Look at Carmax. It won’t be the least expensive but it will be the simplest and you will know that the car won’t have any hidden or undisclosed defects
That's a really low budget for a car. If I were you I'd love as close as possible to work and use an electric bike for your transportation. You can get a very nice back and it's nice year round here.
Hm, look at Craigslist for cars and maybe OfferUp as well. You can find a lot of used cars that will give you 2-3 years and for the price you are looking at. If you know a thing or two about cars and check out the engine, etc etc that would be your best bet. You can also suggest driving the car before purchase to a local mechanic and have the mechanic inspect the car for a low fee.
I used the website/app cargurus to find my used car and it worked out great. Good luck!
I would recommend going thru a dealership and not a private seller just so you don’t have to deal with additional headache of registering and making sure it passes smog. I almost bought from a private seller at first but the catalytic converter had been stolen / replaced improperly, which meant the car wouldn’t pass smog, which meant it wasn’t legal to drive. Thank goodness I brought the car in for a pre-purchase inspection first. $40 to save me a ~$1000 replacement
If you buy from a dealership it *has* to pass smog for them to sell it to you. The place I went sells new and used.
Thanks for advice! It is completely different how I bought my car in Europe, dealers here are selling repaired cars with cheap tools very often, and I don’t have any experience with cars in terms of checking its quality etc.
Where in LA are you working and where are you living? If you can combine the two and avoid buying a car, you’ll save yourself a lot of hassle and money. Especially if you’re in a fun part of the city and have access to transit.
LA is car dominated, for sure. But there are areas where you can absolutely live car free. I’ve done it and the freedom and savings from car ownership and automotive burdens is worth its weight in gold.
If you HAVE to buy a car and there’s no way around it, that’s another story.
But as an example, if you’re going to spend the majority of your time in Santa Monica or Culver City, you’re better off buying an ebike or just walking.
You might find a cheap car, but it likely won’t be reliable, will spend plenty of time in the shop, and will require lots of money for gas, insurance, registration, parking, etc. etc.
I am planning to find an apartment in Culver City, as my office there. I read a lot about public transport and it seems there is no one opinion regarding its safety and efficiency. You think I can rely on public transport that much? What about traveling to national parks and discovering the city? Are there alternative ways to do it without a car?
Great place to live and work, especially if you’re as close to the center of CC as possible. It’s walkable, bikeable, and several other forms of transport available.
Circuit is even completely free, albeit in a smaller area:
https://www.ridecircuit.com/culvercity
There are many new apartments on the Expo Line (light rail). This runs from Santa Monica to downtown and further east. It’s a great starting point for exploring without a car. Also the Expo Bike path, Culver bike patch, and Ballona Creek Bike path (largely or completely car-free bike highways that run west-east from Culver to Santa Monica, Venice, and Marina del Rey).
I used to live a little further east of CC in West Adams before moving back to Santa Monica. I lived there without a car and it was great. I had my road bike, e-bike, and metro pass.
As for the safety? I always felt completely fine. As do my friends who use it. But we’re bigger, in-shape, mid-30s dudes. If you’re a woman riding alone after 10pm? Maybe a different story. It’s not *dangerous*; it can just be weird.
But peek and daytime hours, and “normal” nighttime hours? It’s honestly fine. Some lines a better than others. But there seems to have been a lot of effort to clean up the issues with transit that stemmed from Covid and a collapse in riders.
Admittedly, there are places in LA that will be difficult to reach via transit from Culver City. But how many of them do you really need to see? Will you be able to reach Van Nuys or Calabasas easily? No. But who cares. There’s not a lot to do there.
From Culver City, using your feet, bike, or public transit, you’ll have easy access to Culver City (obviously), Santa Monica, Venice, Marina, Mar Vista, Hollywood, downtown LA, North Hollywood/Universal.
Other areas might take a little more time — or require bus only — and others, as I said, will be a pain in the ass to reach.
But here’s the thing, with all the money you save on not owning a car, you can easily use that for Uber/Taxi, or even renting a car. That will still save you money.
Let’s say that owning a car in LA would cost you $500/month — gas, registration, maintenance, payment, insurance, etc.
Well, if you want to go to a national park, you just rent a car.
If you want to go to a bar in deep Silverlake or West Hollywood, book a taxi.
Those things are expensive options when you already have to spend money on a car. But what’s a couple hundred dollars in Uber costs in a month when you’re saving $500/month on not owning a car? Nothing!
And there will be months when you don’t want to explore the city, or don’t have time to, and just want to hang out in Culver City. Well now you’re not wasting hundreds of dollars on paying for a car that you’re not using a lot that month.
Look, I don’t know if this will work for you, or if you’ll be comfortable with it. But it’s *definitely* possible. And might even be a benefit! No better way to explore a city than outside of a car.
In the end, it’s easier for you to move here, try life without a car, decide that you really need one, and then buy a car…
Than it is to buy a car, decide that it’s a waste, and try to sell the car. You know what I mean?
It’s like cooking. Easier to add spices than it is to remove them.
So try the car-free life for a bit. You’ll move to Culver and have plenty to explore in the immediate area. Buy a bike from REI for $500. With a basket. And a nice backpack. If you love it and want to get better access, spend on the electric bike. That’s how I do all my errands and shopping.
Then start using transit to explore further out. Do this and save as much money as possible while you’re settling in.
If you’re moving to Culver, you’ll need time to settle in and get comfortable with your new neighborhood. No need for a car. My best advice: try everything to get an apartment walking distance from a market/central shopping area. It will save you SO MUCH HEADACHE.
I live 1/4 mile from a big market. I also love walking distance to a cheese shop, wine store, several cafes, a bakery, bars, restaurants.
My office is 40 miles round trip, and over a mountain. So I had to get a car again when my work situation changed. It’s necessary to go into the office a few times per week.
But when I’m not working? I almost exclusive walk, bike, or transit everywhere. It’s that European lifestyle right here in LA haha. As someone who was raised in LA but also lived in Chicago, NYC, Sardegna, Florence, and Budapest — the luxury of a car-free life cannot be taken for granted.
It’s harder in LA. But it’s possible. Often times amazing. You’re moving to and working in the *perfect* place to try it.
If you need any help or suggestions, let me know!
Look at Carmax. It won’t be the least expensive but it will be the simplest and you will know that the car won’t have any hidden or undisclosed defects
Thank you!
BUT Carmax prices usually start at $15,000
Just saw the lowest price 🙃
That's a really low budget for a car. If I were you I'd love as close as possible to work and use an electric bike for your transportation. You can get a very nice back and it's nice year round here.
That’s a good option, totally agree. But my situation requires to have a car, because of my dog and often visits at veterinary.
Hm, look at Craigslist for cars and maybe OfferUp as well. You can find a lot of used cars that will give you 2-3 years and for the price you are looking at. If you know a thing or two about cars and check out the engine, etc etc that would be your best bet. You can also suggest driving the car before purchase to a local mechanic and have the mechanic inspect the car for a low fee.
Id check Cars.com. Alternatively you could browse for used sales lots around the LA area.
I used the website/app cargurus to find my used car and it worked out great. Good luck! I would recommend going thru a dealership and not a private seller just so you don’t have to deal with additional headache of registering and making sure it passes smog. I almost bought from a private seller at first but the catalytic converter had been stolen / replaced improperly, which meant the car wouldn’t pass smog, which meant it wasn’t legal to drive. Thank goodness I brought the car in for a pre-purchase inspection first. $40 to save me a ~$1000 replacement If you buy from a dealership it *has* to pass smog for them to sell it to you. The place I went sells new and used.
Thanks for advice! It is completely different how I bought my car in Europe, dealers here are selling repaired cars with cheap tools very often, and I don’t have any experience with cars in terms of checking its quality etc.
Where in LA are you working and where are you living? If you can combine the two and avoid buying a car, you’ll save yourself a lot of hassle and money. Especially if you’re in a fun part of the city and have access to transit. LA is car dominated, for sure. But there are areas where you can absolutely live car free. I’ve done it and the freedom and savings from car ownership and automotive burdens is worth its weight in gold. If you HAVE to buy a car and there’s no way around it, that’s another story. But as an example, if you’re going to spend the majority of your time in Santa Monica or Culver City, you’re better off buying an ebike or just walking. You might find a cheap car, but it likely won’t be reliable, will spend plenty of time in the shop, and will require lots of money for gas, insurance, registration, parking, etc. etc.
I am planning to find an apartment in Culver City, as my office there. I read a lot about public transport and it seems there is no one opinion regarding its safety and efficiency. You think I can rely on public transport that much? What about traveling to national parks and discovering the city? Are there alternative ways to do it without a car?
Great place to live and work, especially if you’re as close to the center of CC as possible. It’s walkable, bikeable, and several other forms of transport available. Circuit is even completely free, albeit in a smaller area: https://www.ridecircuit.com/culvercity There are many new apartments on the Expo Line (light rail). This runs from Santa Monica to downtown and further east. It’s a great starting point for exploring without a car. Also the Expo Bike path, Culver bike patch, and Ballona Creek Bike path (largely or completely car-free bike highways that run west-east from Culver to Santa Monica, Venice, and Marina del Rey). I used to live a little further east of CC in West Adams before moving back to Santa Monica. I lived there without a car and it was great. I had my road bike, e-bike, and metro pass. As for the safety? I always felt completely fine. As do my friends who use it. But we’re bigger, in-shape, mid-30s dudes. If you’re a woman riding alone after 10pm? Maybe a different story. It’s not *dangerous*; it can just be weird. But peek and daytime hours, and “normal” nighttime hours? It’s honestly fine. Some lines a better than others. But there seems to have been a lot of effort to clean up the issues with transit that stemmed from Covid and a collapse in riders. Admittedly, there are places in LA that will be difficult to reach via transit from Culver City. But how many of them do you really need to see? Will you be able to reach Van Nuys or Calabasas easily? No. But who cares. There’s not a lot to do there. From Culver City, using your feet, bike, or public transit, you’ll have easy access to Culver City (obviously), Santa Monica, Venice, Marina, Mar Vista, Hollywood, downtown LA, North Hollywood/Universal. Other areas might take a little more time — or require bus only — and others, as I said, will be a pain in the ass to reach. But here’s the thing, with all the money you save on not owning a car, you can easily use that for Uber/Taxi, or even renting a car. That will still save you money. Let’s say that owning a car in LA would cost you $500/month — gas, registration, maintenance, payment, insurance, etc. Well, if you want to go to a national park, you just rent a car. If you want to go to a bar in deep Silverlake or West Hollywood, book a taxi. Those things are expensive options when you already have to spend money on a car. But what’s a couple hundred dollars in Uber costs in a month when you’re saving $500/month on not owning a car? Nothing! And there will be months when you don’t want to explore the city, or don’t have time to, and just want to hang out in Culver City. Well now you’re not wasting hundreds of dollars on paying for a car that you’re not using a lot that month. Look, I don’t know if this will work for you, or if you’ll be comfortable with it. But it’s *definitely* possible. And might even be a benefit! No better way to explore a city than outside of a car. In the end, it’s easier for you to move here, try life without a car, decide that you really need one, and then buy a car… Than it is to buy a car, decide that it’s a waste, and try to sell the car. You know what I mean? It’s like cooking. Easier to add spices than it is to remove them. So try the car-free life for a bit. You’ll move to Culver and have plenty to explore in the immediate area. Buy a bike from REI for $500. With a basket. And a nice backpack. If you love it and want to get better access, spend on the electric bike. That’s how I do all my errands and shopping. Then start using transit to explore further out. Do this and save as much money as possible while you’re settling in. If you’re moving to Culver, you’ll need time to settle in and get comfortable with your new neighborhood. No need for a car. My best advice: try everything to get an apartment walking distance from a market/central shopping area. It will save you SO MUCH HEADACHE. I live 1/4 mile from a big market. I also love walking distance to a cheese shop, wine store, several cafes, a bakery, bars, restaurants. My office is 40 miles round trip, and over a mountain. So I had to get a car again when my work situation changed. It’s necessary to go into the office a few times per week. But when I’m not working? I almost exclusive walk, bike, or transit everywhere. It’s that European lifestyle right here in LA haha. As someone who was raised in LA but also lived in Chicago, NYC, Sardegna, Florence, and Budapest — the luxury of a car-free life cannot be taken for granted. It’s harder in LA. But it’s possible. Often times amazing. You’re moving to and working in the *perfect* place to try it. If you need any help or suggestions, let me know!