Car experts?

[DC]

I'm going away to college next year which is about 4 hours away from home. So I was looking for a car that I could afford that can take me to college and back home. When I looked up online and went to dealers, it was really really expensive. And then my auto class teacher told me to go look it up in coparts auction. I was able to find cars for cheap which have scratches and dent as only damage. But the seller was the insurance company.

Is it worth to buy from coparts?

I know that there are some fees that is bit expensive but I can't spend too much money on car since I'm paying for college on my own this year........

https://www.copart.com/lot/23520888

That is the car I'm currently looking at as of now.

Any suggestions? 

[dalekphalm]

22 minutes ago, Sierra Fox said:

when ever you buy used, always get the history report so you know exactly what happened to this car. No license plates means it's not registered so make sure you take that into consideration for the price.

 

that makes me skeptical that there's more damage than they are letting on. an odometer doesn't just stop working or lose count in a 5 year old car.

 

it's also a Kia.

 

Honestly i would look at something else.

 

and surely they could have cleaned out the engine bay before taking a photo of it ...

My guess is an engine swap.

[TheMcSame]

On 13/04/2018 at 4:13 PM, dalekphalm said:

My guess is an engine swap.

First thing that came to my mind as well. 

 

In fact, I've looked into it just now and there was a recall last year because of machining errors in production which could cause premature bearing wear within the engine and ultimately lead to the engine seizing. The standard replacement for this was supposedly just straight up replacing the engine, so that probably explains it.

 

 

[FuzzyLogic]

I'd recommend getting a used car from a reliable brand like Toyota and doing research on it, so you are able to fix the car yourself in order to save money. That's pretty much how I got a 1992 Toyota Paseo with 220k miles on it and 5 previous owners working perfectly.

[Canada EH]

On 4/13/2018 at 7:32 AM, DC said:

I'm going away to college next year which is about 4 hours away from home. So I was looking for a car that I could afford that can take me to college and back home. When I looked up online and went to dealers, it was really really expensive. And then my auto class teacher told me to go look it up in coparts auction. I was able to find cars for cheap which have scratches and dent as only damage. But the seller was the insurance company.

Is it worth to buy from coparts?

I know that there are some fees that is bit expensive but I can't spend too much money on car since I'm paying for college on my own this year........

https://www.copart.com/lot/23520888

That is the car I'm currently looking at as of now.

Any suggestions? 

Some of my longest lasting vehicles have been vehicles that were $500, but if you have no clue then go and buy that multi-thousand dollar vehicle. I have gambled on auctions and its hit or miss, the key is to look them over before you bid. There are salvage auctions that licensed people can go to, here its AMVIC, dealers, autobody, curbers. The best vehicles to buy are the ones that are ugly as fuck. Rusted out, stupid paint color.

 

Older Kia's are lemons, that Kia looks somewhat newer, but I wouldnt pay more then a grand or two at most. Hopefully there is a dent or bumper ripped off and you can get a frame guy to take a peek at it.

 

I would highly suggest you buy Phil Edmonston's Lemon Aid book and see what he has to say about used and new vehicles.

 

The problem with newer vehicles like yours is, if you want a side mirror its expensive, if you want a head light enclosure its expensive. When you buy old, all you have to do is hit up the junk yard and your side mirror and headlight enclosures are now just $5, but you'd need the tools and space to spin wrenches and a buddy that knows shit, but youtube helps out a lot too. Otherwise you gotta pay a mechanic $150+/hour at the stealership.