Help buying a car

[Tiger King]

Last time I posted in the advice section it was for help on job seeking.
I have been offered a job and it is a pretty good one with a big company but it is kinda far away from where I live.

I'm pretty stressed out because I only have a week or so before I start and need to buy some wheels or I won't be able to get to work. I have bought cars back home in the uk but it is a bit different here in the states.

The second hand market price is distorted I have noticed. For example there are a lot of cars that are roughly 15 years old with around 150-200k on the clock going for between 3-5 thousand dollars!

Buying from a dealer may not be a route for me as they are even more expensive and also because a credit score in Europe cannot be transferred to the US, I had to start over from scratch so i'm not even sure I will be eligible for financing.

First question you might ask is what am I after?
I'm honestly not fussed, so long as it has seats, steering wheel and four tyres and runs that will do. i'm just after something that will do until I get a bit of cash squared away and can upgrade. I can drive both manual and auto, not sure which would be better to get.
It seems only younger guys drive stick/manual here? which back home translates to 'boy racer' so should I avoid manual cars as they have most likely been ragged?

Budget is about 3 thousand, I could go higher but I would like to keep some savings in reserve in case life throws me a curve ball.

one last question, is driving an hour and 45 mins to and from work everyday normal or abnormal for America? i'm asking mostly out of cultural curiosity.

Thanks in advance guys!

 

[SnowyGamester]

Since you're on a budget you might want to look into subcompacts like the Honda Jazz/Fit, Ford Fiesta, Suzuki Swift, etc. They're small so they're usually a bit cheaper but they've got enough seats and I know the Jazz at least has plenty of storage space and plenty of leg and head room. I recently picked up an '04 Jazz VTi with 120,000kms for $3500 ($2680 USD) with the only fault being a bad ignition coil and faded paint. I'm not familiar with the US car market but I'm under the impression that they're cheaper there so it shouldn't be too hard to find something in your price range.

 

[Tiger King]

Since you're on a budget you might want to look into subcompacts like the Honda Jazz/Fit, Ford Fiesta, Suzuki Swift, etc. They're small so they're usually a bit cheaper but they've got enough seats and I know the Jazz at least has plenty of storage space and plenty of leg and head room. I recently picked up an '04 Jazz VTi with 120,000kms for $3500 ($2680 USD) with the only fault being a bad ignition coil and faded paint. I'm not familiar with the US car market but I'm under the impression that they're cheaper there so it shouldn't be too hard to find something in your price range.

yeah I was also under the impression that cars were cheaper here but that doesn't seem to be the case. Perhaps it is different in other states maybe. Petrol on the other hand is dirt cheap

I've noticed, at least privately, that estate cars are cheaper than saloons, perhaps because they aren't as popular.
Thanks for your advice, i'm gunna keep looking, I did see a fiesta that looked an ok deal. Bodywork and interior looked good, mileage was acceptable, engine....head gasket had blown.
Not sure where the owner had gotten the 1800 dollar asking price from when the car was knackered

 

[somersetsaxon]

If you're working for a relatively big company is it likely that there would be someone else already making the commute from your neck of the woods that would be happy to lift share until you can get a car? I'm astonished at how expensive that is for a second hand car, and as you say, it might be swings and roundabouts with running costs, but if I was spending that much money on a car I'd prefer there to be less of a time pressure. If you can lift share even for a little while it'll buy you time for research.
For anyone who's interested (which might just have been me...), I had a quick look on one car sales website and found '04 Honda Jazz's with similar mileage to SnowyGamester's in full working order for around 600 GBP so a chunk under 1000 USD.

Edit: Sorry if this is coming off as patronising and you've already considered lift sharing and what not, it's not meant to be.

 

[SnowyGamester]

For anyone who's interested (which might just have been me...), I had a quick look on one car sales website and found '04 Honda Jazz's with similar mileage to SnowyGamester's in full working order for around 600 GBP so a chunk under 1000 USD.

See that's not even fair. Over here what I paid would be considered a steal.

I did see a fiesta that looked an ok deal. Bodywork and interior looked good, mileage was acceptable, engine....head gasket had blown.
Not sure where the owner had gotten the 1800 dollar asking price from when the car was knackered

Yeah you need to be getting a really good deal for that kind of work to be worth it.

 

[Tiger King]

If you're working for a relatively big company is it likely that there would be someone else already making the commute from your neck of the woods that would be happy to lift share until you can get a car? I'm astonished at how expensive that is for a second hand car, and as you say, it might be swings and roundabouts with running costs, but if I was spending that much money on a car I'd prefer there to be less of a time pressure. If you can lift share even for a little while it'll buy you time for research.
For anyone who's interested (which might just have been me...), I had a quick look on one car sales website and found '04 Honda Jazz's with similar mileage to SnowyGamester's in full working order for around 600 GBP so a chunk under 1000 USD.

Edit: Sorry if this is coming off as patronising and you've already considered lift sharing and what not, it's not meant to be.

No problem
I very seriously doubt it, however I haven't started working there yet so it's not like I know any of my future co-workers or where they live
I'm pretty sure i'm going to have to move closer at some point which sucks because I have absolutely fallen in love with where I currently live. I'm right by the beach and I get to see beautiful sunsets every evening and listen to the ocean as I go to sleep each night.

Your search for the Honda jazz matches my experience of prices back home. 1000 usd will get you something ready for the scrap yard it seems.