[Bhaalspawn]

While searching for used cars, this dealership, Road Runner Auto Sales in Taylor, stuck out and attracted my attention:

Road Runner Auto Sales, Inc

They have a number of vehicles with low miles at seemingly reasonable prices, which sends up red flags. Does anyone know anything about this dealership? Do these vehiles have salvage and/or rebuilt titles?

I don't have an all-you-can-Carfax account right now, so I can't check the VINs at this time.

[stanman13]

I don't know this dealer in particular, but I think it's safe to assume that most of these cars are bought at auction. I do know that used car values are waay down right now, for obvious reasons. Cars at auction are bringing a fraction of what they brought just a year ago.

It is possible that some of these cars could have a salvage title. But it is also still possible in MI to buy a totaled car with a clean title. Caveat emptor. Sometimes, though, esp. if the car was a rental or self-insured, they will total the car with surprisingly little damage.

So, a clean title doesn't guarantee that a car was not totaled, and a car having been totaled doesn't mean that it was damaged horrifically. Also, a cheap price doesn't necessarily mean a car was wrecked. Your best bet is just to do a thorough inspection of the car before purchase, and a carfax search (which isn't guaranteed, either.)

Reading back through my post, I guess I have told you basically nothing, eh?

[michiganbob]

It probably is.

I agree with everything that was said earlier: while it is possible that used car prices are going down (but then, wouldn't you see private sellers undercutting dealers?), but the combination with "low miles" raises a flag with me as well. The last time I saw that combination it was on vehicles that a CarFax search showed had been totaled and rebuilt.

You can get an unlimited CarFax account for $39.95. I think that would be cheap insurance if you are planning on spending even a couple of thousand dollars on a vehicle.

[Bhaalspawn]

Yeah, that is more or less what I had figured. I definitely would not purchase a vehicle from them without a CarFax report. That they are not offering a link to Carfax reports for people to look at online, which many dealers are, raises a yellow flag.

[OddGuy]

Its funny I ran across this post. My mom has been searching for an Escape Ltd. and found one at this place that just seems ridiculously cheap. To keep it short, she bought the unlimited Carfax and this thing has been salvaged, side impact, damage scale 4 of 7 according to the police report, she said it had a link to it. She then checked many of their cars and found them to be salvaged and/or bought at auction. This doesnt mean they are bad cars, just not pristine one owner, waxed every week, used cars. Im actually going to look at this car tomorrow and make my mom take it to a Ford dealership for an inspection. Ill keep you posted.

[bonita51]

Hey! Make sure you let us know what you found out about this place.
Ironically, I just ran across this place by chance, a few days ago. I was
amazed at their inventory, and their prices! Very reasonable prices, but
I would have to differ on he 'low mileage' claim someone made since I didn't noice a great deal of their cars having that low of mileage.

They do currently have a few cars on their website that have "salvaged title" in the remarks on the car. I would think if they were purposely hiding
the fact, they wouldn't be putting those remarks on their website. I made
a wasted trip to "Auto Auction" last week. I was not impressed. Even though all of their ads state, "MAKE AN OFFER!" They refused to even
consider a few hundred dollars off the price when I was there. They also
have some 'hidden' costs they don't mention, that add another $500 bucks, or so, onto the price.They do have a large selection, but 98% of
their vehicles have no prices on them, and getting a salesperson to help
you is nearly impossible. So, unless you know exactly what you want, you end up spending a lot of time walking around finding a car; hoofing it back to find a salesperson to give you the price; then, if it happens to be out of your ballpark, the process starts all over again! (The salespeople disappear as soon as they tell you a price)
I am looking to buy a car in the next few weeks, so if this place turns out to be good I may make the trip. BTW...Craigs List has thousand of desperate people needing to sell their cars. Many just trying to find a way to make their house payments!

[Bhaalspawn]

I haven't learned anything further about it since we purchased a vehicle elsewhere.

[DinoBerger]

Originally Posted by Bhaalspawn

While searching for used cars, this dealership, Road Runner Auto Sales in Taylor, stuck out and attracted my attention:

[URL="http://www.roadrunnerautosale.com/"]Road Runner Auto Sales, Inc[/URL]

They have a number of vehicles with low miles at seemingly reasonable prices, which sends up red flags. Does anyone know anything about this dealership? Do these vehiles have salvage and/or rebuilt titles?

I don't have an all-you-can-Carfax account right now, so I can't check the VINs at this time.

Hello all,

in short stay away from this Dealer. Scam artists big time. I got sucked in and am stil chasing my deductible. They said the car had only cosmetic demage and they buy them and fix them up. I test drove it and it looked fine. When I showed up with the cashiers check the Airbag light light was ON. They assured me it was just a glitch and they will clear it. I told them that I want it checked out by the dealer and need to see proof of why it was on, they agreed. In the meantime I ran the Carfax report and sure enough the car had a moderate accident where both Airbags deployed. I called them and asked why did they lie to me they said they will refund me the money and sell the car as is. I have been dancing in circles with them but no money back. I just submitted the paperwork to a small claims court. They talk a good game but are rotten to the bone. Stay away guys. If it smells like turd it is a turd.

[wagonman76]

What determines what shows up on Carfax? Police reports? Insurance claims?

One of my old wagons looked pretty nice when I got it, was 6 years old with 62k on it. However as time went on I could tell it had been in a pretty considerable accident at some point before I got it. The hood, passenger fender, passenger door, and nose had been replaced with used panels, the white started to peel and showed the blue/gray paint beneath. The passenger front wheel sat too far back and eventually rubbed a hole in the wheelwell. The passenger seat was tipped toward the center of the car. The engine was tipped toward the center of the car, and remains of shattered parts were still lodged in nooks and crannies under the hood. And the rear washer pump/tank that sat on the passenger side was missing (the car had the wiper and switches but the power wire had been cut off and the hose had been hooked to the vapor canister, eventually I got parts and made it functional again).

I knew how to work on cars so it didn't bother me that much. It never could be aligned quite right but with Michigan roads it makes little difference anyway. Turned out to be the most trouble free vehicle I ever had.

So a little later my friend had got a subscription so I ran a carfax and suprisingly it showed nothing. This was 10 years ago, maybe Carfax shows more info now?

[edub]

Used car lots (B lots) are not places one should buy a car. Their business is buying wholesale cars deemed unworthy of repair by dealerships, Jerry rigging them, and then passing them off on unwary purchasers. Other tricks include advertising the car's down payment as if it was the purchase price, high interest scams, etc.

The proper way to buy a car is from either a reputable dealer or from an individual. Do not underestimate the "smell test." If anything about the deal smells fishy, pass. Do a thorough inspection, preferably by a mechanic and question the seller as to why they are selling and if there are any major problems. If any of their responses seem deceptive or smell fishy, pass.

Also, be creative with purchase agreements. You can make the deal subject to mechanic's inspection within 24 hours if the seller will not agree to one before hand. Also, understand what "as is" means. Used cars are NOT necessarily sold as is unless you are buying a wreck, flood car, project car, etc. While the seller clearly is not providing a warranty, they must disclose, and can not conceal major problems of which they have knowledge. I always specify vehicle condition in my purchase agreements. "Seller warrants to the best of his knowledge that the vehicle is not in need of significant repair at time of purchase." There really is no need for this but I like to see how people react.

At any rate, you can only recover up to $3,000 in small claims court and you can bet used car lots have their own low rent cheese weasel lawyers that will bump any case you bring up to general civil in which case you may need to hire a lawyer which isn't cost effective.

Also, knowing about body language helps. A a good trick I use is to question the seller while watching his eyes. People's eyes will shift to their left (your right) when they lie and to the opposite side when recalling facts. Ask was it ever in an accident and their eyes should shift to your left because they are trying to remember. If they stare straight ahead or shift right they are lying. Also, if their arms or legs are folded they are feeling defensive and if they hide their palms walk away as this suggests deception. Of course in the dead of winter this might not work.

In the end, you are better off buying a car from an honest man and determining this is 90% of the battle in my experience. If the man appears honest and the car runs strong with no noises, stalls shimmies, shakes or other obvious issues, you should be good.

As far as the mechanical tests, I'm sure there are a number of good methodical procedures floating around on the internet. I would either familiarize yourself with the basics or take the car to a mechanic. I check a good many things when I look at a used car. Acceleration tells you a lot, as does drive quality, oil condition before and after test drive, tracking, tire wear, compression, paint inconsistencies, etc. Really this would require a lengthy post in itself - good luck.