How would you buy a used car?

[Janeway]

We have not bought a car in ages. And when we did, we always went to a dealership even for a used car. And even with that, we have only bought about 5 vehicles total between the two of us in the last 25 years. If we wanted to buy a used car now, what would you do? And we are not car savy. We would not know much about what we are looking at other than to Google stuff. Or ask here of course. Not like we can look over and engine and say hey, that looks great or not. 

[gardenmom5]

the last five cars we've bought, were used private party via craigslist.  we've had very good luck. 

know the car you are looking at - know it well.  know what it should sell for.  know how it defines condition of car. some sellers (especially ones with less than stellar cars), ask for the moon.

look at edmunds as well as kelly blue book!

I *only* look at cars with a good title.  no rebuilt transmission, no salvage, etc.  MUST be clean!  generally, those who spent a bit more on a new car, will have taken better care of the car than if they bought it used.  (yes, I know people take care of used cars, but those with a bigger investment are more likely to care for the car).

also - why are they selling?  and with what did they replace it?  (two of our camry's were replaced with a new lexus suv. . . the cars were treated well and in good condition.)

dh's car - the owner had taken it to be detailed - which meant they'd cleaned the engine compartment so there was nothing to see.  

 

last - don't offer how much the ad is for - many people will increase how much they're asking in the ad in hopes to get what they want.  dh's car - we would have paid what they were asking for (car was in great condition).  dh asked how much they wanted - and he'd dropped the price.  ok, no problemo.

we didn't take cash - we went back the next day with a cashier's check from our bank. (they're very liquid)

[LucyStoner]

Take the car to your mechanic for a pre-purchase inspection, especially if you aren’t car savvy. Best $75ish dollars you can spend. 

Ditto what Gardenmom said.  

Edited September 26, 2018 by LucyStoner

[livetoread]

I figure out the make and model I want, then I compare prices with Kelly, Edmunds, and NADA to get a sense of what’s a good deal. They vary, so I often take an average. Many dealers allow you to look at the Carfax (or comparable) report for free on their website. If you are buying from a private person, you’ll have to pay for it, but it’s worth it. I avoid cars that were part of a rental fleet, but personal leases are fine. Everything else must be clean, no salvage, lemons, etc.

Finally, if everything looks good, I take the car to be checked over by our mechanic. We just bought a car for our son, and it was about five hours from our house (he was very picky about what he wanted, lol), so we took it to a nearby dealer of that make with good ratings for an inspection. It checked out, but they found some small things that helped me negotiate a better price, so I earned back the cost of the inspection. Doing your homework before negotiating can save you a lot, and picking popular cars means there are plenty of options left if you can’t reach an agreement on one.

[Chris in VA]

If you are anywhere near all the recent flooding, be very aware and wary of buying a used car that has been in a flood. Google how to tell. 

[popmom]

We prefer to buy used from a private party seller. That’s for an older car—one that’s been paid off so the owner has the title. This way is the best value we’ve found. Newer cars we’ve purchased from dealers. We use NADA, Edmunds, KBB—each of them will be a little different, but give an overall idea of what you should pay. Also, we look up any car we are interested in on Consumer Reports to check the reliability rating. I can save you the subscription fee though—just buy a Toyota. ? Actually, our last car purchase was a 2007 Pontiac Vibe. Which is built by Toyota. It’s a Corolla hatchback basically. Twin of the Toyota Matrix, but priced better.

Edited September 26, 2018 by stephensgirls

[popmom]

The values from NADA, KBB, etc make for good negotiation tools. The vibe we bought had 91,000 miles on it. Low for a car that old. But the seller had it priced too high. He hadn’t researched it. We showed him the values on KBB, etc, and he came off his asking price $800–which is a lot at that price point.

Edited September 26, 2018 by stephensgirls

[gardenmom5]

2 hours ago, Chris in VA said:

If you are anywhere near all the recent flooding, be very aware and wary of buying a used car that has been in a flood. Google how to tell. 

those cars can end up in any other part of the country - so just becasue someone's on the west coast doens't mean they're safe. pull up carpet at some point - and look to see if there is any sign of water damage - or even mold.  run the vin.  many sellers will include it in the listing.

[Ottakee]

Take a look at their garage, yard, etc.  I have had good luck purchasing used from a private local party who is a meticulous person.   Often someone who is in their 50s/60s and has a lower mileage car that has been extremely well cared for.

 

 

 

[LuvToRead]

Of our three current vehicles, 1 was used from a dealer, the other 2 were private party. They were parked out in people's yards with for sale sign on them.   It helps if you know the previous owners, but I know this isn't always the case. We  happen to know 2 of the previous owners and were confident that they treated their vehicles with care.  The third we know someone who knows him. He actually had kept all the maintenance receipts so we could see what/when stuff had been done.  The only thing you can do is have a mechanic inspect it, but be prepared to do some maintenance anyway.  If you go to a reputable dealership, it will cost more, but will give you peace of mind.  

[Angie in VA]

6 hours ago, stephensgirls said:

We prefer to buy used from a private party seller. That’s for an older car—one that’s been paid off so the owner has the title. This way is the best value we’ve found. Newer cars we’ve purchased from dealers. We use NADA, Edmunds, KBB—each of them will be a little different, but give an overall idea of what you should pay. Also, we look up any car we are interested in on Consumer Reports to check the reliability rating. I can save you the subscription fee though—just buy a Toyota. ? Actually, our last car purchase was a 2007 Pontiac Vibe. Which is built by Toyota. It’s a Corolla hatchback basically. Twin of the Toyota Matrix, but priced better.

 

Echoing all the sources above plus: look up any recalls on that model and  year. Many cars have recalls, so just research it and see if it was handled by the owner.

[Lanny]

I would take any Used vehicle I was contemplating buying to a TRUSTED mechanic. I would want to know that it had never been in a bad accident. I would want to know that it had never been in a flood or on fire.  The other things have to do with more common problems: Is the Suspension in perfect condition? Steering? Brakes? Things like that. If it has a lot of miles on it, I would want a Compression check on all of the Cylinders in the Engine, so I could know whether or not a major overhaul was a few miles down the highway.

If there is a Carvana thing near where you live, the description of the transaction and vehicle "KINSA" and her DH bought from them in San Antonio (including a trade-in) was very positive.

If a car has a Service History, like many people get when they buy a used Motorcycle, that would be very good to have and makes the vehicle more valuable.  (The teen age girl who bought my Toyota, after I moved from the USA, got the Service History from when the car was Brand New).

[Amy in NH]

Just bought two used vehicles online, flew to them, and drove them home.

To get free accident/title/theft reports, run the VIN through https://www.vehiclehistory.com/ and https://www.iseecars.com/vin

[Soror]

11 hours ago, gardenmom5 said:

the last five cars we've bought, were used private party via craigslist.  we've had very good luck. 

know the car you are looking at - know it well.  know what it should sell for.  know how it defines condition of car. some sellers (especially ones with less than stellar cars), ask for the moon.

look at edmunds as well as kelly blue book!

I *only* look at cars with a good title.  no rebuilt transmission, no salvage, etc.  MUST be clean!  generally, those who spent a bit more on a new car, will have taken better care of the car than if they bought it used.  (yes, I know people take care of used cars, but those with a bigger investment are more likely to care for the car).

also - why are they selling?  and with what did they replace it?  (two of our camry's were replaced with a new lexus suv. . . the cars were treated well and in good condition.)

dh's car - the owner had taken it to be detailed - which meant they'd cleaned the engine compartment so there was nothing to see.  

 

last - don't offer how much the ad is for - many people will increase how much they're asking in the ad in hopes to get what they want.  dh's car - we would have paid what they were asking for (car was in great condition).  dh asked how much they wanted - and he'd dropped the price.  ok, no problemo.

we didn't take cash - we went back the next day with a cashier's check from our bank. (they're very liquid)

Yep, this and ITA with Lucy- get an inspection if you are not savvy with cars.

[TravelingChris]

We bought three used cars from dealers and I can;t remember how we got our first used car but I suspect from a dealer.  We did buy a used car from a private party for my son.  It worked out for about three or four years.  He had a crash which the car was still drivable but when the battery or something electrical went out. he got another used car== I am not sure where but that one didn't work out at all-  he had for about 2.5 years and was paying both on a loan and lots for repairs.  It ended up needing some very expensive repairs so he asked us if we could loan him the money to get rid of that loan (we did and he has been paying on it both in cash form and in work for us.).  Then he bought a more expensive,  older Toyota truck with manual transmission and so far, so good.  All of my son's cars have been Toyotas and my dh's Toyota Tundra is still running very well and it is 17 years old.

[Um_2_4]

Just keep in mind, this advice does not work in all areas of the country. We usually buy private and here in SoCal, some models usually go well over what all those sites advise as sale price for used cars. Especially toyotas,hondas, and any minivans. Made it really hard to find a van when we needed one as DH read the same advice online and was adamant he would not pay more than kbb value. So check private listings on craigslist in your area to get a feel. It may just be a quirk in our little area here, but I wonder if some other large metro areas might have the same issue.

[Crimson Wife]

My dad had really good luck with a vehicle that had been stolen but was recovered after the insurance had paid the claim to the owner. The insurance company now owned the vehicle and was willing to make a sweetheart deal to get rid of it. The thieves had been planning on sending the vehicle overseas so it was in mint condition. My dad drove it for over 200k miles and never had any problems aside from regular wear & tear.

[Soror]

5 hours ago, Um_2_4 said:

Just keep in mind, this advice does not work in all areas of the country. We usually buy private and here in SoCal, some models usually go well over what all those sites advise as sale price for used cars. Especially toyotas,hondas, and any minivans. Made it really hard to find a van when we needed one as DH read the same advice online and was adamant he would not pay more than kbb value. So check private listings on craigslist in your area to get a feel. It may just be a quirk in our little area here, but I wonder if some other large metro areas might have the same issue.

Where we live it seems we are better off if we search in the next closest city and surrounding areas because there is a bigger selection. Really the further out you can search and the more patience you have the better deal you can get. We've bought all our cars used- most private party but the van before last we bought used from a dealership. Last van was an old man car or something, very low miles for the year. 

[DesertBlossom]

We recently bought 3 cars used. And man a lot of it was frustrating. I was surprised at how many sellers claiming to be selling their own personal vehicle were really small on-the-side dealers. And if they aren't being honest about that, what else are they lying about? 

Dh just bought a suburban over the weekend. Found it out of state, but the seller was willing to hold it for him and even pick him up from the airport. Seller was the original owner, kept receipts for everything ever done to it and kept it in mint condition. It's 19 years old and immaculate. ?

My suggestion would be find someone who has owned the vehicle for a long time and taken really good care of it.

 

[ThisIsTheDay]

We just helped our dd buy a used car. We pored over cargurus.com and autotrader.com. Our local area didn't have a great selection so we looked in the DC area--it's several hours away, but people spend more money on cars there and buy cars more frequently, so there's a bigger market of used cars.

We only looked at certain makes/models based on Consumer Reports repair records. We researched dealer ratings, and any car that we were interested in had a free Carfax online. (If we saw a car that otherwise looked great, I would have NO qualms calling and requesting a free one.) Also read the fine print ahead of time to see what the "transaction fee" or whatever $$$ is tacked on to the price of the car (we saw them as high as $900).

While we weren't looking for an actual brand car dealership (Toyota, Nissan, etc.), that's where we ended up finding the car she bought--7 years old, one owner, 120,000 miles, for under $6K. It even came with a 3 month/3,000 mile warranty. She will use it just as a commuter car and will put about 6,000 miles a year on it. It's a trusted brand that should easily hit 200K miles without any big problems.

It took us about 2 months to find the right car, as our biggest challenge was her price range. We wanted something that would be very reliable. She wanted something that she would be happy to pay for and drive.

[Targhee]

We have always bought used cars, and of the 9 we have bought over the tears 5 were from private parties.  We had good cars on every purchase, and a better price point through private party.

I think we have faired well because we have chosen reliable, long lasting vehicles.  My last vehicle purchase was a ‘97 land cruiser with 150k mikes on it and they run well beyond 300k.  We actually have had 4 - one had the wiring harness fried from being reversed jumped, one we bought in AK and a second in AK as a “parts car” (I sound so redneck but it was cheaper to buy $1500 parts car than get two body parts shipped up to AK we needed after a fender bender).  The parts car ran like a top! When we moved back to the lower 48 we sold both to a good friend, and after three years without a cruiser I really wanted one again so we got #4.  By the way the two cars in AK both still run great!  We also had great luck with two Pathfinders from the 88-95 series, and our Subi was the best for 10 years before it got t-boned (everyone in the car walked away unharmed).

My point is, know the car you want and it’s longevity! Then go looking for it.  Use KBB or Edmonds or another service to check prices.  Pay for the unlimited Carfax for a certain time period so you can check to see if the vehicle has been in any accidents or was ever totaled.  Get a pre-purchase inspection from your mechanic.

Good luck!