Find Cheap Used Cars

Everything about how to find, buy, and sell cheap used cars:

Access detailed information from this site for every topic on cheap used cars. If it is about cars, you will find it here.

Start Here:

Up To Date Information From Around The Web

When California Highway Patrol officers signaled Luis to pull over, the 31-year-old drywall laborer with no driver's license was all too familiar with what would happen next. He was fingerprinted, cited and left standing at the CHP checkpoint on East Cotati Avenue two blocks from his home. A tow truck pulled up to his brother's Chevy Cavalier and hauled it to a Santa Rosa impound lot. For Luis, this was the fifth car he's lost since he crossed the border illegally from Mexico 10 years ago. Similar scenes play out nearly every day in Sonoma County and throughout the state: an illegal immigrant who is prohibited by state law from getting a driver's license is pulled over for a broken tail light, an illegal turn, a lead foot. What follows is a cycle that is a way of life in the secretive world of undocumented residents who have easy access to vehicles, but no access to gaining a license to drive. The car is impounded for 30 days, bringing fees that often exceed its value. Now abandoned, it goes back on the market, often to be purchased by another illegal immigrant who returns to the road with the cheap vehicle, no license and often no insurance. It is a system that makes financial winners of tow truck operators and used car lots, but takes a toll on law enforcement, puts legal drivers at risk from uninsured motorists and is ineffective at solving the problem of illegal drivers. It is a microcosm of the national debate now before Congress over whether to penalize or recognize illegal immigrants and illustrates California's contradictory struggle with illegal immigration: The state has satisfied political sentiment by denying driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants, but has put few roadblocks in place to keep them from getting cars essential for the low-wage jobs that help fuel the state's economy. ``It's such a silly situation; we turn a blind eye from an economic standpoint,'' said Ray Hill, a Santa Rosa Junior College criminal justice instructor. ``These folks are a viable part of our economy, except when the police pull them over. Then they're subject to the full weight of the law.'' Police say they can do little more than deal with the issue one car and one driver at a time, often sorting through false names and phony IDs. From January 2003 to June 2005, the Santa Rosa Police Department impounded 2,064 vehicles for violation of California Vehicle Code 12500(a) -- driving without a license. Of those, 88 percent, or 1,826 vehicles, were taken from Latinos. Similar percentages are seen in Petaluma and Rohnert Park. Officers ask about a driver's license but not about immigration status, issuing a citation that often is treated as little more than a traffic ticket in court. Meanwhile, the car mill returns cars and drivers to the road just as quickly as they're pulled off. The seizure Luis was back on the road the day after losing the vehicle at the CHP checkpoint set up to catch drunken drivers, but which more often snares drivers with no license. As a drywall worker, he needed to drive to his job at an East Bay-area construction site so he hurried to get his own car repaired. ``What can I say? We have to find ways to drive,'' said Luis in Spanish. ``I wish people would understand that most of us don't come to this country to hurt it. We come to work.'' Luis agreed to tell his story on condition that he not be named, fearing he and members of his family could lose their jobs or even be deported if identified. He is one of more than a dozen illegal immigrants who were interviewed for this story, along with dozens of law enforcement officers, tow operators, impound lot owners, insurance agents and car salesmen. His struggles to keep a car are a common but largely hidden immigrant experience. And the costs are substantial. He now has to pay about $2,000 to recover the Cavalier, a car that belonged to his brother but was registered to his brother-in-law. The total includes a towing fee, a daily storage fee and a police release fee, due when the 30-day impound is completed next week. If the total fee is not paid, the car is sold by the towing yard and the charge is sent to collections. ``If I don't pay it, it will hurt my brother-in-law's credit,'' said Luis. ``Right now I don't have the money to get the car out. I'm going to have to borrow from friends and family.'' California stripped undocumented immigrants of their driving privileges in 1993 when it adopted a law that requires residents to provide a Social Security number and proof of legal residency to obtain a driver's license. Two years later, the state adopted a policy, modeled after a grant-funded pilot program in Santa Rosa, that requires police to impound a car for 30 days if the driver is unlicensed or driving on a suspended or revoked license. Last year, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger rejected yet another legislative attempt to restore driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants. Despite those moves, the registration process continues to provide little oversight and fewer penalties. A simple form allows people selling cars to transfer ownership to a buyer, and California motor vehicle laws allow undocumented immigrants to transfer ownership of a vehicle in their names without proof of insurance. A driver's license is not needed when the transfer first occurs. The process is fueled by a huge supply of cheap cars, some of them unknowingly provided by people making a tax-deductible contribution to charity. A car for everyone A small fleet of donated cars, some dented and rusty, sits on a muddy slope near the Salvation Army's adult drug rehab center on Lytton Springs Road. Their prices are indicated on a white printed sheet placed on dashboards. For a few hundred dollars you can get a car here with no questions asked. ``All we require is cash,'' said Conde Mathias, the man in charge of the Salvation Army's used car sales. ``State law prohibits me from asking for a driver's license.'' He said the charity sells about two or three cars a day, each averaging about $1,000. But there's no way of knowing how many end up in the hands of undocumented immigrants, he said. These cars come from people who donate their cars to charity and hope to provide for others. But nobody advertises that many of the cars end up in the hands of undocumented immigrants. ``That doesn't make me happy at all,'' said Jeanne Overcashier, who with her husband donated a 1989 Honda Accord to the Salvation Army. ``It would make me hesitant to donate a car again.'' Her vehicle was sold for $1,350 by the Salvation Army, according to DMV records. It was impounded after a traffic stop, abandoned, and went up for sale at Cream's Auto Towing on Santa Rosa Avenue for $1,800. At Cream's Towing, cars most likely taken from undocumented immigrants sit behind a chain-link fence. The glove compartments still contain miscellaneous items -- an address book in Spanish, a Spanish-language sports magazine and odd receipts. One car displays a sticker for Spanish radio station Exitos 100.9. A white dry-erase board in the front office lists a handful of ``lien sale'' cars seized most likely from illegal immigrants. The cars have been forfeited because the state mandatory 30-day impound puts the recovery cost at $1,500 or more. ``I've spent a lot of money on cars, but there's no other way,'' Jorge, an illegal immigrant who lives in Santa Rosa, said in Spanish. ``You feel very bad, and it's worse when it happens over and over again. You wonder how you're going to get to work.'' Jorge, who agreed to speak about his experience on condition that only his first name be used, supports a wife and two children working for a local store. The car he currently drives to work every day is registered to his wife, an illegal immigrant with an out-of-state license. He said he's had eight vehicles impounded in the past eight years. ``These tow companies are making a lot of money off of us,'' he said. Towing yard owners and employees insist they are making barely enough money to recover their towing and storage costs, and that many of the cars they tow are junkers that don't bring much through lien sales. ``They've gotten smart,'' said William Todd, the owner of Able Auto Body Tow on Petaluma Hill Road, one of the 11 tow companies utilized by the Santa Rosa Police Department on a rotation basis. ``They're buying cars for $300 or $400 and if they lose a few of those in a year, that's only $1,200,'' he said. Luis' brother-in-law doesn't dispute that, but said some illegal immigrants are starting to spend a little more on cars because ``junkers'' are more apt to draw the attention of police. ``Cops tend to follow you until you make a mistake,'' he said. Sgt. Doug Schlief, head of the traffic division of the Santa Rosa Police Department, said that's a misperception. ``It's not a tactic we employ here,'' he said. ``I find it hard to believe somebody would waste their time doing that.'' Michelle Inskeep, part owner of Yarbrough Bros. Towing Inc. said she sometimes sees the same vehicle towed twice on a 30-day impound. In such cases, it's possible the car has gone from one undocumented immigrant to another. Towing yard workers said sometimes a licensed driver will arrive with several people. The licensed driver will then make the purchase for one of the other people. The seller then usually submits a ``notice of release of liability'' to the DMV. And although proof of insurance is required to renew vehicle registration, there is no such requirement when transferring ownership or registering a newly purchased vehicle. So undocumented immigrants can have the car transferred to their name without a license or proof of insurance: The car is legally theirs, but they have no legal way to drive it in California. Steve Haskins, a DMV spokesman, said there is ``no requirement that the purchaser of a car have a driver's license. Thus an undocumented immigrant could buy and register a vehicle in his or her name.'' In many cases, undocumented immigrants do not go through with the registration. Police say that a large number of unlicensed drivers they pull over are driving cars registered in someone else's name. For those who do register, a growing number of insurance companies are insuring illegal immigrants who present out-of-state or Mexican driver's licenses. That's the case for Luis' brother-in-law. Like Luis, he is also an illegal immigrant. But he lived briefly in Nevada and obtained a driver's license there when the law was more lenient. That license has allowed him to register and insure the Chevy Cavalier, as well as other vehicles used by the extended family. He renews by mail, which gives him the appearance of compliance as a licensed driver when stopped by police. But California law requires new residents to obtain a valid state license within 10 days of arriving here. And Nevada officials think he's a resident of that state. Luis now drives his own Jeep to work, a car he's lost and retrieved before. He had purchased the car at a local used car lot for almost $8,000 using a friend's driver's license. The Jeep was then registered through the friend's sister-in-law. When the car was impounded by police three years ago at a traffic stop, he still owed a significant amount of money on a car loan he received to purchase it. So the car dealer stepped in to protect its interests. The car was recovered by the used car dealer before the end of the 30-day tow seizure period and held by the dealer for the remainder of that period -- all perfectly legal. When the 30 days were over, Luis paid the dealer a $700 storage and tow fee, and returned to making his regular monthly payments. A major source of vehicles for undocumented immigrants is their friends or relatives. Cash is exchanged for a pink slip and a liability release form sent to the DMV. But ownership rarely feels permanent. For many illegal immigrants a car is simply something you borrow for a time at great expense before it gets taken from you. Luis, who fears the outcome of his court hearing in late May, said the constant loss of vehicles is an economic blow that can push illegal immigrants deeper underground. ``You're demoralized,'' he said in Spanish. ``These are times when you are starting to build a life. But when this happens, it's like they cut your wings.''

Videos about cars:

YouTube Videos

Cheapcars.wmv
by MrRunjack
13 Apr 2010 at 4:13pm
Cheapcars.wmv
Cheap Cars Bill Should Stay Away From From: MrRunjack Views: 17 0 ratings Time: 00:10 More in Science & Technology
Cheap Used Cars
by sexyhunters
19 Feb 2008 at 4:10pm
Cheap Used Cars
Find cheap used cars. These cheap used cars will look brand spankin new you will love them. If you are simply interested in purchasing cheap used cars then go to: www.carsuave.com From: sexyhunters Views: 737 0 ratings Time: 00:27 More in Autos & Vehicles
Hyundai Auto sdn
by showandsellcars
11 Oct 2011 at 3:54am
Hyundai Auto sdn
Hyudai auto sdn From: showandsellcars Views: 53 0 ratings Time: 01:30 More in Autos & Vehicles
Mitsubishi Magna Altera
by showandsellcars
21 Jan 2012 at 8:00am
Mitsubishi Magna Altera
Mitsubishi Magna Altera Auto From: showandsellcars Views: 9 0 ratings Time: 02:00 More in Autos & Vehicles
Holden commodore VT wagon
by showandsellcars
17 Dec 2011 at 1:06am
Holden commodore VT wagon
1999 VT commodore wagon From: showandsellcars Views: 89 0 ratings Time: 01:51 More in Autos & Vehicles
Labor Day Lake Havasu Sand Bar 2008
by worldpartyhunters
24 Sep 2008 at 12:32am
Labor Day Lake Havasu Sand Bar 2008
original sound track ...is here..!!! vids.myspace.com From: worldpartyhunters Views: 16312 15 ratings Time: 07:27 More in Entertainment
Repo Car Sales | Cheap Cars For Sale | Buy Seized Car
by SmartestReview
13 May 2010 at 7:33am
Repo Car Sales | Cheap Cars For Sale | Buy Seized Car
www.SmartestReview.com Repo Car Sales | Cheap Cars For Sale | Buy Seized Car Do you want to have your own vehicle or your own dream house? It's time to get one now! And wouldn't it be great to buy a Car, Auto Truck, or Any other Vehicle of Your Choice at a Small Fraction? The Truth, today, is that you can cut a lot of the Expense and Avoid Aggression Normally associated with Buying a Vehicle. In fact, you can acquire Cars, a Seized Auto or Repo vehicles at Lucrative Rates by Opting for Government Seized Properties that We at Choose The Price can Really Offer You With! Choose The Price is the Official source of Government vehicle repos, seized and Foreclosed Property and more. We have the most detailed databases of thousands of cars that have been seized by government institutions. We make it possible for you to bid and buy these properties for incredibly low prices. So lets make the very possible bid for you right now Please visit www.SmartestReview.com Music:Kevin Macleod Title:Happy Alley Genre: Pop incompetech.com From: SmartestReview Views: 10685 1 ratings Time: 00:48 More in Howto & Style
Holden Commodore VZ SS V8 AUTO
by showandsellcars
8 Dec 2011 at 4:50am
Holden Commodore VZ SS V8 AUTO
2004 VZ Commodore SS V8 From: showandsellcars Views: 89 0 ratings Time: 02:31 More in Autos & Vehicles
Daihatsu cuore
by showandsellcars
1 Oct 2011 at 1:52am
Daihatsu cuore
2000 Daihatsu cuore manual From: showandsellcars Views: 224 0 ratings Time: 01:25 More in Autos & Vehicles

Great Car Books

[CaRP] Unknown document format.

Related News Headlines about cars from around the web.:

California passes auto emission, hybrid rules - USA TODAY

USA TODAY
California passes auto emission, hybrid rules
USA TODAY
In 2025, one in seven new cars sold will have to be an electric or other zero-emission vehicle. By Gary Reyes, AP Traffic at the entrance of State Route 85 in San Jose, Calif. on Jan. 12. In 2025, one in seven new cars sold will have to be an electric ...
California passes landmark rules to curb auto emissionsSan Jose Mercury News
California passes new auto emission rulesSan Francisco Chronicle

all 669 news articles »

Cars.com Super Bowl ad: 'Confident You' (0:31) - Washington Post

Cars.com Super Bowl ad: 'Confident You' (0:31)
Washington Post
Washingtologists consistently post thought-provoking, timely comments on events, communities, and trends in the Washington area. This commenter is a Washington Post editor, reporter or producer. Post Forum members consistently offer thought-provoking, ...

and more »

Cars.com Fuels Confidence in Kids with Launch of 'Cars Cares' During Super .....

Adweek
Cars.com Fuels Confidence in Kids with Launch of 'Cars Cares' During Super ...
Sacramento Bee
By Cars.com CHICAGO, Jan. 27, 2012 -- /PRNewswire/ -- Cars.com, the premier online resource for buying and selling new and used vehicles, announced today that it will be giving the massive audience of Super Bowl XLVI the power to make a big difference ...
Cars.com's Super Bowl Ad Stars a Man and His Excitable AppendageAdweek
Cars.com 'Confidence Appendage' Helps Man Buy CarAdrants

all 15 news articles »

Cars.com News Briefs: Jan. 27, 2012 - Chicago Tribune

autoevolution
Cars.com News Briefs: Jan. 27, 2012
Chicago Tribune
Thirty-eight percent of shoppers based avoidance on ratings and reviews, while 14% avoided certain cars because of past ownership experience. The import-domestic wars are taking an interesting turn, too: Fourteen percent of shoppers avoid import brands ...
Honda's Ito Forecasts Return to Pre-Lehman Profits in 'Complete Rebound'Bloomberg

all 12 news articles »

Crew chiefs preparing cars but anticipate more changes to Daytona rules - Sce...

Globe and Mail
Crew chiefs preparing cars but anticipate more changes to Daytona rules
Scene Daily
By Bob Pockrass | Friday, January 27, 2012 1:58 PM EST When they weren't talking to the media about their outlook for the 2012 season, Sprint Cup crew chiefs and their teams were working on getting their Daytona cars tweaked this week for NASCAR's new ...
Bruce Martin: Confident NASCAR stands pat on the Chase, but builds for the futureSI.com
 <div><a class ...FOXSports.com
Media Tour at Charlotte notes and quotes, day 4Motorsport.com
Boston Herald
all 200 news articles »

DISNEYLAND: Resort tempts fans Cars Land preview - InlandSoCal.com

InlandSoCal.com
DISNEYLAND: Resort tempts fans Cars Land preview
InlandSoCal.com
Coming to Disney California Adventure park in summer 2012 is Cars Land. Experience an ?air-raising? adventure on Luigi's Flying Tires where you can glide on air and whirl into your pals. The new attraction is one of three opening at Cars Land.

and more »

Deals of the week: Ugly cars mean beautiful bargains - Globe and Mail

Globe and Mail
Deals of the week: Ugly cars mean beautiful bargains
Globe and Mail
Or to put it another way, ugly cars don't sell. That's the brutal, common-sense truth revealed in the 2012 Avoider Study from JD Power and Associates. Of course JD Power stated the obvious in a much gentler way. Power kindly noted that exterior styling ...

and more »

Pennsylvania Auto Show offers cool cars, hot technology - PennLive.com (blog)

PennLive.com (blog)
Pennsylvania Auto Show offers cool cars, hot technology
PennLive.com (blog)
The show, which runs today through Sunday at the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, gives consumers the chance to shop for cars and look at new models in one family-friendly location, according to Shaun Foley, senior public relations associate for Motor ...
Hottest new cars and trucks at the Pennsylvania Auto Show Weekend Jan. 28-29Examiner.com
Fuel-efficient cars taking center stage at auto showDaily Mail - Charleston
Cars, Trucks, SUVs & CrossoversWest Virginia MetroNews
WOWK
all 18 news articles »

Auto show has cars for nearly every niche - STLtoday.com

The Grand Rapids Press - MLive.com
Auto show has cars for nearly every niche
STLtoday.com
Fuel-efficient cars with more style and safety features; trendy subcompacts for younger buyers; and small luxury sedans. ? Smaller but stylish: Gas prices have dropped from their $4 peak last spring but remain high. People looking for a more efficient ...
Cars are the stars at the Michigan International Auto Show's opening night galaThe Grand Rapids Press - MLive.com
Cars, Fashion, And Charity For Grand Rapids!WOOD-TV (blog)
WV International Auto Show cars begin rolling in to Charleston Civic CenterWOWK
KUHF-FM
all 46 news articles »

2012 Washington Auto Show Report - Chicago Tribune

Environment News Service
2012 Washington Auto Show Report
Chicago Tribune
Plenty of cars and trucks were on the show floor, but most of the announcements were clearly targeted at future technology and responsible urban driving. Naturally, none of this was nourishing to any attendee who actually likes cars and pickups, ...
Washington Auto Show 2012Washington Post
Philadelphia Auto Show to feature 700 vehicles, expanded space | Philadelphia ...Philadelphia Inquirer
Auto Show 2012 Starts FridayKOLO
Philebrity.com
all 18 news articles »

Blog Entries Related To Cheap Cars:

[CaRP] XML error: not well-formed (invalid token) at line 19 -