so..I want to buy a new (used) car...

[ellipses]

...but I don't think I can do it - I'm just too timid! I look back and I just don't know how I managed to buy the car that I have now. I bought it almost seven years ago. I got my brother to go with me then to look at it and well, I bought it! And it worked out well for me. But it was an old car then and it's that much older now, it now qualifies as a 'beater with a heater' and I can't even vouch for the heater 'cuz I just never drive enough for it to heat up, lol. But apart from that it now has no radio, no interior rear view mirror, a cracked windshield and the check engine light is on (per computer 'random misfire'). At the very least it needs a complete tuneup to even hope to pass the echeck which is required in my state. All this, even though the damn car runs fine! And this is all due within a month since my b'day is coming up. happy birthday to me! I can afford to buy another car if I can keep the cost under 5k. But now I can't really shop 'cuz my bro is covid plus and although I have no symptoms myself, I don't feel I can expose others to that risk. But tbf, I'm just such a wuss that I'm not sure I would 'shop' even if I could responsibly do so at this point. woe is me.

[What Exit?]

The US used car market is getting better, but it is still a terrible time to buy.
Predictions are things should be closer to normal in October or November of 2022.

So if you can hold off 5-6 months, you're actually better off.

[JackieLikesVariety]

wow, you sound like me in a lot of ways. the "woe" for example! and the timid. about nothing feels more stressful than making a major purchase when it's so important and expensive.

make an appointment to get your old car tuned and maybe it will then pass and be driveable - then you don't have a deadline anymore and can shop for another car if that's what you want.

ask everybody you know (like your brother) to help you.

ask here*! people are very kind.

* I guess you did already

[Crafter_Man]

It's almost always cheaper to fix vs. buy. I recommend taking it to an honest mechanic and getting everything fixed.

[Solfy]

I sold my 10yr old car recently. Two guys drove from 2.5hrs away and paid me a stupid amount of money for it. That tells you how bad the used car market is right now - if you can afford to not buy right now, wait. There's precious little for sale out there, and what is for sale is massively overpriced.

[Metallic Squink]

It is definitely a terrible time to buy but a good time to sell, like Solfy says. My son recently got $2000 for a truck that does not even have an engine.

[3acres]

Unless you're just in the mood for a different car (and I'm a car slut, so I understand), I'd definitely look into repair. Some of the.most common causes for an intermittent misfire are easy to fix. And youtube videos can show you how, if you're so inclined. I fixed my washing machine from a youtube video and I didn't even know how to "open the hood". And once I saw the directions, I was sure I would never have figured it out on my own.

Anyway, your misfire. Spark plugs or wires can cause it. They're easy to check (unless this is an 80s V8 Chevy Monza). An aging battery can cause misfires - my local AutoZone will hook your battery up to an analyzer for free. Leaky vacuum lines can cause it.

Or maybe the tuneup Jackie mentioned covers all that. Nothing wrong with paying people to do stuff for you - when my '85 LTD needed a new heater core, I took one look at the procedure and took the car to the mechanic.

[SmartAleq]

In addition to plugs and plug wires, ignition coil packs going out can also cause that particular code. If you have the money, it's easy enough to change out the lot and it can make all the difference in how the car behaves. Pro-tip--never change out one plug, wire or coil pack. Do them all at the same time. Trust me, it's better that way. Same with things like wheel bearings--if the right side needs it, the left is not far behind and since labor is the major cost in car repair, better to add on an hour or two to the existing bill than to have to go through the entire procedure at higher cost later.

I'm all about owning old cars and keeping them going--better the devil you know and the car whose fits and crochets you know about rather than inheriting someone else's brand new set of problems. Many repairs are of the seldom needed variety, so that once you get them taken care of, you'll likely never have to do it again. Not with that car, anyway!

[Wolf Larsen]

Originally Posted by 3acres

They're easy to check (unless this is an 80s V8 Chevy Monza).

Remember the Cosworth Vega? I was admiring one at the Chevy dealership and the salesman (who was a long time friend of my dad's) told me that I didn't want one, having to pull the engine every time you wanted to change the spark plugs was really going to be a problem.

[SmartAleq]

Can you just imagine how crusty those problem plugs got over time? Who knew the GM engineers were essaying a widespread crowd sourced experiment on the feasibility of the seven cylinder engine?

[3acres]

Originally Posted by Wolf Larsen

Remember the Cosworth Vega? I was admiring one at the Chevy dealership and the salesman (who was a long time friend of my dad's) told me that I didn't want one, having to pull the engine every time you wanted to change the spark plugs was really going to be a problem.

I think the salesman misled you. The Cosworth was a DOHC 4 cylinder engine - no problem changing spark plugs on those. The problem on the V8s was the rear plug on the driver's side. You had to unbolt the motor mount and jack up the engine about an inch to get it. I remember us laughing when Chevy made the procedure clear in an attempt to dispel the tales that you had to pull the engine out of the car. The Cosworth Vega was an attempt to compete with foreign sports cars with "their kind of engine" while the V8s were a return to the good old American philosophy of "no replacement for displacement."

I liked when US companies did weird engines. All aluminum slant-6 engines from Chrysler, the slant-4 from Pontiac, early turbos like Oldsmobiles, the small aluminum V8s from Buick, mechanical fuel injection in the late 50s, the flat-6 Corvair engines, Pontiac OHC straight-6s, the Ford side-oilers, Chrysler "Trenton-4" engines with Lotus DOHC heads. And the experimental stuff that never got out in the wild like DOHC RB Chrysler hemis, an Oldsmobile hemi, etc.

[ellipses]

well. my bro has done a tune up of sorts on my car. new plugs, wires, I don't know what else...he reset the check engine light and so far it has not come back on again, but according to him you can't really tell if that means anything til you've put a few miles on it. He's thinking you need to put 250 miles on it! that's crazy 'cuz it would take months for me to put that much mileage on my car! And I need it to pass echeck in the next three weeks! So...I dunno. I dunno if this is going to work out.

Plus turns out I also need to renew my drivers' license this year. (sigh) I remember last time I did this and I thought "cool! don't need it renewed for four years! I'll probably be dead by then!" Well, it's four years now and I'm not dead so I have to do it again! sucks to be me. I always worry that somehow I'm not going to pass the vision test they give (I hate tests that I can't study for!) My vision is old and terrible and the tests are very stressful and I always think I'm getting everything wrong! luckily they have never seemed to care and give me a license anyway! granted it's my close up vision that sucks, but it seems like that's what they're testing! I dunno, I dunno, I swear I fail every vision test 'cuz I do need glasses for reading and close up work, but I don't wear them normally and I don't wear them for the test 'cuz i don't need them for driving. So...I'm going to have to put myself through that stress pretty soon.

I'm just a super wienie who's afraid of pretty much everything.

And I also want a new (old) car... (heavy sigh) Why can't life be easy???

[SmartAleq]

Do your car a favor and go for a nice drive. Cars don't do well only being driven for short periods of time and short distances with long sitting periods in between. A driving pattern like that probably contributed to its recent woes. Especially get it to freeway speeds and stay there for at least 20 minutes or so. You don't necessarily need to put on 250 miles but you absolutely do need to go through a few drive cycles for the computer to reset properly, check over the engine function and decide if the repairs did the trick. A drive cycle involves idling, driving at street speeds for a bit then freeway speeds and repeat.

And you can go right ahead and buy a new old car but you will overpay for it, the seller will haggle you to death on it and you'll inherit a new set of problems. If that seems worth it to you then by all means, go car shopping during possibly the worst squeeze on vehicles since WWII.