<VV> VV 1st Car & girls (long, but an experienced opinion) NO CORVAIR

[NicolCS@aol.com]

I had a dealership that I ran for some years (until I couldn't take the abuse 
anymore), I specialized in cars for kids... I called it "The $3000 Car 
Store". I sold about 500 cars in three years and here's some of what I learned:

1) Due to the high desirability of certain makes (Honda Toyota), they aren't 
good value on the used market.  You pick: sharp '98 Cavalier with 75k or 
tattered '88 Celica with 297k. (same price, $3k)  Stated another way, a '98 Saturn 
with 80k was $3000, a '98 Civic with '80k was $10,000.

2) Airbags are a really good thing, along with many other safety improvements 
to latches, hood retainers, crush zones, steering columns, and on and on.  By 
'95, everything had dual airbags but was still OBD1.  A sweet combination of 
benefits with reasonable simplicity.

3) The nicer the car, the faster it got totalled.  I sold hundreds of average 
cars without issue, the real standouts were ALL totalled within two weeks. A 
real shame and I never figured that one out.

4) Every Kia or Hyundai I sold (all with 50k to 80k) needed or had a new 
engine or transmission, needed CV joints, and all the Kias had impossibly warped 
dashes (up 5" in the middle)

5) A 4 cyl used car with an automatic and over 125k (except GM) could be 
relied upon to provide 15k more from the trans.  OTOH, the same car with a stick 
will provide 75k+ more from the trans.

6) Avoid: 3.8 Ford cars (bad engine), all 2.8 GM (bad engine,no power), 
anything with an 80's carburetor, 3.0 Chry/mitsu (bad engine), older Taurus/Sable 
(bad AT), VW (repair frequency), Hyundais.  Watch low-end Mitsu/Eagle models, 
many are Hyundais.

7) Consider: 93-up Saturn, especially DOHC.  91-95 Escort (Mazda) (though 
watch ATs; 125k and they're done) '96-up Cavalier.  Any low mileage Honda or 
Toyota that fits your budget and isn't a "rebuilt" wreck (miracle find).  Other 
Japanese cars can be good buys.  Suzuki does a really nice job and they arent in 
the kid's target so prices are about half of H&T. 

8) Plan on an AT service, and cam belt along with about $500 devoted to 
routinely needed (tires, muffler, battery) service.

9) On the purchase end, for every one of the 500 that I purchased, I looked 
at ten vehicles. 

10) I came to find that for the same FINAL money spent I could either have a 
4 year old car with 80k that needed almost nothing or a "much cheaper" 7-year 
old car with 125k needing work.  And the resale valve on the 4-year old car 
will always be higher, starting from day one.

11) Check the insurance company rates before buying. Some common cars can be 
$300 a month.

Craig (back to technical writing and Street-rod a/c,electrical,EFI work) Nicol