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I need a new used car and will pay cash. I drive 4,000 miles a year and want something small, preferably a standard transmission but automatic is fine. I'm flexible on mileage because of the small amount I drive.
I don't care about features or flash, but dependable and affordable turns me on.
I've always had my mechanic (very trustworthy guy) give me a yay or nay.
I have found good cars, good on paper anyway, at a dealer but he is small time and low overhead. There is more effort to deal with his small lot than a "real" dealer but the cars seem like a much better value. I read the carfax and all that and the brands are good reputation wise but I don't know how necessary it is for a mechanic blessing. I can save a few thousand by being dealing with some risk and hassles.
PS: I don't know anything about cars. Also my budget is pretty small ($10k) so I'm working within that.
For the savvy among us, what say you?
ok, I know I will get slammed and the car has lousy reliability but you can get a 2014 or 2015 Fiat 500L with very low miles for less than 10k easily and its under warranty. 4yr 50k....
but if you are looking at the 2014. insist on a manual transmission
I have NEVER had a mechanic look at any car I have bought....
If you understand what to look and have experience on purchasing old cars for that's fine. I check them out thoroughly before purchase.things like leaks or misaligned body panels, overspray, etc. just crawling under a car looking at the suspension or cv axles and fluid leaks or looking at bolts that have obvious removal marks tells its own story. If I feel there is something wonky going on I want it on a lift to check it. I usually ask if I can have it looked at by a (previously researched ) local shop or dealer. If the person refuses I'm assuming they're hiding something. There are very few cars that are so in demand people buy them without questioning much at all. That and gullible uninformed buyers. Unfortunately most people get caught in the purchase price and ignore all other signs. To me a car purchase is a financial transaction so I treat it as such. What or how others do when buying a car isn't my problem. My biggest walk away factors. Not having the correct required registration paperwork, salvaged vehicles, stating what's been done to the car but not having proof, or a car with problems.
My very deaf neighbor just bought a 12 or 13 year old Silverado. He wondered if it had an aftermarket exhaust system. It sounded pretty loud to me, so I looked underneath. The muffler and everything behind it was totally missing. He should have had it inspected!
Nice to see I'm not the only one. I've never had a car inspected. But every single forum will tell you "Make sure you have it inspected.." Yea, because that's just so convenient.
You're a dream buyer. Hell you are everyone's dream buyer. Don't you think there might be a reason why the advice is always to go have it inspected? Hey feel free to plunk down x amount of your money jump in and buy it sight unseen just on someone's word that "she's a runner 'ats for sure mister"
What exactly is inconvenient about telling the seller I want the car checked out. Can you drive to xyz shop and I will follow you there. When I get the report I'll make my offer. When you buy a house you gave it inspected right? What's the difference? It's still a big purchase. Last I looked 10k is still a chunk of money.
I'll be inconvenienced for a few hours or wait a day or so to hand over my money. Most people think they know more than the guy who does it for a living. They don't. They just think they do. Forums are full of
"I bought a car and it's a pos"
"Did you have it checked out? "
"No I thought I looked it over well"
"Ok cool. You should of had it checked out before you bought it"
"But the seller said it ran perfect"
"I bet it did"
You're a dream buyer. Hell you are everyone's dream buyer. Don't you think there might be a reason why the advice is always to go have it inspected? Hey feel free to plunk down x amount of your money jump in and buy it sight unseen just on someone's word that "she's a runner 'ats for sure mister"
What exactly is inconvenient about telling the seller I want the car checked out.
I have never had any of my purchased used cars checked out by any mechanic. And I have purchased many used cars over the decades.
BUT
I highly recommend that all who don't know anything about cars to absolutely get the potential purchase of a used car to get it checked out by a mechanic/shop. Absolutely.
There are way too many young people and people of any age that know NOTHING about cars. And any slick salesman/woman/private seller can con the unknowledgeable.
There is the dealerships "mothers" car. The "demo". The "grandmothers" car who only went to church and back. And on and on. Hogwash.
Besides having a mechanic look at car. Get and pay for a Carfax.
There are certain cars I avoid.
Multiple owner cars - avoid.
Rental cars - avoid.
Former lease cars - avoid.
Cars that have been in any accident - avoid.
I am not any mechanic. Just learned the hard way. An impulse purchase with not enough examination.
I can tell if any vehicle has been in an accident and has been in any accident just by looking at vehicle. No automotive body shop is perfect. Find the paint overspray or poor taping by the body shop. If so, you have an accident car.
So get the car inspected by a mechanic/shop and do a Carfax if you are not a "car" person.
M'eh, I am a mechanic (motorcycles) and I've bought exactly 4 cars in the past 30 years. All used, all out of state ~ or the opposite ends of big states ~ and every last one of them I had the seller drop off at a mechanic.
It's a litmus test. Seller not even Willing to drop it off, I'm not interested as they're trying to hide something. Has nothing to do with the actual condition of the car as I ask what's wrong with it up front. Tell me the truth, it's probably not going to bother me (though it might require a price adjustment).
In 3 of the 4 cases, the cost of the PPI was less than the "discount" I requested from their asking price after finding XYZ wrong. The 4th case, vehicle was perfectly represented and needed nothing ~ the $120 spent was worth the piece of mind. The most recent purchase had a bad ABS unit that wasn't disclosed, it's a ~$4000 replacement through OEM channels, I got $2k off the price (thanks to the $150 PPI), then proceeded to fix it myself for $20 (new brushes) and a few hours of my time.
Even as a mechanic, I still have others PPI for me when I can't get there. Heck, I might do it anyway if I can find someone who specializes in the vehicle I'm looking to buy as there my be known issues that I fail to find when searching online. Always best to have someone intimately familiar with a model take a look, they're going to know exactly what to look for.
And ultimately, we're talking about less than $200. Maybe it's a non-issue for cars under $5k where you just want a running beater and Expect a ton of junk to not work/be failing or falling apart. It's simply insurance.
I do PPIs infrequently on motorcycles (not asked much), but I do a TON of work on "just purchased" bikes that have deferred maintenance and suddenly don't run so well.
I have never had any of my purchased used cars checked out by any mechanic. And I have purchased many used cars over the decades.
BUT
I highly recommend that all who don't know anything about cars to absolutely get the potential purchase of a used car to get it checked out by a mechanic/shop. Absolutely.
There are way too many young people and people of any age that know NOTHING about cars. And any slick salesman/woman/private seller can con the unknowledgeable.
There is the dealerships "mothers" car. The "demo". The "grandmothers" car who only went to church and back. And on and on. Hogwash.
Besides having a mechanic look at car. Get and pay for a Carfax.
There are certain cars I avoid.
Multiple owner cars - avoid.
Rental cars - avoid.
Former lease cars - avoid.
Cars that have been in any accident - avoid.
I am not any mechanic. Just learned the hard way. An impulse purchase with not enough examination.
I can tell if any vehicle has been in an accident and has been in any accident just by looking at vehicle. No automotive body shop is perfect. Find the paint overspray or poor taping by the body shop. If so, you have an accident car.
So get the car inspected by a mechanic/shop and do a Carfax if you are not a "car" person.
Yeah this doesn't apply to car guys. This is advice for people who don't know about cars.
If you all would like an update - I purchased a used Honda last night.
My mechanic said the car was a good choice. He listed things that needed repair sooner rather than later, their shop price $500. The dealer's shop said since it passed inspection they were done; the salesman dropped the price $500. Not cost effective for them but it was fine for me overall although first choice I would have had them do it just so I didn't have to deal with it. It was $87 for my mechanic's look over.
They tried to sell a $1800 extended warranty. It seemed liked it only covered BIG huge problems, not everyday repairs. I got thrown when later I was reading online how they are actually service contracts and cover repairs, suggested "all" repairs, so, yes, for 5 years $1800 seems cheap. Mostly I was off guard, I had cash for the car, not for $1800 on top and I won't finance it. Anyway, I hadn't thought that through, especially because the finance guy said they are required "by law" to explain the warranty and offer it. (?)
Cheaper used cars have been good to me over the years, I hope I made another good choice. 20 years ago a $6000 used car lasted me a full 10 years; the last one, the family car, 16 years for $4000.
You all with good car skills, kudos. I am not that person but grateful I found a good shop with honest guys.
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