F***ed my car up in some snow, already needed cosmetic work worth 500 but now it’s gonna need repairs that’ll most likely exceed 600
Tried to look into a something newer but my credit is s***. Found a nice car from a dealer that’s willing to work with me but their s*** sells like hotcakes. They want 1000 down, I got 300 left in my bank account and I don’t get paid for another 2 weeks
Would try to hustle and make the money on doordash and instacart and maybe borrow from my parents but the only other vehicle we have is my dads truck and his catalytic converter is f***ed. He won’t repair it and he’ll justify his trips but he won’t let me use it for orders
So uhhh what do I here?
Edit: so basically I’ve been talking to a local dealership in town that’s willing to work with me for a good car. It’s 3500 and they only want a $1000 down payment with 140 a month payments. They can also include warranty for an extra 1000. I’m pretty much ready to hop on this deal, but I have a friend that’s highly advising against it.
My friend is well aware of my financial struggles, and even with all the details I gave him of how this is a good deal he won’t listen to me and just keeps pointing out the bad in dealerships (payments per month when I’m alrrady low on money, distrust that the dealership really gives all the details of the car, etc). So he’s willing to lend me 2000 out of his own pocket to get a simple craigslist car so that I don’t have to deal with dealership bs.
Can’t really decide what’s the right choice from here. I was already pretty hesitant since this would be the first car I financed, but I don’t want to borrow that much money from him even if he insists.

You know what you need to do...

Is the damage mechanical or only cosmetic?

Expecting real advice

My bumper was already f***ed up from a prior accident. I have all the parts in my garage to fix it, but the labors gonna be 500
This newer accident in the snow caused no cosmetic damage but it completely snapped my cv axle and bent some metal piece so it’s completely undriveable and the labor for fixing it is gonna f*** me

Better learn how to fix that CV axle at home. S***'s like a three hour job, so get learning

I got no problem trying to do that but I’m still gonna not be able to drive it (at least from what the tow truck driver said) because of whatever metal part that’s bent. It’s like the frame or something, idk the terminology but it’s gonna take a lot of deconstruction and labor. Even the few Craigslist mechanics I’ve talked to about just fixing the axle say they’d have to figure out what else was wrong

If you bent your frame your s*** is f***ed anyways and should've been totaled out, but buying another car to replace a temporary issue is never a great option unless your car is literally dying and costing you more money than ever week after week

I didn’t have full coverage, only uninsured motorist and they couldn’t do anything about it being a weather related issue. I’m stuck with this pos, and if you’re saying the frame being bent means it’s f***ed, isn’t something new my only option?

USUALLY, in major accidents, when a car is totaled and insurance is there to write a check or whatever (for full coverage purposes usually), if the frame is bent then the car ends up becoming totaled or salvage or rebuilt (if fixed). Similar to when airbags deployed, the title of the car can become rebuilt.

HOWEVER, if you hit a curb or some s***, chances are you probably didn't total your car if you ended up breaking a CV and whatever. Probably just something damaged like a control arm or ball joint or tie rod or some s*** (probably not that seeing as it sounds major).

Find out what actually broke on the car and then go from there. Remember the name of it. Chances are if there's a s***load of YouTube videos on how to replace it, then the car isn't necessarily totaled.

Bump

Dude, it’s cheaper to get your car fixed for 600 than to buy a new one. Rather ride that beater with the cosmetic issues than scrape money up for something new

I work on cars with my uncle and in the long run it’s always cheaper to fix what you have than buy something new unless your car is worth less than 1k.

Also any new car you’re getting for your price range will likely have issues with it, repairs could easily exceed 1000. Especially if it’s used.

If you still plan on getting a new car get a mechanic to inspect it for you. I’ve looked at cars for people before they brought them and just because it turns on and drives doesn’t mean there isn’t anything wrong with it

3500 with 1000 down and 140 a month definitively get a mechanic to look at that.

What year is it, what type of car, how many miles?

Just cause a car is older with low mileage isn’t necessarily a good thing either. The worst thing you can do with a car is not drive it

I promise you any dealership that sells cars that cheap and sells warranty is going to end up hurting you in the long run

Warranty from dealerships is generally mid, and especially on cheaper cars it’ll be worse and isn’t really a “warranty” most times they cover extremely slim things and the dealer will try to con you out of doing it unless you sue them

I would rather repair my own car first

Dude I drove a car with a bad catalytic converter for 2 years, your dad trippin

Yep, warranty from a used car place doesn’t really mean s***.

Even if they sell you a lemon, and you try to sue 99% of lawyers won’t even take the case if it’s under 10k.

Can’t tell you how many cheap cars I’ve worked on with new tags on them

2008 Ford Focus that’s under 100k miles
There’s also a 2005 Honda Accord in the 130k range but it’s gonna be $1500 more

Gonna definitely have to do a diagnostics before I even try going forward with the messed up car
And I paid 1600 for it originally but probably paid another 500 in its repairs. I’d love to keep it but I Just don’t know if I have the time or money

get the 2000 from your friend and pay him back when you can. seems better than dealing with the dealership unless you can fix your current whip for $600

What about the reputation the place has? I’ve seen overall good reviews, a few negative ones about cars being lemons but the most negative thing they have to say is that the owner is a d*** to customers.

If you’re dead set on getting something new, both of those are good options.

08 focus is reliable as f***. If it’s close to 100k miles it’s about time for stuff to start getting worked on when it gets to around 100k and that can get expensive, easily will run you another 400-500

Various joints, a belt, struts, sparkplugs..etc

I recommend you get a mechanic to inspect it just to see what will need replacing soon and if you’re still willing to drop the bag on it then it’s a good deal, focuses are good as long as you keep up with s***

Used car dealers no matter what the reviews say are always hit or miss in the price range you’re looking at

If cars are lemons and the owner is a d***head to customers, that's a bad sign for your warranty situation

Rather get the 2005 Honda Accord

Google it and check if they have transmission issues though, because Accords did share a similar platform with the UA6/2004-2006 Acura TL's and those had s***ty transmissions