My mechanic has told my daughter that her 2002 Hyundai is too far consumed by rust to put any money into, and that she should start looking for a replacement.
There are some fine deals on new cars right now, in fact, the Chevrolet Spark and Nissan Versa are being advertised around here for $10K or less. But my daughter is even cheaper than I am and is looking to go low.
In the car buying guides I read online, the experts keep saying that for the $10K she can spend on a Chevrolet Spark, she can find plenty of 3-4 year old Corollas and Civics in the 30,000-45,000 mile range. And there are plenty of people on this board who have said they found even better cars than that.
Well, not around here. Not on the big car sales sites, not on the dealer sites, not even on Craigslist. About the only 3-4 year old used car in that price range, other than a few Sparks and Versas, is the Toyota Yaris.
Now there ARE used cars cheaper than $10K, of course, but they’re much older and have much higher mileage, and my daughter really has no desire for a 2004 Mercury Grand Marquis (to name one.)
So for those of you who can find a sweet deal on a not very used car, where are you finding them? Are you looking at used car lots so small they don’t advertise? Do you have a network of car mechanics who know when someone is planning on selling? What’s the one simple trick to buying a great used car?
There is a reputable dealer around here who deals in salvage titles. You get a car that’s gone through flood or hail, with a salvage title, but they make sure they run, and warranty them. So a little risk, but generally a car that is a great deal
Check out the Consumers guides for which brand of of car is the best value, then look online for the best price for a three year old car of that make near you. That is how I do it.
I looked for a good quality car (Consumer Reports liked Toyota, for example) at a car rental agency (Enterprise). Granted, I probably paid $500 more than if it were from an individual owner, but the agency was able to provide something most individual owners normally couldn’t…a complete print out of everything about the car the moment it rolled onto their lot.
You get to see things like regular old changes and maybe a tune up. What’s very important is what you don’t want to see…like the word collision.
They’re in the junkyard, a side effect of the Cash For Clunkers program.
Anyway, check cars.com. Also check the websites of local dealers. That’s how I found my current car, just looking around for a manual at the right price and lucked into it locally.
Before my father was killed he drove cars for a car auction business, transferring them from Kansas City mainly, to the auction site west of Topeka. That allowed him to keep his finger on the pulse of what was available in used cars. My Ford Escort, that was recently totaled by a hit and run driver, came from there. Now, my dad’s friend, who also drives for the same business, is helping me keep a lookout. All I want is a small car that doesn’t use too much gas or oil. Dad has always found my cars, now, at the age of sixty-one, I have to grow up and pick out a car on my own.
They’re on Craigslist.com. Go to cars.com and look at cars there. Those are almost all being sold by dealers. Dealers always ask way high because some* barefoot pilgrim *walks in, asks the price, pays it and drives off. But by leafing through their offers you’ll get an idea what the initial (high) asking price is.
Then go to Craigslist and buy it there. Craigslist is what the Saturday newspaper used to be for used cars except, usually with lots of pictures.
I found my current car at a car dealership. It was a trade-in, had been sitting on the lot for a year, and wasn’t being advertised anywhere. Low mileage, in great condition. The dealer was quite happy to get rid of it.
Reading this I couldn’t help but think of the Twilight Zone episode “The Whole Truth” in which a used car salesman purchases an old guy’s car and finds he can tell nothing but the truth. He was quite happy to finally sell it to…well, go look up the episode!
My father good a good deal on an almost-new Oldsmobile at a police auction, way back when almost-new Oldsmobiles existed.
I know people are reluctant to buy former rental cars because of the abuse they take. However, if the price is low enough they can be worth it. My father bought one at a rock-bottom price that my sister drove for years. I don’t remember her having any major issues with it.
You can generally see all the local dealership listings at GetAuto.com. You have a better chance of cheaper private listings on Craigslist (or eBay).
In general, the best used cars are sold by new car dealers, who resell the better trade-ins and send the worse ones to auctions. These are also the highest priced (even after accounting for quality). The lower quality cars tend to be those of used car dealers, who buy most of their cars at auctions. These tend to be better deals, but are also riskier - in my experience the used car dealers are shadier than the new car dealers. Then there’s private people selling their cars - these tend to be the best deals but can be very hit or miss, and you have zero recourse if the guy turns out to be a crook or the car a clunker.
One other source of cars is auto mechanics. A lot of mechanics buy cars at auctions and fix them up and resell them. I’ve never bought one myself, but the idea is intriguing, because presumably these people really know what they’re doing when they buy and sell a car. Selection is very spotty, though. But if you know a mechanic that you trust who sells used cars, you can ask him to keep an eye out for something you’re interested in.
Rental cars take a lot of abuse. Police cars also take a lot of abuse, particularly in that they do a massive amount of idling which is not revealed by the odometer. They also have better engines and other upgrades, so there are two schools of thought as to whether on the whole they’re good buys.
See, that’s the frustrating thing. They AREN’T on Craigslist – at least not within 50 miles of St. Louis. I just went on there and looked for any Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla, 2013 or newer. That’s the three years the car experts talk about. The least expensive one was $11,500 and that had more than 66,000 miles on it.
The least expensive new, on-the-lot Chevrolet Spark was $8,988, and the least expensive Nissan Versa was $9,868, and they both had automatic transmissions and full warranties.
So, am I expecting too much to get a reliable 3 year-old used car with average mileage for less than the cost of a cheap new car?
The kind of cars the OP is asking about certainly wouldn’t be in the junkyard. (Both because they’re not “clunkers,” and because they post-date the Cash for Clunkers program.) But as I understand it, Cash for Clunkers had a sort of ripple effect on the used car market, reducing the supply and therefor driving up demand and price on used cars. Especially Toyotas and Hondas, which have, or at least had, a reputation for reliability and longevity.
Which is why I was surprised and skeptical of the OP’s claim that there were supposedly late-model, low-mileage Corollas and Civics out there for $10K or less. OP< out of curiosity, could you link to one or two of these online car-buying guides that are saying this?
Possibly, when you are looking at Hondas and Toyotas - both which tend to have really high resale values - and comparing them against brand new cheap Nissans and Chevys.
The neighbor is selling an eight year old Camry with 112,000 miles on it. He thinks its worth $14k. I paid $15k for a four year old Volvo S40 with 60k miles on it.
People who get the great deals haunt Craigslist and the get snatched up quickly.
I hate buying and selling cars more than almost anything, and I had the best car-buying experience in my entire life this year with vroom.com. They’re an online, no-haggle dealer modeling themselves after an Amazon- or Zappos-type experience.
You go to the site, type in your basic criteria (price range, type of vehicle, years range, mileage range) and they show you what’s available. Decide what you want, click to buy. They deliver to your home, and you have a week to say “Nah, I don’t like it” and return it. They only deal in vehicles that are in really great condition. Check em out. I got a 2015 Kia Soul with 17k miles on it for less than $15k.
Here’s another, although it doesn’t specifically mention model names.
As a matter of fact, forget about it being a Honda or Toyota. I just checked Autotrader, and the least expensive used car, 2012 or later, any make, engine or transmission, is listed at $9,444. Craigslist has fewer than 10 cars, 2012 or later, for less than $9,000, and several of those have very heavy body damage.
I’m not seeing the sentence you quoted in that article.
But it is an interesting article. At one time, the standard advice was that a used car was always a better value than a new one; but I’m not sure that’s necessarily the case any more, and that article seems to argue the same.
