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Old 07-21-2014, 10:53 AM
 
45,317 posts, read 26,871,946 times
Reputation: 23691

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Hello - My kid is starting his third year at U of A - and is living off campus. I need a good recommendation for purchasing used cars... not Craigslist... maybe local magazine, reputable used car dealerships.

Looking to spend $4,000 - $5,000 or so.

Thanks.
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Old 07-21-2014, 11:16 AM
 
Location: Tucson, AZ
612 posts, read 1,015,526 times
Reputation: 1153
Anything you buy in that price range is going to be risky, obviously, but luckily there's some truth to the notion that "Arizona cars are better" since there's basically no such thing as rust, etc., out there.

That said, I would avoid the "sled lots," meaning those small lots devoted solely to selling off cheap used cars. Tucson has an awful lot of these since 1) cars last forever in the desert so there's a lot of older used cars in good shape on the market and 2) Tucson is a poor city with a lot of folks with bad credit and little income, so these lots fill a niche there. They typically pick their vehicles up at auction, from all over the country, and there's usually no way to know the history of the car, etc.. Most of them will offer you a vehicle history, but those depend too much on people accurately reporting mishaps.

Better, probably, to go with a reputable new car dealer and explain your price range clearly. They will have trade-ins available that they would love to get rid of since most new car lots won't put a $5K car anywhere near there normal car selection. Even better to check out the high-end new car dealers - when I worked at Beaudry Mercedes-Benz on Speedway, we'd be pretty anxious to unload those $3-6K trade-ins and just keep them out of the way of "the cool cars."

If those recommendations are not specific enough for you, well, that's for a reason. You never know which car is going to available, from which dealer, which salesperson you're going to get, which sales manager is on shift when you go in, etc.. Anybody can and will give you a good or a bad deal depending on how you handle the purchase, and really the outcome is primarily dependent on you. Do you know what you are looking for? Have you done the research to know what a particular car is worth? Can you check basic things to make sure the car is in decent shape? Are you willing to push them to let you take it to an off-lot mechanic for inspection? And most importantly are you willing to just walk away from a deal if something smells iffy, or if you just need to hit up the internet and do some more research before signing anything?

All of that said, why write Craigslist off? I would trust a private seller over a used car lot most days and Craigslist happens to be where most private sellers are now. There are scammers on Craigslist, but not as many as people pretend there are, and certainly no more than there are scammers everywhere else. You could also check eBay Motors, I suppose, but there's no reason to think that experience will be better - either way you just have to know what you are doing, be careful and do your due diligence before plunking any money down.
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Old 07-21-2014, 01:12 PM
 
45,317 posts, read 26,871,946 times
Reputation: 23691
Quote:
Originally Posted by Suckson View Post
Anything you buy in that price range is going to be risky, obviously, but luckily there's some truth to the notion that "Arizona cars are better" since there's basically no such thing as rust, etc., out there.

That said, I would avoid the "sled lots," meaning those small lots devoted solely to selling off cheap used cars. Tucson has an awful lot of these since 1) cars last forever in the desert so there's a lot of older used cars in good shape on the market and 2) Tucson is a poor city with a lot of folks with bad credit and little income, so these lots fill a niche there. They typically pick their vehicles up at auction, from all over the country, and there's usually no way to know the history of the car, etc.. Most of them will offer you a vehicle history, but those depend too much on people accurately reporting mishaps.

Better, probably, to go with a reputable new car dealer and explain your price range clearly. They will have trade-ins available that they would love to get rid of since most new car lots won't put a $5K car anywhere near there normal car selection. Even better to check out the high-end new car dealers - when I worked at Beaudry Mercedes-Benz on Speedway, we'd be pretty anxious to unload those $3-6K trade-ins and just keep them out of the way of "the cool cars."

If those recommendations are not specific enough for you, well, that's for a reason. You never know which car is going to available, from which dealer, which salesperson you're going to get, which sales manager is on shift when you go in, etc.. Anybody can and will give you a good or a bad deal depending on how you handle the purchase, and really the outcome is primarily dependent on you. Do you know what you are looking for? Have you done the research to know what a particular car is worth? Can you check basic things to make sure the car is in decent shape? Are you willing to push them to let you take it to an off-lot mechanic for inspection? And most importantly are you willing to just walk away from a deal if something smells iffy, or if you just need to hit up the internet and do some more research before signing anything?

All of that said, why write Craigslist off? I would trust a private seller over a used car lot most days and Craigslist happens to be where most private sellers are now. There are scammers on Craigslist, but not as many as people pretend there are, and certainly no more than there are scammers everywhere else. You could also check eBay Motors, I suppose, but there's no reason to think that experience will be better - either way you just have to know what you are doing, be careful and do your due diligence before plunking any money down.
Don't disagree with what you say.

Was just looking for responses where people have had good experiences with any specific certain local dealers. I am trying to avoid buying a car here and having him (or myself) drive it out there from southeast Texas.

At the end of the day - it is all somewhat of a crapshoot when buying an older car.
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Old 07-21-2014, 05:51 PM
 
125 posts, read 476,227 times
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You could always take it to another local shop and ask them to check it over for you before you buy it.
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Old 07-21-2014, 06:04 PM
 
Location: Southern Arizona
9,593 posts, read 31,581,668 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DRob4JC View Post
Don't disagree with what you say.

Was just looking for responses where people have had good experiences with any specific certain local dealers. I am trying to avoid buying a car here and having him (or myself) drive it out there from southeast Texas.

At the end of the day - it is all somewhat of a crapshoot when buying an older car.
"Crapshoot" is a great way to describe buying any used vehicle, DRob4JC . . . regardless of Private Party or Local Dealer / Used Car Lot.

A point to consider . . . in Arizona, buying a Used Vehicle from a Private Party eliminates the Sales Tax. Definitely not a huge amount but it could allow for a little more vehicle or cover repairs down the road.

You may try the Local Classifieds down in Green Valley.
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Old 07-22-2014, 08:51 AM
 
2,672 posts, read 2,708,017 times
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I dont think Tucson is that great a place to buy a used car. The cars you see on Craigslist seem to have a lot of miles on them and the owners are asking more than they are worth. I have seen a couple of good buys from service personnel at Davis-Monthan when they are getting transferred but you might spend a month looking for something from DM. My neighbor went on CL looking for a car and finally started looking in Phoenix and ended up driving the 100 miles to Phoenix to buy a car.
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Old 07-22-2014, 12:33 PM
 
Location: Arizona
3,610 posts, read 1,200,085 times
Reputation: 849
I haven't bought from them personally, but I know folks who have purchased vehicles from Clyde Wanslee Auto Sales and have been satisfied.
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Old 07-22-2014, 12:52 PM
 
Location: Tucson, AZ
612 posts, read 1,015,526 times
Reputation: 1153
Quote:
Originally Posted by borregokid View Post
I dont think Tucson is that great a place to buy a used car.
I would agree with this - Phoenix is not only a larger market, but it is a wealthier market as well. These factors typically lead to better deals on used cars in the price range you are looking.
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Old 07-22-2014, 06:07 PM
 
Location: Tucson
205 posts, read 727,950 times
Reputation: 378
I have noticed that for some unknown reason, Arizona seems to market a TON of salvage title vehicles. Seems like every other car on CL is a salvage title being sold by a curbstoner. Take look at CL in Scottsdale - wealthy area where a lot of folks are getting rid of their 3rd and 4th cars because kids have left home. You can often find a nice used Corolla, Sentra, etc., with decent miles for your price range. Don't expect any $4-5K car to be buy it and drive it. All of them in that price range are probably going to need some service - fluids, timing belt on many cars, cooling system flush and fill, tires, etc. I usually plan on another $1000 after purchase to get a used vehicle into my definition of "needs nothing" and is totally safe and reliable to drive.
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Old 07-24-2014, 08:37 AM
 
45,317 posts, read 26,871,946 times
Reputation: 23691
Quote:
Originally Posted by borregokid View Post
I dont think Tucson is that great a place to buy a used car. The cars you see on Craigslist seem to have a lot of miles on them and the owners are asking more than they are worth. I have seen a couple of good buys from service personnel at Davis-Monthan when they are getting transferred but you might spend a month looking for something from DM. My neighbor went on CL looking for a car and finally started looking in Phoenix and ended up driving the 100 miles to Phoenix to buy a car.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Suckson View Post
I would agree with this - Phoenix is not only a larger market, but it is a wealthier market as well. These factors typically lead to better deals on used cars in the price range you are looking.
Good suggestion. Thanks.


Quote:
Originally Posted by tumamoc View Post
I haven't bought from them personally, but I know folks who have purchased vehicles from Clyde Wanslee Auto Sales and have been satisfied.
Thanks - I will keep that in mind.
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