Most dealerships/banks won't let you finance cars that are more than a few years old. From my experience, this means that anything older than, say, seven years can't be financed and has to be paid in full. Even with a cheap older car, it can be extremely difficult to collect that entire amount and pay it at once... especially when you're driving a car that constantly needs work done (because it's old and needs to be replaced).
It's often "cheaper" to pay $300/month towards a car than to try to accumulate $5k while driving a POS hooptie that needs work every other month. See also: people who can't afford an apartment and instead have to live in extended stay hotels.
dude wtf are you even blabbering about? you can finance older cars, usually at a higher interest rate. unless it's really old and you have no job you can find dealers thatll finance a car. and his car is 2016.
and a 5k car is not a pos hooptie that needs work every month.
Any car you are paying 5k for may not immediately need work but will need work in the next year. A buddy of mine got a new car for 4k and he literally has had to sink another 2k into it and has only owned it 3 months.
thats why you dont buy bad cars. your scenario is anecdote, not rule.
meanwhile, you buy a new car and a year later you are $2k or more underwater due to the depreciation.
Okay, so your solution is I walk to any used lot/private owner, basically ask them to give me the keys so I can drive to an auto shop, have them put it up on a lift, and determine every single article that might go wrong on a car?
yes, you should have a mechanic do a once over on any used car you plan on buying. I am not sure why you think that is some kind of fantasy option (though the actual process isnt what you are imagining).
and no, they dont need to catch everything that might break on the car, but for quite cheap they can check the big ticket items that could end up costing you $2k down the road. minor items that dont impact the drivability/safety of the car do not necessarily need to be fixed, particularly when you are so far into the hole in debt. the purpose of this car isnt to drive it for the rest of your life. the purpose of this car is to bridge the gap between the terrible situation you are currently in and the much better situation you will be in when you pay off your debt in a few years. meanwhile that $4k car will be worth about $3k a few years from now. meanwhile your new car that you bought will lose 2/3 of its value over that same period of time.
Last time I financed a vehicle I bought my Buick Lucerne for 6k. 4 years later it was worth like 2k trade in and 3k if I did repair work to it. Maybe it was just a poor choice in brand but the whole used car situation has never brought me anything but grief. ---
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