We drive a Mazda6. It’s the best car we’ve had. We always buy used.
I think OP is nearish Illinois? This Indiana Mazda3 hatchback is tempting and I’m not even shopping! Very happy with my current 2013.
2019 Mazda3 Touring **Leather Backup Cam Low Miles - $11,995 - 40k miles
Missouri, and though I am a devout Toyota Man, I don’t mind giving consideration to a Mazda. Thanks for the lead.
I fully approve of Toyota myself except for trying to buy a good used one.
I didn’t notice the 2018/2019 mismatch in the Craigslist ad I posted earlier and one must be an error.
Great cars. Some of the most unscrupulous sales staff in the business.
I’ve been used car hunting for a few months now. I’m not in a hurry and have a junker that’s still hanging on. I’ve pretty much limited myself to a Honda Pilot in the 80-100,000 mile range. I want something that can tow a trailer for short distances from time to time and would be capable of a cross country vacation trip My daily driver is a Corolla. Here is what I’ve learned.
Dealers always have some sort of fees that are not included in the advertised price. They can range from less than $500 to almost $4000(!) in one instance. On pages such as CarGurus etc. these fees can often be found under “Details” or “Dealer Disclosures” but have to be clicked on to be seen. These fees are probably negotiable but I haven’t gotten to that point with one exception and he didn’t budge.
Carfax can be very helpful, Look for regular maintenance records. A car that has had the oil changed at recommended intervals was probably well taken care of, otherwise. Know if the car you are looking at is going to need a timing belt change in the immediate future. Water pumps are normally part of that procedure so use that as a negotiating tool. Figure $1000-1200.
I’ve had good success contacting the repair shops listed on the Carfax. I give them the VIN and they clarify any questions I have. So far, none have refused to supply the requested info. In one case, the listed repair shop didn’t even exist and a little digging revealed that the odometer had been rolled back. The Carfax the private seller (who claimed to also have a dealer’s license) appeared to me to be a convincing fabrication. If its not a legit dealership, don’t trust the Carfax at face value.
Which brings me to my next point. If it seems too good to be true, it is. No “probably” involved here. I’ve given up on looking at cars listed on Marketplace as “Great Deals” that come from anywhere around NYC. I assume this is true for any major urban area. Invariably, they are reconstructed titles or the hidden fees are ridiculous. One was a flood car that I only discovered by digging around via Google.
I was avoiding reconstructed titles but am now considering one. I was able to get the pre-repair photos of the damage from both the seller and the auction that sold him the car. The damage appears to a sideswipe limited to body panels only. The seller has provided receipts for the replaced parts. My insurance company says they will fully insure it provided they didn’t pay the claim on the damage. Premium might be a little higher than a clean title.
When you use the “Contact us” on any of these sites, the reply will be “When can you come in for a test drive? Let’s make an appointment” and not much else. I asked (multiple times) if the pics in the ad were stock photos or the actual vehicle. Clearly, they were stock, including different colored cars in the same series. They would not answer that simple question in writing. I scratched that car and dealership off my list.
Most legit dealers won’t have an issue with you taking the car to a mechanic to have a look. Look for a highly rated shop near the dealer and make an appointment. I’ve been quoted hourly rates and a set fee ($178) to put the car on a lift and connect a good code reader. One inspector, wanted $500 to go to the dealership and have a look. This did not include putting the car on lift, just crawling around and providing a million photos. The dealer claimed the inspector was used to evaluate their trade-ins but I could use anyone that I wanted to. We never got into serious negotiations but I wouldn’t have used this over-priced service. It was “Lemon” something.
The bottom line is - buyer beware. Set an upper limit “out the door” price on what you want to pay and don’t go over it. If its too much, walk. Research the VIN. Ask for receipts for work done. Call the service shops that are found on Carfax. Don’t trust Marketplace sellers who are flipping cars. Get a independent to go over the car (on a lift). This is not a case of “you get what you pay for”. Well, maybe to some extent. Its more a case of “you pay whatever the seller can get out of you”. The reputation of the car-selling business didn’t come out of thin air.
this way of thinking always puzzles me …
whenever I sold a car and I hear this, my (true) go-to-anwer is “yes, I know and that is already reflected in my FIRM price - thx”
…, you are buying a USED car at a USED car price … don’t expect a NEW car at a USED car price.
Many sellers are just pricing based on online tools that don’t account for whether major items like a timing belt/chain replacement has been done. Or if the tires are nearly new or nearly end of life.
If I’m buying a car for $15,000 that has 60,000 miles and needs a timing belt replaced, and I can buy another car with 62,000 miles that has already had the timing belt replaced for $16,000, I’m taking the second option every time.
How is a buyer or seller supposed to know these things?
I’ve never heard of a timing belt, for example (is that something most cars have?), and wouldn’t know to even check it, much less mention it in a listing or ask a seller about… are there many such parts to investigate when buying or selling a used car? How are you supposed to know the fair parts + labor price for each part, and the recommended maintenance intervals for that part across every car model and year range…?
The assumption is you are comparing against another second hand car that doesn’t need a new fan belt. Of course this “other car” is purely hypothetical, hence why it’s a negotiation process.
Unless you explicitly put in the ad that it needed a new fan belt, or whatever, then it’s completely reasonable and expected that if you find a flaw in the thing you are negotiating to buy, you’ll ask for some money off the asking price.
Hell I’ll do this in a big box store if the only one they have left is an open box.
If you’re putting a car up for sale, you could (should?) consider taking it to a mechanic first, to see what, if any, maintenance work it’s in need of, and what sort of cost you would be looking at for those repairs.
A smart buyer will want to take your car to a mechanic, for an evaluation of exactly that, prior to making a purchase.
(And, yes, most gasoline-fueled cars, at least, have a timing belt, or a timing chain, AIUI.)
https://www.cars.com/articles/timing-belt-vs-timing-chain-463256/
You know these things by researching them. Not all cars have timing belts. Some have chains. Chains can stretch and belts can stretch or, more likely, break. When this happens the entire engine can be ruined. I bought a used Honda Pilot a few hours ago. I really didn’t know much about Pilots other than they tend to be pretty reliable. I started Googling them and learned quite a bit over the three months that I’ve been actively looking. Which model years to avoid, common problems etc. The one I bought is still 20,000 miles from needing a timing belt so it was a non-issue. I seriously doubt that most of the sales people that I had contact with during my search knew that the belt was an issue on these particular cars. The Honda dealers? Yes. Everyone else? No.
AI 128 is different than most dealers in that his prices are actually firm. I’ll take him at his word on that. Most ask far more than they are willing to accept and advertise a price that is much lower than you can expect to pay. The low price gets you in the door and the games begin. Why wouldn’t they? This is the way is done (mostly) in America. Knowing this as a buyer, I don’t want to pay asking price and using a timing belt or even a made-up excuse to not do so is just part of the game.
The car I bought today was from Auto Lenders, a supposed “no negotiating” type of sales place. They told me over the phone that the price was firm but discounts could be had on extended warranties and dealer add-ons (think etched windows). I took the car for test ride and noted a front end suspension problem. It clunked when hitting small bumps or holes. They checked it out and agreed to do some work - replacing sway links, brakes, control arms and an axle at no cost but no budging on the price. We talked a bit about the specifics of the repairs and when they would be completed. I then said something like “You said no negotiating on price, right?” He replied, “Well, blah, blah blah. they might come down between $500 and $1000” from the out the door price on the table. This was somewhere around $19,400. I said $18,000 and we have a deal. He checked someone and we had a deal. With all the work being done, I felt I did OK and I’m sure he made a reasonable amount, too. The car was listed at $17,000 before dealer fees, taxes ($1000) and DMV costs. It was down $600 from when it first appeared on various Auto Lender lots in the area I’ll always wonder how low I could have gone but I won’t lose any sleep over it.
I did my homework and took my time and I think it paid off. We shall see.
We went back to Hertz Car Sales for the third time. We wanted to see two cars, and that is what we were shown, no more, and no less. There was no talk from them about any other cars that we could supposedly afford, or any cars that supposedly would be a better fit for our “lifestyle”. No surprise fees or pressure to finance, and the paperwork was amazingly fast and simple. We drove out of there in a still-warrantied 2024 Kia Soul , pitch black inside and out, with only 18,000 miles on it…for under $16,000. Three times we have gone to these folks, and not once have I gotten the "slick n’ sleezy’ vibe I have experienced from just about every other dealer out there.
sounds like a worthwhile experience …
the cynic in me is asking - why do they sell a 1 year old car with only 18,000 miles? … (not that it is a red flag, but that is how I “tick”) …
just out of curiosity - did you ask this Q? - maybe they were unpopular in the airport-rental-space … donno … but then again, you reserve a “category of cars”, and then get handed whatever you get handed …
just for clarity: I have sold about 3 cars in the last decade (so I am no “pro”), and they were all old beaters, old enough to buy booze in the USofA in the $1 - 2,000.- price range - and I am inflexible b/c I hate mucking around with (often deadbeat) guys.
So, here’s the car (1-2 mile testdrive), the price is X, will you buy it? … great, if not also great, but let’s not waste everybody’s time kicking tires. Anything else you need - whatsapp is my preferred com’s.
Yes, had I sold $30k+ Audis/BMWs, my approach would be more forthcoming and purchasing experience centered 
smart to focus on “quality” vs. some $$$ … if you plan to drive for quite a few years, NOT having a problem/breakdown is so much cheaper than $600,
I did some checking and apparently Kia Souls, while great little cars, just aren’t renting out the way they had hoped and most rental companies are just getting rid of them for the most part and shrinking their fleet.
great - sounds like something I would do … get “mechanically well built” cars, that often for aestethics or whatnot, might not be popular and drive the living daylight out of it.
in my case, a Honda Fit fit (ha!) that segment … the fact that they have timing chains, so no $1k maintainance at 60.000miles came as a bonus
many years of troublefree miles for you and your soul
I was looking at the Optima, but the Soul actually had more room, and it sat a bit higher so My Beloved had an easier time getting in and out.
In the USA at least, the mainstream name brand car rental companies get rid of every car within about a year of being new. None of the big names in the industry are renting out 2 or 3 year old cars. So the age is unsurprising.
I agree that finding a rental vehicle with only 18K miles is a bit odd. Then again, just because it’s a model year 2024 and now is 2025 does not mean they had it in their active fleet for an entire year. They may have taken delivery of it later in 2024 and only gotten 6 months use out of it.
As a long ago small scale used car sorta wheeler dealer I agree w your other point: The buy/sell experience on an older beater is very “Take it or leave it. Wham bam thank you ma’am. 'Bye” compared to the inspecting and negotiating rigmarole common when dealing in newish lowish mileage used cars.
Yep. I was interested in a neighbors car. They got a carfax estimate of $12000. I said I would take it to our local trusted mech, and have him estimate what needed to be done, and pay the 12K minos the cost of what had to be done. They insisted on the $12k, since that is what they said Carfax would give them- but I know Carfax will reduce the price based upon things the seller didnt disclose.
You take the vehicle to a trusted mechanic.