The 10 cheapest cars for 2012

Cheapest car for me is my 72 Ford Pinto man! It is a classic, sips fuel, and is supercool baby! I can hardly wait for the new 2014 model coming out dudes! I can't afford one man, but maybe some of you rich dudes can. Check out me and my dog Toby doing an awesomely cool smoky burnout on utube, type 72 Ford Pinto man!!!! Toby loves doin burnouts with me man!!!

Yeeeehaawwwww!! 

RT in Nashville has the right idea and I follow it.  We had a 1977 Pinto for many years and was one of the most reliable cars we ever owned.  It had 144,000 on it the last time we saw it and was headed for another cross-country trip from Phoenix, Az to upstate NY.  A 1986 Escort was good but still had some things that could have been better.  Toyota says they are the best but they make lemons like any other manufacturer and hide them because they are not required to make the same defect reporting as American brands.  Same goes for other foreign makes.  All these cars are out of our price range and will be for some time.  Gas economy is not enough.  In fairness though, I feel the article at least computed their overall purchase and estimated operation cost.  However, it assumes that third-party warranty services cover all consumables and that is not true.  Tires, brakes, belts and struts are all normal wear items and excluded.  Read those exclusions or it is just more pure profit for the dealer and issuer.  There are also no annual mileage numbers given.  It is sad that nearly all are foreign.  As for me, I will continue to stick with used cars that are solid and operate them for at least 100K or more, sometimes for 10 years before replacement.  I drive about 20,000/year and annual cost of a used car and operation is about $5000/year.  My current car is a retired police cruiser and is about the $5K/yr mark and has 190,000 miles on it.  My wife's car is a 1999 Taurus and is about $3300/year and cost more to purchase but is driven far less.  $4/gal of gas is used but we pay less than that.  Our daughter has a 1995 Pontiac Grand AM that got her through college and to and from her job until the economy opens the door for an Accounting job.  Cost, about $2300/year for this strong V6.  Insurance is one thing not factored and that can add $800 - $1000/year even with a good driving record and student discounts while in school.  Same with adults, depending on car and where you live.

Buy 2 older cars in good shape for up to $2,000 each, but shop as hard as possible because you can get a nice ride for $500 or less if you are diligent.

Get a good unlimited towing policy .

Check put all the junk yards/scrap metal buyers in a 20 mile radius and find the top 3 highest payers

Drive it til it dies,

get it towed to the highest paying metal buyer and sell it for scrap

transfer the registration to the 2nd one you bought and shop for a replacement for car 1.

Keep repeating.

If you shop when you do NOT need a car you’ll find the best deals and will not overpay

I bought clean and running 2 Jeep Grand Cherokees, 1 B3000 & 1 B2300 Mazda PU’s, 2 Ford Rangers, a Trans Am, and a super clean 1995 S10 blazer all running and looking good for only $175 each except for 1 ranger step side that I paid $300 for.

When the trans went on 1 jeep after 2 years of driving it, I swapped plates and registration to the other that I used for 8 months til the front suspension went bad. I then registered the B3000 and 5 years later it’s still going strong. My Girlfriend used the Trans Am til the head gasket went and now drives the S10 .

It’s a simple plan that costs you basically nothing except for gas and insurance . If you have a place to park the extra cars this is the way to go . I've been doing this for over 20 years