Taking A Look at Cheap Cars Both New And Used

If by “cheap cars” you mean to say “inexpensive cars,” then there are ways to find one on and offline that will not make you feel like the setup guy in a bad comedy sketch. This does not mean you should neglect your due diligence, whether you want to buy or find a cheap car for sale. However, it does mean you do not have to be embarrassed if your wallet will not allow a new, top-of-the-line used, or mere moderately-aged vehicle.
damagedcars2On the other hand, will it?

These days, “cheap car” as a phrase does not mean rust bucket garbage wagons you can buy for a couple of hundred dollars and drive to death, or only keep until you can afford something younger and better, whichever comes first. (If you have ever bought a three-hundred-dollar rust bucket garbage wagon to tide you over, you probably drove it to death first, though it was not your fault: it may have been dying when you bought it in the first place.)

Just hit the Internet running and you can come up with a few dozen outlets through which to search for a cheap used car that is cheap in price alone. These can be, often as not, very well-built, well-apportioned, well-styled flyers like maybe a used volkswagen golf that the government, or the banks (and right now that may not be mutually exclusive), need to get off their hands post haste. It is not always just a punch line that you might land yourself a smart-looking late-model Lincoln for the price of a dumb-looking ancient Gremlin at an auto auction. It is not always guaranteed, either.

“Cheap cars” also means brand-new vehicles that sell for bottom-of-the-line prices. Nowadays $10,000 or thereabout is a cheap car. (Typically, at this writing, it is a Hyundai Accent or a Nissan Versa.) Usually, it also indicates a car having nothing but the basics and no accessories to speak of.

But “cheap car” can mean cheap used cars under $10,000 that will not fall apart the week after you buy it, license it, and insure it. In addition, a lot of those are very late model vehicles, too—from a 2004-09 Ford F150 pickup and a 2000-06 Chevrolet Tahoe SUV to a 2002-06 Toyota Camry and a 1998-2005 Lincoln Town Car. You can even find more top-of-the-line fare in that range: the 2003-07 Cadillac CTS; the 2001-07 Volvo XC70; and, for you pure sports car lovers, the 1995-2005 Mazda Miata and the 2005-09 Ford Mustang.

Remember always to investigate the vehicles as thoroughly as possible, because cheap second hand cars become extremely expensive if you discover the hard way that it has become a mechanical or operational nightmare. Unless you want to buy damaged cars to repair yourself, either to drive or resell.

Taking A Look At Salvage Cars As A Fix Up Project

A salvage car is one that an insurance company has written off as a total loss, but they are repairable. When a car receives this distinction from an insurance company, the title is completely canceled out – which means that according to the law, these damaged cars do not technically exist.

Many salvage title cars come into existence from accidents or other damage such as water damage. Some were brand new at the time of the accident that destroyed them and were sitting on the parking lots of dealerships.

For those who cannot afford a brand new car and are willing to put in a little sweat equity to rebuild a car, salvage car auctions offer a chance to have a drivable vehicle and a chance for the car to be resurrected.

Before you buy salvage cars for sale, it is important to evaluate how much work is required to make the car safe and presentable. If the cost of restoration is more than you would pay for a used car on a lot or from an independent buyer, it is probably not worth the investment — unless you have some sentimental attachment to the car or you need it specifically for salvage car parts that you cannot find anywhere else.

Be aware that some states require salvage cars to have “salvage” titles, while other states let dealers and owners establish a new title altogether. Some shady dealers will often move cars from a salvage title state across the border to a new title state and then try to pass the car off as one that has not been salvaged.

Do your homework; research the title and do as much research on the title as possible to avoid being duped about this. Checking with the National Insurance Crime Bureau or requesting a vehicle history report (like the ones offered by Car Fax) may help you determine the truth. If a car shows up on a Car Fax report, though, you may have some trouble selling it to other buyers.

Some cars end up becoming salvage cars after natural disaster simply because they are on a lot with other salvage cars. When the insurance adjuster comes to make a damage estimate, he or she cannot possibly inspect all the cars on a car lot. Therefore, the person delivers an estimate of how many cars on the lot are damaged, and they all get the designation as salvage cars.

Salvage cars that are not as damaged, but receive a salvage title could make rewarding project cars and save you thousands of dollars.