1) Get carfax for the VIN at minimum, even if you have to pay for them once. See about getting a friend with a membership to look it up.

2) 2006/2007 is not too old, but please be aware you will be looking possibly at increased maintenance on cars that old. I'd recommend 2010 or newer generally, to try and reduce the risk at least a few years.

3) I had good luck with Cars.com and AutoTrader. That said, I wasn't paying cash for it. I knew I would be financing something to get a good deal on a good vehicle that would meet my needs without fear of service (something I was living in with my existing vehicle). Ended up getting a good deal from a rental car liquidator. However, you -are- looking at ~$11-12k+ for a vehicle there, since it's usually gonna be no older than 2-3 model years (2015 in my case).

You won't necessarily get the lowest price from a dealership, but you'll get better safeties usually. I wish you luck on finding a better car.

Oh my goodness, thank you so much for answering my questions! I'd heard about carfax but it didn't even cross my mind somehow. I definitely don't mind paying a bit extra to make sure the car has a clean history.

It makes sense that an older car would have more problems, too, so thanks for pointing that out. I'll try to stick with newer models!

Thank you for these links as well! I'm going to check them out soon. I appreciate your comment tons - you've been super helpful!!

Gah, I'm happy to help any way I'm able! I know buying a new car was stressful for me with a working but rough one, I can't imagine it under the stress you're under now. Hopefully this can get you started at least!

1) How can I know if a car I'm buying from someone on Craigslist isn't a total piece of shit before we seal the deal? What questions should I ask the seller? What are some 'red flags'? Specific things I should inspect the car for?

I always ask to test drive it so I can see how it feels and sounds, definitely do as Ceralor says and look up its vin number I had a neighbor try to sell me his old suv and found out through the carfax it had itsd odometer tampered with by a good 100,000 miles

biggest red flags with craigslist watch out for weird deals like people wanting to ship cars or avoid meeting in person those are typically scams

2) How old is 'too old' for a car? I see a lot of cars from 2006/2007.. Should I stay away from a car that old, or are they worth looking into?
it depends on how well its been taken care of, my current car is a 2001 and its a champ but i bought it from an old boss who took it in for maintainence routinely. generally though aim for within the last ten years and definitely under 200000 miles

3) Are there better alternatives to Craigslist when one is looking for a used car? I googled, but I'm not sure which places are reputable!

sometimes ebay, autotrader, facebook oddly enough sometimes has groups for local garage sale type stuff you see cars. its a wierd pace to look but if you have friends that work at a military base most of the ones Ive been too sometimes have used car lots with decent stuff that dont get a lo of attention because of where they are

I try to check dealer lots myself where they have guarantees

1, How to tell if the car is junk or worth buying?
After visually inspecting it yourself. If you like what you see, ask the seller to allow you to have your trusted mechanic look at it. If the seller refuses, then walk away as it is probably JUNK. If they agree, make the appointment, pay your mechanic and he/she will go over the vehicle and tell you what's wrong with it (if anything) and if there is something wrong, what it will need to fix it. What he/she lists wrong with it could become a negotiating point on the asking price if the mechanic says there's nothing majorly wrong with the vehicle. I was able to knock $500 off the asking price of one my previous vehicles that way. It was the shocks and a couple brake pads--not major and the seller agreed. If the seller said no, I would have kept looking as his asking prices was for the vehicle in "very good" condition. How did I know?

I research the vehicle through the the used vehicle "blue book" sites:
Kelly Blue Book
NADA
and cars.com-black book prices) to see if the asking price is reasonable for the vehicle.

You plug in the make/model, year, mileage and location. It may ask for more info and then will provide you with a price range for the vehicle for excellent/very good, good, and poor condition.

Just because you've found a vehicle you can afford means it'll be reliable. Consumer Reports puts out a yearly issue listing the best new cars of the year and the best rated used vehicles based on surveys by their subscribers. You must subscribe to access the data on their website. However, most libraries have a subscription to the dead trees version. Go to the library and look back until you find the car issue. This will give you general reliability info on various makes/models for the past 10 years based on those surveys.

Some mechanics sell cars in addition to doing repairs. My previous and current mechanics do so. I only switched mechanics 'cause previous mechanic retired and he sold the business to current mechanic. Previous mechanic still makes trips to Florida to visit his grandkids and buys cars down there to ship up to Maine. As he retired, he knew I was looking to replace my vehicle. He called me and asked what I was looking for and what I could afford and sent up exactly what I was looking for. Easiest car buying experience I've ever had.

As others have mentioned, you can subscribe to CarFax, plug in the VIN of the vehicle and find-out some things about it, but it won't cover things like current condition of the engine or tranny. What it will do is let you know if the vehicle is "salvage" (got "totaled" in an accident and then resold or possible went through a flood and was resold).


2. How old is too old?
That depends on where you live and where the car has spent its life and how it was taken care of. I live in Maine where they heavily salt the roads in winter. A car that's spent 7 or more years up here will be badly rusted--at least the rocker panels will be shot (wife spent $2K on hers last year, but rest of car was sound and you're not going to find much of a vehicle around here for $2K). However, a southern car is a different story. My current vehicle (from retired mechanic) is an '05, which I bought in '15. It's still going strong. It had 78K miles on it when I bought it and currently has 115K.

Mileage is just as important as the age. How long a well maintained car will last, mileage-wise varies by model. For example, a GM vehicle should get you to 150K to 200K depending on how well it's maintained. A Honda that doesn't last at least 200K must have rolled off the assembly line on a Friday afternoon prior to a holiday weekend.

3. Where else to look
The Cars.com website has a link where you can do a search for vehicles X number of miles from your zip code and your maximum price. It will be mostly dealers, but again, even if you go through a dealer, remember #1 above: ASK TO HAVE YOUR TRUSTED MECHANIC LOOK AT IT. If they refuse, walk away.

Warranty laws vary by state. Maine has a "lemon law". If you buy from a dealer and find a major issue in the first 7 days, the dealer MUST fix it for free or buy it back. Most dealers will offer some sort of engine/tranny warranty on the vehicles they sell varying from 30 days to a year depending on the dealer, age of the vehicle, and so on.

And as mentioned previously, some mechanics sell vehicles in addition to doing repairs.

Good luck!