used car buying

[SatCam]

ok first time buyer here needs a little ( a lot ) of help :surrender:

how should I go about purchasing a used car? dealer? private? my budget is around $4k and Ill pay a little more to know im not getting fucked over (ie the car wont take a shit after a year). what are things I should look out for? in my price range what kind of miles should I expect?


advice & car buying stories welcome

thanks in advance

[JPMNICK]

what kind of car are you looking for? SUV, compact, sedan? and how many miles are you trying to keep it under?

for 4k, i would be looking for an older Honda accord or civic. and I would try to buy from a private seller.

[SatCam]

what kind of car are you looking for? SUV, compact, sedan? and how many miles are you trying to keep it under?

for 4k, i would be looking for an older Honda accord or civic. and I would try to buy from a private seller.

sedan, and yea, honda accord or civic are at the top of my list, but as far as private sellers go...... how risky is that?

[AJDELAWARE]

If you buy from a private seller, or a used car dealer it doesn't matter, take the car to a shop you trust and let them give it the once over - if they seller doesn't agree to that - then you probably don't want to buy from them anyway.

[mendyweiss]

Send a pm to Jughead. He knows all about cars and tomatoes

[MadMatt]

If you buy from a private seller, or a used car dealer it doesn't matter, take the car to a shop you trust and let them give it the once over - if they seller doesn't agree to that - then you probably don't want to buy from them anyway.

this is a HUGE point - get it checked out before you buy. If you don't have a mechanic you trust, poll your friends and family until you find one.

For $4k you will probably be dealing with a higher millage car, but as others have said, Honda cars stand up pretty darn well over time.

[SatCam]

ok so that narrows down certain aspects for me.. thanks guys :drunk:

now whats the best way to find a good private seller? All the routes (pun not intended)? online sites (which ones), classifieds, etc? personal experience helps

[JPMNICK]

check autotrader.com, it is a pretty good website.

also nj.com if you are in the NJ area, and local papers are always a good way to go.

also check out your local craigslist

[Freitag]

For four grand, you're not going to get much on the "big boy" lots, i.e. the Auto Malls with a new car dealership.

I bought a '98 Neon with about 35000 miles on it for Liz at a smaller, independent car lot for about 4000.

Not much mechanical damage happened to the car outside of two major events - the AC died - estimated $750 to repair... we decided against it since the car wasn't worth that much and then the engine seal gave, which caused an oil leak that was about $750 dollars to repair. That pretty much ended our relationship with the Neon, after about 28 months and 50,000 additional miles on it.

Here's some threads for some info:

My thread about Neon repairs. (http://www.ronfez.net/forums/showthread.php?t=55044)

I just bought a new car (http://www.ronfez.net/forums/showthread.php?t=55385)

Extended Warranty for a car (http://www.ronfez.net/forums/showthread.php?t=55102)


I would really recommend looking into Warranty Direct to get an extended warranty for the car. It's one of the few things I regret about the whole used car experience I had with Liz.

Carfax is a good way to get an overview on the car, but it's not 100% accurate. I ran a Carfax on an old car of mine and it didn't list an accident I was in, but that may have been before Carfax's grasp - the accident was in 1996.

[Fat_Sunny]

I would really recommend looking into Warranty Direct to get an extended warranty for the car. It's one of the few things I regret about the whole used car experience I had with Liz.

That 2nd Sentence Is Very Confusing. Do You Regret Not Getting The Extended Warranty On The Car, Or On Liz?

[Freitag]

That 2nd Sentence Is Very Confusing. Do You Regret Not Getting The Extended Warranty On The Car, Or On Liz?

I regret not getting the extended warranty for Liz's car and not investigating my options concerning protecting the investment. Considering that the AC repair was 750 and the engine repair was 750, what I would have paid for the warranty beforehand would have saved me from virtually junking the car when the seal went.