You can get a used Hyundai for peanuts. They don’t hold their value well at all. The Elantra is closer in size to the Corolla than the Sonata, and probably fits better into your price range.
I have a 2008, and had a 2002 before that. The first one more or less fell apart at 100k miles, but was bulletproof before that. The current one has just rolled through 40k, and hasn’t needed anything replaced except the cabin air filter.
that’s not exactly a ringing endorsement.
surf the net for dealer versions of your car (within a 100 mile radius) and also quotes from the various edmunds type web sites. My last car was totaled and the difference between what my insurance offered and what I settled for was substantial.
I faxed them my research and they cut a check. I was actually amazed they didn’t argue. Not only that, but I bought the car from them for a very small amount and repaired it. I made money on the transaction.
If you’re dealing with someone else’s insurance then your insurance company can act on your behalf. The advantage to this is that you can get what the car is worth. The disadvantage is that you get paid minus the deductible until they settle.
Thanks for all the advice. I decided to go the non-confrontational route, because I’m no good at confrontation. I did mention my repair work last year and submitted copies of the receipts and got a modest bump in the settlement amount.
My only complaint at this point is that they moved my car to a distant auction yard before I got a chance to retrieve my personal property, so I’m going to have to take a personal day to go over there and get my stuff.
So this upcoming weekend is the dreaded car shopping. Ugh. I’m not looking forward to it. I’m halfway settled on just finding some kind of used Corolla within my target price range from a regular dealership. It’s more time and effort than I’m willing to commit to consider all the possible options available as far as cars go.
Well, that depends. I wouldn’t trust any car beyond 100k miles*, so it doesn’t really matter to me what happens to it at that point; I’m getting rid of it anyway.
*I’m especially tough on suspension components.
Interesting. My last car, a 2003 Ford Crown Victoria, got totaled a couple years back and they paid out almost what I paid for it just few years earlier. I bought it used for $10k and when it got totaled (rear ended; bent the frame all out of whack) the other guy’s insurance company paid the $1k I still owed on it to the bank, plus $8k and change to me, AND rented me a car for 3 weeks while getting everything sorted out, with no argument or negotiation at all.