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Although you might not be able to get a certified Pre-Owned car in this budget and you probably would have to settle for a car which already has 100,000 miles on it still you can get some very good cars if you shop and bargain around. Many of these cars are known for their reliability and have been known to easily go past 200k mile mark and many have gone much higher also. It is necessary to negotiate properly otherwise you can end up leaving a lot of cash on the table. You can look at the following links for used cars. Net is generally considered a better place to start your search than going from dealer to dealer to directly look up for a vehicle.
Here is a list of some very good used cars you can purchase for less than $5,000.

Honda Accord, 95-99 : The late 90's honda accord are sold for less than $5000. These cars are great on reliability and fuel efficiency. They make up good family cars and you can trust them to give you zero headache for the next few years.








Audi A4,96-98: They sell with a price tag of above $30,000. However you can buy them within the $5000 mark if you go for the older models. You will get a sophisticated car with great interiors and a car which would still be the envy of your friends. Shop around and see if you can lay your hands on one of these beauties.





Volkswagen Golf, 94-01: They provide good performance and fun while driving. However they do not have the same reliability level as some other cars like the Honda civic.









Honda Civic, 88-01: They have become one of the favorites for those involved in tuning. They are also great as a daily driver. You can rely on them to give you next few good maintenance free years.








Ford Mustang, 86-99: This is the classic car which at some point everyone has thought about driving. You can get them at a great price however it might take a bit more maintenance to keep as a daily driver. Its 225 hp engine is perfect for those wanting high speed cars.







Ford Taurus: 86-04: This car has a great engine and can provide you with 240 hp with its 3.4 liter V8 engine.








Acura Integra:92-99: It has a great look and is sporty. The interiors are good and the performance of this car is simply great.










Ford Focus 00-03: You can get these models for less than $5000. they are reliable and have good looks and reliability.









Subaru Impreza 00-02: This car performs very well in rain and snow. It has good overall styling and has good performance.








Nissan SX: 89-98: This car has got great steering and you can still get good number of miles out of it. You should take a look at it if it is available nearby.










Finally make sure to do proper inspection and do not have price as the only parameter. A car selling for $4500 would give you much better driving experience than a $2500 and its overall cost might also be low. Hence take the current maintenance level of the car into consideration and if possible get it inspected by a professional before final purchase.

Comments


Written by chad
631 days ago
well under 5k you should go with cars with very high reliability. normally they would already have had 150k miles or more on them. normally only only civics and similar cars can still be useful. however more important is the maintenance of the car. even a nicely maintained audi can be of very good use for next few years.



Written by ray
631 days ago
accord and civic are great but going with mustang is also great. the real identifier of american automobile industry. although i am not sure whether you can find a good used mustang as the loyalty with these cars is generally very high unless they have turned lemon in which case there is no use buying them. getting it from a friend or a relative is the best in a mustang.



Written by donald
631 days ago
great list. covers almost most of the cars i saw in my college days. Had seen the worst beaters to better new ones funded by parents. It was a real fun to go through my friends job. we ended up doing a partial automotive engineering thanks to the real crappy cars some of the guys had which would require lots of under the hood work just to get it started.



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