I'm looking to buy a used car up here around the Chicago area to drive down to school and use at school in Missouri...I don't want a complete beater because i'd like to be able to not have breakdowns on my way to/from school for the next 2 years until graduation.. just really need a car that will last ~2-3 years with probably an average of ~8-10k miles a year being put on it. I found this car at a dealer ship and I'm thinking about buying it...copied directly from the website:

(Should I try to talk them down on this price?) - I was thinking of offering them ~3k for it to see if we can reach somewhere around 3,500 but I know used cars are a commodoity and wasn't sure how hard it is nowadays to talk a dealership down a few hundred?


2002 Chevrolet Cavalier Base - $4200

I checked the carfax report, 2 previous owners with no accident history or anything...just had an oilchange/tuneup 80 miles ago too.

(i trimmed most of the useless (what i thought was useless) information out). I can post all of the specs like weight etc if you want as well.)

Mileage:87,591

Body Style:Coupe

Exterior Color:Yellow

Interior Color:Gray

Stock #:5317



Fuel:Gasoline

Engine:2.2L I4 8V MPFI OHV

Transmission:Automatic

Drivetrain:FWD

Doors:2

Wheelbase:104"


Features:


Air Conditioning

Alarm System

AM/FM

Anti-Lock Brakes

Cargo Net

CD

Driver Airbag

Front Air Dam

Interval Wipers

Power Brakes

Rear Defroster

Rear Spoiler

Second Row Folding Seat

Splash Guards

Steel Wheels

Tilt Wheel

This post was edited by Hypertrophy on Dec 27 2012 10:50am

always offer less then what they price it at, wheel and deal, it doesnt sound to bad tho. make sure you look under it, for giant rust spots or wet parts under the engine to check for leaks. check the oil and trans fluid for color and smells

I have a mechanic buddy who told me to bring any car in to him at the shop to check it out before I buy so he can hook it up to the computers and whatnot. But I will definitely do that before I even bother test driving it!

What do you think a reasonable price would be? I'm figuring of being that asshole who comes in and looks unimpressed and offers 3 grand for it to see if they'll meet me in between. Even 3750 i'd be happy with I guess

honda civic/accord.

I was looking since a few buddies have cars like those, but I couldn't find any used ones that were in my price range :/ I just want to make sure the car has <150k miles so I can get a few years out of it at least and not be a shitty like 1990 car with a cassette player -.-

just remember cash talks, miles dont really matter anymore tho aslong as the car is taken care of they can run for a long long time

I'd really like to walk in with at least $2000 to put down, might be able to pay for it all in cash on the spot depending how low they'll go.

what exactly are you using to search for cars?

if you are only looking at dealerships you are doing it wrong.

in my area $4200 would mean an 04-05 civic with right around 100k miles.

Just browsing cars.com, I might have to do financing since Mizzou is unreliable with sending our extra tuition money to us on time -.-

I checked craigslist, but not many decent ones in my local area...people want ~5,000 for a 2000 car with nearly 200k miles -.-

This post was edited by Hypertrophy on Dec 27 2012 11:12am

are you familiar with the big name dealers in your area? like john smith chevrolet etc

their websites will probably have a used car section so don't forget to check them out.