Buying used cars...

A crap shoot. Luck of the draw. I signed over my 90 Riviera to my son, bought a 97 Buick Skylark from Snethkamp back in December, had one problem after the next until the engine blew...almost bought a 07 Toyota Corrolla with 46000 miles for 10,600..cant afford a new car with insurance [[its bad enough with used vehicles, first 6 monhs rates are astronomical because there was a 'time lapse where I didnt have auto insurance}. This time Im going to have the vehicle I purchased checked out by a mechanic of my choosing, diagnostics...top to bottom. engine...powertrain. Even with a carfax report buyers dont know if there was an accident and the owner payed cash to have the body repaired. Buyer beware!

If you can afford it you can try one of those used car warranties. They typically cost $1500 to $2200 and will cover you up to 101K miles. It's nice to not be surprised by big dollar repairs. I just used my Endurance warranty to get some stuff fixed on the '04 Saturn. I have mixed emotions on the repair experience. I am supposed to only have a $100 dollar deductable on repairs. I had a check engine light coming on. Saturn of plymouth charges $98 to diagnose a problem. I figure no worries I pay the $100 and that covers the warranty deductable and the diagnose fee. Wrong! Turns out what had flagged the check engine light was a bad gas cap, which is not covered by warranty. I did have them fix some other stuff too, bad liftgate power release latch [[covered) and they identified a few other issues bad rear control arm bushing [[covered) and a leaking trans seal [[not covered). My total repair bill came to $210. I decided to skip the trans seal as I guess the warranty company wants me to drive the car around w/o tranny fluid so they can replace the trans.

After my beloved Buick died on Aug 30th.I changed what I thought was wrong. I started, Yet never stayed running for long. Looked at it and said "Time to say goodbye". So I get on Craigslist found a few, looked at them, Then purchased the lesser of the few evils.So far I replaced the rear brakes, oil pan and ignition lock.
I have decided to start saving up for next spring.Gonna put my used parts on the list and see what I get.
Boy Terryh , Guess you are luckier in love then with cars.