How technology has redefined the job of the repo man • Hacker News Board

Re: How technology has redefined the job of the repo man

#41

Post by ncallaway » Mon, May 21, 2018, 2:43 AM UTC

montecarl wrote: post #32

djrogers wrote: post #29

I honestly don’t get why anyone goes in to debt to buy a car in this day and age. You can buy a car (or truck) for $3000 that will last several years without requiring any huge mechanic bills or exotic maintenance - heck, I’ve done it. I would much rather take the bus/bike/walk and save up $500/mo for 6 months to be a free man than buy or lease a car for $500/mo and be a space to my creditors. Besides, hoopties can b…

I will be in need of a car soon. I don't drive much but just need something that works and is safe. Do you have any tips on how you find your $3000 cars? Are you a car guy?

My general approach is to look at craigslist (one example query: https://seattle.craigslist.org/search/cta?query=used+car&sor...) to get a sense of the market. Spend a little while (maybe a week) checking in on a search like that to get a sense of the market.

Once you feel like you've got a sense of what "normal" prices are for cars in your price range, get a consumer reports subscription†. Use CR to evaluate the make, model, and year of any car that you're considering for safety and reliability. Reliability is a pretty important indicator for cars in this price range, because you'll tend to be looking at things with higher milage.

Then, watch craigslist for vehicles that seem like a good deal. With the information you have, you should also be in a good position to call local used car dealerships and tell them what you're looking for. You should have enough information to tell when they're offering you a reasonable deal.

If you have the time and can afford to try and be a little picky. Obviously, if you need a car you need a car, but if you can afford to take your time it'll usually be worth it. Prefer cars that seem like they've been well-maintained over their life and prefer cars that come from people who have kept documentation of maintenance performed on the car.

Finally, no matter where you're considering buying from—dealer or individual—take the car to a mechanic for a pre-sale inspection. This is a common service most mechanics offer. Make sure you're the one selecting the mechanic and the one paying the mechanic. That ensures that you should get a fairly objective assessment of the car itself. This step isn't as important if you're familiar with cars, but if you're not a car guy (as I'm not), it's totally worth the price to find out if there are any immediate or upcoming service issues that will be necessary for the car.

†I _think_ you can get a monthly subscription and cancel after one-month, but you should double-check that. If you can get it for a single month, the $7.95 is totally worth it. If you have to get it for a full-year at a time, evaluate the cost/benefit based on your budget.

Re: How technology has redefined the job of the repo man

#42

Post by TheSpiceIsLife » Mon, May 21, 2018, 2:46 AM UTC

montecarl wrote: post #32

djrogers wrote: post #29

I honestly don’t get why anyone goes in to debt to buy a car in this day and age. You can buy a car (or truck) for $3000 that will last several years without requiring any huge mechanic bills or exotic maintenance - heck, I’ve done it. I would much rather take the bus/bike/walk and save up $500/mo for 6 months to be a free man than buy or lease a car for $500/mo and be a space to my creditors. Besides, hoopties can b…

I will be in need of a car soon. I don't drive much but just need something that works and is safe. Do you have any tips on how you find your $3000 cars? Are you a car guy?

Just buy a Toyota Camry or Corolla, typically can't go wrong with those things so long as someone remembered to occasionally check the oil.

Re: How technology has redefined the job of the repo man

#43

Post by CompelTechnic » Mon, May 21, 2018, 2:47 AM UTC

montecarl wrote: post #32

djrogers wrote: post #29

I honestly don’t get why anyone goes in to debt to buy a car in this day and age. You can buy a car (or truck) for $3000 that will last several years without requiring any huge mechanic bills or exotic maintenance - heck, I’ve done it. I would much rather take the bus/bike/walk and save up $500/mo for 6 months to be a free man than buy or lease a car for $500/mo and be a space to my creditors. Besides, hoopties can b…

I will be in need of a car soon. I don't drive much but just need something that works and is safe. Do you have any tips on how you find your $3000 cars? Are you a car guy?

I am not GP, but I search for cars for sale by owner on Craigslist using the following search string:

This will find you a small fuel efficient hatchback or sedan. Get familiar with kelly blue book and reply to sellers that have a reasonable asking price, then haggle. The last car I bought was a 2008 Rio with 100k miles for exactly $3000.

Re: How technology has redefined the job of the repo man

#44

Post by barsonme » Mon, May 21, 2018, 2:48 AM UTC

montecarl wrote: post #32

djrogers wrote: post #29

I honestly don’t get why anyone goes in to debt to buy a car in this day and age. You can buy a car (or truck) for $3000 that will last several years without requiring any huge mechanic bills or exotic maintenance - heck, I’ve done it. I would much rather take the bus/bike/walk and save up $500/mo for 6 months to be a free man than buy or lease a car for $500/mo and be a space to my creditors. Besides, hoopties can b…

I will be in need of a car soon. I don't drive much but just need something that works and is safe. Do you have any tips on how you find your $3000 cars? Are you a car guy?

It does depend where you live and how much effort you put into it.

- Location

Where I come from (without getting specific, south of Seattle) a 10-year-old Corolla might run you $2,400. Where some of my family lives in Idaho, that same car would be well south of $1,000. Just depends on the cost of living in your area.

- Effort

Purchasing from a dealership will likely be safer (with respect to reliability and safety), but generally more expensive than shopping around on Craigslist. That being said, Craigslist isn't all that bad if you're somewhat mechanically inclined. Now, that doesn't mean you need to be able to rebuild an engine, just that you know what to look for in a car. Here's a somewhat decent checklist[0].

Like others said, when in doubt get a Toyota or Honda.

[0]: http://www.chrisfixed.com/HowtoInspectaUsedCarChecklistChris... (PDF!)

Re: How technology has redefined the job of the repo man

#45

Post by TheSpiceIsLife » Mon, May 21, 2018, 2:49 AM UTC

ceejayoz wrote: post #36

djrogers wrote: post #29

I honestly don’t get why anyone goes in to debt to buy a car in this day and age. You can buy a car (or truck) for $3000 that will last several years without requiring any huge mechanic bills or exotic maintenance - heck, I’ve done it. I would much rather take the bus/bike/walk and save up $500/mo for 6 months to be a free man than buy or lease a car for $500/mo and be a space to my creditors. Besides, hoopties can b…

There are a lot of places in the US where taking the bus/bike/walk is impractical, and the idea that people already on the edge can just snap their fingers and start saving $500/month is pretty out of touch.

I'm not on the edge, but I am awful at saving money. Whereas loans I'll typically pay back in under half the time.

Re: How technology has redefined the job of the repo man

#46

Post by Maxious » Mon, May 21, 2018, 2:50 AM UTC

wallflower wrote: post #23

At least 10 years ago, a friend forgot where he parked his car in the Airport parking lot after a long trip. When he went to the booth embarrassed to tell them this, they said it was no big deal and did a quick tap-tap-tap on the keyboard using his license plate number to determine its exact location. They apparently scanned all the license plates in all their lots twice a day.

And sometimes they make a mobile app so you can find your car too! With a JSON API so you can find the number plate of every other car in the lot! https://www.troyhunt.com/find-my-car-find-your-car-find/

Re: How technology has redefined the job of the repo man

#47

Post by [deleted] » Mon, May 21, 2018, 2:56 AM UTC

djrogers wrote: post #29

I honestly don’t get why anyone goes in to debt to buy a car in this day and age. You can buy a car (or truck) for $3000 that will last several years without requiring any huge mechanic bills or exotic maintenance - heck, I’ve done it. I would much rather take the bus/bike/walk and save up $500/mo for 6 months to be a free man than buy or lease a car for $500/mo and be a space to my creditors. Besides, hoopties can b…

[deleted]

Re: How technology has redefined the job of the repo man

#48

Post by graeme » Mon, May 21, 2018, 3:10 AM UTC

djrogers wrote: post #29

I honestly don’t get why anyone goes in to debt to buy a car in this day and age. You can buy a car (or truck) for $3000 that will last several years without requiring any huge mechanic bills or exotic maintenance - heck, I’ve done it. I would much rather take the bus/bike/walk and save up $500/mo for 6 months to be a free man than buy or lease a car for $500/mo and be a space to my creditors. Besides, hoopties can b…

On a societal scale, those $3000 cars likely only exist because others are frivolous and buy new cars on debt.

Some strategies work for individuals but not universally.

Re: How technology has redefined the job of the repo man

#49

Post by jessaustin » Mon, May 21, 2018, 3:38 AM UTC

StanislavPetrov wrote: post #34

Eric_WVGG wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> This doesn't sound like a hack away from disaster at all. It's been done. https://www.wired.com/2015/07/hackers-remotely-kill-jeep-hig...

As Michael Hastings well knows. >Hastings, an acclaimed war correspondent and vocal critic of government mass surveillance, died in the early hours of Tuesday, June 18, 2013, when his Mercedes C250 Coupe apparently lost control and burst into flames before slamming into a palm tree. >Witnesses to the accident, which occurred around 4:25am in the leafy Hancock Park neighbourhood of Los Angeles, said the car appeared t…

If one has that sort of enemy, one should drive a manual transmission.

Re: How technology has redefined the job of the repo man

#50

Post by stale2002 » Mon, May 21, 2018, 3:40 AM UTC

graeme wrote: post #48

djrogers wrote: post #29

I honestly don’t get why anyone goes in to debt to buy a car in this day and age. You can buy a car (or truck) for $3000 that will last several years without requiring any huge mechanic bills or exotic maintenance - heck, I’ve done it. I would much rather take the bus/bike/walk and save up $500/mo for 6 months to be a free man than buy or lease a car for $500/mo and be a space to my creditors. Besides, hoopties can b…

On a societal scale, those $3000 cars likely only exist because others are frivolous and buy new cars on debt. Some strategies work for individuals but not universally.

Well, if people start buying the cheaper cars, it seems like a win for society, as there will be less people getting into debt. Seems like a win win to me.