Had to buy a used car a year ago
|
|
In April 2021 I bought my son a used 2015 Kia Optima. It had 40,287 miles, was in excellent condition inside and out and I pad $13,995. He LOVED that car.
In July 2022 it was stolen from in front of his apartment building in the city. They found it a week later and the insurance company declared it was totaled. My son was devastated. I live in the suburbs about about 15 miles from where he lives in the city. He lives about 18 miles from his job... and there's no public transportation that could accommodate him. He HAD to have another car but finding one was not easy.
I tried to find a used sedan for him, not too old, with low miles in good working order, not wrecked for around $15,000 and it could NOT be done. I looked day and night in every way I could think of. The cars either had over 100,000 miles (too many for me), had been wrecked, didn't get good gas mileage, were older than I liked, or something. I've looked for used cars at various times during my life. It was NEVER this hard.
Cars similar to his Optima were running $6,000-$10,000 more than what I paid just a year before! Un-fricking believable. I was getting really discouraged. My son had NO money. If he was going to get a car, I was going to have to buy it for him but it didn't take me long to see I was going to have to spend more money than I did just the year before. I looked high and low for days and in the meantime, we drove to his apartment to pick him up, take him to work, pick him up from work, and drive him home. The miles we were putting on our own cars to transport him back and forth was too much. We were ALL desperate to get this car situation resolved. I didn't want to buy just anything. It had to be a great car and within my budget but I needed it like... NOW.
I finally stumbled across a 2014 Toyota Camry SE by accident at a Toyota dealership that had belonged to an old lady who'd died and her kids sold it back to the dealership. It only had 23,000 mi on it and was in great shape. But it cost me $23,000!!! I was at the dealership before the doors opened to look at the car. I bought it on the spot... cash. It was more money than I wanted to spend but I wasn't going to find what I wanted for $15,000. So, I bit the dust and coughed up the money. My son has only had the car for a year, but so far, so good. He uses a club on the steering wheel all the time now. It also helps that the 2014 Toyota Camry comes with an anti-theft engine immobilizer
Trying to find a decent used car for a reasonable price these days is darned near impossible. Inventory is low and prices are sky high. It can be really discouraging when you're forced to spend more money than you can afford just to have something decent.
I feel your pain.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/03/2023 07:47AM by MamaRAMa.
In July 2022 it was stolen from in front of his apartment building in the city. They found it a week later and the insurance company declared it was totaled. My son was devastated. I live in the suburbs about about 15 miles from where he lives in the city. He lives about 18 miles from his job... and there's no public transportation that could accommodate him. He HAD to have another car but finding one was not easy.
I tried to find a used sedan for him, not too old, with low miles in good working order, not wrecked for around $15,000 and it could NOT be done. I looked day and night in every way I could think of. The cars either had over 100,000 miles (too many for me), had been wrecked, didn't get good gas mileage, were older than I liked, or something. I've looked for used cars at various times during my life. It was NEVER this hard.
Cars similar to his Optima were running $6,000-$10,000 more than what I paid just a year before! Un-fricking believable. I was getting really discouraged. My son had NO money. If he was going to get a car, I was going to have to buy it for him but it didn't take me long to see I was going to have to spend more money than I did just the year before. I looked high and low for days and in the meantime, we drove to his apartment to pick him up, take him to work, pick him up from work, and drive him home. The miles we were putting on our own cars to transport him back and forth was too much. We were ALL desperate to get this car situation resolved. I didn't want to buy just anything. It had to be a great car and within my budget but I needed it like... NOW.
I finally stumbled across a 2014 Toyota Camry SE by accident at a Toyota dealership that had belonged to an old lady who'd died and her kids sold it back to the dealership. It only had 23,000 mi on it and was in great shape. But it cost me $23,000!!! I was at the dealership before the doors opened to look at the car. I bought it on the spot... cash. It was more money than I wanted to spend but I wasn't going to find what I wanted for $15,000. So, I bit the dust and coughed up the money. My son has only had the car for a year, but so far, so good. He uses a club on the steering wheel all the time now. It also helps that the 2014 Toyota Camry comes with an anti-theft engine immobilizer
Trying to find a decent used car for a reasonable price these days is darned near impossible. Inventory is low and prices are sky high. It can be really discouraging when you're forced to spend more money than you can afford just to have something decent.
I feel your pain.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/03/2023 07:47AM by MamaRAMa.
