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stateofmind

stateofmind

Well-Known Member
Jul 16, 2007
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used car? I'm looking to buy a used car for my son. I will not spend over $5,000, but would like to be much less. Does anybody know of a good car for sale in the Des Moines metro area? Or places you've had success buying from?

And yes, I will pay cash... ;)
 
BWRhasnoAC said:
Buy a toyota with some miles on it. Or if you can find an oldsmobile anymore they're gold.
Click to expand...
We bought a used 1998 Toyota Corolla LE for my step-son almost 13 years ago from Tom's Motors. All it's needed since buying it are windshield wiper blades, tires, a new battery and regular oil changes. It had 113,000 miles on it when we bought it and it now has about 170,000 miles and still going strong. Beckley Automotive in DM maintains it.

Here's one as an example:

https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?listingId=494224314&zip=50009&referrer=/cars-for-sale/searchresults.xhtml?zip=50009&startYear=2000&sortBy=distanceASC&incremental=all&firstRecord=0&endYear=2005&modelCodeList=COROL&makeCodeList=TOYOTA&searchRadius=300&startYear=2000&numRecords=25&firstRecord=0&endYear=2005&modelCodeList=COROL&makeCodeList=TOYOTA&searchRadius=300&makeCode1=TOYOTA&modelCode1=COROL

And here's a nice Toyota Solara from Tom's Auto in DM:

http://www.tomsautogroup.com/used-2003-toyota-camry-solara-sle-v4859779.html
 
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I like these threads...they point me in the direction of going for an older car that I can pay off in cash next time around instead of going the loan route.
 
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It’s good to hear Tom’s has been good to work with. I hear his daughter was an ISU sorority girl, so can’t be all too bad. :) I was really hoping to buy from an individual instead of a dealer, as some of these places are unreal bad.
 
Just for cheap kid cars, I am a big fan of the Pontiac Vibe. It's actually a Toyota Matrix made in the same factory in California - and the Matrix is just a hatchback Corolla. So they last forever.

30+ mpg, plenty of storage in the back when needed, reliable and a decent ride. Not flashy to be sure.

We've a 2006 with 250k+ on it and still runs like a top. You can get older ones for $4-5k with 100k miles on them, that will last you 10 more years if you change the oil...
 
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If you've got time and aren't brand finicky estate auctions aren't a terrible way to go.
 
stateofmind said:
used car? I'm looking to buy a used car for my son. I will not spend over $5,000, but would like to be much less. Does anybody know of a good car for sale in the Des Moines metro area? Or places you've had success buying from?

And yes, I will pay cash... ;)
Click to expand...
Sent you a dm
 
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