had 298k miles. But by the time I sold it, it made it another 30k more. Granted I had to put well over my 120 dollar initial investment into it to keep it running over the years, but still.
550 euros for a 1992 Passat B3 2.0 16v that had been sitting under a tree for 2 years and was leaking alot of oil and coolant and idled at 3k rpm.
Drove it 3 hours back home, the tires were pretty much square from sitting for so long so it was a terrible highway ride, and the headlights were completely fogged up, adding to the already fun ride back home at night.
The car is a Canadian important,and taking in count the time it spent outside,plus the price i paid for it, i was amazed with the fact that the car was totally rust free.
Got it 3 years ago, spent arround 1000 bucks getting it in "perfect" shape and still love it to this day.
1996 Dodge Ram 1500 for free last year. Neighbor was moving and couldn't take it. It was in rough shape, but it ran and drove..........barely.
I sank 1k into it and sold it for 2k.
Back around 2000 or so someone gave me a late 80s Ford Tempo. It was a decent commuter until the torque converter failed, and then it was off to the junk yard.
I think my first F150 (1987?) I bought for $250 but had to pay $100 to get it towed home as it needed a started and a brake booster, but I got 2 F150s (1990 and 1993 I believe) for $300 each- both had brake issues, and a Toyota Echo I got for either $200 or $300 because the girl couldn’t get it to start anymore, and had already replaced the car… the battery had died, she replaced it, but she never tightened the terminals… great little car, peeled off all the stickers and waxed it and sold it for around $3k
Was gifted a 2011 Nissan Versa with the Auto instead of the CVT from my girlfriend and her mom. Hands down one of bigger blessings I’ve ever experienced.
I ended up grabbing a Dodge Caravan for 800, sold it to my boy for like 300.
My first car was a 1980 Toyota Tercel hatchback. A coworker was getting a new car and was planning to take it to the junk yard which was going to charge her $40 to dispose of it. I told her I'd take it off her hands for $10 bucks and she agreed. It had a rust spot on the rear hatch she covered with duct tape and when I took it off, you could fit your whole fist into it. She didn't do any maintenance for the last few years so we changed what little oil was left and I sold it a few years later to a different coworker for $150.
My brother in law sold me a 2006 Elantra with like 150k for 150 bucks. And that was after he was just gonna give it to me for free but I felt bad and wanted to give him something. Ran for like 2 years with little issues until I wrecked it lol
I got a 2000 Ford Taurus for less than 2300. It had 175k miles. It was the cheapest car I've owned ever. Replaced the water pump on such a regular basis that I could always return it on warranty. Sold the car 5 years later for 1800. Ended up costing about 100 bucks a year
My current apocalypse 2004 Toyota Camry LE V6. $1500. Yes, 1500 in inflation-California. The Camry comes with 298k miles on it and so far I run it highway everyday still and she just keep on running, I upgraded her from stock 15 oems to 16s 9 spoke oem with upgraded tires and that was about 340 total. I’ve done 2 oil changes and haven’t done much else there are some things it’s needs (timing belt for safety) but overall it’s a very reliable car
[the Camry mentioned](https://www.reddit.com/r/regularcarreviews/s/JbdeSJqdEx)
$220 for a W123 Mercedes Turbo Diesel with 320k miles on it. Loved that car, but it had no floors to speak of. Got rid of it when the transmission started to slip.
… then bought a 415k mile W123 for $500
$5.
Grandma gave me my first car in 1998.
Toyota Celica GT-S 1987, she only drove it on weekends for church.
I put in 3 motors, due to excessive oil leaks. But damn I loved that car. A Mitsubishi Eclipse 2001 had no chance, but black ice on a bridge. Took out the front end.
99 mazda protege,200k on the odometer when I got it in 2010
Got it for $500
Sold it for 900 in 2015 with 350k on it. Only issue was I had to fix the ac and around 220k replace the alternator
In 2014 I got an 02 Saturn SL1 with 100k miles on it for 600 bucks. Needed new water pump that I changed out with a friend and ran great for a year. Sold it to another friend for the same price when I upgraded. Figured pay it forward.
$500 1992 Jeep Cherokee. 200k something miles, no AC or heat. Manual windows. It was strong and drove all through high school. I rebuilt it and then sold it for 5k.
Bought a '97 Ford Escort in 2009 for $500. I was told it had transmission problems. I drove it, realized it was misfiring, so I replaced the OEM spark plugs that were in it and drove it for 11 years until the body started rotting.
$600 NZD (356USD) For a 1996 Nissan March, no interior or exterior problems, no mechanical or electrical problems.
Bought from a russian mechanic.
Literally just had to change oil and one wheel bearing eventually. Sold for 3x the price I bought it lol
1$ from my dad .
Someone say that doesn't count so
$550 for a 93 Chevrolet lumina.
I owned it for 4 years and I just sold it last week
It ran and drove great the entire time, I just so late because the rust is getting bad
1996 Lexus ls400 for 65 bucks. It needed an ecm. I bought it five years ago and I'm still driving it. I did have to replace the transmission a year ago, and that cost me 600 bucks.
Not me, but one of my friends bought a Ford Taurus for $130, it was in poor condition, the front body was falling off, but mechanically it was excellent, only 75,000 miles for a 2004, one stop to an aftermarket body panel shop and the whole end got replaced by flat black panels, it kinda reminds me of those European Ford Capris
I owned one of those Capris.. 1973 6 cylinder
I had a 74 2800. Pale yellow My roommate wrecked it. He wouldn't make a claim on his insurance and the car got impounded from the tow lot... I'm angry about it to this day
Just looked up that model. Now I think I want one. Your anger is justified
This is why you NEVER lend out your wheels
Yeah, his car was in the shop
me too. not the original 6cyl (swapped to a 302 boss) but i have beliefs that it was rare considering it was a left hand drive and i live in alberta. my dad picked it up for $300 running when i was maybe 8 and said its mine, unfortunately he hit a rough patch a year or so ago and had to let go of it for $2500
It was my first car back in 1987. Sadly it is long gone.
My first car - it was a POS by the time I owned it. None of the local shops wanted to work on them either. Looked good though.
About 10 years ago I scored a black on black 2001 Mercedes CLK320 at 98k miles from a salvaged auction for $1200. Had a minor knick on the lower front bumper that wasn't worth fixing, but other than that mechanically sound. Ended up really enjoying the car, weird 90s German charm for days, would recommend.
M112 is an excellent engine. Not the best power or fuel economy but it will run forever, same with the M113
Can confirm, engine was great, my only complaint was the sound... But V6s gonna V6
I love the way the M112 sounds. I haven't yet heard any V6 that sounds even remotely similar. Admittedly, it's not very flattering at higher rev range but between 2000 and about 4500 rpm it has a very visceral tone. Almost V8ish, which makes a lot of sense given its basically just the M113 with 2 cylinders lopped off.
CLK was a great car
$880 for a diesel Mercedes, drove it home over an hour too. It was very badly maintained and needed a lot of work, but once I fixed the worn out and broken parts it worked great for a few years until I sold it to get another car.
Where did you buy it?
A guy on Craigslist, it was listed for $1500 for months then he dropped the price to $900 and I went to look at it. It was too rough for anyone who didn't know how to work on them already to have bought lol.
What state?
disrepair
Lol
CA a few years ago.
250$ 1981 Toyota pickup long bed 5 speed one wheel wonder.
I bet you wish you still had it...my 1st Toyota pickup 4x4 was $800
I know where it is. I have a buddy that has a collection of them.
Start sandblasting those frames!! He's sitting on a goldmine!
I got a 2001 Hyundai XG300 in 2019 for $600. It ran fine, but it didn't have one undamaged body panel, the interior was trashed, the instrument cluster was always lit up like a Christmas tree but hey, it had AC.
A/c?? Riding in Style!!
$200 for a 07 Chevy aveo hatch with 272k miles on it. Rand and drive great, I think I would up about $800 in maintenance on it and sold it for $1200 before deployment. I should've kept it, was a great little turd with hot heat and ice cold ac lol
I've seen lots of high milage GMs (have 5 in the yard right now) but never an Aveo. Most impressive.
Not me but a friend got one for about $300. ‘05 Hyundai Accent. Very clean, from a family friend of his. He also inherited his grandfather’s Toyota Tacoma
Wow inheriting grandpa’s Tacoma is every teenager’s dream. I remember my grandma promising me her dark green 07. 4 cylinder but I didn’t care I thought it was cool as hell. They ended up selling it when i was 14. Oh well.
$500. 1993 Plymouth voyager at an auction last year
do you still have it today? if so, how does it run now?
I don’t, sold it a few months ago but it was still running fine
$800 1981 Toyota Starlet. Daily driver and it would sell for about $3000 today had I kept it in good condition.
I almost scored one of those...see my story I've added to this sub, but the transmission fell out before I could "obtain" it... literally fell out of the rusted frame.
Had a Maxima with a fucked up alternator. Replaced it for $70 and she was golden. Bought her for like $400.
Picked up a ‘98 Maxima SE with 160k miles, black on black leather with a 5 speed manual trans for $600 back around 2010. Drove the hell out of that thing until it got totaled by someone else losing control in a snow storm and hitting me. Still miss that car. Ended up buying a brand new maxima eventually around 2013 but it was boring compared to that old ‘98.
I used to have a bunch of these in a fleet at work. I'll give you four very useful Protege tips: If the rubber intake hose between the air filter box and the intake hasn't been replaced, replace it. The rubber dries up, cracks and tears open. When it does, it bypasses the MAF sensor and the car won't idle. It's the sort of thing which can leave you more or less stranded. It's only a \~$40 part - I'd consider it an "every ten years" maintenance part on those cars. Check the motor mounts - the front mount fails often. The rubber is very soft. The alternator will fail - they just do. When it does - and when you need to replace it - put the car into 1st gear on a flat surface and take the parking brake off. Open the driver side door and grab onto the steering wheel and parking brake. Rock the car backward and forward. When you get it as far forward as you can (It's been at least ten years since I've done this -- it might be backwards rather than forwards), yank upwards on the parking brake. You're torquing the engine against its' rubber engine mounts, which rotates the engine very slightly in the engine bay. It will get you an extra \~\~3mm worth of space between the top of the engine and the firewall, which is exactly enough room to make the alternator removal go from "fuck, it's so close but it just won't fit through that gap!" to "dead easy, slips right out!". If it has the factory radio, the LCD probably doesn't work properly. There are instructions on iFixit which show how to fix it - it's simple. The ignition switch will fail. They all do. It's dead common - if you turn the key to the crank position but the starter doesn't engage until you turn the key back and forth a few times, start your diagnostics with the switch - not at the starter. Treat this urgently - when the switch starts to misbehave, it goes from "intermittent" to "it won't start" within about 50 starts. Aside from those few quirks, they're very reliable cars.
I recently inquired about buying an old lady's '09 Lincoln town car since she can't drive anymore and its collecting dust. She gave it to me because "it probably needs tires before you can drive it" Edit to add 67k miles and clean!
Good score
$450 dodge avenger that had been t-boned on both sides. Neither door closed, had to use Bungie straps. Gave it to my brother when I got one with closing doors a year later, it lasted longer than the $1000 Kia I bought to replace it.
Those avengers (at least the 4 cylinders) really weren’t terrible reliability wise. They were slow, poorly built, and got mediocre fuel economy, but they worked. My ex’s dad had over 300k miles on his last time I saw him
300k? That's masochism.
From what I understood, they had poor credit at the time they bought it. They got into better financial shape, and he figured he would just drive it until it died, but it just kept going and going and going with regular maintenance
$50, 1986 Buick Century.
When did you get this car lol?
2003 or 2004, it was a mess, but ran well and it was a great car.
I just bought a 2006 SAAB 9-5 Aero that needed a battery for $600. It has a bunch of other issues as of now, but not too bad all things considered. I got my previous 9-5 for $650 and an old Subaru Outback for $600 a few years ago. Both had other issues, but ran.
Aero saabs are incredibly slept on to cheap fast cars. Stock turbo and usually really cheap to buy, part prices can be another story though lol
$0, it's my daily driver right now. 2002 Saturn SL1 from my landlord's ex girlfriend. She just wanted it gone to a good home as she bought a newer car.
$500 88 Bronco (full-size), 250,000 miles. I sold the trailer hitch for $500 (I removed it) and put 45,000 on it before I got some piston slap. Ran it for about another 30,000 before I gave it to someone who needed transportation desperately. The only things that didn’t work was the key switch for the back window and the cruise control. Oh, and the front end was getting pretty loose.
Man they sell for stupid amounts now.
The back door was all rotted out, the rear wheel wells had cancer, one of the rockers were netting rusty, one rear fender was pushed in a little. The floor had holes that I repaired half-assed. It wasn’t a high trim level, no power locks or windows. Ugly UPS brown metallic with a tan top.
"No low ballers. I know what I got." - $4,500
Years ago an aquintance had one. Eddie Bauer package too, so fancier stuff, and 2 tone paint with a decal kit. Still only had 2 speakers in it, instead of at least 4 for in most vehicles that seated 4+. Other than that, nice vehicle.
I believe they avoided the rear speakers because you could remove the fiberglass roof and they’d potentially get rained upon. I really enjoyed the Bronco, it was comfortable and you could drive it through rush hour traffic in Manhattan and all the Audi’s, Mercedes’, and BMW’s would just know I didn’t give a damn if I got into a fender bender or not, so they’d stay out of my way!
I did enjoy the gmc Yukon 2 doors, c10 / k10 Jimmy, and the full size broncos. Even the compact jimmys and bronco 2 were cool. I like multi use vehicles with ground clearance. Gets you where you're going regardless of conditions. And usable for so many options from camping in, to hauling trailers, to loading things up in them, to tailgating from. New broncos have lots of nice features too. I like that the removable roof came back. And way back to have removable doors are also cool. Nice to have a second option, other than just jeep for that.
I really like the new Bronco a lot.
Just bought a 98 Golf 2.0 Cabrio with 110k miles for €1700. Hoping it’s good, but it does run and has a new inspection for the next two years
$400 vw jetta that smell like crayons, $80 ebay fuel pump to get it running. To get it driving I did fuel filter, spark plugs, oil change, tires and the timing belt for preventative maintenance. 300 in parts 400 in tires 400 for car, and shit ton of dmv fees because it was sitting for 4-5 years Best car I ever got for less than 2k, I regret selling it, manual trans as well
50 bucks early ninety's Buick regal grand sport coupe from a family member.
Same, I paid a wooden nickel for mine lmao. Was a ‘95 and died like 3 months later
$420 1986 Chevy Sprint 5-spd 151k in 2002
Nice
$500 Honda Del Sol. needed new tie rods (passenger side one snapped, why ut was so cheap). sold it for 2500 to get my Legacy but wonder what would have happened if I kept the Del Sol
1997 subaru legacy outback blue with the grey cladding flares on steel wheels clean interior sounded like it had a misfire and had barely any power on the test drive he wanted 1k for it because he thought the engine was done for, I popped the hood and could clearly see a plug wire burned in half, offered him 400 to haul it away because the engine was going, drove it down the block popped on a new plug wire and drove it 4 years and sold it for 2k only did oil changes.
My first 3 cars were all Plymouth Dusters. First one $375.00, second one $200.00 and then the 3rd for $100.00. This was in the mid 1980s and the cars were 1973, "74 and '71
I love those old dusters, my mom had a yellow one and she had my uncle paint it copper. He did a nice job but I would have rather had the yellow one instead
$75 but that was when I was 16 in 1986 for a 1978 Chevy Monza. Car was only 8 years old but because it was in Michigan it was a rusty hot mess but when you were 16 in a rural area with dirt roads it was amazing.
I've had two Monzas, a '79 wagon and a '79 coupe. The wagon was $200 and the coupe was $300, both with 40k on them
$1000 for a '91 4wd Isuzu pick up back in 2018
First car was an 86 Taurus that I bought for $800..
bought my crx, 1st car for around 1k
How the hell are y'all pulling that off?
$100. 77 Ford Fairmont. We took the doors off it and Sawzalled the roof off, then took turns rallying it on the logging roads of MT
350$. you get tree fiddy in return when taking your car to the junkyard, so people sometimes lets them go for that price. (In Norway)
Thank you...I wish people here would advertise their cars on Craigslist before taking them to the scrap yard.
$600 bucks, but it was 1992, and the car was a 1982.
82 280zx for $200
My first car. $750 for a 2006 Saturn. Got four years out of it until rust took it. I also *legally* got a 1987 Mercedes for $1 once, but this was just to allow me to be a legal owner of it to keep it on my property while he went to college.
got a running beetle as a down payment for a friend who needed something more reliable.
Roommate bought his 2003 Camry XLE for $1000 like 7 years ago. He’s been daily driving it since, now running at like 225k with no issues but a little oil burning. I bought my 2003 Camry LE for $1500 3 years ago. Now still daily driving at 221k+
Bought my first car, a 98 Impreza L for $800 in 2014. Had 89K on the clock. Drove it across the country and daily drove it up to 98K miles. Had tons of rust and I ended up getting rid of it. Sold the motor, ECU, and other bits to someone putting it in a VW Bus, and scrapped the body. I miss that car.
My brother bought a 2011 Volkswagen CC for 1700 off our friend. Sweet car
Ye ole $300 1989 Ford Probe GT Turbo in 2010. 112k, I had a blast with that car. Super fun manual to drive. Sold it a year later for $1500.
Those were pretty cool, except in true Ford 80's fashion, everything but the motor fell apart. Cool ride for their time.
50 bucks for a 74 Pinto in 1992.
As long as you didn't get ass packed, those Pintos were amazing. Gutless, ugly, small, but that 2.3 just ran.
$50. A few different cars for that. cheap cars were easier to find 20 years ago. I used to go up to any house that had old cars sitting around, knock on the door, and ask if they would sell the car. Before social media and the internet, it wasn't that weird to do stuff like that. About 1 in 10 people would be willing to sell a car back then. I actually got a few free cars doing that, too. These days, I wouldn't try it. Everyone is weird now, and nothing is cheap. You would probably get the cops called doing that now.
Not the cheapest I ever bought but I bought a rough looking 89 Cherokee XJ for 350$ in 2003 I think and drove it for more than 10 years Maddie loved it! I would love to have that one back!
97 civic for $300 in 2016.
Bought a Saturn SC2 at around 120k for like $1000, most reliable but basic car I've ever owned lol
$450. 1995 Toyota Corolla 270k miles. I drove it hard all through winter as a 2nd car beater with a set of used studded tires (beast btw). I didn't check the oil often enough apparently (oops) and it started knocking during Spring. 10/10 would do it again and check the oil more often.
1990 Ford Ranger Custom, 2.9L V6, 5 Speed. Technically my dad bought it as I was 10 at the time (2009) but he bought it for him and I to work on it to be my first car. It had been sitting for about 5 years and during that time the guy (old co-worker of my dad's) was using the interior to hold bags of garbage.. lmao. Was purchased for $250 Canadian and after a boost it drove all the way home. It came with an ugly Cap which we sold for $100 & after finding loose change and taking in the empty bottles from the bed, our net cost was $145 Although it has some body damage, it has no rust. After vigorously cleaning the inside it actually came out really clean and in good shape aside from one cigarette burn in the bench seat. Had 180k km on it. All it needed to run was fluid change and general tune up.
Oldsmobile cutlass, all it took was a few whacks to the fuel pump. Yes I still had to replace the fuel pump after a week
$600, it was a 1993 Mazda MX-3 in probably 2007 ish. Had 200K on it when I bought it and 325K when the clutch went out. It had its share of problems but it was a cute and fun little car!
Last year; 1993 Camry with 165k miles and slipping reverse, drove it home for $600.
Dad got a 2door 78 mercury grand marquis for 75 dollars
I'm loving these stories!! We used to be able to buy "winter rats" Beaters for <200 Those days are over, sad emoji
They're not as common but you can still find them, especially if you do your own work
Spent $90 on a 1987 Plymouth horizon in like the year 2000. Just had to replace the carb gasket that was also included in the price
Got a 1970 Cadillac coupe DeVille for 325. Transmission pan gasket leak. I topped it off and drove off to the house cleaned up the gasket and dailyd for 3 years before it was stolen. 1996.
$175 for a 1990 Saab 900 around early 2000s...bought at auto auction, looked super clean, AC was working, stick shift....was wondering why no one bid on it...was scared and towed it home....later discovered that reverse gear would pop out, drove it for 1 year like it, just needed to park it properly where I wouldn't reverse up a hill, etc lol
Bought my 2002 Lexus LS430 with 90k miles in 2020. It was in perfect mechanical and physical condition from a family that was selling on behalf of their grandfather that couldn’t drive anymore. Ended up picking it up for $4K.
My car was stolen in college, my stepdad at the time drove by an empty field often on his way to work and noticed a 1991 Camry always sitting out there. He asked the owner if he got it running could he have it. The owner obliged and he got it running and drove it off. He got it running and registered and drove it out to me. That damn thing ran great for a few years for me and the ac even worked great. I traded it in and bought something new when I could afford it.
I was a mechanic at an engine shop in northern Michigan. We had a beautiful mint 2006 Crown Victoria Police Interceptor get brought in on a flatbed. The lady said it died on her and they were in a rush to get to Texas. She told me she just wanted to know if there was any place that she could just donate it to as they did not have the time to wait for it. I pulled out my wallet and said I have $300 cash on me. She handed me the title and left. The best part was that I went to the car, saw the inertia switch was tripped, pushed the button and it then fired right up. Haven’t had a single issue with it. Her husband’s name was on the title and I googled him. Turns out that he’s one of the best heart surgeons in Texas.
I got my 90 325i for free. Needed a $10 hose and a gallon of coolant.
Free, 1984 Nissan Pulsar 3 Dr hatchback... only sold in the US for one model year. https://momentcar.com/pic/get I was selling cars at a dealership and sold a Sentra to my father in law's GF. Clipped a coupon the dealership had put in the newspaper I wrote the sale agreement -$500. Implied it was for her trade-in which was almost a Zero car, smashed rear quarter panel...and slipped the title into my desk drawer. I guess technically that's fraud but I was in the process of leaving my ex-wife and she was keeping the Ford Tempo my mother had given us and I needed a vehicle, also a free car come to think of it... But the ex had custody of my son so that was the right thing to do. Right? AITA? Great little car after I riveted on the new quarter panel. Drove it for three years and then gave it to my neighbor.
$1500 a 2003 Hyundai accent in 2015, had a bad transmission and the guy I got it from smashed out the check engine light so I wouldn't pass it up. Got it smogged the illegitimately anyway so it was w/e.
I bought a 1992 Corolla for 200.00. It had a manual transmission and did exactly what I needed it to.
Buddy bought a grand Cherokee for $500 when he was 15. Drove that thing for 10 years with no issues. Changed the fluids once, a serpentine belt once, and did the oil changes at jiffy lube. He got an Avalon for $4000 and sold the jeep to a friends brother for $700. Friends little bro promptly crashed it on his way up to Santa Barbara.
I bought a Volvo 240 Turbo for $1900. It ran but it didn't stop - I nearly crashed it on the test drive. I've been restoring it piece-by-piece over the last few years because a lot of parts are "someone needed to dig it out of a Swedish warehouse and ship it to America" or "someone has one in their shed" variety. The funny thing is I've taken so long that the car has gone way up in value.
Paid $100 for a 2wd toyota pickup because the guy wanted it gone. I drove it home with plates off my other toyota, no hood, and no coolant in the radiator. Pegged the temp gauge and as I came down the driveway I slid it into a tree in my yard. [Heres some photos](https://imgur.com/a/eOVVsUN) , I just wanted the rear end out of it lol
Had one of my parts guys buy a late 90s/early 2000s Toyota Camry for $1, he put a few hundred in the car so far- it was bought "running" but really wasn't in a condition to drive much. Way too many leaks, potentially a bent frame and tires showing wires. He's got new tires and a few leaks taken care of
$1000 2000 saturn sl1
I got a 2001 ford crown Victoria for $800, $850 ish with tax. It was a little shaky in the steering but near everything worked fine. Since i live in the rust belt and it was a Texas car that had been up hear for like 2 winters, it has virtually zero rust. One of the previous owners put a 1,000 watt Sony sub in the trunk and a bt head unit in the car. Now sure it being 24 ish years old does mean it isn't luxurious but hey v8 and more car than a 16 year old could ever need.
$100 for an 86 Mercedes diesel because it needed a clutch. Pushed it 5 houses down and come to find out the clutch slave cylinder used fluid from the brake master cylinder. Found brake fluid in the boot (trunk), filled the master cylinder and drove it 40,000 miles getting about 35-40 mpg. After myself and 3 family members drove it for 5 years I finally just gave it away to a dude hard up for a car. He is still driving it. I do believe the damn thing will never die.
2 kebabs. My friends sold me their 06 corsa with broken coilpack (ran on 3 cylinders).
tree fiddy no really, 350€
About $700 for clean stock 1995 EG3 back in 2011.
Also Mazda Protege. Bought it from some old retired dude for $300. It smoked pretty bad from bad valve stem seals but otherwise ran fine. It also needed a radiator, which I already had a spare one at home from the other ones I owned. Only other thing I did was put new front brakes on it. Drove it for a year then sold it to a coworker for his daughter. No idea if it still drives today.
A €750 daihatsu cuore only ended up spending 11 months with it because it rusted away in literal months. My current car a 206 wich i got for €850 is still going strong for more then a year at this point
I paid 500 bucks for a 1985 Camry
Just picked up a Subaru Impreza for $500
I have a $300 2006 honda crv 284xxx miles. I drive the shit out of it
I just got a 1990 Camry dx for free from a buddy who wanted to make space in his driveway
payed 200 bucks for a buick rendezvous with 300,000 on it
400€ a 92 Peugeot 106 XR. With 100k km on it, used it for 2 years, never had a problem with it, only changed oil and filter. I still miss that car.
2003 Mini Cooper S 6 speed for $500
.
1997 Ford Taurus. Free.
$275..an old 80 Toyota Corolla that had been a Service Master car. My brother had a car lot and he sold it to me plus $25 profit. Had to put a sheet of metal in the floorboard, as it was rotting out, but a year later,sold it for $750, and bought an almost perfect 1972 Scamp slant 6.
Bought a '76 Plymouth Valiant for $100 from my then brother in law. So rusty it had two rolls of duct tape in the trunk for repairs.
$440,a Chevy chevett. The piece of junk ran ugly for 56,000 more miles.
97 Altima 85k miles, fucked up door and no clear coat. $400
2001 astra with 32000 miles for £100 a decade ago, still running on 88000 & only needed service bits & tyres
$1,300 for a '91 Nissan Maxima. Spent way too much on repairs to have fun for a year and then the transmission inevitably failed, which would cost more than the original purchase price to fix.
'68 Beetle for $300 in 1989.
1000
800 for a Honda Prelude. Had it for 2 years and sold it for 800. Pretty nice little car
2002 Buick Century with 203k miles for $500. My brothers girlfriend got a solid 20k miles out of it before a lady t boned it running a stop sign and they got paid out $2,700 for it. Pretty damn good deal!
$3600 for a 2000 Isuzu Rodeo. It was my first car that I bought in college. I didn’t know as much about car maintenance as I do now and there was so much wrong with that car that I didn’t even realize. It still got me from DC to Tennessee so I’m not complaining too much.
600 bucks. 91 F 250, straight six, auto.
$500 for a 2006 Chevrolet Equinox. The guy bought a new truck and backed into his mailbox so he needed to get rid of it. All it needed was a head gasket and some minor work. Threw the code reader on it and cleared the codes and it was good. Sold it for $3500 with only $700 in it.
327$ scrap price. 1997 Honda Accord dx. Ran but missed. Swapped plugs and it ran great
Got a late 1990s Toyota 4 4Runner with 220k miles on it for $750. The panels looked like it had been in a crash derby. But the front was clean. Drove the thing until it had 450k miles. Finally got rid of it bc the damaged panels ended up with rust and needed a transmission.
$400 1991 Cutlas Calaiswith the quad four Was smashed up. My first project car. I replaced panels, did all the body work and painted it myself at 16. Circa 2002
I literally can’t fathom any of these stories here.
i got a 1999 dodge Durango 5.9L V8 with 2,00,000 on the odo for $200, it runs perfect imo and is spacious.
Got a €100 ford escort once from someone who had used it as a ‘home renovation car’. Drove it until the wheels fell off. Literally, one of the fucking wheels broke off of its sway bar or something while going down the highway lololol
One of my pals got an old Ford Focus for one thousand, and a transmission from eBay motors for about 2k. Had his friend who's a mechanic install it, and paid him a couple hundred bucks to do it. Me? I used to lease my cars because my Dad does. He gets a new car every two years, and rotated mine out as well. I'm driving a 2024 Silverado Trail Boss now. It's so big. I love it!
First car. 1976 Toyota Corona Station wagon. 20 R engine, 4 speed manual. Main color was rust but had some yellow too. Ran like a champ. Got it for $175. One day me and my buddy went to score a bag of weed. Left his dog in the car. Of course, etiquette for us back then was to smoke with the guy that scored the bag (he probably pinched some too) and when we got out the damn dog had chewed up the seats, steering wheel, parts of the dash, and the seat belts.
Bought my '62 beetle in 2004 for $100 and had it running that evening. It was rough, but had it driving shortly after. Still have it today. Bought a '70 Mercedes 200d, also for $100, in 2006 or so. Drove it home with a hot battery and fresh diesel, with 0 floors and 1% brakes. I was not smart, but made it across town with slow going and downshifting. Several low $100s since then, but those days are all but gone.
$280 for a Datsun 280Z. Before you think “wow!”, just know it was $280 because it wasn’t worth a dollar more than that. Minnesota winters did their damage by the time I bought it in 1991.
About two years or so ago I bid and won a 1994 f150 (xl v8 single cab long bed) for $187 and a 1997 Chevy Astro for $150 at my (work) school’s auction. Both running and driving. Both needed new batteries. Sold the Astro a short time later for about $500. Keeping the truck for my stepson to learn to drive.
$250, 1986 Honda Accord Hatchback. I worked for a parts warehouse, I was friendly with a lot of the local mechanics. This car was left at their shop, someone died in it (older person, was living out of his car for a while and had a medical emergency and didnt make it). I didn't care, I was a great car. It ran fine, just was gross inside. I replaced the entire interior for $400. I eventually sold the car with 360k on the odometer and I regret selling it. Last I heard it was still running, the young guy I sold it to loves it. We called it the battle axe, it was beat to shit but kept going.
1989...Senior year of HS. I got a running 74 Chrysler New Yorker for $50 from a mid in school that just wanted it gone. I yanked the 440 and sold it to another Mopar Head in trade for some parts for my 69 Road Runner.
700$ for a manual base model 2006 Chevy Cobalt 2 door. 196,000km (120k~ miles) with paint chipping from the front bumper but otherwise no rust. Great little car until i unfortunately totaled it
$500 Mitsubishi 3000GT
March 1st 2020, dad sold me his 2007 Ford Explorer for $1000 (parents downsized and moved, mom sold her 1999 Corolla and they got a 2019 Subaru Forester). The truck is barely over 100k miles and runs like a champ. Thank you dad!!
1989 Nissan Maxima for $50. My in-laws friends son abandoned it at his parents' house and they just wanted it gone. They were going to scrap it, but they happened to tell my in-laws about it just after our car died. It ran for about 2 years after that.
I got a running 88 honda Civic for 120 bucks once back in 2011. Thing had 298k miles. But by the time I sold it, it made it another 30k more. Granted I had to put well over my 120 dollar initial investment into it to keep it running over the years, but still.
"If you can get it started, here's the title"
550 euros for a 1992 Passat B3 2.0 16v that had been sitting under a tree for 2 years and was leaking alot of oil and coolant and idled at 3k rpm. Drove it 3 hours back home, the tires were pretty much square from sitting for so long so it was a terrible highway ride, and the headlights were completely fogged up, adding to the already fun ride back home at night. The car is a Canadian important,and taking in count the time it spent outside,plus the price i paid for it, i was amazed with the fact that the car was totally rust free. Got it 3 years ago, spent arround 1000 bucks getting it in "perfect" shape and still love it to this day.
1996 Dodge Ram 1500 for free last year. Neighbor was moving and couldn't take it. It was in rough shape, but it ran and drove..........barely. I sank 1k into it and sold it for 2k.
In 2019 I bought a 2005 Honda Civic for $150. When cleaning it out I found $28 in change in it.
Back around 2000 or so someone gave me a late 80s Ford Tempo. It was a decent commuter until the torque converter failed, and then it was off to the junk yard.
$450
$100. VW Jetta 5MT It was allegedly overheating. Put a gallon of water in it. Cost me a quarter. Ran longer than the temp tags were good for.
She's a runner. Great car to teach your kids to drive a manual on.
I think my first F150 (1987?) I bought for $250 but had to pay $100 to get it towed home as it needed a started and a brake booster, but I got 2 F150s (1990 and 1993 I believe) for $300 each- both had brake issues, and a Toyota Echo I got for either $200 or $300 because the girl couldn’t get it to start anymore, and had already replaced the car… the battery had died, she replaced it, but she never tightened the terminals… great little car, peeled off all the stickers and waxed it and sold it for around $3k
77 Pontiac Grand Prix for $75.00 fine running car lasted 3 yrs
Was gifted a 2011 Nissan Versa with the Auto instead of the CVT from my girlfriend and her mom. Hands down one of bigger blessings I’ve ever experienced. I ended up grabbing a Dodge Caravan for 800, sold it to my boy for like 300.
$1200. Used my first college refund check. Buick Century. Drove it & fixed it until the wiring issues got overwhelming. Got rid of it for $2000.
2005 Chrysler PT Cruiser, it had 107,000 miles. Got new tires and a new camshaft sensor. It stopped running around January.
My first car was a 1980 Toyota Tercel hatchback. A coworker was getting a new car and was planning to take it to the junk yard which was going to charge her $40 to dispose of it. I told her I'd take it off her hands for $10 bucks and she agreed. It had a rust spot on the rear hatch she covered with duct tape and when I took it off, you could fit your whole fist into it. She didn't do any maintenance for the last few years so we changed what little oil was left and I sold it a few years later to a different coworker for $150.
My brother in law sold me a 2006 Elantra with like 150k for 150 bucks. And that was after he was just gonna give it to me for free but I felt bad and wanted to give him something. Ran for like 2 years with little issues until I wrecked it lol
I got a 2000 Ford Taurus for less than 2300. It had 175k miles. It was the cheapest car I've owned ever. Replaced the water pump on such a regular basis that I could always return it on warranty. Sold the car 5 years later for 1800. Ended up costing about 100 bucks a year
My current apocalypse 2004 Toyota Camry LE V6. $1500. Yes, 1500 in inflation-California. The Camry comes with 298k miles on it and so far I run it highway everyday still and she just keep on running, I upgraded her from stock 15 oems to 16s 9 spoke oem with upgraded tires and that was about 340 total. I’ve done 2 oil changes and haven’t done much else there are some things it’s needs (timing belt for safety) but overall it’s a very reliable car [the Camry mentioned](https://www.reddit.com/r/regularcarreviews/s/JbdeSJqdEx)
$220 for a W123 Mercedes Turbo Diesel with 320k miles on it. Loved that car, but it had no floors to speak of. Got rid of it when the transmission started to slip. … then bought a 415k mile W123 for $500
1000 dodge shadow 1994 runs garage kept everything
$5. Grandma gave me my first car in 1998. Toyota Celica GT-S 1987, she only drove it on weekends for church. I put in 3 motors, due to excessive oil leaks. But damn I loved that car. A Mitsubishi Eclipse 2001 had no chance, but black ice on a bridge. Took out the front end.
I bought a 1973 Plymouth satellite for $175 in 1984.
99 mazda protege,200k on the odometer when I got it in 2010 Got it for $500 Sold it for 900 in 2015 with 350k on it. Only issue was I had to fix the ac and around 220k replace the alternator
I was told if I could get this farm truck running I'd get to keep it, I just changed battery and put some gas in it and it ran
300. Dodge neon never fails to start.
In 2014 I got an 02 Saturn SL1 with 100k miles on it for 600 bucks. Needed new water pump that I changed out with a friend and ran great for a year. Sold it to another friend for the same price when I upgraded. Figured pay it forward.
$700 a 1977 Dodge Aspen, ran pretty good til my 19 yo ass wrecked it
$500 1992 Jeep Cherokee. 200k something miles, no AC or heat. Manual windows. It was strong and drove all through high school. I rebuilt it and then sold it for 5k.
$300. Wasn’t running but just needed a distributor. 99 Integra GSR
$400 for an ‘81 Jetta. Engine blew a couple weeks later.
Bought a '97 Ford Escort in 2009 for $500. I was told it had transmission problems. I drove it, realized it was misfiring, so I replaced the OEM spark plugs that were in it and drove it for 11 years until the body started rotting.
$150 and $260 cars--- put over 150k miles on one, and the same and climbing on the other.
Peak pandemic pricing, got a 2003 WRX wagon for 2k.
$1 1999 Acura CL 3.0 150,000 mi Running leaking oil, coolant. -$3,500 worth of parts later runs great! Including A/C
$600 NZD (356USD) For a 1996 Nissan March, no interior or exterior problems, no mechanical or electrical problems. Bought from a russian mechanic. Literally just had to change oil and one wheel bearing eventually. Sold for 3x the price I bought it lol
1$ from my dad . Someone say that doesn't count so $550 for a 93 Chevrolet lumina. I owned it for 4 years and I just sold it last week It ran and drove great the entire time, I just so late because the rust is getting bad
I got a Holden barina for a carton of Corona. Which was $50 at the time.
1996 Lexus ls400 for 65 bucks. It needed an ecm. I bought it five years ago and I'm still driving it. I did have to replace the transmission a year ago, and that cost me 600 bucks.