You could probably get a car for 4k up where i got mine.
Mine was 8600 but it's a sports car and it had 40k miles and 30 days of free maintenance.
5 years later it's still in top shape. :)

can't do sports car, i need something big like an SUV or crossover. been in too many car wrecks to be comfortable in anything smaller than a crossover. i need a car that will last me more than 2-3 years like this current one, which we spent 10k to buy and thousands since on maintenance. we're hoping to trade it in to carmax and finance for one of their used cars, but i don't trust anything under 8-10k to be safe AND to last a long while. We're not gonna have any more money 3 years from now if this next car breaks, if anything we'll have much less because college loans to pay off. we got my suv with 80k miles and now its already at 150k after just 2 years. 2 months after we bought it we had to dump 2 grand in it for repairs because the people fucking pulled some wires out of the car to cheat emissions in california an it made it dangerous to drive and unable to pass those. thats why we dont do craigslist anymore either.

nono you misunderstand.. a sports car is 8600, you can probably find a normal car (safer) for LESS is what i'm implying silly girl!

and used cars can be very safe hun, in college, never spend more than 7500 on a car (i cheated) general rule of thumb. Get one made of fiberglass and not a tank (they're designed to shatter on impact so you don't take any force and it absorbs the impact, when you see a car on the side of the road with the front blasted open, it means the driver probably lived!)

^This. It may be more costly in repairs but it's that or your life.

if you can find a buick...lol
srwly though...1990s Luxury models on buicks toyotas and the like.... theyre cheap now and they have GREAT mileage and features that were super expensive int he day.)

Indeed. That's probably why I see a lot of them around this podunk town I live in, lol.

no, i understoof you perfectly, and i'm saying you're wrong. also, we ARE looking at used cars, just not old crs or sedans. i refuse to be in a sedan, I ALMOST LOST MY HAND FROM BEING IN A WRECK IN A SMALL CAR. not doing it again ever. i dont even drive my friends' cars if they are small cars.

but see, shattering is the PROBLEM. it increases whiplash. you DO take force, it never absorbs everything. i would know, i've been in 4 wrecks and can't bend over anymore. i can't even FUCK because my back is so messed up form car wrecks. i'm alive, but one more wreck in "an old sturdy car" will paralyze me. i need modern, new safe.
that aside, a small car won't be able to do what i need it to--which is carry alot of luggage/merchandise/art/projects around, and still have room for people.

and as for what andy said, **costly on repairs** is also a reason we can't get old cars. there is literally a limit for how old of a car we cna get that will be covered by our current insurance. we pay out of pocket, the older the car, the higher our insurance costs us. its cheaper to get a new, more expensive car. literally we were looking at cars and the difference in cost for insurance between like a car from 98 and my 2002 infinity was like $250 dollars. my current insurance is over 200 anyway, in an older car it could eb as much as 500-600, or they'd just say NO.

for those older cars, Yeah, the driver can survive in those old cars, but it doesn't mean they aren't SEVERELY INJURED. i don't need a car that will crumple if i hit something or something hits me, i need a car that can GET THE FUCK OUT OF THE WAY, or, alternatively [as has been the problem when i drive smaller cars] IS EASILY VISIBLE SO PEOPLE CAN'T SAY THEY DIDN'T SEE ME.

i see what you guys are saying, and i appreciate the help, but you guys don't know the whole story, none of this advice works for ME.

I wouldn't wish it upon anyone to be stuck in used car hell. :T I remember when I was looking for a car here after my truck was totaled the cheapest car I could find that was "reasonable" was like a used '00 Corolla with 80k miles for almost 10k. Which is why I said fuck it and tried to get a brand new Lancer for around 14k.