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.
Depends on what you want to buy. If you want a "real" M3, or vintage 2002, for example, you could put a want to buy ad in the BMWCCA magazine, "Roundel". Hemmings Motor News is good for any kind of vintage car. Websites like RoadFly can be good too. Various general and specialty "car trader" magazines are out there. Is the Atlanta Advertiser still in business? When I was a kid, it was a small want-ad paper where you could put up an ad to buy or sell anything that's legal to buy and sell. Atlanta Journal-Constitution want ads are pretty good. You can put up a note card in local car parts stores.
There are used car dealers who will hunt for what you want. Since you are in GA, check out my old high-school buddies, the Cole brothers, in Lilburn, GA (Google them). Tell them Mark Mitchell sent you. Of course they are in business to make money and they charge more for a car than you could buy it from the existing owner yourself, but they are providing a service by finding the car and by (to some extent!) vetting it.
Having said that, keep in mind that the used car business is truly a "buyer beware" industry, if you don't know what you are doing when inspecting a potential buy, get someone on your side who does. Worthwhile car appraisers do not work cheap, but are a good deal if they keep you from buying a problem car.
M3 Mitch kind of covered everything. But, if the seller knows that you specifically want to buy his car, the negotiations will be limited. Usually, the buyer pretends not to be interested. Just a thought.
Good point ESFP. If you are looking for an M3 for example, I wouldn't state just one color preference. If you tip your hand that you are hell-bent to buy a Hennarot car, IIRC this is about the rarest color, the one or two guys that have one on the market will know more than you want them to know. Also read up on the car you are looking at, for example all M3s are 5-speeds, a few have Euro "dogleg" transmissions swapped in, but you don't want to let people think you beleive some of them left Munich with autoboxes, because, they didn't. (I'm talking E30 cars here, OK?)
The value of knowing about a car you are thinking about buying can't be over-estimated. Best that you know yourself, and/or bring a knowledgable enthusiast with you, failing that, bring a "hired gun" in the form of a car appraiser.
Always be willing to walk. Ben Franklin put it best: "Necessity never made a good bargain."
Sticking with a collector car I know, the M3, if you know what you are doing you buy a good car and if you take good care of it, you don't have any trouble. If you get the wrong car, if the cam chain jumps a tooth or breaks, you will be out more than a good car can be bought for rebuilding the engine. And that's just one "gotcha" on one car that I know about...
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
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.
