What is the cheapest car to own for a low income person?

Have you all forgotten? The answer is ALWAYS "Miata"!!! Glad to meet you guys! I look forward to getting to know you

Apexcarver wrote: late 90's cavalier that was owned by a grandmother.

This. You cannot kill the cockroach. And wreckers are FULL of more parts. They sell for dirt, and nothing will break. Just keep throwing brake pads and plug wires when it needs it.

And get the 2.2L, nothing else.

We had a 1995 - I still have nightmares. The happiest walk home was when I sold it to neck tattoo guy and did the transaction at the bank.

A hail damaged Corolla

In Michigan, the best $4000 car purchase is a plane ticket to Birmingham AL and the best $3500 Civic, Accord, Accent, Elantra, or Altima they can find.

Secondhand cars here are awfully expensive for machinery that would be bed frames in the South.

I guess it depends on what part of the world you live in, but here in Winnipeg, Manitoba, a pick up truck is a great, cheap option and I'll tell you why. A pick up is usually cheaper to insure. No matter how beat up or rusty they get, they are still useful as a truck and therefor have value to somebody. They have full frames so they don't fail a safety inspection because of rusty quarter panels. They are very useful when moving large items and often save you money because you never have to rent a truck. They sit up higher and you can see what is happening in traffic ahead of you better. Old trucks are very cool and affordable and usually have big V8's, perfect for fulfilling urges to hear a big 4 barrel opening up. But, they usually only get 10-15 mpg, this is the only real downside.

Corolla, Tercel, and Echo top the list on the Japanese side. Skip the Mazdas from the 90s and 00s. They're plenty reliable, but underhood parts can be dicey. Mazda likes to hold on to patents for a LONG time.

For parts cost, its hard to beat GM trash-mobiles. Cavaliers are cheap to buy and cheap to fix.

I'll also throw in another update for a post-2000 Kia/Hyundai. Find yourself a dented Elantra.

xflowgolf wrote: Ha, yes Michigan. I was asked to help find a car for an individual with a ~$4K budget and it prompted this thought process.

If the budget is $4K total, I'd go with $2500 for the car and $1500 reserved for repairs.