Used vehicles poll on philosophy how to choose? (lease, vehicle, 2014)

[trckn4life]

I am curious what you philosophy is when buying cars that are not new. How do you choose and why?

I know multiple factors including cost come into play obviously and most people probably check Carfax for no wrecks.

[Hemlock140]

While I mostly buy new, I bought used a year ago and I looked for one that was only 2 years old, with low enough mileage to still be on the bumper-to-bumper warranty, with only one local owner, and a clean carfax. I ended up with one that had 19,000 miles and paid about $12,000 less than what it would have cost for new. One reason for buying used was the changes in the styling that I didn't like on the newer models.

[eaton53]

I like the previous owner to be older and extremely anal.

[Arktikos]

The vehicle model, how well it runs, condition of brakes, what's not working with it, and cost.

Mileage might be a consideration if I drove much, but I don't.

[lepoisson]

When I buy a used car, I try to find one that 1-3 years old and looks just like the newest current gen model. For example, if I'm looking for a Mazda 3, I'll buy a 2014-2016 model with 10-36K miles. I'll save $3000-5000 off new price. So that makes it a $12-15K car. I'll probably get $3000-5000 for my trade in, so that helps lower the cost even more.

I'll get a 3yr loan for the remaining balance and pay it off in two years. But recently I've been saving up money for my next car. If I save $100/mo for 5 years (when I'll be ready for another), that's more than enough to pay off my next car purchase.

I'm trying to avoid having a car payment for my next purchase!

[ContraPagan]

I got lucky when I chose my last car, because it was an emergency purchase after my first car died from a cracked cylinder head, and I didn't feel it was cost-effective to put a brand new engine in an 11-year-old car with 120,000+ miles on it.

I hit the jack pot, though. 2005 Cruiser, 62,000 miles, only one owner, clean Carfax, and only $7495. I still have that car over 8 years and 83,000 miles later.

[28079]

Know what model you want, drive it and have it checked for obvious potential issues.

The one that drives and feels to be best from the drive test (and is clear from defects/accidents), it will be my vehicle of choice.

[finalmove]

Usually buy or lease new, but when buying preowned, it must be one or two years old and still under warranty.

[J Baustian]

Only bought one used car in the recent past. It had excellent service records, some from a dealership but also from an independent shop that I had used quite often and trusted completely.

I would never buy a used car from a dealer, as they get almost all their inventory from auctions so no maintenance or service records.

[engineman]

I start with body type, the last one was an SUV, the current one is a convertible. I don't even look at sedans or coupes.