Suspiciously Cheap Craigslist Cars (Austin, Rule: buying, salvaged, prices)

[lamakila123]

Hey everyone,
I am considering moving to Austin next summer and was scoping out the car/apt listings on craigslist when I noticed some really cheap cars that are almost too good to be true. Particularly:
a 2004 Acura TL(sadly automatic) for $3K

from what I can find the 2004 Acura TL is not a "bad" car so it is either a scam or just a good deal. Any input on why the price is so low would be greatly appreciated.

SIDE NOTE: I didn't want to start another thread but what is the traffic like in morning and evening rush hour (as in is the traffic heavy in both directions at both times or only one direction [as you can see, I'm new to the whole big city rush-hour driving situation])

thanks

[Huckleberry3911948]

beware the salvage vehicle or the vehicle being sold w/o a title.
lots of crooks on craigslist.

[chuck_steak]

I have two salvage title vehicles and they are great cars. It depends on what is wrong with them and if you're willing to maintain them. For some people they are a good deal.

[Jennibc]

If you are considering buying a used car, especially off of Craig's list, consider purchasing a subscription for Carfax. CARFAX - Vehicle History Reports and VIN number check When we were buying a used car about three years ago, we discovered that a good number of the cars on craig's list were salvaged from floods.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by lamakila123

SIDE NOTE: I didn't want to start another thread but what is the traffic like in morning and evening rush hour (as in is the traffic heavy in both directions at both times or only one direction [as you can see, I'm new to the whole big city rush-hour driving situation])

Traffic is usually worst heading into downtown around 7-8:30 am and heading away from downtown around 4:30-6 pm. If you are going the opposite direction, its not so bad. I usually allowed 45 minutes to get from the Y in Oak Hill into my office downtown. Some bad days it took longer.

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by lamakila123

Hey everyone,
I am considering moving to Austin next summer and was scoping out the car/apt listings on craigslist when I noticed some really cheap cars that are almost too good to be true. Particularly:
a 2004 Acura TL(sadly automatic) for $3K

from what I can find the 2004 Acura TL is not a "bad" car so it is either a scam or just a good deal. Any input on why the price is so low would be greatly appreciated.

SIDE NOTE: I didn't want to start another thread but what is the traffic like in morning and evening rush hour (as in is the traffic heavy in both directions at both times or only one direction [as you can see, I'm new to the whole big city rush-hour driving situation])

thanks

There was a real run of scams on craigslist a while back, may still be going on for all I know.

Recent vehicles for ridiculously low prices. The owner always turned out to be out of town or out of state or out of the country (sometimes serving overseas). I forget the exact details of the scam, but it got to the point that I could recognize them instantly. One of the telltale signs was that the photos of the vehicle were always obviously ones that were used by the auto company to sell the car. Another one was those same photos used in multiple different ads by multiple people.

Could be that, could be there's something really wrong with the vehicle.

Rule of thumb: if it seems too good to be true, chances are extremely good that it is.

[newtohouston2]

I agree with the previous posters. A lot of times those cars are "salvage" cars. That makes them worth MUCH less, and most people won't want to buy them. It is one thing if they tell you that it's salvage and you decide you want it. It's another if they don't mention it's salvage. When I looked for a car on Craigslist, I would never go see the car until I'd gotten the VIN number and run it to make sure it wasn't salvage. I think the carfax subscription will allow you to do so.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by newtohouston2

I agree with the previous posters. A lot of times those cars are "salvage" cars. That makes them worth MUCH less, and most people won't want to buy them. It is one thing if they tell you that it's salvage and you decide you want it. It's another if they don't mention it's salvage. When I looked for a car on Craigslist, I would never go see the car until I'd gotten the VIN number and run it to make sure it wasn't salvage. I think the carfax subscription will allow you to do so.

I would say most of the time the cars are not salvage cars. ALL of the ridiculously low priced cars on craigslist are scams.

They will have a generic picture, not reference a specific area in austin and if you do a google search on the description you can pull up the exact same ad from craigslists in cities all over the country.

A while ago they were typically an image of the car with an email address embedded in the image.

Dont bother getting the VIN, dont bother sending an email.

[tfresca]

Austin Craigslist is not usable unless you want to find a date or something. I've had very little luck selling or buying things the last year. Lots of shady characters.

[badhornet]

^^^ Agreed! Lots of desperate women giving it up. Thanks Craigslist!