[decooney]

In general, sure you can get a fixer for $20k from time to time, and later on down the road you then realize you have another 10-15k in it when this or that starts bugging you; and at that point after a few years or more of messing around, the reality kicks in that you probably should have just paid more up front to get a much nicer car to begin with. Unless of course you find a $40K car that someone decides to dump for $20K, and in reality you rarely hear about those deals and stories because someone's friend is always ready to take the car of their hands before anyone finds out about it.