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Location: Butler County Ohio and Winters in Florida
929 posts, read 2,723,802 times
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Your Mechanic
Quote:
Originally Posted by 00molavi
I have bought a lot of used cars over years. Was never able to find a good deal in carmax. Their cars were overpriced, found quite a few with accidents (that did not show on carfax), poorly maintained and in need of repairs. They don't haggle, even if the car needs stuff. If I am buying 2-4 years old car, I prefer to get a certified pre-owned from the dealer (same make dealer). If I am buying an older car, I try to buy it from the owner and make sure they are not a curbside dealer. It takes me 10 minutes to know the owner, then I decide if the car is worth looking at.
Also, with any used car purchase, if you are not mechanically inclined, it is safer to pay YOUR mechanic to look it over, usually costs $100, money well spent.
I only know of the super rich who have their "own mechanic" , I see Jay Leno has a few. A joke
The Certified Pre Own cars have better warranties than new in some brands.
Yes, having a 2nd person inspect the car is always a good idea.
I have bought 2 cars from them, both Toyota Camry's. While you might not always get the lowest price from them due to their no haggle policy, you might save yourself some time and grief buying from them since they don't play the typical butt butt games you usually experience at dealerships.
Cheapest way is through a private seller but that would entail a lot of time and effort.
Traditional dealership, well, we all have our car dealership stories so I won't even go into that.
it is possible that I can talk my husband into buying a smaller car vs mid size type SUV since we will be driving our own SUV at times and with an older/relatively smaller garage interior it would be easier to park a smaller car...
We both just prefer the better visibility from a taller car...
good comments--about what I expected except for the reference to AAA's selling cars...
am AAA member here in TX but not really aware of the used car aspect...
it is possible that I can talk my husband into buying a smaller car vs mid size type SUV since we will be driving our own SUV at times and with an older/relatively smaller garage interior it would be easier to park a smaller car...
We both just prefer the better visibility from a taller car...
Sure, it is possible. I am going to guess that if you have to ask on the internet, it is not easy;
Kidding aside, you have to sit and talk and decide what the needs are (vs the want). A good compromise between sitting height and gas mileage/size/price is the smaller crossovers. Honda CRV/Toyota RAV4, Kia & Hyundai, Ford Escape; the list goes on. The Ford Escapes up to 2011 have a boxy design that appeals to folks who like SUV's, so take a look. The Mazda offerings handle well and are usually more fun to drive. The discontinued Mazda CX-7 has an option for turbo engine that might thrill your husband.
I generally like Carmax but one of my friends hit a deer one night with his VW Tourag (sic - their SUV). Did $13,000 worth of damage and they wouldn't total it because it was only six months old and was well over $30K new. He had it fixed, drove it to Carmax the next day and they gave him an excellent price for it. The accident hadn't hit Carfax yet. It since made me very suspect of their supposed 100 point inspection as I'm assuming a good technician could spot $13,000 in body work. Of course, maybe they did after the fact and went and wholesaled it out after realizing it but I don't know.
I do know that you will save $2500-$3000 on a private sale for the same car but of course you don't get the warranty provided by Carmax and it involves the hassle of dealing with individuals and looking at multiple cars that you may not have time for.
They may have given a decent trade on it because lets face it, the car still has value, but........did it ever end up on THEIR lot?
We traded in my wife's '07 Eclipse there. That car had been in 2 accidents (and hit a 3rd time with cosmetic damage) and they immediately could see frame repair on the car (her latest accident hadnt hit carfax yet). They gave her a decent trade in on it because there was nothing wrong with the car. However......because the frame HAD been repaired that car never showed up on their lot.
My family and extended family has bought 6 cars from Carmax and has had excellent luck every time. Ironically the FIRST time I went to another dealer, I bought a car with an issue I cant get fixed. I WILL be going back to Carmax for my next car.
Gotta say, I loved Carmax. Lots to pick from, no high pressure sales, one price, call it good. Lease would be foolish, just buy it, keep it til it is done.
I have bought a lot of used cars over years. Was never able to find a good deal in carmax. Their cars were overpriced, found quite a few with accidents (that did not show on carfax), poorly maintained and in need of repairs. They don't haggle, even if the car needs stuff. If I am buying 2-4 years old car, I prefer to get a certified pre-owned from the dealer (same make dealer). If I am buying an older car, I try to buy it from the owner and make sure they are not a curbside dealer. It takes me 10 minutes to know the owner, then I decide if the car is worth looking at.
Also, with any used car purchase, if you are not mechanically inclined, it is safer to pay YOUR mechanic to look it over, usually costs $100, money well spent.
I would agree with you on Carmax being overpriced. I generally start my car search at Carmax to see what they are asking for a particular model. I have always been able to buy a similar car at a local dealership for $2-3k less. Sure, it takes a little more effort and an hour or two of work. However, in order to earn $3,000 to pay the extra for the used car, I have to earn $4,500 or so pretax. My time isn't THAT valuable.
I have the vehicles at Carmax to be detailed as well if not better than MOST dealerships. They are generally in very good shape as they wholesale out the ones that are not. As for CARFAX, I have seen CLEAN reports on Lexus vehicles with $15-20k in repairs. It happens more often than the Carfax people admit.
All vehicles I buy go to my personal mechanic who I have used for my company fleet. Period - NON-NEGOTIABLE. If a dealer hesitates or tells me about the ten other buyers who are interested, I walk. The mechanics that I use love to find problems and tend to catch everything that I miss.
I have had pretty decent luck buying used rental cars. My issue with the rental car companies is their asking price. On compacts (which is what I drive), it seems to be more economical to buy new than to pay what they want for a 2 year old vehicle with 40k miles.
We recently were able to pay cash (so to speak) for a car and went on a whim to the CarMax here in Charlotte, NC. We had done research on used cars, 2012's, no more than 14k mileage, and we had a max price in mind.
We walked in, the guy talked to us in his office about our options, what they had on the lot, and what was within their 250 mile range that they could move a car in from another location for us. We were going to have one moved in from a store across town, and as we were leaving a car caught our attention in the showroom.
It was a 2012 Ford Focus. This one had like 40k on it, WAY too much for us, but they had another 2012 on the lot that had less than 14k on it, and was way below our max price limit.
We drove it, loved the car, it was the right size as we already had an SUV at home. We decided to buy it and were in, and out, driving our new car off the lot, within 2 hours and...to top it off, had the new license plate and title in our hands as we left! I never expected that. Figured we'd have to apply for the tag, plate, and title...but no, we left with all of it!
It was an absolute pleasure! Best car buying experience I've ever had! Granted, it was the only time we've ever been able to purchase a car outright without financing, but still...it was incredible!
I highly recommend them!! At least our experience was A+! It could honestly not have been any better! I've head good things about others' experiences with them as well.
Doesn't hurt to go look, talk to a salesman there, see what they have on the lot. If you're not happy there, maybe you have more than one location where you live, and can try the other lot out.
I know that I would go back for certain the next time we need to buy a car...whether we finance or pay cash (highly unlikely again, but who knows). I say go for it!
We love, note, LOVE our car and we can bring it there for the maintenance and if there are any problems, it's under warranty for a good long time yet, and if we take it there we get a discount on any work that needs to be done that's not on the warranty, etc.
ps...to address those that say they were overpriced, we checked online while we were waiting on the car to be brought out to test drive, and after we drove it and it was cheaper than any other "on the lot" price of local dealers, including Ford dealers. We got a good deal, with absolutely no bullsh#t at all....like I said, best experience ever...and a great price that we're more than happy with.
ps...to address those that say they were overpriced, we checked online while we were waiting on the car to be brought out to test drive, and after we drove it and it was cheaper than any other "on the lot" price of local dealers, including Ford dealers. We got a good deal, with absolutely no bullsh#t at all....like I said, best experience ever...and a great price that we're more than happy with.
You are comparing the out-the-door price (Carmax) with the dealer's dream price (on-the lot) price. No dealer really EXPECTS to get the price that is on the window but is happier than heck to get it from you.
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Your Mechanic
