buying a used car from a mom/pop place?

[ez]

we are looking for a used car for our teenage daughter to drive. I have to say we had a disappointing experience at a local large new used car dealership they had none of the cars advertised in the paper on their huge lot, and after a long time of waiting for someone to help us figuring out where they were they drove us somewhere a few miles away to this fenced weed filled lot where I got bit by ants to see these cheaper cars. They seemed overpriced to me, the salesperson said if they arent sold the go to auction. So that means in the end they wind up in a mom /pop used car place anyway? Then we had to leave to pick up our son and we had to meet the salepersons boss first to explain why we were leaving.....
So on the way home we stop at a small mom pop place that only had about 10 cars but a nice big building and sign out front. All the cars looked beautiful and reasonable priced. A guy popped his head out the window and said "johns not here till monday, but if you see something you like give me a holler and Ill give you the keys" We actually did see a couple cars that we were very interested in, the guy said we could have a mechanic see them if we wanted. I really much preferred this interaction better than what we experienced at the large dealership.
Anyone have used car buying experience from a mom/pop place. We were hoping to only spend around 5 or 6 grand...thanks!!!

 

[kaytieeldr]

Definitely have a mechanic you trust look at the car before you buy it. Mine has a fixed price for that, in the vicinity of $200-$250, so be pretty sure of the car.

I also know someone who buys cars at auction, fixes them up, and sells them. Two things - again, have the car checked by a good mechanic; and that big used car dealership? Sounds shifty to me. You were right to leave, and they shouldn't have made it hard for you.

 

[MUFFYCAT]

We found 2 great cars through Autotrader.com Also along with a mechanic buy a subscription to Carfax. There were a few cars where salesmans said there were no accidents only to find out that wasn't true.

I truly hate car shopping! Good luck!

 

[ToTLaugher]

We bought our daughter's car at a mom and pop place and are very happy with the car and the experience. That was a few months ago and she loves her car. There were places we went that we didn't feel were all that honest, but this place was wonderful.

Last week we bought my used car from a large used car dealer and we will never set foot through their doors again! The car is fine but the customer service was terrible! If the mom and pop store had what I was looking for I would have happily bought from them!

 

[snarlingcoyote]

I've bought several used cars from mom and pop places and never had a problem.

But we recently bought a truck through a dealership. We can't prove it, but we are almost certain that three years when they were supposed to replace almost the entire engine, they just cleaned it up really well and hid the problems (They DID charge Ford's warranty department for the entire repair. We are still wondering if the former owner was in on the fraud) that we then had to fix a year down the road for 12K.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

we are looking for a used car for our teenage daughter to drive. I have to say we had a disappointing experience at a local large new used car dealership they had none of the cars advertised in the paper on their huge lot, and after a long time of waiting for someone to help us figuring out where they were they drove us somewhere a few miles away to this fenced weed filled lot where I got bit by ants to see these cheaper cars. They seemed overpriced to me, the salesperson said if they arent sold the go to auction. So that means in the end they wind up in a mom /pop used car place anyway? Then we had to leave to pick up our son and we had to meet the salepersons boss first to explain why we were leaving.....
So on the way home we stop at a small mom pop place that only had about 10 cars but a nice big building and sign out front. All the cars looked beautiful and reasonable priced. A guy popped his head out the window and said "johns not here till monday, but if you see something you like give me a holler and Ill give you the keys" We actually did see a couple cars that we were very interested in, the guy said we could have a mechanic see them if we wanted. I really much preferred this interaction better than what we experienced at the large dealership.
Anyone have used car buying experience from a mom/pop place. We were hoping to only spend around 5 or 6 grand...thanks!!!

Make sure you look private party as well.

 

[spacemountainmom]

My dh bought a vehicle from a mom and pop place 20 years ago and had a great experience.

My neighbor's 18 year old son bought a truck from one of those places this past summer and it was a complete nightmare. Admittedly, he was a stubborn idiot who did not seek his parents or a mechanic's advice on the vehicle, because he wanted a truck and no one was going to stop him. They sold him a way overpriced piece of junk and sold him all kids of "insurance" to go with it. The truck ended up being a big money pit and the parents ended up stepping in and bailing junior out of the mess. They then found out that there were huge issues with the title when they went to trade it in. It took threats from the dealer that took the truck in to straighten the mess out.

I realize not all of these small places are out to "hose" people, but I would certainly check the place out as much as I could and be careful around those shops that will "finance anyone". Unfortunately for the neighbor kid, his unwillingness to involve mom and dad taught him a very expensive life lesson.

 

[golfgal]

You just need to check into the mom/pop shop carefully before you do any business with them. I know that one shop in our old town was under investigation by the police department and they were very shifty. There was one mom/pop place in one town where we lived that was HUGE and had a great reputation. We bought a car from them and were very happy.

One dealership here has started a "mom/pop" type place. Instead of sending cars to auction, they sell them locally. They are all locally owned cars that were traded in at their dealerships too so no worries about cars bought from areas that were flooded out or whatnot--which happens with auction cars. We just bought a car from them and so far, so good. They have newer used cars on their regular lot and then this lot has higher mileage cars. They have a list of all of the things that need repair or will soon. We were looking at two different cars there and both of the cars checked out with our mechanic exactly the way they had listed on their sheet (the mechanic didn't see that sheet at all). I would use them again.

 

[tvguy]

The advice about having a mechanic check out a car is far more important than where you buy a car.

Just remember, cash for clunkers basically dried up the supply of cars that many of us would consider as first cars for our kids.......so prices have soared.

 

[mrodgers]

Just remember, cash for clunkers basically dried up the supply of cars that many of us would consider as first cars for our kids.......so prices have soared.

Yes, I believe about the exploitation of the post cash for clunkers, but it certainly didn't dry up the supply of used cars. Very few cars get 18 mpg or less combined EPA rating. The only thing it did was take the older large trucks and SUVs out and a handful of medium size SUVs.

 

[golfgal]

Yes, I believe about the exploitation of the post cash for clunkers, but it certainly didn't dry up the supply of used cars. Very few cars get 18 mpg or less combined EPA rating. The only thing it did was take the older large trucks and SUVs out and a handful of medium size SUVs.

Have you shopped for a used car in the past couple years. TV guy is correct, the used car market is VERY dried up and the cars that are available are over priced. It's very difficult to find a used "teenager" car these days. Sure, there are plenty of 2 or 3 year old used cars for $15K+ but the $2000-5000 market is gone.

 

[tasha99]

I think you get the best price when you buy from a private party rather than a dealership. And the money for a mechanic to check it out is well spent--never skip that step.

 

[tvguy]

Yes, I believe about the exploitation of the post cash for clunkers, but it certainly didn't dry up the supply of used cars. Very few cars get 18 mpg or less combined EPA rating. The only thing it did was take the older large trucks and SUVs out and a handful of medium size SUVs.

Even President Obama has said that one of the downsides of cash for clunkers was the shortage of used cars it created. The Honda dealer here put up a corral to house the cash for clunkers trades they too in, and said their biggest problem was customers were coming in wanting to buy THOSE cars, which of course, they could not sell. They all went to the crusher. The Ford Explorer was the most common traded in, and it happens to be a very good vehicle for a first time driver.

You can't take 690,000+ used cars off the market without having some impact.

 

[mrodgers]

Even President Obama has said that one of the downsides of cash for clunkers was the shortage of used cars it created. The Honda dealer here put up a corral to house the cash for clunkers trades they too in, and said their biggest problem was customers were coming in wanting to buy THOSE cars, which of course, they could not sell. They all went to the crusher. The Ford Explorer was the most common traded in, and it happens to be a very good vehicle for a first time driver.

You can't take 690,000+ used cars off the market without having some impact.

Almost 1300 cars around me for under $3000, not a one of them would get a combined 18 mpg. Every one of them would be near 200,000 miles.

Cash for Clunkers isn't the problem with used cars. The cost of new cars is the problem. Even just 10 years ago, you could get a new car for under $14k and a reasonable 10 year old car for a decent price. Now new cars cost $25-30k and the 10 year old cars that were cost $6-7000 used.

People drive a lot more today. It is obvious from the abundance of 80,000 mile cars cheap when I was a teenager compared to what is out there today, in the 200,000 mile range even at 10 years old. I don't blame the Cash for Clunkers just because they took a handful of crappy mileage cars off the road.

 

[golfgal]

Almost 1300 cars around me for under $3000, not a one of them would get a combined 18 mpg. Every one of them would be near 200,000 miles.

Cash for Clunkers isn't the problem with used cars. The cost of new cars is the problem. Even just 10 years ago, you could get a new car for under $14k and a reasonable 10 year old car for a decent price. Now new cars cost $25-30k and the 10 year old cars that were cost $6-7000 used.

People drive a lot more today. It is obvious from the abundance of 80,000 mile cars cheap when I was a teenager compared to what is out there today, in the 200,000 mile range even at 10 years old. I don't blame the Cash for Clunkers just because they took a handful of crappy mileage cars off the road.

The price of cars has NOT gone up that much. We bought our first new, brand new, car in 1989 for $10,800. That same model car, base model, no perks Toyota Corolla, is now about $13,000. Sure, you can get much more expensive cars with a lot more perks on them but there are still plenty of lower end cars for under $15K. Back then, a car, any car with 200,000 miles on it would have sold for $500, maybe.

 

[ez]

I think new base corollas are going for a bit more than that...been looking at those too.

 

[golfgal]

I think new base corollas are going for a bit more than that...been looking at those too.

Base, as in no power anything, no "perks" of any kind. Not around here. At the time there was the car we bought, a DS and and LS, our's was even lower then the DS . We did add cruise control and air conditioning after we bought the car though.

 

[mrodgers]

The price of cars has NOT gone up that much. We bought our first new, brand new, car in 1989 for $10,800. That same model car, base model, no perks Toyota Corolla, is now about $13,000. Sure, you can get much more expensive cars with a lot more perks on them but there are still plenty of lower end cars for under $15K. Back then, a car, any car with 200,000 miles on it would have sold for $500, maybe.

Yes, they are still out there, somewhere, but you aren't going to have a very easy time finding them. People don't want bare-bones cars, so they aren't readily available. And if the majority don't want bare-bones cars, that means the bare-bones cars also aren't going to be in the future used car market. So, no, the norm today isn't an under $15k car. The norm is $25k Ford Fusions, Toyota Corollas that aren't bare-bones, Nissan Altimas, and $30k small SUVs like the Escape, Liberty, Rav4, and CRV.

And you are again correct. Back then, a 200,000 mile car would have sold for $500. That is because back then, a 200k mile car was a pile of junkyard scrap, not a 10 year old used car. Today, the 10 year old used cars are 200k mile cars. Back then, the 10 year old cars were 80 and 90,000 mile cars.

 

[tvguy]

Almost 1300 cars around me for under $3000, not a one of them would get a combined 18 mpg. Every one of them would be near 200,000 miles.

Cash for Clunkers isn't the problem with used cars. The cost of new cars is the problem. Even just 10 years ago, you could get a new car for under $14k and a reasonable 10 year old car for a decent price. Now new cars cost $25-30k and the 10 year old cars that were cost $6-7000 used.

People drive a lot more today. It is obvious from the abundance of 80,000 mile cars cheap when I was a teenager compared to what is out there today, in the 200,000 mile range even at 10 years old. I don't blame the Cash for Clunkers just because they took a handful of crappy mileage cars off the road.

Certainly new car prices are a factor too. According to the 2010 census the average American drove 11,500 miles in 2010, down from 12,300 in 2000, so a 10 year old car with 200,000 miles on it is higher than average mileage. The Honda dealer here said the average cash for clunkers trade in was 10 years old with 120,000 miles on it, that is a prime first car for a new driver.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Yes, they are still out there, somewhere, but you aren't going to have a very easy time finding them. People don't want bare-bones cars, so they aren't readily available. And if the majority don't want bare-bones cars, that means the bare-bones cars also aren't going to be in the future used car market. So, no, the norm today isn't an under $15k car. The norm is $25k Ford Fusions, Toyota Corollas that aren't bare-bones, Nissan Altimas, and $30k small SUVs like the Escape, Liberty, Rav4, and CRV.

And you are again correct. Back then, a 200,000 mile car would have sold for $500. That is because back then, a 200k mile car was a pile of junkyard scrap, not a 10 year old used car. Today, the 10 year old used cars are 200k mile cars. Back then, the 10 year old cars were 80 and 90,000 mile cars.

Yea, the cheap stuff is out there but you are right, it is crap.

We have been buying used for 25yrs. We just do not have the same problem here some of you face elsewhere. And we are always wheeling and dealing a car for someone. It is dh's "hobby". He looks daily though and you have to jump on the deals when you see them. It does take time.

In fact we just got a used Caddy, 2003, 75,000 miles for $5,000 Friday. It is a sweet car. I don't think I have ever been in love with a car and I have had many in those yrs. ETA...We got tires all the way around for $600, then it needs a battery, a few nickel dime stuff (wheel bearings he thinks) , and dh will do the brakes before winter.