New and Used Car Deals

I'm a little frustrated at the moment with the users of Craigslist, and by that I mean the entire population of this country. Its bad enough that when placing an ad we all have to worry about the flood of spam we know is going to come, and don't want to list our phone number lest we get robocalls. Then when the shoes on the other foot we have to call and call or email again and again and get no response. So I figured I'd set out a few guidelines, and also vent my frustrations.

How much does a car cost? According to the internet the average new car in 2010 will cost you $28,500. The cheapest new cars, Hyundai Accent and the Nissan Versa, sell for more than $10,000. According to the government the average used car is 3 years old and sold for $19,000 this year. That's a lotta dough!

Three times now under extenuating circumstances, I have found and bought decent cars for about $1,000 with less than a week of looking. The Cars for a Grand guys are experts, having bought a car and driven it coast to coast--twice--to promote their website. And the 24 Hours of Lemons races and B.A.B.E. rallies are only opened to cars worth $500 or less. 

So I'm here to tell you: If you're short on cash, but have a job to get to, you can get transportation for about $1,000.

^{Photo courtesy of Mike Kalasnik, via Flickr}

If you're like me, you change your car's motor oil religiously. The "Every Three Thousand Miles or Every Three Months (Whichever Comes First)" standard might as well have been carved into slabs and hand-delivered by Moses.

And, if you're like me, you've been doing it wrong this whole time.