QOTD: Can You Hit 'em Where They Ain't? (Bottom of the Barrel Edition, Pt. 1)
This week marks the first of a three-part QOTD series where we’ll discuss everyone’s favorite topic here at TTAC: used cars. And for this first installment, we’re on a tight budget.
All this puts pressure on the used car buyer. But are there still gems out there? As buyers ford through the rough and sometimes dirty waters of the classified ads and used car lots, where should they turn? We aim to help.
Today’s budget is pretty low. Cash for Clunkers ensured the destruction of many of the potential “good $5,000 used car” examples, and not enough time has elapsed since for a renewal of older and cheap used cars. That in mind, our bottom of the barrel budget is $8,000.
For our budget buyer, some qualities to consider:
- General availability
- Likely miles on odometer
- Reliability/longevity
- Not popular
Now glance back to the title at the top. Today we’re looking to hit ‘em where they ain’t. That means the standard easy recommendations of Camry and Accord are off the table. As the top two no-brainers, we don’t need to talk about those – at all.
Let’s talk body styles. To help as many people as possible here, how about considering:
- Sedan
- Truck
- Wagon
- SUV/CUV
- Minivan
- Hatchback
The $8,000 budget buyer is generally going to trend away from the convertible, and likely the coupe, as well. But I suppose if you’ve got a really great idea for those two, go for it. Hitting the used market where other buyers aren’t is a good way to get more car for less money. Let’s hear ’em!
[Image: Jaguar Land Rover]
Interested in lots of cars and their various historical contexts. Started writing articles for TTAC in late 2016, when my first posts were QOTDs. From there I started a few new series like Rare Rides, Buy/Drive/Burn, Abandoned History, and most recently Rare Rides Icons. Operating from a home base in Cincinnati, Ohio, a relative auto journalist dead zone. Many of my articles are prompted by something I'll see on social media that sparks my interest and causes me to research. Finding articles and information from the early days of the internet and beyond that covers the little details lost to time: trim packages, color and wheel choices, interior fabrics. Beyond those, I'm fascinated by automotive industry experiments, both failures and successes. Lately I've taken an interest in AI, and generating "what if" type images for car models long dead. Reincarnating a modern Toyota Paseo, Lincoln Mark IX, or Isuzu Trooper through a text prompt is fun. Fun to post them on Twitter too, and watch people overreact. To that end, the social media I use most is Twitter, @CoreyLewis86. I also contribute pieces for Forbes Wheels and Forbes Home.
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$8k is "bottom of the barrel"? My most expensive car ever, by far, cost less than that -- and it was a reasonably nice 1970 VW Bug Convertible, which I heartily recommend if you can find one for that price today. :-)
'09 or '10 Acura TL AWD. Under $8000 in private sale. Great car.