I’ve regularly bought and sold good running 70s/80s/early 90s Volvos and Mercedes for under $1000 (and sometimes under $100) on Craigslist and at auto auctions- close to their scrap metal value, yet these are vehicles that will last a million miles with regular maintenance.
Ironically, supply and demand can make something more reliable cheaper- these cars just don’t die, so there is too much supply and little demand.
For $8k you can get a ~20 year old Porsche or Audi with low mileage, that has been meticulously maintained, always stored indoors, and looks and drives like it did when new.
Getting a good deal on a used car requires some mechanical knowledge to identify a car that is going to be reliable. I look for cars previously owned by mechanically savvy people that have already spent the money to mitigate any known design flaws or potential issues on that particular model.
One point I wanted to add- an older car like this is fully depreciated, and will often increase in value if you manage to keep it in the same condition. Buying older cars- especially models with rarer desirable traits like a Turbo or manual transmission, I've often been able to drive them for years, and ultimately sell them with enough profit to recoup all of my purchase and parts costs.
There's a somewhat tongue in cheek book "Porsche Boxster: The Practically Free Sportscar" that makes a pretty solid case that if you but the right model of car right at the age where the price is lowest, it can appreciate enough to virtually cancel out the full ownership costs. Although for the math to work out you need basically not consider the cost of a garage to keep it looking nice, or your time to maintain it yourself. Which is, I think a fair point if you consider the car a hobby, and get joy from taking care of it.
Ironically, supply and demand can make something more reliable cheaper- these cars just don’t die, so there is too much supply and little demand.
For $8k you can get a ~20 year old Porsche or Audi with low mileage, that has been meticulously maintained, always stored indoors, and looks and drives like it did when new.
Getting a good deal on a used car requires some mechanical knowledge to identify a car that is going to be reliable. I look for cars previously owned by mechanically savvy people that have already spent the money to mitigate any known design flaws or potential issues on that particular model.