Wanted: cheap economical commute car (Puget Sound)

[kitsap_charles]

I was in (what I thought to be) a minor fender-bender before the holidays, which was the other party's fault. The original estimate was for the right fender, right wheel and cover, front bumper, and right turn signal.

I just heard from the insurers: upon further inspection at the repair shop, additional damage to the hood and elsewhere (behind-the-panel mounting points, suchlike) are significant enough to total out the car. I suspect I'll only get 75% of the value, because of the way the at-fault party's insurance apportioned liability (they decided I was 25% to blame, for being in the left turn lane while it was still a two-way lane instead of a dedicated turn lane), which means that (1) I'm looking for a really inexpensive commute car with good fuel economy and low ongoing maintenance costs, and (2) I need it as soon as I get the insurance check.

At the moment I have a rental car, (partly) paid for by the insurers. Once I get their disbursement, that'll have to go back. So all we'll have is riverheart's 4Runner, which she needs to get around town. Theoretically, in February my employers are moving our production facility from Redmond to Seattle, but not only do we not have a date but the site hasn't yet been selected. When that finally comes to pass, my daily mileage will drop by about three-quarters because I can use public transportation on the Seattle side of my commute, but until then I'm wedded to the automobile.

I've been driving a (edit: 1997) Ford Aspire (like a Geo Metro, but without the cachet) which gets 30mpg. I need a (edit: used) car that's equally economical, road-ready without repairs, and local to me in the Puget Sound.

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Comments

[rocketgeek.livejournal.com]

Mini Coopers are relatively inexpensive, barrels of fun to drive, and get about 35-40 mpg.

[kitsap_charles]

Note: for the purposes of this exercise, "inexpensive" == "on the close order of $1000".

[riverheart.livejournal.com]

As far as I'm concerned, "local to Puget Sound" includes anywhere in the state of Washington west of the Cascades.

[kyburg.livejournal.com]

I know of a very gently used Jeep that has less than 15,000 miles on it and is $10,000. Problem - it's down here.

Best I got, dude. Wish it was better -

[kitsap_charles]

Besides the distance, that's got one too many zeros to the left of the decimal point to be affordable.

Thanks, though.

[pondside.livejournal.com]

I've got the Acura Legend looking for a new home for less than $3000 but it's in Canada and you'd have to export it and import it...

[kitsap_charles]

Thank you, m'dear, but I fear the cost— coupled with the import/export fees— mean I must forego the offer.

[riverheart.livejournal.com]

What are the fees? We might be able to pull this one off, and that's a *great* car.

[javagoth.livejournal.com]

I drive a Plymouth Neon - which gets about the same gas mileage as the car you're driving now. When I got mine it was 5 years old with less than 60,000 miles on it and was $5,800 - so it stands to reason that you should be able to find one that's older with higher mileage for cheaper. If possible you might want to make a small investment in CarFax - a service to tell you if there was any significant accident history for a car you're considering buying...

I got mine from a place in Lynnwood called Daytona Auto Sales.

[pickledginger.livejournal.com]

Good luck ... if you sic your ins. co. on their ins. co., you might manage to come out a little better. (Er, 25 percent of the blame to you because you were someplace you were legally entitled to be? What is that word... ah: "NO"!)

I got my Dodge Caravan for about $1k; it handles fairly well, gets good gas mileage (yes, really), is cheap to service, and can haul lots o' stuff in a pinch. There are lots of them out there. The Ford Focus is pretty good, too. In that price range, though, I'd urge you to get the vehicle checked out by a mechanic before you buy. (AAA members can do that for free, at least in my neck of the woods.) Happy hunting.

Have you tried CraigsList? (is that .org or what?)

EEEK!

[jkeating.livejournal.com]

Wow, bad luck on the car thing...

Will your commute be easier once the office moves to downtown Seattle? Should allow for a lot more public transportation options no?

Re: EEEK!

[kitsap_charles]

Well, first we actually have to commit to moving downtown— as opposed to Tukwila, which was the latest rumor.

But I'm going to be able to get my car repaired, sans paint job. Who cares what a '97 Aspire looks like, anyway.

Re: EEEK!

[jkeating.livejournal.com]

Ah. Typical of Pogo. No decisions until last minute or too late. *sigh*

Well, good on being able to use your Aspire. I can never tell the color of cars that are in my review mirror anyway (;

Re: EEEK!

[kitsap_charles]

I can never tell the color of cars that are in my review mirror anyway.

In this case, it'll go from having been blue to being black and blue. I save six or seven hundred bucks by not having the repair shop paint the aftermarket body panels, and that makes the thing affordable. If I get ambitious, I can save my pennies and get a cheap repaint at Maaco or someplace similar, for the same price as the body shop would charge per panel.

As for Pogo, they were almost ready to sign a contract in December but the lessor inserted some last-minute clauses that not hadn't been negotiated over but were highly deleterious to us. So, back to square one.