So I desperately need a car, and I don’t have a huge amount of money to throw around. I’m looking at a 1996 Honda Accord EX, with 86k miles on it. Its fairly clean, and seems to run OK. It’s “certified” from a dealer, so it has a 2 month, 2000 mile warranty, and the $7k asking price seems in-line with the current market. The only thing that worries me is that, according to CarFax, this car has been sold twice in the last 11 months. The original owner sold it in October of 2002, to someone who sold it again in March of this year, to someone who then traded it in to the dealer in early September.
Could this be innocuous, or does this look like a sign that there is something tragicaly wrong with this car? I’m reassured by the warranty, and the price seems good, but I don’t want to get hosed. Any suggestions/ideas?
Could be either one. It could be that someone bought the car for their kid, who then went off to college. It could be that someone just wanted something new. Could be lot of things.
The dealer knows who traded it in last. Ask them why it was traded in, and don’t accept any “old lady to-and-from church” crap. Also, get the car checked thoroughly by an independent mechanic.
It could be something as simple as different people’s lives interfering with owning the car. Or it could be something intangible like the SMELL OF DEATH YOU CAN"T GET OUT OF THE UPHOLSTERY. I suspect it’s the former.
CarFax is cool. I bought a 1988 Toyota Celica AllTrac as a race car, so I don’t really car how many times it’s been submerged, or how many people have killed themselves in it, but I ran the CarFax report just for grins. It had 15 entries since the car was sold at auction with 90K miles on it (it now has 160K). The car’s led a very full life!
Some dealers let you purchase an extended warranty, I think. At least the dealer who sold me my car did. It was through a third party, and I turned it down, figuring I didn’t need it. 3 weeks later, my transmission went. It’s a crap-shoot. You can see if your dealer has this option, or you can let your apprehension work for you and look elsewhere.
Ask around at work, check the papers, and (seriously) check the obituaries. You may find a for sale sign on the recently deceased’s car. (That was really not meant to sound as morbid or gouhlish as it probably did.)
This is off topic here and i did it more for my own pleasure but I like looking up the prices of economy cars so i checked around Hyattsville and you can get a newer toyota corolla with less miles for the same price. The corolla is considered just as reliable as the Accord.
