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looking for small cheap cars (lemmy.world)
submitted 6 months ago by to c/cars@lemmy.world
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I've been looking at marketplace for a small car with good gas mileage that I can get cheap. I don't mind doing work to it like replacing a clutch or dealing with a head gasket or engine replacement. The trouble I'm having in my area ( Midwest United States) is that either mileage is well into the 200k range, price is unrealistic so I won't bother trying to reason with them, the car is more of a headache than it's worth (Chevy Cruze) or there's more than one issue like transmission problem plus body damage. I could go up in price under $10k but I don't see the up side in spending that much to get better gas mileage unless the car can go at least another 5-10 years.

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[–] 8 points 6 months ago (3 children)

Used car market has been fucked since 2020. This is unfortunately just how it be.

Its compounded by the fact that in the Midwest, most cars have a shelf life of less than 10 years before they rust into unusable heaps, which keeps the used market undersupplied with running cars.

Try to find estate sales/auctions. Frequently, low mileage good condition cars owned by old people get dumped on there for not much.

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  • [–] 2 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    most cars have a shelf life of less than 10 years before they rust into unusable heaps

    Not Japanese cars.

    The answer is always Toyota Corolla.

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