The Best Place To Buy A Used Car?

I'm in the process of shopping for a used car, maybe one two or three years old. Probably something small and reliable that gets good gas mileage like a Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla since I'm a single guy, and I've already got a V8 Ford Mustang.

I'm gonna say here I'm really turned off going to dealers. First of all, I find most salespeople know nothing at all about the cars they are selling. If I ask them how big the engine is or if it has 4 wheel discs, they don't know. Secondly, they always want you to buy whatever is not moving on their lot. Third, they are so damm pushy, I find only the strongest of personalities can get out of a dealership without wasting hours of their time at best, thousands of dollars at worst.

I tried going to an Enterprise Rental care sale. Same basic experience. I thought the cars were WAY overpriced, to boot. If I remember correctly, they had a base model 2 year old Toyota Corolla for almost $15,000!

I tried going to an auto broker. Incredibly, the guy put virtually no effort into hooking me up with a car.

A lot of the cars I checked out that were supposed to be for sale by private owners turned out to be salvaged cars for sale by guys who worked for or were agents of dealers.

I did manage to find a few people who really were just selling their cars. AAA has approved mechanics that can perform 2 levels of tests on a car so you have a pretty good idea of what kind of shape the car is in mechanically. So far, I think this is the best way to go. I find you simply cannot be a nice guy with used car salesmen - if you are nice, you will get screwed!

I'm curious where people on the forum have had their best car buying experiences - and their worst. Where did you end up buying your car from, and why? Were you happy with your decision?

Next to my house, my car is my biggest investment. I don't want to blow it by buying fron the wrong source. I mean $15,000 will buy a helleva a lot of flashlights.

Bruise

Carmax!!! I got my 626 there and it's a great place to buy a used car. They have friendly people, great selection, guarantees and warranties. But the most important reason is their no-hassle price policy. All of their cars have a price sticker on them, and is basically the market value of the car based on mileage and age. It's not inflated or anything, and you do not and cannot negotiate the price. You just see a car you want and then take it. Pretty simple...I highly recommend it!

Car buying varies *greatly* by geographic region.

The last car purchased at this household was my sisters 1996 Volvo 850 GLT. Spent months and months pouring over listings at www.autotrader.com and checking the local paper. I'd watch eBay too. We ended up seeing this car listed on Autotrader but listed as an eBay auction. We scheduled an appointment to go look at it (Dealer but a small, 2 man (Dad and Son) operation). Traffic made us miss our "appointment" or in other words by the time we got there they were closed. Found the car in the parking lot (This 'dealer' deals with about 5 cars total at a time) and looked in it. I whipped out my Surefire G2Z and found that it was unlocked, so we opened it up and looked around--as well as under the hood. No driving though. Bid and won auction but reserve wasn't met, so we negotiated with the dealer and purchased it at a slightly higher price.

Would later find out there were 2 sets of keys in the center console, we *could* have gone for a drive if we wanted to. Oh well.

So watch Autotrader and remember that not all dealers are terrible. True private party sales are usually the cheapest way to go. Big dealers are more expensive and pushy but they'll buy your old car from you if need's be (Sounds like this isn't the case for you) and usually provide a warranty. Small dealers seem to strike a good balance.

buy from a private party, find one that has all the maintenance records, it becomes a written history and verification tool that mileage totals and other aspects of the car are ok. The last used car I purchased in 1995 was a 1983 Peugeot, everyone laughed, but I sold it for $450 9 years later with only the smallest expenditures for maintenance.

See if there is an auto auction in your area. A friend of mine is a GM at a dealership and has taken me along a couple of times, some incredible deals to be had, expecially in relatively new cars just repossessed, etc.

If you have a banker friend you can check to see if there are any auto loans going into default (meaning soon to be repossessed). These owners will usually unload their cars for just the remaining balance and the deal can be good or bad, depending upon their initial price and whether they financed wisely or not (meaning paying close to retail and taking out a 5-year nothing-down loan would NOT get you a good deal after only a year)...

But the year-old car is the best deal going if you want or need something almost new. You would be the beneficiary of the $2000-$2500 instant depreciation the moment someone drove their new car off the lot...

Another vote for buying from a private party, preferrably from your local area. I've been looking for several months, found and bought a 92 Roadmaster two weeks ago. Saw it sitting out for sale in a local area. Turns out I know ( and trust ) the mechanic who has maintained the car and the owner was a former student of my father.

I had poor luck calling from private owner newspaper ads, most of the cars were not in the condition described by the owner.

Keep your eyes open as you drive around, good luck finding something, take your time.

Joe

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BruiseLee said:
I'm in the process of shopping for a used car, maybe one two or three years old. Probably something small and reliable that gets good gas mileage like a Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla since I'm a single guy, and I've already got a V8 Ford Mustang.

I'm gonna say here I'm really turned off going to dealers. First of all, I find most salespeople know nothing at all about the cars they are selling. If I ask them how big the engine is or if it has 4 wheel discs, they don't know. Secondly, they always want you to buy whatever is not moving on their lot. Third, they are so damm pushy, I find only the strongest of personalities can get out of a dealership without wasting hours of their time at best, thousands of dollars at worst.

I tried going to an Enterprise Rental care sale. Same basic experience. I thought the cars were WAY overpriced, to boot. If I remember correctly, they had a base model 2 year old Toyota Corolla for almost $15,000!

I tried going to an auto broker. Incredibly, the guy put virtually no effort into hooking me up with a car.

A lot of the cars I checked out that were supposed to be for sale by private owners turned out to be salvaged cars for sale by guys who worked for or were agents of dealers.

I did manage to find a few people who really were just selling their cars. AAA has approved mechanics that can perform 2 levels of tests on a car so you have a pretty good idea of what kind of shape the car is in mechanically. So far, I think this is the best way to go. I find you simply cannot be a nice guy with used car salesmen - if you are nice, you will get screwed!

I'm curious where people on the forum have had their best car buying experiences - and their worst. Where did you end up buying your car from, and why? Were you happy with your decision?

Next to my house, my car is my biggest investment. I don't want to blow it by buying fron the wrong source. I mean $15,000 will buy a helleva a lot of flashlights.

Bruise

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You have it easy there. In Singapore, US$15,000 can't even get you a piece of paper that allows you to own a car! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/icon23.gif

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keithhr said:
buy from a private party, find one that has all the maintenance records, it becomes a written history and verification tool that mileage totals and other aspects of the car are ok. The last used car I purchased in 1995 was a 1983 Peugeot, everyone laughed, but I sold it for $450 9 years later with only the smallest expenditures for maintenance.

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Check your math, keith. You bought it in 1995 and sold it 9 years later?? :scratching head:

My BEAST... 1990 F-350 Crew Cab came from a small dealer in a town just south of Houston called Pearland. It was a case of we had been looking for a 250 or 350 Super or Crew, and had driven several. Saw this one and liked what I saw. Drove it and I was hooked!

I don't honestly know what this has to do with anything, but I guess I'm saying small dealer.

Although that being said.... we just got my Sister a 1995 Lincoln Town Car. A NICE! ride! It came from the used car side of a BIG dealer...

I think it's mostly a matter of finding the car you want, THEN fussing about price etc. We almost walked away from the Lincoln, and that saved us nearly a grand!

Hello Bruise,

I check the adds in Hemmings.

Did I mention that I drive a 1953 GMC and have a 1963 Cadillac?

Tom

I agree on private party, but a good alternative is to find the dealer in your area that gets the rental returns. In my area Fords that were rental cars are sold by a new car dealer at a substantial discount and most have only 4,000 to 6,000 miles.