Poll of the Day > Tips for buying a used car?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I know nothing about cars.

The car I'm using has some issues. Most likely the alternator from what I've heard. Buying the parts and paying to get it repaired probably won't cost too much. But it isn't my car so I don't care too much about it. It's my parents car and knowing them, they'll bitch about me using it even if I paid to repair it (which I'll likely do after buying my own car).

Anyways, what are some things to look at when buying a used car? I know absolutely nothing about cars. Until then I'm going to bike to work. Luckily its very close by. My budget for a car is between $2-3000.

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a car between 2-3 grand is gonna have a lot more problems than a bad alternator.

Wait till you can put down 3 grand and make monthly payments. Thats better than buying a 2-3 grand car every year or two.

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lease a car instead

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If you're buying from a dealer, they should provide you a Carfax report. It will tell you if the vehicle has been in any reported accidents, how many previous owners, if it's a prior lease return/fleet vehicle/rental (typically try to avoid those), if it's been totaled for some reason (flood, etc).

If buying privately, you may want to ask the seller to provide a Carfax, or get one for yourself. They're not expensive but if your budget is tight and you can convince the seller to provide it, do so. Some private sellers will have one ready for you when you come look for the car.

Don't be shy with the test drive. If you intend to drive the vehicle on the highway regularly, take it on the highway. Dealers will sometimes recommend a route for you, just politely tell them you want to get a feel for the car on the highway/on a stretch with lots of stoplights... whatever you think your daily use will be, try to get a feel for it.

Don't put down a deposit unless you want the car 100%. Some dealers will try to pressure you ("We can't promise we'll hold the car...") but there's a million cars out there for you to buy, and a deposit is a pressure tactic. Fuck that noise.

If you have a mechanic you trust, have them check out the car. Some dealers will allow you to have a mechanic look at the car, but if they hassle you about it tell them you're not interested and see if they take the bait. If you buy the car before your mechanic looks at it, make sure you have it looked at before your return/lemon law (if applicable) window is up.

Avoid frame damage or excessive rust/rot.

Ask for a maintenance history.

Those are a few tips, if I think of more I'll post them.

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hypnox posted...

a car between 2-3 grand is gonna have a lot more problems than a bad alternator.

Wait till you can put down 3 grand and make monthly payments. Thats better than buying a 2-3 grand car every year or two.

Disagree, but will say you have to do your research to ensure you're not getting a ticking time bomb, and even then there's no guarantee. My last car was $1500 and lasted me 3 years before I gave it to my brother who still has it. Only had to replace tires and a catalytic converter. Still running great.

Current car I bought for $700 and it's running fine, though it's only been a year. Still, for $700 if I only get a year out of it, I'm happy.

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Mad_Max posted...

If you're buying from a dealer, they should provide you a Carfax report. It will tell you if the vehicle has been in any reported accidents, how many previous owners, if it's a prior lease return/fleet vehicle/rental (typically try to avoid those), if it's been totaled for some reason (flood, etc).

If buying privately, you may want to ask the seller to provide a Carfax, or get one for yourself. They're not expensive but if your budget is tight and you can convince the seller to provide it, do so. Some private sellers will have one ready for you when you come look for the car.

Don't be shy with the test drive. If you intend to drive the vehicle on the highway regularly, take it on the highway. Dealers will sometimes recommend a route for you, just politely tell them you want to get a feel for the car on the highway/on a stretch with lots of stoplights... whatever you think your daily use will be, try to get a feel for it.

Don't put down a deposit unless you want the car 100%. Some dealers will try to pressure you ("We can't promise we'll hold the car...") but there's a million cars out there for you to buy, and a deposit is a pressure tactic. Fuck that noise.

If you have a mechanic you trust, have them check out the car. Some dealers will allow you to have a mechanic look at the car, but if they hassle you about it tell them you're not interested and see if they take the bait. If you buy the car before your mechanic looks at it, make sure you have it looked at before your return/lemon law (if applicable) window is up.

Avoid frame damage or excessive rust/rot.

Ask for a maintenance history.

Those are a few tips, if I think of more I'll post them.

If you do buy from a dealer and decide to make payments consider a used car thats still new enough to be under warranty. The factory warranty expires in X miles OR Y years after the time of the first owners purchase. This means that a car thats 1 or 2 years old may still be under warranty if it has a 2 year warranty and low miles, just ask the dealer to confirm when the warranty expires if it looks close based on years alone. If the car sold late in its lifetime it could still have several months left on its warranty.

If you do get a car still under warranty drive the hell out of it for a week or so to find all its problems and get them fixed ASAP before the warranty expires. Also drivetrains (basically the engine of the car) usually have a longer warranty than the rest of the car and may still be under warranty even if the basic warranty has already expired.

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Buy a Honda.

I got a 93 Accord for 3k in 2007 or so and it lasted me 10+ years

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1980 ford pinto
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DirtBasedSoap posted...

1980 ford pinto

now Im hungry

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$2000-$3000 car? Don't buy from a dealer, all you'll get is stuff they picked up on speculation for $500 at auctions. Buy from a private party. Check Craigslist.

If you don't know much about cars, take your potential buy to a mechanic and get an opinion. Cheap to spend $50 to save $3000.

Even cheaper, spend the $300 on the new alternator for the car you already have. That avoids the issue of sales tax, license, and insurance for another car, probably $350 tax and license and $100/month insurance.

BTW, Carfax or similar will tell you ownership and warranty/insurance repairs, pretty meaningless for a car with 150,000-200,000 miles. Take it to a mechanic or bring a mechanic with you.

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Go in and view a bunch of cars. Do NOT give info as to what it is you want. You want an SUV? Okay, cool. Dont let the sales man know that.

Dont trade in your old shit for any discount they offer you. Get rid of it on your own. Youll make more. Theyll make it seem like theyre doing you a favor by taking it off your hands. Theyre not.

When you find a car you like, be ready to highlight all its faults. You need to do to them what they want to do to you with your trade in. Make them feel like youre doing THEM a favor by taking it off their hands.

Dont buy it outright once youve haggled them down. They usually give you a discount if you finance. Do so BUT only if theres no prepayment penalties. So then you get it for cheaper, and before next month you can pay it off immediately.

I have more and even better tips but too damn tired as its 3am EST. Ill browse through my posts tomorrow and Ill have some more for ya.

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Metalsonic66 posted...

Buy a Honda.

I got a 93 Accord for 3k in 2007 or so and it lasted me 10+ years

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HornedLion posted...

Do NOT give info as to what it is you want. You want an SUV? Okay, cool. Dont let the sales man know that.

Why?

Metalsonic66 posted...

Buy a Honda.

I got a 93 Accord for 3k in 2007 or so and it lasted me 10+ years

Hondas are generally reliable, but Hondas have interference engines, if the timing belt breaks, it destroys the engine. Timing belts are replaced every 100,000 miles or so. If it hasn't been serviced at the right intervals, you have trouble.

Toyotas have non-interference engines, when the timing belt breaks, you just have the inconvenience of a tow to a shop to have the belt replaced.

All cars have their idiosyncrasies and weak spots. This is why you need a mechanic, particularly for older cars.

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Do you have a car to trade?

Dont listen to the other guys. A Honda for $2-3000 wont have many issues. Higher mileage, most likely, but it should still run fine. A Corvette for $2-3000 will have numerous issues, like probably a missing engine. So just buy a cheaper car. Take it to a mechanic to have a pre-purchase inspection done on it. Itll cost about $100. If you do have a car to trade, dont tell the dealership up front. Wait until youve gotten the absolute lowest price out of them, and then Oh yeah, I have a vehicle to trade as well. Dealerships make most of their money on used vehicles, and its always cheaper to buy a private sale.

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Okay, let me dive deeper.

When you show up at the dealership the dealer has home court advantage, if you will. Go in to view and maybe test drive but DO NOT go in to sign anything. Now is not the time for that.

If you REALLY need a car right now to get to work and such... well.. if so... keep that shit to yourself. When you walk in you take the persona of a guy/gal who doesnt give a fuck.

Once you find the car you like its time to go home. What!?!! Are you serious, Mr. Lion. Yes. Now you email that salesman and other dealerships and inquire about the price. This will make it so that theyre all basically competing for you.

Dont stop there. Now that you have a bunch of different bids, you can do some research and see what the car would actually cost. What its actually worth. Dont back to one of them saying, BillyBobs dealership is selling me the same car for $3,000 against your $5,000! Instead approach them all with the actual base value of the car, and see how they decide to move. Whoever gives you the cheapest possible price, thats your guy.

Sometimes a dealership will stand their ground at, lets say, $10,000. Then you tell them about the base price of $3,000 and they dont budge. But then you say that BillyBobs is selling it for $5k, and now they budge and go down to $4,000. Meanwhile BillyBobs gave you the best initial price but theyre making absolutely no movement on it so in the end they werent the cheapest.

And like I said before regarding financing. Im the type of guy that buys things outright. Interest payments to me is like burning money. But if the dealer, that you already got to drop the price substantially, is willing to give you even more of a discount for financing it then great! BUT... you MUST make sure theres no prepayment penalties. That way you can get the cheaper price and immediately pay it off at your leisure and its a win for you. Pay it off later that month and you have turned something as painful as car buying into a win for you that comes with no feelings of, Fuck! I got fucked!

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