hey friends, i had recently posted a thread looking for a roommate but no one responded..i know the main reason is that i didnt have a car...and who would give someone a ride for 2 weeks..so i have been saving to buy a used car..i've saved $2000...so..i was wondering if i would be able to find a used car for $2500...then again i think i need around $300 for registration and stuff or may be not? i live in Houston...friends with experience...share your experience and suggestions...thank you!

 internalconflict, if this is your first car than don't go for a new car or more than 3, 4K. Buy a used car for around 2000 or 2500. If you get a best deal in cragislist, sometimes there's a chances you can get it in 1500 too. Just search in craigslist in your area. Since Houston is a big city so i am sure every minute somebody will post something in it. I just bought one old used car for 1500, Toyota camry with 161000 miles. It looks good and works good, i am expecting that one to last for more than a year or two. After a year you will probably build some credit and you will have some money too and than go for a new car either with finance or full payment doesn't matter. I strongly recommend a first car to be a old used car but with less problems if possible. good luck. 

Internalconflict,
I was exactly in your condition 3 yrs ago when I was new . I had $2000 saving in my pocket . But I had some frens to help me  they helped me around $3000 and I bought a car worth $5000.But in yoyur case I recommend u to buy a cheap car worth 2,000. . If u go for Toyota camry or corolla u can get nice deal on that much money. But Hondas are lil expensive. You can get 1997,1998, 1999 camry ,corolla around 170,000 miles in that much money.
The process of buying car is not very big. After u find a car just go to title transfer office with the owner and transfer his car's ttitle to your name. It will take less than  a week to get a new title. They will mail it to your home address.

man, im glad people are referring to craigslist...i was scared when furke dai said it was only good to look for hookers :P..furke dai is a good man though..the only thing that scares me about buying a used car is the hidden problems that i wont find out before buying...if i have to spend grands repairing it..that would be a nightmare..and, isnt 170k miles a lot?

well depends on your luck how good car you will end up at that price but i was pretty screwed up at same price few years back i wasted my money by buying car at 2500 i did searched a lot and ended up with cheap price but it costed me fortune while fixing up things as time passed by . Make sure you do your proper exams before getting any cars at that price best of luck .

IC saathi,
Before buying any car, check for engine oil leak first, then other fluids leak. How u know? Drive it for a while, rest the car in a clear parking space(not grass). Move the car after a while and see if anything is leaking. At least test drive for 10 minutes. If the owner won't let you do that, then keep the engine running for that long to check if it overheats and if any fluid is leaking. Now if you think the car is alright, take it to a mechanic. Tip him $10-$20 and ask him to check if anything is wrong with the car (engine, transmission, water pump, blah blah). With old cars common problems you see are engine leak, transmission related, timing belt shift, catalytic convertor fail, radiator leak, overheating which costs hefty repairs. Don't go for outside look. Dented, painted doesn't matter as long as the condition is good. Other things you should consider. Check the inspection sticker. If it is expired, put condition the seller will get the inspection taken care of b4 u buy. If the sticker is going to expire in a month or two, check the tire tread coz your inspection will fail if you don't have xx.xx mm of tread remaining (generally speaking if any of your tires is bald). Buying a car is an important and big decision. Document every money handling with the sellers signature acknowledging it (write his name, dob, address, DL #). Good luck!!!

IC bro, which part of Houston do you live? I may b able to take you to show some cars on the 20th ( this monday ). I know some Mexicans who I dealt with earlier.

@furke, hey bro! thanks man for so much suggestions...damn, thats a lot to look for..i live in clear lake..monday ta mero kaam huncha bro 11 baje dekhi..but anyways...thanks for your offer bro..i really appreciate that :)

 unless you wanna go very early in the day

Early morning ma ta shop khuleko hudaina Mexican ko. At least half day ta lagchha. If you can make it, let me know.

 hmm...mildaina hola bro..kaam ma jaanai parcha...gotta make that $$$ for  =/```o```o```\= ....hahaha gaadi banauna khojeko..

 but i really appreciate it..thanks

You r welcome.

Once we buy a used car we have to set aside for maintenance , and it is a big decision. If you go to dealer they will sell you jack up priced car, not always sure that the dealer sold car are better than the car bought from a person. It depends how and who drove the car, routine maintenance is done or not decides the life span of the car. If you buy a car from a good neighborhood, may assume they had maintained better.
Craigslist may be dangerous but you need to be careful, I mean never take cash and go to their place rather ask to come to a public place, have a company who knows about car and two opinions are better than one. Ask for VIN number and have a VIN check once you liked the car. It is not that hard to replace odometer with lower one. Check locally if they will help pre-buying inspection, may charge up to hour and plus but it may be worth it.
If you know how to drive a standard car, you may find decent car if you a time to shop around. Good luck.

Once we buy a used car we have to set aside for maintenance , and it is a big decision. If you go to dealer they will sell you jack up priced car, not always sure that the dealer sold car are better than the car bought from a person. It depends how and who drove the car, routine maintenance is done or not decides the life span of the car. If you buy a car from a good neighborhood, may assume they had maintained better.
Craigslist may be dangerous but you need to be careful, I mean never take cash and go to their place rather ask to come to a public place, have a company who knows about car and two opinions are better than one. Ask for VIN number and have a VIN check once you liked the car. It is not that hard to replace odometer with lower one. Check locally if they will help pre-buying inspection, may charge up to hour and plus but it may be worth it.
If you know how to drive a standard car, you may find decent car if you a time to shop around. Good luck.

Once we buy a used car we have to set aside for maintenance , and it is a big decision. If you go to dealer they will sell you jack up priced car, not always sure that the dealer sold car are better than the car bought from a person. It depends how and who drove the car, routine maintenance is done or not decides the life span of the car. If you buy a car from a good neighborhood, may assume they had maintained better.
Craigslist may be dangerous but you need to be careful, I mean never take cash and go to their place rather ask to come to a public place, have a company who knows about car and two opinions are better than one. Ask for VIN number and have a VIN check once you liked the car. It is not that hard to replace odometer with lower one. Check locally if they will help pre-buying inspection, may charge up to hour and plus but it may be worth it.
If you know how to drive a standard car, you may find decent car if you a time to shop around. Good luck.

Sorry, looks I hit many times.

 hey mate, thanks for your suggestion...im thinking of taking the car to a mechanic and have it checked...but again that will cost me around $100 as i heard..and if they find some problem..then again that $100 is gone....budget tight cha bro...last ma sabai kuro paisai ma aaera adkido raecha...

Find a friend who has a friend who is a mechanic who will check the car for free. :P

Internalconflict,
 It depends on which place u choose to check your car. If u go to dealer like if u are buyin Honda and go to honda dealer for checkin obviously they will show u bunch of problems and they charge around $100 just for checking. I prefer u to go to some local mechanics they do normal checkup for around 20, 30 dollars .

ha ha bro internalconflict...u think too much....2500 ko car ma risk ta huncha nai...job gardai raichau ta....tell ur owner to loan u some money