Looking for a first shitbox on craigslist...

Looking for a first shitbox on craigslist, what are MAJOR RED FLAGS; things that make it not worth buying because it would be a money pit? On the flipside, what are things that aren't actually that big of a deal and aren't hard or expensive to fix that people don't bother with?

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dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/5610480876.html
charlestonwv.craigslist.org/cto/5602386237.html
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>RED FLAGS
Anything not a corolla

>what are MAJOR RED FLAGS; things that make it not worth buying because it would be a money pit?
anything exotic or luxurious

>what are things that aren't actually that big of a deal and aren't hard or expensive to fix that people don't bother with?

replacing a blown head gasket yourself costs almost nothing. It's just a tedious job because you have take a lot out of the engine bay and open the engine, and most people just don't want to bother and accidentally fuck something up. if you download the repair manual for your car, it probably would be a pretty painless process.

Not OP but are you serious about it costing almost nothing?

Some user replaced the hg on his 4age and i asked him how much it cost. He said it came out to about 1k. Did he just do a lot of other stuff along the way?

I ask because im about to do the same.

not op, but how do you all feel buying 'older' cars? i was thinking of taking a look at a '97 corolla
dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/5610480876.html
but i'm concerned about it passing current emissions/safety/whatever else tests in texas. should i be? is that ever a concern for anyone on Veeky Forums who buys a shitbox?

Gaskets are like 20 dollars. He fucked some stuff up for sure. It's literally a piece of cardboard

Holy shit son 97 isn't even old.

head gaskets are under $100 all day long

mechanics/technicians charge like $1200-$1600 for the job because it's very tedious. It very regularly will take an entire work day to replace a blown head gasket so naturally it costs a lot for a mechanic to spend his entire shift on it.

if you download a repair manual for your car and bought the replacement head gasket already, it's as simple as moving everything out of the way and opening the engine up, replacing the blown head gasket with the new one, making sure the cylinder heads are clean, which isn't a big deal, and you just close it all back up and it's done. It just takes all fucking day to do.

>almost 20 years
That's fucking old.

>If they try to hard too emphasize reliability.

>im pcsing soon so i cant take it with me, but im open to trades

No it isn't.

>be born in 1995
>"almost 20 years"
>"That's fucking old."

o-oh...

No it isn't, get the fuck out of here normie

i don't really think it's too old, but it still raises some concerns for me. it looks well taken care of, at least.

Don't take the bait, headgaskets fail because most engines are iron block with aluminum heads that warp over time, not because "hurr the gaysket iz bayud twenty bucks and an hour!"

If you see "just needs a headgasket" just assume the engine needs to be replaced.

>tfw '97 was almost 20 years ago

>MECHANICS SPECIAL!!!!!!
>i ran car while x was fucking up and now it doesnt run too well, but its not too expensive to fix x, and this car is super reliable dont worry pal

fucking normalfags keep saying this crap

>iron block
Sorry you drive a shitbox

>Mechanics special
>Car is in mint condition
>Started the car after it sat for a few years, it had no oil in it, ran it like a stuck pig for an hour and now it has a knock. Needs new engine
>$1,500

This motherfucker blew up a mint condition first gen Probe GT, I'd fucking kill for one and this motherfucker just destroys the engine without a second thought.

...

>MAJOR RED FLAGS
needs new engine

needs new transmission

was in an accident/salvage title

major rust on the frame

unaligned

blue smoke coming out of exhaust

all of that shit costs way too much to bother with on a shitbox. a fucked up LOOKING car(has some rust on the body, shitty paint job, dents etc) BUT it mechanically works with no issues is a gem for shitbox deals.

that's the name of the game with a shitbox, finding something that is inspected and RUNS with no problems that affect it mechanically

who really gives a fuck how it looks. it's a $500 car. I'll buy a pink car with a cock spray-painted onto the hood for $500 if it runs with no mechanical issues.

EHHHHHHHHHHHH wrong, I drive three shitboxes and one of them has an all alloy v6.

stay away from keywords
"ran when parked"
"simple fix"

other than that, its case-by-case basis.

>blue smoke coming out of exhaust
This reminded me about something. Once I went to check out a car that was going for 1500 euros. After closer inspection I realized that the head gasket was blown and confronted the seller. He said he didn't know, etc., all that bullshit, but at the end he agreed to sell it to me for 1000 euros - 500 euros less than he wanted for it initially. Later I went to a mechanic friend who fixed the head gasket for 200 euros.

TL;DR sometimes it's cheaper to buy a car with a flaw and then fix it.

Does this miata have too many redflags to consider buying?

charlestonwv.craigslist.org/cto/5602386237.html

Yes, it's painted matte gray.

Well thats the same thing I would do on a budget

>replacing a blown head gasket yourself costs almost nothing
not when the cylinder liners are fucked
and there really is no way of telling how much damage a blown head gasket has caused unless you take the engine apart or it has a huge amount of oil caked onto the block

What has shitty taste got to do with a budget of any sort?

the roll on paint job is pretty bad, but you should probably go and actually check to see if there's bad frame damage. you may get away with a shittly painted steal if it's not all bent outta whack

Whats taste have to do with covering the car in cheap shitty paint

If you think that any dark matte color looks decent on a car then you're a fucking nigger.

Its like using primer black, you do it just to have something on the body man not because it looks good

This isn't matte but it looks okay.

WOW now this is better quality bait, people can't even give away high mileage m60/62 powered cars, replacing worn timing chains and guides is $1000 just for the parts and requires 20 hours labor from an experienced tech, stay the fuck away.

It's only worth it if you have a 540i/6speed but even those go for under 5k because the cars are so labor intensive.

How big of an accident though? It seems every used car was in an accident of some sort.

I live in Eastern Europe mate. You just gotta go to the car dump and pick out parts, it's cheap as fuck. I'm not lying. It was 200 euros for the head gasket and then 200 more to fix the abs sensors and some other electrical stuff. 400 euros overall, and I had a pretty good car.

accidents can indicate loads of fucking problems/things that need to be flat out replaced

Is this for real?

Somebody wants to sell me their 95 530i. 3k, 120k miles. Needs a new valve cover gasket but that's it. Good deal?