Buying a used car (Austin, Mart: for sale, 2014, college)

[Penelope34]

Just wondering if anyone knows a good auto site that isn't filled with dealers or dealers posing as individuals?

I was looking through Craigslist and FBM for a used suv to have as a spare and came upon a one on CL with 143k miles that interested my HB. The ad stated the usual and that the seller's name was on the title. We went to look at it yesterday at a Walmart and it appeared to be in good condition and drove well. There were some strange issues though. The car had a temporary tag on it and when I asked why, the seller stated that he sold a car before with the actual plate and the buyer ran up toll charges he had to pay for. That still didn't explain it having a temporary tag but he started prattling on about something else.

During the test drive I asked if it had been in a wreck and he said no. I also asked if he was the only owner and he said no but it had been in his family since it was purchased brand new. His brother used it before. I asked if he bought a new car, was that why he was selling? He said not yet but he was looking for an Accord. (So where did the temp tag come from??) Keep in mind at this point, I had no idea dealers posed as regular sellers. The last car I bought was at an actual Acura dealer a few years ago. And before that was in college from a man who bought salvaged cars and rebuilt them. Well-known throughout the student popluation.

Anyway we get back to WM after the test drive and my HB asks if the price is negotiable. Seller asks what is he offering and I say that the Edmunds value is 3k. My HB offers 3500 cash right then. He was asking 4800. He immediately starts saying no, no, no that's not the value and tells me to look at KBB. They list it at 3500 to 5300. But I have been told many times KBB values are inflated.
I'm not interested anymore at that point but my HB still haggles with him. He offers 4k and guy still says no. The seller finally says he can do 4300. I tell my HB no, let's go we'll think about it overnight. As you should do!

So my husband still keeps saying 4k, it's a 2006 vehicle so it doesn't have a lot of life left in it. Guy says no, gets in the car and drives away. My husband was shocked at his behavior. I figured he wants what he wants, it's his car and he can sell it for whatever he wants.

So we talk for a while and he tells me to message the guy and offer 4200 final, which I still didn't agree with. Oh and the guy doesn't answer phone calls only texts. Twenty minutes later he agrees to 4200 so I ask for the vin (YES I know, should've asked for it to begin with). He sends me a blurry pic, then follows up with the wrong number. It was invalid according to Carfax. I ask him to send me a clear pic so he sends a pic of a portion of the title showing the vin which also listed the previous buyer's name. I pull the free report and see there is a mileage discrepancy noted during the emissions testing in mid August and also that a new buyer was registered Aug 1st. Upon further review the mileage was listed at 177k in 2016 and 157k in 2014, both at the Honda dealer. So someone messed with the odometer and I'm assuming the seller did. The previous buyer's name also didn't match up with one someone from the seller's ethnic group would have been given. 99% sure the person was not a family member. HB tells me to ask the guy about the mileage problem so I ask if he knows there is a mileage discrepancy on the Carfax report. He says it's probably an error but Texas doesn't require the mileage on vehicles over 10 years old. So he is familiar with the law about mileage exemption on a title. Then it was concrete that he was doing something shady.

I found him on FBM last night and saw he also had an Accord for sale lol. So I've been looking for regular sellers since but keep seeing these types of people. Like the wife lists a car and husband lists a different one. Brother lists another. That kind of stuff. It seems almost all the ads are like this. And I know it shouldn't matter if the car's a good deal and it runs, who cares how it was procurred as long as it's legal. The lying off the bat bothers me. Like saying you're selling your family car when you bought it at the auction last month. Does this bother other people or am I just looney?

[rangergrit]

Autotrader has both dealers and (a few) individuals.

[10scoachrick]

Why not buy from a reputable dealer?
CarGurus has both dealer and individual listings, so that's another avenue.

[Ivory Lee Spurlock]

Carmax usually has some pretty nice looking late model vehicles and the cars come with 5 day money back guarantee a 30 day repair warranty and you can pay extra for an extended warranty.

https://www.carmax.com/

[ashbeeigh]

I think your first problem is where you are looking, CL and Facebook are prime for scams and weirdos.

Car Max would be my first choice. My first two vehicles were from car Max. I was going to pick one up from the north Austin location this summer, but due to their solid no negocios policy it was just a bit too much so I passed. I wandered down to Kia if south Austin and got a similar car with a bit of dealing (with a few less bells and whistles) and I am happy with the results. If you are looking for something like a cash car (for something like 6k) there are a few dealers that have those types of cars. Search on car guru, caravana or autotrader for the price you’re looking at.

[10scoachrick]

It has been a few years; but I had a smooth(relatively) transaction selling a vehicle on Craigs here in Austin. Buyer posted a WTB ad and I responded and all went well on a $2000 car.

[m1a1mg]

I've bought and sold a lot of cars on CL. Fake ads are usually easy to spot. Do your homework on type of car and be willing to pay for a report prior to pulling the trigger on a deal.

I won't pay a dealer for an older used car. The dealer bump in price is normally a deal breaker.

[Snowpacked]

Walmart should be a clue too. Reputable people do not do business in a Walmart parking lot.

[10scoachrick]

Originally Posted by Snowpacked

Walmart should be a clue too. Reputable people do not do business in a Walmart parking lot.

Our deal was done in a Randall's parking lot. I would have been fine with a WalMart lot.

[Snowpacked]

Originally Posted by 10scoachrick

Our deal was done in a Randall's parking lot. I would have been fine with a WalMart lot.

Walmart gives me the creeps. That is all there is to it.