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Your imput on the best places to buy used cars?

T

thesmoothedeere

Member
Where have u had the best success , big dealers, high end dealers where the trade ins could possible be better taken care of? Small local dealers ? Or by owner buys ? Haven't bought a vehicle in 8 years and found that one word of mouth . Looking for something sporty and reliable. Possibly a convertible.
 
From personal experience we find the bigger dealers too pushy. They think you are there to buy from them regardless of price. We have three vehicles that we found on craigs list and my truck I found on ebay. Very happy with the transactions and vehicles on all of them. BUT... be careful. There are scammers out there. We always look the vehicle over thoroughly and I am a mechanic and know what to look for. There are misrepresented cars that can waste your time if you don't ask the right questions. With my wife's latest car I had her go look at potential cars and when she found one she was happy with then I went and looked at it closer. It worked for us as she had the free time to run around looking at all that interested her and she could eliminate the poor ones without wasting my time. With patience and knowledge you can find what you want at the price you want but it might take some time.
 
I found my current truck on ebay, looked for a while to find what I was looking for. The car for my wife I used auto trader's search feature. Found one about 350 miles away, but it was over $2000.00 cheaper than I could find closer. It was a small dealer in a small town. Very happy with both deals.
 
The best car should be your 1st priority and then the best deal. That being said, the best car will be the one that you can get the entire history on. You won't get anything but wierd looks from dealers when you ask this. Most don't know and even more don't want you to know anyway. You will get a lower price and a better car from the owner. Dealers don't survive by making YOU a good deal.Only thing I would buy from a dealer would be brand new (only because there is no choice)and/or a two yr off lease car. And the latter only if they give me the leasees name/number. Takes a little more work to find them but the net has really helped that. Stay away from the dealers!
I've been in the auto related bussiness all my life and could tell you some stories that would make your blood curdle.
 
We have bought from a salvage yard. He has a lot of rebuilders but also a lot of weird (high mileage) stuff that has clean titles. We have also had great success with a small town dealer across the highway from Woodhouse Ford! You may have heard of Woodhouse-the nations largest Ford dealer! They would not even think of giving me a deal on a used vehicle, even though the company I work for is TIED in like you won't believe!
 

I like to buy from the car owner...

I don't like to pay retail from a dealer then have to pay sellers fee's that have a name they dream up...

I do understand buying a car can be be a hassle and your question is a good question... The cat that dreamed up Carfax is making a killing...
 
I like the ones parked along side the road with a for sale sign on it. I haunted craigslist for months when I was looking for a truck. The ones that looked interesting were sold asap. One showed up on the roadside close to home, The couple needed to pay the rent. I got a good deal on it. I like to buy $2000 cars and trucks and put another 100,000 miles on them.
 
There's this little old lady in Pasadena..... LOL
Seriously, I like to buy from the owner. The original owner when possible.
Spend some time talking. You can learn a lot just listening.
Things like "my daughter learned to drive in this car" might show trust.
Things like "I've never had to do a thing but change the oil" might
show a lack of care and maintenance.
Take them all with a grain of salt of course. I know people who
"trust" a car as long as it starts when they turn the key.
 
I have had really good luck with finding a good car on Craig's list . Bought three sofar and looking for #4 . First one was sorta a beater car for my youngest daughter , it was a 2000 Dodge Stratus , needed a little work like struts and brakes and a tune up . Had 87 grand on it . Had to do the timing belt and water pump not a big deal. Then it got totaled by some dumb woman texting . The insurance payed well for it and i was able to find a cream puff 2003 Ford Taurus with only 71 thou on the clock from Florida , it needed a set of keys and a tune up and air filter and oil change . Then the starter went along with the battery and we put a new set of tires that were more suited for N. E Ohio winters . It got totaled out by someone that did not stop but hit the gas instead of the brake and put the back bumper where the back seat was. Here again the insurance paid well after some fighting with them . So back to looking and after five weeks of looking i found a 2005 Chrysler Sebring 4 dr. touring with 31653 miles and snagged that one for 5 grand . Now talk about a nice car and it came with all the service records from day one. I am now looking for the next one as our 2003 Durango needs some work and i can not do it in a weekend . The War Dept. needs a set of wheels so i will find something either in the Ford or Dodge Chrysler line . Then i will do a total drive line rebuild on the Durango as the War Dept loves it when the roads get bad and once we got all the bugs out of it when it was under warranty it has been and excelant set of wheels. and IMHO it is worth a rebuild.
 
Estate auctions.I'm in ohio and if you go to auctionzip.com and punch in auctions there's probably 50 a week within 100 miles of me.A lot have nice low milage cars.
 
Deals are made to the satisfaction of the purchaser and seller. Some of mine include a daily driver 86 Nissan xl PU for $50. a 1951 GMC 3/4 for $100. and a Dodge Polara for $75. Many other examples. Sold a 49M for 1800 (no tread tires) Sold a Vanette 1 ton for 1500. Sold a rusted and 200K miles 88 Honda Civic for 1000. One deals not expects. Jim
 
A lot depends on your skills for checking things out & making minor repairs.
For what it is worth, one new car dealer, GM I think, in Minneapolis is offering lifetime powertrain warranty on late models.
I have bought from new dealers, independents & private party.
Only bad one was project truck at auction. Fiddled with it for a while, never got it to run right, so parted it out. Actually made a couple bucks on it.
Best deal is my current p-up. SWMBO's husband bought it new before he died. She kept the truck as her daily driver. I had a minivan when we met, each drove whichever vehicle we needed any day. After 9 years together she bought herself an import econobox & now the truck is officially, legally mine. Paid fair market value from my "outdoor" fund into her "indoor decorating" fund.
WJ
 
I have gotten a couple of good cars through the state owned vehicle auction,former squad cars,or cars out of the states motor pool,also former D.N.R trucks.
 
I like off lease cars. Most of our cars have been bought that way, never gotten a bad one. Be aware though, used cars are a dealers playground, where most of their profit comes from.
Lease cars are very common cars, millions made so you can have your pick, if you can"t make a deal on tis one there are more dealers down the street that will deal. Advantage to me is that usually they have 10 to 15 thousand of warranty left on them.
The dealer will be asking 17 or 18 on a vehicle that he paid 7 or 8 for, and if you are up for a battle you can get a good deal. Some folks want just an easy fast deal, I don"t mind a good 3 hour battle to get the deal I want.
 
If I remember right you work at a Honda plant.

Do they have a policy about employees only being able to have Hondas on the work parking lot ? I heard they were really strick on delivery trucks with advertisements on them.
Can you get any discounts on their cars ?

Last one we bought a brand new one was less money then a year older USED one with some miles on it. Same dealer had them both. Still can't figure that out ? I have seen the same at other dealers too.

Be leary of rental fleet returns as they don't even change the oil in them. I'd kinda worry of a lease return too unless you had some records to look at.
 
I work at the honda plant but not for Honda . Cpc Logistics is who i work for. They don't care what u drive to work . They frown upon hats being worn that advertise there competitors via chevy or harley .... I wear a john deere hat on the yard and they haven't said anything to me . I do beleive if you work for honda they do give discounts on new vehicles. Iv'e been looking on craigslist per your guys advice and have already found some deals , think i'll go that route. I'm sending more rain your way today Mike !!! Your welcome lol !!!
 
I'd have to say there isn't a best source.

Figure out what you want, and find it any way you can. Try all the sources - dealers, used car lots, craigslist, etc.

The key is to look around a lot, and develop a sense of what the vehicle you want is really worth. Only then can you get the best deal wherever you end up.

Dealers are going to typically be the most expensive, but they've probably also detailed the thing and put new tires on it, etc.

Most big dealers care about their reputation enough to at least not want to )#(*$# you - where an individual often doesn't much care what happens to you. So there's plusses and minuses either way you go.

Figure out exactly what you want - know what you want to pay for it.
 
The......deere, Bought my last 4 rigs from Dealerships. After extensive searching and research! found exactly what I wanted and at a reasonable price!
Hope this helped
Later,
John A.
 
A lot of lease cars end up at auctions. Used car dealers pick them up for resale. I"ve got a couple from an independant used car dealer. So far so good. Dealer has stood behind them, fixing some minor problems, no charge. Typically, leased cars have required maintenance per their contract. If you find a reputable dealer, stick with "em. I have one I have confidence in, have bought several vehicles over the years.
 
We have plenty up here allready. There were some really nice looking crops in some of the bottom grounds but now many are standing in water.

I bought a decent pickup at a decent price off craigslist. As always buyer beware !!!
You really have to do ALOT of running around looking though as people have no idea what "no rust" actually means !!!! In Ohio it either has to be VERY new or of had been oil sprayed or wintered in a building.
 
Lowest cost per mile I"ve covered is with new demonstrators from the dealer"s lot, keep them properly serviced and drive them into the ground.
 
No matter where you look the best time to buy a car is when you aren't in real need of one. You can take you time and wait for the best deal to pop up. Its when you have to have one now that for the next month you see better deals advertised.
 
Finding the right vehicle is the first priority. AutoTrader has worked well for me. I prefer to buy cars with some amount of factory warranty left on them, then I'm not counting on the honestly or knowledge of the previous owner, be that dealer or private party.

I don't mind dealing with private parties but I'm right on the MA/NH border and MA requires dealers to provide warranties on used cars, NH doesn't. So I'm more likely to buy from a MA dealer. Second would come private parties/NH dealers. But in any case, they have to have the right vehicle.
 
Funny thing, Honda built a plant in Greensburg, Ind., but because Japanese auto companies won't allow small market dealerships you can't buy a new Honda in Greensburg.
 
I'm an opportunist when it comes to buying vehicles.

I sit back and let the deals come to me. Sooner or later one will come along.

The worst thing you can do is walk into a dealership and announce you're in the market for a particular vehicle. Statistically, once a typical qualified buyer decides to buy a different vehicle, 82% of the time he will buy something within 72 hours. Dealers know this. That's why the rush is on when you walk into a dealership. They want you to be THEIR statistice, not someone else's.

I bought a 2000 Chevy pickup a coupla months ago. Just happened to be snooping at a small town Chevy dealership, and found they'd just traded for it, hadn't even washed it yet. The dealer shot me a price he knew I wouldn't pass up on, so I bought it. Then took my old '89 Chevy to a consignment auction and it brought twice what I thought it would.

Bottom line was, I upgraded myself 11 years for $1800.
 
I agree with Goose, if you go to a dealer they will give you this price is only good now. Don't be afraid to walk away, they call back every time.
 
(quoted from post at 00:24:37 07/03/13) I agree with Goose, if you go to a dealer they will give you this price is only good now. Don't be afraid to walk away, they call back every time.
Click to expand...

I've found that dealers don't like to budge on the price of their used vehicles. The best thing you can do is bring in the worst vehicle you have for a trade. They can't control that price. When the sales monkey asks me "So, how much do you want for your trade?" I always answer with the same line "Waaay more than it's worth..." - just to let them know that I can play the same game as them.
 
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