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My daughter and her husband are in the hunt for a 2nd car, and it has to be a used car, and have 4 doors. Their budget is $5,000. Is there anything available, that would be dependable at that price? If so, any recommendations?

I've had Hondas and Toyotas over the past 10 years and couldn't be more satisfied. But I'm not sure if you can pick up a decent used Honda, Toyota or Nissan for that price with less than 150,000 miles.

Personally, I've never had good luck with used cars, so any input is appreciated.

I guess used car prices really depends on where you live. I used to drive an old Nissan Sentra that I picked up for around $5,000. It worked great and I never had much problem with it. Here in Hawaii, it's tough to find a car WITH more than 150,000 miles, though because you can drive around the island and only put 60 miles on the car. I would think you could still get a decent Sentra in New Jersey for around 5 grand, though. It was definitely dependable for me.

I used to sell used cars. No matter what the make, you never know. I have a 99 Grand Am with 75,000 and the only problem was a brake master cylinder replacement a few months ago. Have a mechanic check what you are looking at and get a carfax report.

Ditto drstroud's advice to get a Carfax report on the car's identification number. At least you'll know if the car was ever in an accident or has had several owners. Good info for a few bucks.

Used cars are a shot in the dark, to be sure. I've had good ones and not so good ones, but a little effort to check the car out will go a long way to increasing the chances of success. Appearances can sometimes be deceiving and closer inspection is very important, even if not a guarantee. It pays to be wary, because the car wouldn't be for sale if its previous owner was happy with it.