If you read our article on the pros and cons of purchasing base-model vehicles, you might be wondering how realistic it is to find–then buy–an actual no-frills model on a dealer lot. Simply put, saving money can take a lot of work, but if you’re really serious about getting the cheapest car you can find, here are a couple stories from my experience that should inspire the most jaded cheapskate.

Vehicle 1: 1997 Nissan Pickup

There are a couple ways to identify potential bargain rides, and looking for an older model that’s being phased out in favor of a new or redesigned vehicle is one sure-fire trick. When I was looking for an inexpensive daily driver in late 1996, the local Nissan store advertised the 2WD 1997 Nissan regular-cab compact pickup with a $99 down, $99 per month lease for 24 months. Air conditioning, power steering and a sliding rear window were about the only options mentioned, but knowing the new-for-1998 Nissan Frontier pickup was about to be released, I decided to visit the dealership and see what was available.

Not surprisingly, the salesman took one look at the newspaper ad and tried to steer me into a much-more-expensive extended-cab truck with an automatic transmission, hoping the tiny cabin and stick shift would dissuade me. Being a bachelor with a penchant for rowing my own gears at the time, I held my ground, and after about five minutes of discussion he said quietly, “go pick your color,” pointing to a line of base 2WD trucks toward the back of the lot.

The little red Nissan truck was not exciting, but it did get good gas mileage and was utterly reliable for my two years of stewardship, costing me about $3,200–lease payment plus taxes, along with the initial down payment and final fees. Total yearly cost for the vehicle itself was about $1,600 excluding fuel and insurance.

Vehicle 2: 2006 Chrysler Town & Country

In mid-2006, I found myself with a 10-year-old Infiniti J30 and a new baby. If you’re not familiar with the bustleback Infiniti, it was apparently designed exclusively to prevent the use of a rear-facing child-safety seat–and it drank a lot of gas. Fortunately, I was also working for one of Chrysler’s ad agencies during a time when employee purchase approvals were routinely handed out to anyone who asked for one. And as the redesigned 2007 Chrysler Town & Country and Dodge Caravan were about to hit showrooms, the deals started to pop on the 2006 models. Bargain-hunter paradise.

I initially looked for a Caravan, expecting to find more inventory on dealer lots. What I found was that the Dodge vans had been pretty picked over already, but the similar Chrysler Town & Country had flown beneath many buyers’ radar. As a bonus, the Town & Country was also equipped with a V6 engine, CD player and cruise control as standard equipment.

With the nonnegotiable employee pricing and a healthy cash rebate Chrysler was offering at the time, I bought my brand-new blue Town & Country minivan for less than $14,000 in November 2006–not bad for a van with an MSRP of about $21,500. It was a short-wheelbase model without Stow ’n Go, and the only feature it lacked that I actually missed was power mirrors. Over the course of four and a half years of ownership and about 45,000 miles, I put front brakes and a new EGR valve on it, then sold it for $7,500. The total yearly cost for my Chrysler came out to just under $1,700 excluding fuel and insurance.