How cheap can you get a used car for?

[MrOracle]

I kind of feel like this: ALL cars cost at least $5000. You can buy a $1000 car that needs $4000 of work, or you can buy a $4500 car that needs $500 of work, but it's hard to have a usable car for much less than that.

Of course, it depends on your state, and if you have inspections and such. Here in California, we have a smog check, but otherwise, no inspections, so you can buy cheap cars, but they're usually in AWFUL mechanical shape because people will drive a car into the ground and do as little maintenance as possible, and you'll need to replace everything in order to keep it on the road.

My advice is to buy the nicest used Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla that you can afford. You're better off with a well-maintained daily driver with a ton of miles over a car that's got fewer miles but hasn't been driven much in a few years, because they probably haven't been paying attention to it, and a lot of rubber parts (belts, hoses, gaskets, bushings) have been rotting.

[chriscdi]

depends on the car and the condition

[joeldalton]

You can get something useable for $5k.

[dudeinohio]

In my area, about $2000 will get you in something.