Best Used Car Buying Tips

[disneyfanatic60]

Arghhh....let me start this by saying I hate cars and the money they cost to buy and maintain..........

My DH's car engine seized over the weekend. The car is a 1995 Lumina and in our opinion clearly not worth putting the money into it. We finally just payed the very last month on my car loan in February and really don't want to begin a new loan if we don't have to (have college tuition to pay--yikes!)

Anyways, neither of us knows a darned thing about cars. In the past, we always purchased a new vehicle for myself and he took my old car. Thus, we've not had much experience in the past 20 years buying "used cars."

What are some things we should be looking for or asking other than the obvious? Does anyone have any good tips or suggestions? DH only drives approx. 25 miles per "week." His work is very close and other than driving it back and forth to work he only uses it on rare occassions. The very thought of having to begin searching out cars gives me a migraine! My DH is much too "trusting" to do this on his own if you know what I mean.

I need some serious input.......

 

[Dan Murphy]

http://www.kbb.com/kb/ki.dll/ke.kb.sp?kbb.IL;;IL031;&60056&&article_buying_a_used_car_1;article

http://www.edmunds.com/advice/

http://autos.msn.com/home/used_research.aspx

Good wishes, disneyfanatic60.

 

[MoniqueU]

Line up your own financing from a credit union. You will get a far better rate then the dealership will offer you.

 

[MAKmom]

Make sure you rnot getting one of the cars from new Orleans that were supposed to be destroyed. It's a scam going on.

 

[Monte Cristo]

Make sure you rnot getting one of the cars from new Orleans that were supposed to be destroyed. It's a scam going on.

This is the first thing I thought of as well. They are sending these cars all over the U.S. If you are going to buy used, make sure it's from a reputable source and I would definitely have someone you trust who knows about cars look at it for water damage, or for anything.

 

[mamacatnv]

We just bought a new to us car and I highly recommend the use of CarFax. You pay a fee, we bought the 30 days unlimited use for approx. $30. You type in the VIN No. and it gives you history based on vehicle registrations, smog inspections, major repairs and other asst. info. Even here in NV we came across a couple of vehicles that came out of the Gulf states and had sketchy to bad (salvage title) reports. IMHO stay away from small used car lots, you will spend more than if you were to buy the car thru private party sales. Check Kelly Blue Book for the private party values. Arrange your own financing ahead of time so you know how much you are willing to spend and then have it ready to access so that when you find the "deal" you are ready and able to move on it immediately. If you have a mechanic you use regularly ask them if they will do an inspection on a vehicle you are considering. We paid $35 to have our mechanic check out our proposed purchase. If the seller does not agree to having the vehicle inspected, walk away, there is something they are not telling you.

Remember, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

MamaCatNV

 

[tigger 12]

I need to know this info too. I'm worried about the cars in hurricane Katrina.

 

[stevenpensacola]

http://www.carbuyingtips.com/carintro.html

Tons of info here, including how to avoid dealers' tricks.

 

[MzDiz]

I second CarFax! It's cheap and easy and can save you HUGE problems. It will tell you where your car's been, who's owned it, if it's been wrecked or flooded, etc.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

We only purchase used so I can help you. Since you don't want a loan I recommend buying off an individual. Can be tricky.

Go and get your local Auto Trader magazine, usually found at the gas station. Look in your local papers.

Use kdd online and your insurance company to determine price of car. Insurance company can be very helpful here.

Mileage, look for low miles. Higher the mileage, lower the price. Don't let someone tell you that his 80,000 mileage car is "worth top dollar". No it isn't guy. "Top Dollar" is 20,000 and under.

Looks...I have found that if we go to look at a car and it is "dirty" or neglected, we walk away. Normally the repair of the car has also been neglected. If someone is coming to buy and you can't clean it then, it is probably in bad shape and they are trying to hide things.

If you are serious about a car, use CarMax before you buy. If you see "accident" run away from the deal or contact your insurance company for some advice. They can give you the "real price" for the value. Since you are not experienced I say walk away. We have had some dozies that we got burned on.

 

[CapeCodTenor]

I'd go with Carfax as well. I agree with mamacatnv, stay away from the small used car lots. I'd recommend going to a dealership. Some dealerships offer a 12 month warranty on used cars. You might pay slightly more, but in the long run you might wind up saving.

 

[CapeCodTenor]

We only purchase used so I can help you. Since you don't want a loan I recommend buying off an individual. Can be tricky.

The thing about buying from an individual is, and I'm not saying not to buy from an individual, watch out for tampering with the odometer. And this is where Carfax can come in handy. I don't want to scare you off from buying from an individual, but deffinately use Carfax.

 

[CapeCodTenor]

Double post...sorry.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

The thing about buying from an individual is, and I'm not saying not to buy from an individual, watch out for tampering with the odometer. And this is where Carfax can come in handy. I don't want to scare you off from buying from an individual, but deffinately use Carfax.

We have bought over 20 cars from individuals. You really get burned more at a dealer lot, seriously.

Of course we have gotten burned with individuals too. Happened only once, the car was in a severe accident. That was the car that was dirty. Never again...hence the "clean car theory".

It is a buyers market and you can get a GREAT deal!

 

[CapeCodTenor]

We have bought over 20 cars from individuals. You really get burned more at a dealer lot, seriously.

Of course we have gotten burned with individuals too. Happened only once, the car was in a severe accident. That was the car that was dirty. Never again...hence the "clean car theory".

It is a buyers market and you can get a GREAT deal!

Never said you could not get burned at a dealership, the friends I've known who have bought from individuals have gotten burned with their puchase. So for me it's comming from, well, I can't say experience, but from what I've seen happen. I only say dealerships, because most dealership don't want to get a bad rep for selling bad cars, they'll be out of business otherwise. I use to work for a dealership and they made sure their used cars were top of the line, and the few that had problems they worked hard to fix.

 

[puffkin]

We too know nothing about cars, and we have been looking for a month. We focused our searches mainly on the dealership lots because we wanted a certified vehicle with low mileage, some kind of warranty and we also had a trade in. You may pay a little more for the car, but will have peace of mind.

Have your own financing before you negotiate. That way you will know what you can afford and the dealerships will take you more seriously if they know you already have the money in hand.

Make sure you ask about warranties. Most newer used cars will still have their original warranty in place, which you are entitled to. Some dealerships will offer to extend that warranty for a cost. It may be worth it to you. Also, many dealerships offer a bumper to bumper warranty on used cars for at least a few months.

Most of the dealerships we looked at offered the CarFax reports for free. They immediately mentioned that none of their cars came from New Orleans, that most were trade ins and leases. They warned to stay away from the auto auctions (which is where many of the small dealers go) because they were starting to pop up there.

We ended up buying a new Toyota Corolla for a lot of different reasons (we pick it up tonight)....but the used car search was quite informative. We found that for the cars we were interested in, the dealers were much more willing to negotiate on a new rather than used. We used KBB and Edmunds websites extensively as a starting point, but don't take them as the gospel truth. The dealers encourage you to use those sites, they want you to pay the "invoice" or "value" that those sites give, when in reality you can get the car much cheaper. Use them as a starting point!

Good luck! And remember.... cars are a dime a dozen. Don't get rushed or suckered into buying something.

 

[vettechick99]

A few years ago, I sold my truck on ebay (made a killing because my SUV was rare!). But that's usually a great option for a deal.

But I went on autotrader.com and found a car I wanted, negotiated the price and got financing through Capital One (everything was done online). I got a great used car interest rate of like 4%. You won't get that at a local bank, but maybe a credit union.

I had the car inspected, bought a carfax and met the family to do the deal. Everything about the title exchange, check writing, financing was a breeze. Cap One even deducts the car payment from my account. I really recommend them!

Good luck! I won't ever buy a car from a car dealer again! Buying from an individual is too easy (and cost-effective).

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Never said you could not get burned at a dealership, the friends I've known who have bought from individuals have gotten burned with their puchase. So for me it's comming from, well, I can't say experience, but from what I've seen happen. I only say dealerships, because most dealership don't want to get a bad rep for selling bad cars, they'll be out of business otherwise. I use to work for a dealership and they made sure their used cars were top of the line, and the few that had problems they worked hard to fix.

Well mine is from 20+ years of experience and let me tell you, you will get the best deal from an individual.

We do buy off the lot if we need a warranty. If we are not looking for that we buy off an individual.

 

[eeyoreiscool]

If you want to go through a dealer, CarMax is by far the best we have dealt with. They would let us look and wouldn't hound us. The price you see is what they will sell the car for and there is no haggling. We have had good luck with their cars before and would probably go back again.

 

[rt2dz]

I know this is about used cars, but are you sure you don't want to buy new? DH just changed jobs and that meant buying a new car as the old one was a company car. We went looking for a used car, but got a much nicer car new, cheaper (and new always means better interest rate). We ended up with a gas efficient, base PT Cruiser. The only options we added was a/c & auto transmission. I was amazed at what came standard. There were a ton of rebates, and we got it at invoice prior to that (dealer incentives going on right now).

Just a thought.