Recent College Grad looking for used car ~5000.00-7000.00 (rental, condo)

[adr3naline]

Both appear severely undervalued and show common signs of scams. ($1800-3500 sale price, one photo, no miles, mismatch transmission designation, etc). An easy way to eliminate the majority of automobile scams is to email each one and ask to see the car immediately. If the car is out of state or they are out of the country, walk away.

Originally Posted by jinmcx

honda

It has a 2.4L 4-cylinder engine with 185 HP and gives around 31 MPG (city and highway combined). It is loaded with all the features including a backup camera, hands-free calling, sunroof, dual LCD screens, key-less ignition and entry, and many more, and is in pristine condition. These manuals are REALLY hard to find. I am selling this primarily because I want a car that has a little more horsepower. It is a great daily driver and is extremely economic in gas mileage.

$3200

Scam. If this car had 200,000 miles on it, it would still demand $7k+.

Originally Posted by jinmcx

Honda Civic Coupe EX Automatic //CLEAN CARFAX!!!

I'm selling a 2008 Honda Civic. It's a 2 doors,5 speed automatic transmission .The interior is in very good shape .Very nice exterior .The car has sunroof .No dings,dents or scratch .

Washed and waxed once a week
Oil is changed every 3000 miles

Clutch is good
Transmission shifts great goes in every gear

$2500

Price seems too good to be true

"Washed and waxed once a week". If the car is indeed real, that statement is not. Who in their right mind spends 2+ hrs waxing once a week? Either they don't wax, or they don't know what waxing is. Any way you dice it, I would avoid this one.

[jinmcx]

Originally Posted by adr3naline

Both appear severely undervalued and show common signs of scams. ($1800-3500 sale price, one photo, no miles, mismatch transmission designation, etc). An easy way to eliminate the majority of automobile scams is to email each one and ask to see the car immediately. If the car is out of state or they are out of the country, walk away.



Scam. If this car had 200,000 miles on it, it would still demand $7k+.



"Washed and waxed once a week". If the car is indeed real, that statement is not. Who in their right mind spends 2+ hrs waxing once a week? Either they don't wax, or they don't know what waxing is. Any way you dice it, I would avoid this one.

I look up both numbers using Free Carrier Lookup - Find the carrier information for phone numbers - worldwide. and it's some weird

Phone Number: 16265157607
Carrier: Onvoy, Inc.
Is Wireless: n

Going to keep an eye out for Honda Civic 2006 + though around 5-7k that is legit lol.

[brrabbit]

Those might be real cars... with well-hidden problems.

Get a carfax, call the seller, ask for VIN, check VIN immediately against carfax, if no big problems were reported, the car was consistently with one-two owners, no signs of trouble - ask for appointment to see the car.

During the appointment, ask as many questions as you like, ask for maintenance records and where it has been maintained. Look for big items which occur around 70-100K miles, such as timing belt / water pump / gas pump.

If you still like it after the appointment, then the next step would be to go to the mechanic and check the car thoroughly for some little fee. Ask mechanic for what repairs and maintenance items you need to do with this car in the next 6 months and factor that cost in.

[jm1982]

Those craigslist Honda ads do look fake.. it seems there are a lot of fake ads on craigslist these days...it didn't seem like it was that way in the past.
Also in a lot of them you can tell the pictures weren't taken in L.A .

There are still a lot of legit ads on there though and probably more than other places.
I'm actually looking for a car now as well.

brrabbit, I know a lot of people mention taking the car to the mechanic , how does that work...do you give the owner a deposit or something or do you take the owner with you to the mechanic too?

I know there are mobile mechanics too that over to check out cars too, do you have any experience using mobile mechanics?

[brrabbit]

Originally Posted by jm1982

brrabbit, I know a lot of people mention taking the car to the mechanic , how does that work...do you give the owner a deposit or something or do you take the owner with you to the mechanic too?

I know there are mobile mechanics too that over to check out cars too, do you have any experience using mobile mechanics?

Private sellers often are willing to accomodate, and understanding of your desire to check the car. Find a mechanic not far from the seller, so you can come together for inspection... If a seller ask for a deposit, I'd probably give it in exchange of paper that he got the deposit, and promises to return it to you at first demand when you bring the car back by certain time.
I used mechanic only once, it was fairly close to the seller and I had a car of equal value (leased) which I would leave with the seller.

I haven't used "mobile" mechanics, but brought along some friend who knows cars.

[jm1982]

Originally Posted by brrabbit

Private sellers often are willing to accomodate, and understanding of your desire to check the car. Find a mechanic not far from the seller, so you can come together for inspection... If a seller ask for a deposit, I'd probably give it in exchange of paper that he got the deposit, and promises to return it to you at first demand when you bring the car back by certain time.
I used mechanic only once, it was fairly close to the seller and I had a car of equal value (leased) which I would leave with the seller.

I haven't used "mobile" mechanics, but brought along some friend who knows cars.

Sounds good, thanks!

[adr3naline]

Originally Posted by jm1982

brrabbit, I know a lot of people mention taking the car to the mechanic , how does that work...do you give the owner a deposit or something or do you take the owner with you to the mechanic too?

I see brrabbit already replied but I wanted to add something. If you spring for a PPI (Pre-Purchase Inspection) make sure you take it to a mechanic that gets it up on a lift and does their due diligence on the underside. There are some shade tree mechanics that will inspect the car in the parking lot for a discounted fee (~$49 vs. ~$129) but this leaves a blind spot to integral parts of the car such as suspension components, oil pan gasket/rust, exhaust, brake lines, etc.

Paying a few extra bucks for a good PPI is money very well spent, as $129 is a drop in the bucket if even if the car experiences minor turmoil.

[jinmcx]

Originally Posted by adr3naline

I see brrabbit already replied but I wanted to add something. If you spring for a PPI (Pre-Purchase Inspection) make sure you take it to a mechanic that gets it up on a lift and does their due diligence on the underside. There are some shade tree mechanics that will inspect the car in the parking lot for a discounted fee (~$49 vs. ~$129) but this leaves a blind spot to integral parts of the car such as suspension components, oil pan gasket/rust, exhaust, brake lines, etc.

Paying a few extra bucks for a good PPI is money very well spent, as $129 is a drop in the bucket if even if the car experiences minor turmoil.

Thank you, does these guys look legit? Used Car Inspection | Pre-Purchase Car Inspection | Car Inspectors

It's 200$ but it's mobile, not sure how much pre inspection usually go for. Around 129 you say?

[brrabbit]

Originally Posted by jinmcx

Thank you, does these guys look legit? Used Car Inspection | Pre-Purchase Car Inspection | Car Inspectors

It's 200$ but it's mobile, not sure how much pre inspection usually go for. Around 129 you say?

I got my inspection essentially free Just brought the car to mechanic and said that I want to give it good maintenance and asked what needs to be done. So, I paid money to him, but for repairs/maintenance, not for inspection itself. If you go to the same mechanic for all your maintenance, they tend to throw you freebies to keep you a happy customer

Stop by a few mechanical shops around your place and ask how much they would want for the inspection... Don't rely on internet. Local prices might be much lower! I'd be hesitant to pay more than $50 for inspection... After all, it takes only 5-10 minutes to lift the car and take 1 look.

[adr3naline]

Originally Posted by jinmcx

Thank you, does these guys look legit? Used Car Inspection | Pre-Purchase Car Inspection | Car Inspectors

It's 200$ but it's mobile, not sure how much pre inspection usually go for. Around 129 you say?

They look very thorough. 50+ pictures plus videos and an appraisal with the inspection? $200 is a bit steep but it may be well worth it.

$129 is the Milwaukee-local price. I have only brought cars into CA and have not purchased there.