Used Car Buying Advice

I am currently trying to buy a used car. I am a classic trope: a broke/struggling college student. I am graduating from uni in December of this year. I need a car badly. I only have between 3k and 3,500 total to spend on a vehicle. I see a lot of cars on the Facebook marketplace. I am terrified of getting scammed. I have a few men in my family who know a lot about cars. They are willing to assist me in looking for a vehicle. I have a dilemma. I have been reaching out to potential sellers, and I've offered to pay for a diagnostic test before I buy the car. I don't trust buying a car without knowing what I am getting. I see cars that are below my price range. I know it is a risk to pay for a vehicle cheaper than 3k, heck, even 3k is a risky price. But, I wonder if I go cheaper would it be smarter? Maybe I can invest the extra grand into any car troubles the car may have...Idk, will someone please give me some advice? I need a car asap. I need to have a vehicle by the time I graduate so that I can have transportation for work. I currently live with my mom. I left my job and abusive ex...long story. I am pretty sure I've written about it on here.

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SomeMichGuy · M

I know this is late advice, but here's some info.

1) Reference
I would look for the annual car issue of [i]Consumer Reports,[/i] because the summarized information about how specific cars have fared, repairwise, over time (tables in the back). It brings together the collective experience of hundreds of thousands of auto owners, which is a much broader basis of experience than a few personal anecdotes & biases.

When I bought my first vehicle, I used that information to only look at vehicles which had "above average" or better performance regarding engine, transmission, etc., problems. That led me to discovering NUMMI, a plant in California jointly-run by GM & Toyota where the former built versons of the latter's vehicles, and had great longevity with few problems.

Though the partnership was disbanded (the plant was bought by Tesla), the GM crypto-Corollas (Chevy Nova II, Geo Prizm) and crypto-Matrixes (Pontiac Vibe) have been great, long-lived cars which owners have loved.

2) This is a particularly bad time, because of how even used car prices have soared.

I think buying from an individual is hard, but having any used vehicle checked out is well worth it.

BE AWARE OF REAL EVIDENCE OF FLOOD-DAMAGED VEHICLES.

3) Routine maintenance of vehicles is incredibly important, incl. changing the oil/oil filter, engine & air cabin filters, checking/topping off brake, transmission, and coolant fluids, checking tire air pressure, and even flushing the radiator. Checking the brakes (incl. testing the master cylinder) & spark plugs is also a good idea. And, on older vehicles, visual inspection of the rubber "boots" near each front wheel can prevent a costly repair.

4) You might save by buying a standard (manual) transmission, too, if you cam drive one.