As Jalopnik’s resident car buying expert and professional car shopper, I get emails. Lots of emails. Sometimes folks get into a tough spot or don’t know what to do, so I’ve decided to pick a few questions and try to help out.
Julian is in the market for his first car and unlike the rest us nutjobs he doesn’t want to buy a $700 Jeep that is two decades old. His goal is to get the newest and safest ride that has some all-weather capability for less than $10,000. What car should he buy?
Eric takes the train to work every day and is looking for some cheap transport just to get to the station and back home. He wants something that is functional but that also isn’t tempting for thieves. What car should he buy?
Apple had their big-ass event today, in their brand-new land-spaceship, and in this big-ass event they had their big-ass announcement: the big-ass iPhone X. That iPhone X (pronounced like MacOS X and not Malcom X) will cost you a non-trivial $999, which is officially car-money, and not just phone-money. So, with this…
Joe has had a tough run. Last year, he lost his job and, subsequently, his apartment, along with his car. But things are looking up and he needs an affordable and reliable ride to get him back on track. What car should he buy?
As an automotive writer, I occasionally get the chance to review cool cars. An Alfa Romeo 4C. A new Toyota Land Cruiser. A Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet. Well, last week I reviewed a 13-year-old Kia that screeches upon startup like a middle school fire alarm. It was glorious.
Automakers, drop those useless convenience features, stop painting those bumpers, and swap those alloy wheels out for steelies. You’re doing it all wrong, and here’s proof: these are ten cars that need to be cheapened up.
We’ve talked about the best Midsize sedan for your money and the best performance car under $30,000, but we haven’t hit that magic number: What’s the best new car of any kind you can get for under $20,000? Doug DeMuro, Tavarish, Raphael Orlove and Travis’s new minion Bob Sorokanich debate the merits.
When the Yugo went on sale back in 1987, it cost $3,990. As we pointed out over the weekend, that's just $8202.89 in 2013 dollars, or about four grand less than the cheapest cars on sale today.
Basic, rugged vehicles that are suited to the needs of undeveloped Africa have been talked about for quite a while, but have so far not really caught on in any quantity. The Turtle 1 is a bit different. It's designed to use whatever available scrap is handy, and can be built in simple, outdoor workshops. Plus, I think…
The cars that tend to interest me the most right now are at the extreme low end of the spectrum. Whatever the opposite of supercars are— üntercars, or something.
Although a cheap car can certainly be amusing, buying a low dollar automobile is usually more of an act of necessity than choice. Whether they become the tales of automotive misery or a triumphant tale of a battered car that won't quit, it's often the cheapest cars that become the most memorable.
When it comes to used cars, "cheap" doesn't always mean "horrible." You just have to know what to look for. Here are the ten cars you think can turn a long depression into a great one.
The $2,500 Tata Nano is the cheapest car in the world, but as Avinash Rajagopal of Change Observer tells us, its low price tag may irreparably damage Indian society. — Ed.
Two clever Californians have built a classified site that combs through national for-sale ads and singles out all the cars costing $1000 or less. Want to buy something crappier than this Ford Focus? Have we got the URL for you!
When we posted the video of the Non-dancing Chevrolet Aveo, it wasn't our intention to launch a conversation on the various merits of cheap cars. But since everyone is so excited about comparing Aveos to Scions and Citroens to Skodas we'll seize the zeitgeist and continue it here. And we understand this might be a…
In many cases, we don't choose our first cars. Our first cars are sometimes chosen for us as a sort of hand-me-down. The great Mercedes diesel sedan that got me through so much of high school was not necessarily up for a trip to college and, therefore, the family car shuffle resulted in an early 1990's Escort…
With all that land mass and all those people, Russia is expected to be the largest car market in Europe within a few years. And what do the proud people of Russia want? Cheap, honest transportation; a "people's car." Well that's exactly what Russia automaker AvtoVAZ wants to give them. Since most of these consumers…
