Quote:
Originally Posted by painted_pony
I dont want to spend anything more than $10k on a used suv. Obviously theres chances of there being issues....but odometer toll backs and lieing about being a dealer...come on. Its ridiculous. Honestly, im thinking a real dealer wouldnt be much better.
|
Most on Craigslist are dealers. The pictures usually give it away. If they appear to know too much about cars, the license plates will always be blocked, usual tag lines, IN CAPS are usually a dead give away. The entire pic sequence (front, sides, back, angles, top, bottom, inside the engine, their kids, your kids, the whole fin portofolio) is a give away. It's good to see all sides, it's good to see a few pics of the inside, it's suspicious to see whole thing 10 times at every conceivable angle.
Using a broker isn't necessarily bad. Finding a reputable one is a challenge. Expect a reconditioning cost on ANY used car. Unless the owner can show receipts, I IMMEDIATELY change the trans fluid, flush the system if over 100K, change the oil, air-filter if necessary, probably a battery, check the brakes, really look at the tires...factor all and give a price.
BE PREPARD TO WALK AWAY. What you have to remember, you will drive it for years sooooo, be prepared to deal with private owners who are not, private owners who don't have records and think the car is worth more than it is...DO YOUR RESEARCH BEFORE YOU GO TO LOOK!!! KNOW WHAT ITS WORTH, NOT WHAT THEY THINK ITS WORTH.....
Lots of Hindus, Middle-Easterners and half of "Larenceville) along with ex soviet types are found "brokering" (read: piggybacking one broker's license) selling these things nowadays and all are trying to hit the lotto on each one. Most, not all, cars at auctions are considered "back row" meaning, the dealer didn't want to try to sell them. They have the wrong color, odors, bad shape, odd models (Isuzu) etc.....When I see "Lawrenceville" I just move on....same with Chamblee (Hola), and most of the cheap housing crowd...not trying to win a popularity contest, trying to save you money by finding a WELL MAINTAINED used car....hard to find that in the house poor crowd...I saw a Taurus when I was looking for hers and took a chance on Lawrenceville/Brookwood area.....needed...everything....and he still wanted "$3,500".....everything to contain the laughter...don't bother.....
You can find GREAT cars at an auction but, if it's a Honda or Toyota, it's been hit, has a goofy title discrepancy or, AC is down.....the Eastern world is crawling over it trying to figure out how much they can sting the next buyer for.
Look for PRIVATE sellers, note their vernacular when they describe the car....is it" ICY COLD AIR!!!! SACRIFICE!!!! JUST LOWERED!!!! LOW MILES!!!! MINT SHAPE!!!! blah blah blah....might not be your pick and IF it's what they say it is, YOU won't save a dime. It's a business. THEY know what it is worth and are greedy enough to try to go 1K above it.... Avoid the ones that are at a mechanic's shop unless of course, YOU are a mechanic....
NO Salvage Titles, NO Odometer discrepancies...CHECK THE CAR THOROUGHLY....most private owners just want the car gone and will usually sell it for a reasonable price. I recently picked up a 2004 Buick LeSabre Custom with 53,000 miles on it from a retired couple....paid full boat on it ($5,900) and it only needed some fluids changed and a front brake job.....about $500 more than what I wanted to pay but, based on the miles I took the chance. It's been great so far. It's got life left in it.....the tires had 10,000 miles (he had receipts). Contrast that with something that is 2-3 years older and needs 2K worth of work??? Oh, and 100,000 more miles on it...It was an okay deal....if she doesn't wreck it and can drive it for 3 years and sell it for 3-4K, good enough.
MILES ARE EVERYTHING....ALL cars wear out.....avoid anything with more than 150,000 unless they can really prove the maintenance (I keep ALL receipts in a plastic container in the trunk). Whoever gets my used cars gets a good one. I don't f around on maintenance. It's cheaper to keep them up over time. However, I promise you, I am the exception.
Stay away from black exteriors and interiors, purples, 22" hood wheels, funky smells, **** poor ac, hard shifting, burnt smelling oil (rev the heck out of them and watch them smoke in 10 seconds or less), 3 brands of tires on the car, coolant that looks like rust, s l o w power windows, intermittent door locks, door, trunk and hood alignment (marble trick), 3 shades of the same color throughout the body....carfax is good, folks who can barely speak English (almost all without exception are looking to drill you), "temp tags", awkward meeting places (I saw one on 41 that had the entire right side of the car repainted over a rippled bondo job...unbelieveable, I didn't even stop), drives funny, suspensions that are shot (rides like a sofa going down the road, handles like a wet sponge).
Try for Toyotas and some Hondas first, settle if you have to for certain GM's and Fords because they drop like rocks in value. Even the better ones. They have horrible resale and for good reasons. Avoid Chryslers no matter what people will respond to when they read this. You can't spend more on "unusual" repairs. People tend to buy Chryslers because they are cheap initially to get into...then they drive them and if they drive them long enough (80K+) they tend to fall apart. Not all, just most. Their resale is horrible. Models like the PT Cruiser (Ghetto cruiser because every fat skeezer can git one, yeah!), the 300 (straight-out of Gotham City, just needs a batman suit), funky colors, mini-fall-apart-vans...they don't fall apart necessarily, they just bleed you dry keeping the dealer afloat with repairs....constantly....just buy a Toyota and skip the exercise....buy the cars you can get RID of when you need to....Chryslers typically need not apply.
Good luck.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
