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Old 09-14-2011, 07:59 PM
 
11 posts, read 34,683 times
Reputation: 14

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Hi all,

I am a foreigner, I work at civic center and want to buy a used car, I feel it is really hard to live without a car here in Miami. The problem is that, nowadays the used cars are becoming more and more expensive especially from dealers, I once saw 2001 Toyota camery with a 125k mileage asking for 8k USD... That is too crazy. I know the craigslist is a good place, but I tried several times and most situations are either the car has a very high mileage or they need repair. I once find a very good deal on craigslist, but the seller said he was not in Miami and can only ship the car to me and ask me to pay through paypal….

One of my friends tells me to inquire the small dealer who can buy used cars from auction. I called two small dealers, one only speak Spanish but I don’t know Spanish, and the other one ask me for 500 dollars deposit and promise to find a car for me and he said the 500 dollars will then be the dealer fee.

So I want to ask, should I trust him? Has anyone here ever bought a car from auction through small dealer? Or any other suggestions? My budget is around 5k.
Thank you!
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Old 09-14-2011, 08:28 PM
 
Location: Miami/ Washington DC
4,836 posts, read 12,022,519 times
Reputation: 2600
Rule 1: Never pay dealers fee's. Never understood this. Unless the fees are registering the car getting a plate etc..
Thankfully your smart enough to not go for a scam like giving someone $500 ahead of time to "find" a car. Anyone who falls for that should be asked to leave the Country and never come back.

I would suggest ww.cars.com seriously probably your best bet. Also I would reccomend trying to go for the dealers or one of the big chains out there like carmax. You wont get scammed.

I just read you asked should you trust him??!! NO!!!!!!!
cars.com is your best bet. Go there. There will be a lot of sold by owner cars which are always cheaper than dealers. But I would suggest always asking to take the car to get it checked out by a mechanic, and asking to see all paper work on the car. If its a car you really want get the vin number spend a few bucks and do a carfax report on it. carfax.com

If you give me a price range I would be happy to look on cars.com . Car shopping is something I enjoy a lot.
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Old 09-14-2011, 08:35 PM
 
2,886 posts, read 5,832,116 times
Reputation: 1885
I personally wouldn't buy a car from a small used car dealer. Most are unscrupulous and sell cars that have been in accidents or in floods. Check autotrader.com many private people list their cars for sale there. My family has purchased two cars from private owners and it has worked out well. We didn't have to pay dealer fees, got a better price than if we would have bought them from a dealer, and knew that the cars had been maintained right. Always have a mechanic check it out and run a carfax it is money well spent.
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Old 09-14-2011, 09:26 PM
 
Location: Miami/ Washington DC
4,836 posts, read 12,022,519 times
Reputation: 2600
Quote:
Originally Posted by straight shooter View Post
I personally wouldn't buy a car from a small used car dealer. Most are unscrupulous and sell cars that have been in accidents or in floods. Check autotrader.com many private people list their cars for sale there. My family has purchased two cars from private owners and it has worked out well. We didn't have to pay dealer fees, got a better price than if we would have bought them from a dealer, and knew that the cars had been maintained right. Always have a mechanic check it out and run a carfax it is money well spent.
Second that. Autotrader.com is another good site.
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Old 09-15-2011, 07:15 AM
 
11 posts, read 34,683 times
Reputation: 14
Thank you very much for your reply!
Now I am searching cars on Cars.com and autotrader. It seems that Ford Focus or Taurus are good candidates, blow 5k dollars they usually has a relatively low mileage…..
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Old 09-15-2011, 07:22 AM
 
35,309 posts, read 52,375,659 times
Reputation: 31001
Local newspaper probably has a cars for sale section..
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Old 09-15-2011, 07:25 AM
 
Location: Myrtle Beach
3,381 posts, read 9,135,213 times
Reputation: 2950
Bought my little commuter car from Craigslist. Took a while to find a good deal but finally did. You have to remember... everything on Craigslist is negotiable.
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Old 09-15-2011, 08:10 AM
 
Location: Miami/ Washington DC
4,836 posts, read 12,022,519 times
Reputation: 2600
Quote:
Originally Posted by FloridaKash View Post
Bought my little commuter car from Craigslist. Took a while to find a good deal but finally did. You have to remember... everything on Craigslist is negotiable.
Buying a car anywhere is negotiable.

Just remember get a carfax report on ANY car you buy
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Old 09-15-2011, 08:10 AM
 
35,309 posts, read 52,375,659 times
Reputation: 31001
Craigslist Miami, cars under $5000,
south florida cars & trucks - all classifieds - craigslist


Theres plenty to choose from thats for sure, just look for a well maintained car like this as an example
1998 HONDA CIVIC LX 4 door automatic loaded sunroof GREAT (http://miami.craigslist.org/mdc/cto/2599702676.html - broken link)
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Old 09-15-2011, 08:40 AM
 
2,217 posts, read 4,272,886 times
Reputation: 553
cars are getting sold all over the place here. down the street from work theres like six cars in this lot with prices written on the window
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