Fun Fact: You typically can’t get extended warranties on cars that have more than 75,000 miles or are more than 7 years old.

This article is a response to the following request submitted on Mint Answers.

“Advice for buying my first car as a college student”

If you’re looking for a cheap, reliable car and don’t care too much about being unique, then you’ll want to get a Honda Civic or Accord. When I shop for a car, I aim for a one-owner car with less than 70,000 miles. A college student with a slightly more limited budget may have to settle for a two-owner car. $5,000 or $6,000 can get you a GREAT used car. If you have a sharp eye, you might find some good cars around $4,000, and I personally would not go lower than that, or else you can expect a seriously old car or some serious problems.

I used to lease new vehicles every two years, but I’ve bought two used cars in the past couple years instead. One was a 2001 Saab Viggen Convertible for $9,000, and the other a 1998 Chevy Blazer ZR2 for $4,000. I found both of those cars on Autotrader.com, and then searched the entire internet (including ebay) for their VINs to find more info. I also considered BMW, Audi, VW (beware particular models!), and Honda.

Car-specific online forums are extremely useful! Once you know what year and model you’ll be buying, as an example, search the web for “1998 Blazer common problems” and you might find a thread like this (50,000 views!) which lists all common issues. You will know what to expect, and you will likely return to that thread find out how to fix something when it does break (or at least be armed with some information when you take it to a mechanic).

Avoid cars that tend to attractive abusive drivers, like the BMW 3 Series, which is often driven aggressively by young male drivers. Try to find a car that was driven by a mild-mannered older person. You should ask the seller to give you a free independent mechanic inspection report, and after you buy the vehicle, immediately take it to the manufacturer’s dealership and see if they will give you a free inspection (Saab gave me a free inspection on a 7 year old, out-of-warranty car).

If you want to know how much you can expect to sell your car for when you’re done with it, search for the car you want to buy, but add 24,000 miles and a few years. Generally speaking, domestic pick-up trucks and entry-level Japanese cars hold their value the best (Honda Accord, Toyota Camry). Domestic family cars (Ford Taurus, Chevy Malibu) lose value the quickest. Check out this chart–notice that the Taurus lost 80% of its value over 7 years, while the Camry only lost 60%.

This website is ugly, but has some good advice: www.carbuyingtips.com

Remember, there are a lot of used cars out there! Don’t be afraid to make firm offers on cars and walk away when you are turned down. Let them call you back. And, you can always sell the car if it gives you trouble–you’re not stuck with it.