Buying used car for cheap - opinions wanted please

I am almost finished with my 60 days - yeaaaa!

I have reaffirmed my husbands car in the BK (car titled in my name, loan in my name, but it really is his car and he makes the payments). The reaffirmation was best for him/me.

However, I am surrendering my car because the lender just would not reduce the payments or the balance. The motion gets filed on 12/29/08 to change from reaffirmation to surrender.

The question is: I am open to any sort of decent 4 door vehicle that costs less than $7k out the door. I am in real estate sales so it needs to be nice, but not too expensive. What car would you suggest (make and model) that would not scare the daylights out of you if you were getting in the car/vehicle to see property? I am considering a small type SUV. I only have about $3500 to put down and the rest I can pay over the course of 6 to 8 months.

All suggestions are welcome! Please help.

Hi, I think you could get a nice car for $3500! People need to sell :)

I would recommend craigslist. We sold and bought cars on there. I would take a car to a mechanic and have him look it over for a small price.

Good car shopping!

PS Start looking at $4K cars :) They expect to work down. Lots of SUVs for that much too!

Look on autotrader.com

I personally like the Honda CRV - very reliable & roomy for your clients.

Oh - all great suggestions! Will look right away...keep the comments comming - seems hard to believe you can get a good suv for $3500! At least that is a positive thing :D

Oh - all great suggestions! Will look right away...keep the comments comming - seems hard to believe you can get a good suv for $3500! At least that is a positive thing :D

Hey, Starting...: Wait till our recession comes home to reality. I believe there will be many bargains. I fear for this but reality is us. Remember, we are the first who realize how bad it is, there are a gross amount of people not understanding what is coming down. 'Hub

Merry Christmas

I bought a well used 2003 Suburban that I'm sure came from a husband and wife that sold real estate. It was nice looking on the outside but it was very dirty on the inside. I'm not sure if it ever got a good cleaning on the inside and they never fixed anything that ever went wrong with it.

I found it on Craig's List and it cost me $5,400. I live pretty close to work so the 17 MPG it gets in town doesn't break the bank. When the family travels cross-country, it's sure is nice to have.

The other car we bought was a 1997 Oldsmobile that looks respectable but needed a thorough cleaning and some maintenance. That one was only $1,700 and we're plenty happy with it.

My goal is $100 per month for each so the Oldsmobile has served its purpose after less than two years and the Suburban needs to hang in there for almost five. We'll nurse them along as long as we can and then replace them with whatever we can but for cash.