When you buy a used car are you really getting a deal or inheriting a headache?

I personally can't see buying a brand new car that will be old before long any ways. My most recent car was 2 years old. New enough to be reliable but old enough to have the major hit taken in the depreciation all ready.

I'm sorry to hear you are having trouble with your new used truck. That certainly sucks when buying a vehicle. Used autos can be a good deal if the person that is buying it knows enough about cars. I'm lucky that my husband is pretty knowledgeable when it comes to cars. And we are even luckier that our landlord's son gave us a deal with his truck. Okay, so it's a '91 but we only paid $500 for it. We did put new tires on it shortly after we got it (almost 2 years ago), but other than that it's been a great little truck with no major problems.

Modern vehicles are really great if they are maintained during their lifetime. Really old vehicles (I'm talking 1920/1930's here) were very simple and easy to maintain but they did seem to need a lot of spares. 1950's to 1980's tended to be rust buckets but the engines were getting better. 1990's to today are brilliant on the whole. My policy is to never buy new and to scrap it when something major needs doing and buy another one for $1000. If you are unlucky and buy a bad one then cut your losses quickly and scrap it and buy again. It isn't worth shelling out good money on a bad one.

You get what you paid for--- remember that saying- I think that is true with used vehicles- especially ones that you purchase through individual owners- I have purchased many used vehicles when I was younger- with the hopes that they would last a year or so- I am lucky enough that my dad could fix the problems with them- No I purchase new with a warranty-

This is a sore subject for me and my husband. We are on our second "gotta have it" vehicle that was just a "real deal!" The first truck we spent $500.00 for and I was only hoping to get maybe a year or more of use out of it. Of course my husband had to "fix it up better" and put over $1500.00 in it and then he ended up selling it for $1500.00. We didn't even break even on that one. Now we have 93 Chevy pick-up sitting on the carport now for about 6 months being "worked on". So I would say it is a another "headache" waiting to happen. LOL

I've never bought a car that old. I bought a 1993 Grand Prix in 2002, but that was the oldest I've ever owned. My dad is pretty good with mechanical stuff, and he checked it out before I bought it. It was in pretty good shape. I drove it at least 60 miles a day 5 or 6 days a week and didn't have any problems with it until 2004. And even then it ended up being something that only cost around $200 to fix. So I got a pretty good deal. My parents bought it from me then because I decided I wanted a newer more reliable car, because I was afraid something else was going to go wrong. My mom still drives it, and hasn't had any major problems since I sold it to her. I bought a 2003 Cavalier in 2004. It was used, but in excellent shape. I loved that car. I did get rid of it a year and a half later, though. My sister took over payments on it a few months after we found out that I was pregnant. We decided we wanted to cut back to one car payment and we wanted a 4 door car. So we traded in my husband's 2003 Dodge Ram and got rid of the Cavalier. We did have to buy a brand new car, because that's the only way we could get a decent rate on a loan since we were still upside down on the truck. We've actually had more problems with the Malibu Maxx than I ever had with the Cavalier. But it's just been a couple of minor things, so nothing to complain about.

If you buy used, you always want someone else to check it over for you. You can have problems with new ones too. I do agree that if you aren't careful, you will buy someone elses headaches.

i guess it depends on the brand of the truck. my partner has got an old one and it is actually had a few problems but its actually a good truck. my partner found some books on the truck so he can find out what to do and not to do.

Well your husband didn't buy a used car. He bought an ANTIQUE. There's a big difference between buying a 2005 used vehicle and a 1987 used vehicle. That's why there is carfax...to find out what has happened to the car. My car was used when I bought it...but it is a 2004 and I bought it in March of 2004...but it was used. It was in perfect condition. Used doesn't always mean a bad thing, because, in reality, you are wasting SOO much money on buying a NEW vehicle. Anyone that buy a NEW vehicle without searching for a similar used is just plain stupid. You're throwing $10,000 down the drain because that's how much the new car's value drops when you drive off that lot.

The van we have right now has already cost us more in repairs then it did to actually outright buy the vechile and although often it is more of a hassle , it is our only option as we would never be able to afford to buy a brand new vechile . I don't believe that buying something used is always one's best option but if it is all one can afford then you can look at it as it would be better to have the hassle then have nothing at all .

I always buy used vehicles and never pay more than 800.00 for them. You do have to be careful. I have a friend that is a mechanic and I always have him look at the vehicle before I decide. I've been very lucky. I have bought vehicles for 500.00 that have lasted me 5 years with very little upkeep. They are still running when I get rid of them. the best part is ...no car payments! Sounds like your hubby may have gotten a lemon. I would not put that much money into a used vehcle such as that.

actally we have purchased a 2nd hand car for almost 7 mos. now. And yeah at first its a really a pain on the head specially when its getting troubled. But as the time passed and everything has been checked and somehow everything has been fixed! I had already find the comfort of buying it. Its gasoline yet it is economized compared to any other gasolined vehicles. I just put into my mind that its much lesser than buying a new one.