Piston Slap: A Used Car on The Road to Recovery

Anonymous writes:

Hello Sajeev,

I was in contact with Mark Stevenson regarding my terrible, and unfortunately pretty common situation. I am post DUI (sadly not my first), but have quit drinking and am well on the road to recovery. I live in a city that does not have transit that will get me to work on time and therefore require a car to get there.

I am able to get my license back now but am not well versed in the subtleties of affordability vs. reliability in used cars. The cost of a car is one thing but insurance is prohibitive for all but PLPD on a fairly old used car. I have been quoted between $2700 – $3300 for cars that are between 9 and 15 years old.

The more “affordable” cars seem to be the following; Pontiac Sunfire, Nissan Sentra, Hyundai Accent, VW Golf, Passat, and Jetta (I inquired more about them thinking diesel might save me long term). I also found that quarter ton trucks like the Ford Ranger were in this “affordable” range. Sedans are lower insurance and I also have a young son who will necessitate back seat accessibility.

So my question for you is… Can you help me by recommending or at least educating me on this age of vehicle and the presumed affordability vs. reliability trade off? On one hand I could get an older “cheap” car to afford insurance but would then likely have to spend more on repairs.

Thanks in advance.

Sajeev answers:

Boy, is this question gonna ruffle some feathers in the comments section or what? Keep this in mind: addiction is a mess far beyond the scope of a blog post.

This I believe, especially after having a friend die from complications related to an eating disorder. I regret not saying how I hated watching him struggle to do basic tasks, his complaining about everything, blaming the doctor and his prescriptions…perhaps not being a colossal jerk to him back then. Perhaps it’d help more than heartless reassurance. (Or not.) So I wish you luck in a jerk-like fashion: owning a car is a privilege, not a right.

On to the car. When viewing vehicles this cheap, avoid the considerations of new (and late-model) buyers: service history and interior condition trump all. For example: buy a 15-year-old Chevy Lumina with acres of service history, new tires and a cherry velour interior over a 9-year-old Toyota Camry with no track record, marginal rubber and dried-out leather thrones.

While diesel maintenance is a hassle, and while Euro car parts prices and/or inconvenience of ordering (for less online) are not in a diesel VW’s favor, I’d grab one if it came with a binder fulla receipts atop the floor mat. Because when buying a vehicle this old, this cheap, you are buying someone else’s problems. Mitigate the risk and buy one with the most evidence of parts replacement, attention to detail and a modicum of an owner’s adoration.

You sure as hell aren’t gonna get a car that you want, and that’s by design.

[Image: Shutterstock user ESB Professional]

Send your queries to sajeev@thetruthaboutcars.com. Spare no details and ask for a speedy resolution if you’re in a hurry…but be realistic, and use your make/model specific forums instead of TTAC for more timely advice.