If you’ve recently bought a used car, do you have tips on shopping for a half-decent one? Did you put more weight on the condition of the specific car that caught your eye, or the reputation for that make and model? Naturally, a fair price (using guides like Kelly Blue Book) and mileage considering its age form the starting point. But, other than specific issues known about a specific car…is it all a crap shoot? Yes, some years are notoriously bad for a make/model. But, then what? Pick your poison? I mean, the reviews make it seem like playing Russian roulette!
So, what tips do you offer? And, would you trust a private seller vs. a dealer with pre-owned cars vs. an all-used car dealer?
I’ve been looking into this, as my beater is getting long in the tooth. My strategy will be to go to the large brand-name dealership that is within walking distance of where I live.
They’re big, and have tons of inventory; they’ve got a good reputation; and I can leave my car for repairs and just walk home. Deal.
But as for shopping strategy, I’ll probably have to trust the nice sales chappie; there won’t be much I can actually afford.
And, yeah, ultimately, any used-car is a total crap-shoot.
If buying in a private sale from the previous owner, I have two rules of thumb.
Tires. A well-cared-for car will have four tires, all the same brand and size, with approximately equal tire wear. As opposed to an owner who drove until a tire failed, and then replaced one.
Go to the seller’s house to look at the car and/or transact the deal. His car will be as well taken-care-of as his house and yard…
As for price, judge how much you are willing to pay, and show up with exactly that amount in crisp $100 bills. In all likelihood, he’s tired of looking at the car and will lunge at the Benjamins.
Hey! That kind of describes me. It also describes a bunch of purely functional mechanic’s vehicles. Remove the brand stipulation, and I’d agree. All the same style (summer performance, all-season, etc), roughly the same wear (they rotate them), the same size, and NO weird wear patterns. If one side of a tire is worn more than the other on any corner (bad alignment, failing suspension part, or crazed/motorsport use of the car in general), or the centers or both edges are worn more (not monitoring tire pressure, crazed/motorsport use), or weird scalloping (they don’t rotate, or a failing suspension part): it had better be the car you’re willing to spend some cash on to get actually “right”.
I disagree on this too. That’s a question of what a person understands, and what they think is important. You can see your lawn looks bad, you can’t see that something’s wrong with the inside of an engine. I’ve had plenty of neighbors with meticulously cared for lawns, but had no real idea how to care for a vehicle. Hell, most of them don’t know how to operate a lawnmower. I had one neighbor with a much better cared for lawn than my family’s, who had an 80’s Toyota pickup that went something like 112,000 miles before it’s first oil change. I kid you not, they removed the plug and nothing came out. The guy changing the oil had to poke around with a screwdriver so there would be a hole in the carbon build up in the bottom of the pan and the oil would drain.
The kicker to that anecdote is: that damn truck went for another 50k that I know of. They sold it off, and it was still running fine.
Yes, if you’re willing to buy the car and have it on hand: show up with cash, and mention it in your offer. This works particularly well at low-balling salesmen and individuals. If you can find the car on Craigslist (possible for both commercial and private sellers), see if you can figure out how long it’s been listed. If it’s been there awhile, both will be glad to be rid of it.
This obviously isn’t an option if you’re financing. However, when you are financing, don’t talk about the monthly payment, talk about the price of the car. Have a ballpark idea of how much you can afford in a monthly pament for the total price figuring in the interest rate you’re likely to get, and the fact you need full insurance for a car you’re financing.
Either way, remember it is very hard to negotiate down. Try to have them talk you up to the price you’re willing to pay, and be willing to walk away. You have a functioning car, and don’t need to get into a new one before morning. They do need to sell cars. I’ve saved 4K by walking away from purchasing a new car. The price I wanted was waiting for me on the answering machine when I got home. Unless you love that car, be willing to walk away. They have more room to move on a used car than a new car, trust me.
I think you mean Carmax. If you do, yeah the large specialized resellers are better than buying at a dealership’s used car lot. They see a lot of used cars, and are good at spotting a heavily used or abused vehicle. If you don’t know and trust someone who works at the dealership you’re buying from, or know the private seller and their driving age children, it’s probably your best option.
But yeah, it’s a crapshoot. If you bought a car from me, you’d have to know who had been driving it. My wife doesn’t drive like a grandma, but she doesn’t outright abuse her vehicles. I, on the other hand end up making most of my cars participate in motorsports. Even my Honda Fit gets put through that grinder sometimes.
The kicker to that is: I’ve sold an Escort GT that was thrashed within an inch of its life for 300,000+ miles, almost all of it driven my my adolescent/young adult lunatic ass. When I sold it, it still had the original clutch, never had the head off the block. I was merciless to that car and loved it, my wife made me sell it because she wasn’t going to have its ugly butt parked forever in front of her new house (third car in a two-person family, and I’m still wistful about giving in). The guy who bought it for $300 probably got at least another 50K out of it. If he could keep the intake runners clean and the oil changed, I wouldn’t be surprised by another 100K.
So yeah, buying any car is really kind of a crapshoot, even new ones. When buying used ones, learn how to read tires. If you’re buying from individuals, try to also learn how to read grease spots on that engine/chassis. Dealerships all pressure wash them clean, so that’s no help if you’re buying from them.
Oh, also, if you want the absolute low-ball price for that car, find a “your job is your credit” place that has one of the same model year and roughly the same mileage. The price they want for a down payment is usually roughly how much they paid for the car. That way, if the buyer never makes a payment and wrecks the car as they drive it off the lot, they’re not out any money. They usually bought it at an auto auction, and it’s an almost a reasonable price for that car from an individual seller that just wants to be rid of the car. It’s less than a place like Carmax will pay for a car, but they’ve gone over it more thoroughly than the folks at an auto auction, and have a better idea of what they’re buying.
-scabpicker, who’s worked an auto auction or two in his life, and sold a vehicle to Carmax.
How used are we talking? I bought my used car from a dealer with 20,000 miles on it. But I also bought my son’s car from a private party with 85,000 miles on it. I figured that, by the time you get up into the 100k neighborhood, a car is going to have wear on it no matter where it’s coming from and the dealership is isn’t going to be any more forthcoming about worn bushings than a guy on the street. Since I’m pretty much on my own (no warranties, etc) I may as well do the best I can checking out a car from a private party and not paying the extra fees and overhead from a dealership. Paid $1,500 less than a comparable car from a dealer (per the web searched) and extra fees on top. That’s money to save towards the inevitable repairs and new tires.
Not necessarily. My yard occasionally looks like crap, but my car goes in for service every 5000 miles without fail. Because the unmown grass or the weeds in the garden don’t affect my ability to go to work…
As can be seen by the various responses, it depends greatly on your price level and knowledge of cars and maintenance.
If you are not familiar with maintenance on cars, then if you are going to a private seller, I would recommend getting it checked out by an independant mechanic.
Personally, I have decided I do not need new cars anymore, but I will pay a bit more for used and therefore have gone to Carmax for our last 3 vehicles.
They only sell newer cars that have no issues. They are inspected and you can get a warranty.
The first we bought was a Honda Pilot. It was a great car. It had been a fleet vehicle (not sure if it was rental or a company car). It was low mileage and was in excellent condition and was much less than a new car. We got the extended warranty. Which we did use on a transmission issue.
The second car was a Hyundai Sonata Hybrid from the same Carmax same salesman. It was also a fleet vehicle (I think a rental), it was extremely low miles and great shape. We got the extended warranty.
I was rear ended by another SUV and their insurance company decided to total it, so we went back to Carmax and bought a Chevy Traverse. A rental vehicle that was 1 yr old and had 16k miles. It was in great shape and we got the warranty. We have had it for almost a year and no issues.
For each of these, I could have gotten the car for less via a private sale, but I would have had less options and more worry about how it was maintained (was it in good shape), but I was willing to pay a bit more for extra piece of mind and still way less than the new car would have cost.
If however, you are in the market to spend less than 10k, Carmax is not likely going to be an option. Then you are either with a private seller or a smaller used car lot.
As a matter of fact, I’m pretty sure Carmax doesn’t sell anything for under $10k and the selection at that level is pretty minimal. I’ve used Carmax and don’t have anything against them but you do pay a premium and they’re not the place to go for a cheap car.
We just bought one two weeks ago. GET THE CARFAX and GET A PRE-PURCHASE INSPECTION. I can’t emphasize these more strongly, and I know several Dopers who will agree with me. Also, if you finance, go through your bank or credit union and DON’T let the dealer interfere with it. Get a purchase order from them and get a check from your source.
Here’s the thread I started a month ago. I learned a lot from both Dopers and the experience. Remember, Carfax and pre-purchase inspection!
For what it’s worth, I prefer AutoCheck over Carfax and found things that Carfax missed (including, in one instance, a salvage title). Naturally, other people have stories of Carfax being better. You’re more likely to be offered a Carfax report since they have better branding/marketing but it may be worth it to shell out for the 25 report AC package.
I just bought a used car on Saturday. I’m probably not the best person to give advice since I just buy what I like and don’t look at reviews and such. I also usually finance through the dealer as it’s just easier and I’m pretty sure the rates aren’t that much different than a bank or credit union. I did notice they offer finance ‘packages’ now where they throw in things like death and disability insurance, extended warranties and GAP insurance. I was given three options and took the one I thought was best. I did end up getting a payment pretty much right where I wanted it. Plus I got what I wanted for my trade-in.
We would’ve paid a thousand dollars more with dealer financing than with just the credit union on a $5,000 balance* from the same credit union. *
Jophiel, I guess both AutoCheck and Carfax miss things. The first pre-purchase inspection we did my mechanic discovered the vehicle was “very near-totaled”. It hadn’t been listed with AuctoCheck, but it was with Carfax. AutoCheck was more widely available through the dealers than Carfax was. I guess getting both if possible sure doesn’t hurt.
I’ll echo this. I’d actually have a loan lined up with the CU beforehand, and see if the dealership will beat it. They make money off the financing most of the time, and have an incentive to beat it.
Also, having the financing lined up beforehand means you can focus on the actual price of the car, not the payment.
Yeah, they’re both more likely miss quite a few things on an older car, and they’re both going to miss non-wreck damage. That’s because they’re more likely to have been fixed under something approaching a shade tree without reporting things to the insurance, and the book keeping is not as rigorous there. But if it’s a car you’re spending more than a grand on, they’re a cheap investment to keep yourself from making a mistake if you’re buying from a private used lot or a private seller. If it’s suffered wreck damage that’s near near a total loss, they’re likely to catch it.
Now, a car that was a write-off isn’t going to necessarily be a terrible car. That just means that it would be expensive to fix with new parts. I’d want to pay a lot less for it unless I knew it was put back together by a pretty talented mechanic that I had a reason to trust.
4 good matching tires is usually a quick way to tell how a car has been cared for.
The fuel gauge can also be a quick and easy way to tell.
Between 1/2 and full, probably maintained.
Less than a 1/4 to below empty, the owner nickle and dimed the car.
When I was younger I used to buy and sell cars, probably hundreds.
I can’t remember ever buying a bad car that had a full tank of gas.
No guarantees on the above suggestions.
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I don’t doubt it. But I’ve noticed that a lot of places offer a free Carfax report online and not many offer an Autocheck report (at least in my experience) so a one month/25 car Autocheck subscription is a good way to double up on your information. I suppose it’s less about which is “better” and more just getting a second opinion regardless of where the first came from.
If you’re spending thousands of dollars, spend a few hours doing research on the models you’re interested in. If you don’t know what’s out there, pick one you like and the review sites always have their competition. You can then go reviews of those cars to see what you like.
Once you have decided on 2 or 3 models, look at what year(s) you can afford for those models.
And then go to autotrader and set the search radius to something large enough that you get at least 20 vehicles. That’ll give you a good idea of what a used model of those years should go for.
Armed with this info, you can confidently shop at the used car dealership or with private sellers.
Personally, I buy highly reliable fully-loaded older cars. I love having all the options and I’m willing to get an older model to get them.
In the end, I think that there are fewer and fewer ‘lemons’ out there. You have very good odds of getting a decent car, whatever you buy, so don’t sweat too much about the choice.