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Hi. I live in Northern New Jersey and have been checking out Craigslist daily for a used car. I only want to spend $3000 but am noticing that private sellers are pricing their '99 and '98 Hondas and Toyotas (w/110K+ miles) well over that. Sigh. I'm trying to understand what it means when someone says "OBO." Is this the best offer over or under the asking price? How far can you go down before looking like a "lowballer"? If it turns out that a Honda and Toyota are indeed out of my price range, what's the next best '96-'99 used car out there? Thanks.
Hi. I live in Northern New Jersey and have been checking out Craigslist daily for a used car. I only want to spend $3000 but am noticing that private sellers are pricing their '99 and '98 Hondas and Toyotas (w/110K+ miles) well over that. Sigh. I'm trying to understand what it means when someone says "OBO." Is this the best offer over or under the asking price? How far can you go down before looking like a "lowballer"? If it turns out that a Honda and Toyota are indeed out of my price range, what's the next best '96-'99 used car out there? Thanks.
Hi. I live in Northern New Jersey and have been checking out Craigslist daily for a used car. I only want to spend $3000 but am noticing that private sellers are pricing their '99 and '98 Hondas and Toyotas (w/110K+ miles) well over that. Sigh. I'm trying to understand what it means when someone says "OBO." Is this the best offer over or under the asking price? How far can you go down before looking like a "lowballer"? If it turns out that a Honda and Toyota are indeed out of my price range, what's the next best '96-'99 used car out there? Thanks.
OBO is indeed "or best offer". Indicates the seller will consider a lessor offer. Usually posted 25% over their lowest point. I would have no qualms offering $3000 if they were asking $4000, they will come back with $3500. It is just bartering.
Don't try to offer less before seeing the car, it's just rude to do that on the phone before seeing the car first.
Be sure you get the vehicle looked over BEFORE you buy. I got my F150 looked over by AutoExam before I bought. I could have done it myself, but you know...guy emotions (they exist in smallish quantities), truck, shiny silver metallic paint, flareside bed. Yeah.
Oh, yeah, used car sales are 'as is'. You autograph papers where applicable, you accept a vehicle as it is.
Should be common sense, but I get around on Yahoo! Answers and people STILL belive there is such a thing as a "cooling off period" for automobile purchases. There is not. You buy that right in Cali. Bouy, the surprise that ensues...
Be careful with some of those older Hondas and Toyotas. They may be fine cars all around. But many of these cars are due for a timing belt replacement somewhere between 90K and 105K miles. This is an important service - not like "regular" belts. If this belt breaks while the engine is running it may cause significant and very expensive damage to the engine.
You MUST ask if the timing belt has been changed. Otherwise plan on spending $500 soon to have it replaced. You will probably replace the water pump at the same time.
Other good cheaper cars to consider are Mazda Protege, Mazda 626, and Ford Focus.
Look for the Geo Prizm. Some will misspell it as "Prism". It's the "twin" of the Toyota Corrola and usually much cheaper but basically the same exact car. There are other "twins" out there too, I can't remember right now though. Hopefully someone else can come along and tell you. You can save a lot, get the same vehicle without the Toyota or Honda "name" that drives the price up.
Familiarize yourself with the Blue Book value (and other valuing guides, like Edmunds.com) for the types of cars you are looking at so you will recognize a good price (or a crazy one) when you are shopping and can know what to offer that is reasonable. Don't be a stickler on this though, since the price in your area for a particular car can be driven up or down based on your LOCAL market, but the Blue Book or similar is a good starting point.
Be careful with some of those older Hondas and Toyotas. They may be fine cars all around. But many of these cars are due for a timing belt replacement somewhere between 90K and 105K miles. This is an important service - not like "regular" belts. If this belt breaks while the engine is running it may cause significant and very expensive damage to the engine.
This is true only with Honda's, but not the Toyota's. If the timing belt brakes on a Honda, it will crush the valves, basically ruining the engine. On the Toyota, they have non-interference engines, so the car will stop, but only will need to have the timing belt replaced to run again.
You're going to laugh at me, but I would look for a Buick with the 3.8L engine. They are total grandparent mobiles, but you can find them from the late 90s with lower mileage, and the 3.8 engine is very reliable. The 3.8 is a V6 engine, though I would stay away from the supercharged versions, since they tend to have more maintenance issues and require premium fuel. Cars to look for include the Park Avenue, Regal, and LeSabre. The Century had a 3.1L V6 engine which most would not recommend across the board, since it does not have the near-bulletproof (with proper maintenance) reliability of the 3.8, though I think the last of the Century series were not problematic. Another nice thing about a Buick is that it's an American car that's relatively easy to fix.
As for negotiating, I would look at vehicles in the $3200-$3500 range max, since few are going to knock too much off the price, unless it's grossly overpriced.
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All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.
~William Shakespeare (As You Like It Act II, Scene VII)
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