Comments on: I Need Some Help!

By: Bill

Bill — Sat, 30 May 2009 11:46:02 +0000

I'm not sure if you would need a vehicle this cheap but a fellow PF blogger over at Out Of Debt Christian has some excellent advice on why it is a good idea to trade down your vehicle when you're attacking your debt.

By: Bill

Bill — Sat, 30 May 2009 04:46:02 +0000

I'm not sure if you would need a vehicle this cheap but fellow PF bloggers over at Out Of Debt Christian have some excellent advice on why it is a good idea to trade down your vehicle when you're attacking your debt.

By: Dewayne

Dewayne — Fri, 29 May 2009 16:00:55 +0000

Thanks Josh! I have the Carfax going, but I appreciate your comments about the OBD2 scanner. I never knew about this! I'll be making use of Autozone because of this advice!

Thank you!!

By: Josh

Josh — Fri, 29 May 2009 14:16:49 +0000

First, you'll want to get a 30 day carfax subscription that allows you to run reports on unlimited cars. Run the VIN numbers of the cars you're interested in, make sure they haven't been in any accidents or anything like that.

When you test drive the car, take it for a long, varied ride. A mix of city/highway driving. Bring along an OBD2 scanner, or stop by autozone along your test drive, and have them check it for any check engine codes. You can check here if the ECU has been reset so as to mask a problem, or if the car is operating within factory specifications.

Finally, once you've found a car that you think you like, have your mechanic go over it. It's probably going to cost you a few hours of labor, but it's worth it if you want to keep the vehicle out of the shop. If the owner has all of the service records, you're in even better shape!

Also, I'd suggest picking up the service manual for the vehicle, and learning how to do basic work on your vehicles. You'll save a lot of money just by being able to change your own oil, air filters, spark plugs, etc.