I hope I'm not too late!
Toyota's are good cars. Especially if you want to fix it yourself. Some bad brands I personally avoid: Ford, Chevy, Dodge, mostly anything American made. Toyota's are reliable and easy to find parts for. If you're not going to fix it yourself then a Hyundai or Subaru are good. Depending on what kind of weather conditions you'll be driving it in.
When I look for a car to buy you'll notice a lot of one brand or another in the local ads. AVOID THOSE BRANDS! They are a lot of them because no one wants to buy them. You need to look far and wide for a quality car because they will sell fast. And yeah, avoid dealerships that push you into financing. Financing is a scam, and so is leasing. Warranties are questionable.
I have run into salesmen who take off $1000 or so if I pay cash. It does happen. They probably deal with a lot of customers who aren't credit worthy so they would rather have the money up front.
Private mechanics can be ok if the mechanic is the owner. They rely on reputation, but sometimes they aren't good mechanics. If you can, ask around for a recommended one. Sometimes a mechanic will go with you to look at cars for like $50 or so and make sure its in working condition. Maybe narrow it down to 1 or 2 they can look at so you're not paying multiple days.
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Topic: Buying a Car Question (Read 8612 times)