How to buy a car privately?

[VanLifer39]

I decided to create this thread as a separate from my Van Life choosing a vehicle thread. To separate the two complex topics.

I'm looking to get some insight on how to buy a used car from a private seller. There are so many variables with high mileage vehicles, such as how or has the maintenance been performed, and is the title good What are some negotiating methods.

I've dealt with bartering in Thailand and Cambodia, but under these circumstances it was for grocery shopping and getting a tuk tuk to destinations. There's also the repo crisis that is ongoing, which appears to be causing some deflation in the used auto market.

I keep coming across videos of huge lots of repo cars. It makes me wonder if I should perhaps look into auctions, but often times auctions require a dealer license and are not open to the general public. I'd have 4k in lumpsum to buy a vehicle.

I'm kinda wanting to look into a beater car to get out of Chicago ASAP, but what really defines a beater car if I'm already looking at something with 150k+miles? Is it even possible to still find something that's $500? What would be a good price point for a beater?

Lastly, what places should I look at besides FB market and Craigslist? I've found Auto Trader to be hit or miss with listing. Pennysaver was once a good place to look, but that was ages ago before the digital age.

 

[MSCH]

I went from 1995 to 2016 on cars that I purchased off the side of the road or from someone I knew who was looking to get rid of an older car .

if they are under a few thousand dollars, do a cash deal at a mutually convenient place like a state licensing agency.. if you know th person you are buying it from, its just an exchange of money and paper.

hitting up the buy here pay here lots and making a cash offer is another way.

as far as what defines a beater car... its usally a car brand with a low resale value that has already lived its useful life in someone else's hands and they are having a hard time giving it away.

 

[Tdbo]

Look at some of the Facebook groups..
For instance, I know of one group that has listings for cars in Ohio for < than 2K.
They sometimes have decent cars at that pricepoint. Recent posting for a 2011 Ford Fusion with 196K asking 1.5K.
You might look in the area you are at for some of the free supermarket tabloids that are out there. Sometimes, one can get lucky with those.
However, anything for five hundo will more than likely be a drive away from the scrap heap.

 

[joekingcorvette]

Yes $500 is kind of unrealistic for a beater. It's more like $2000 now.

 

[Dave9]

If your budget is $500, call around to some charities and explain your needs, as some have programs to give or sell at very low cost, vehicles they've even gone over to ensure a certain minimum fitness for the road.

 

[fisher83]

My daily driver was $3k on Marketplace plus about $1,500 in maintenance items over the course of the past 8 or 9 months. New tires, new radiator, wheel bearing, some fluid changes, and probably a couple of other things I'm forgetting. I checked it out thoroughly before handing over the cash so I really haven't had any surprises as these were all items I knew it needed which I used to negotiate a lower price than what was being asked initally. It's old but I'm not even sure I'd call it a beater. No visible rust, no leaks, and it runs and drives great. I was able to get a pretty substantial amount of the service records as well as the original window sticker and owner's manual also. There are still decent deals to be had if you're patient and find the right seller.

 

[cptbarkey]

this sounds more like asking for life advice then buying a used vehicle advice. Become mechanically inclined is the bottom line if your budget is less than $10k. Good luck OP.

 

[Hillbilly Deluxe]

I highly suggest you look in Florida on FB Marketplace or Autotrader; look for a 2013-2015 Toyota/Lexus, less than 100k miles, and look for one owned by an older person. Request maintenance records.

You will be dealing with a car with no rust, driven easy, well-maintained and those years of that Manufacturer are proving to be the best. At least in my driveway....


I hope your budget is a joke, you're not going to get anything that is even capable of making it to the grocery store today for less than $6,000. $500 won't even buy you a spark plug job on most transverse V6 engines today.

 

[alarmguy]

I decided to create this thread as a separate from my Van Life choosing a vehicle thread. To separate the two complex topics.

I'm looking to get some insight on how to buy a used car from a private seller. There are so many variables with high mileage vehicles, such as how or has the maintenance been performed, and is the title good What are some negotiating methods.

I've dealt with bartering in Thailand and Cambodia, but under these circumstances it was for grocery shopping and getting a tuk tuk to destinations. There's also the repo crisis that is ongoing, which appears to be causing some deflation in the used auto market.

I keep coming across videos of huge lots of repo cars. It makes me wonder if I should perhaps look into auctions, but often times auctions require a dealer license and are not open to the general public. I'd have 4k in lumpsum to buy a vehicle.

I'm kinda wanting to look into a beater car to get out of Chicago ASAP, but what really defines a beater car if I'm already looking at something with 150k+miles? Is it even possible to still find something that's $500? What would be a good price point for a beater?

Lastly, what places should I look at besides FB market and Craigslist? I've found Auto Trader to be hit or miss with listing. Pennysaver was once a good place to look, but that was ages ago before the digital age.

Auto auctions are generally open to the public, at least in the Carolinas.
You do pay your registration fee I believe but pretty much anybody can go to an auction.

 

[KrisZ]

You have to know how to work on cars to make a beater work, otherwise you will be constantly sinking money into it. On the other hand, a beater is probably one of the best ways to learn how to work on cars, but your life cannot be dependent on it.

 

[zzyzzx]

Yes $500 is kind of unrealistic for a beater. It's more like $2000 now.

I thought that it was more like $3500 for a beater now. Or was that last years price?

 

[joekingcorvette]

I thought that it was more like $3500 for a beater now. Or was that last years price?

I agree, it is probably more like $3500 for a beater. I just remember the $200 beaters from many years ago!

 

[VanLifer39]

I highly suggest you look in Florida on FB Marketplace or Autotrader; look for a 2013-2015 Toyota/Lexus, less than 100k miles, and look for one owned by an older person. Request maintenance records.

You will be dealing with a car with no rust, driven easy, well-maintained and those years of that Manufacturer are proving to be the best. At least in my driveway....


I hope your budget is a joke, you're not going to get anything that is even capable of making it to the grocery store today for less than $6,000. $500 won't even buy you a spark plug job on most transverse V6 engines today.

I'm going off of averages when looking at second Gen Sienna and third Gen Odyssey on Facebook marketplace. It seems the average going price of around 4k in the Chicago area. The only other option is going to a buy here pay here auto lot which could yield me a better vehicle but I'd have to put full coverage insurance on it whereas a cheapo used van would only be liability. Is a buy here pay here a place you'd suggest?

 

[GON]

Auto auctions are generally open to the public, at least in the Carolinas.
You do pay your registration fee I believe but pretty much anybody can go to an auction.

South Carolina auctions require a dealer license.

 

[Nick1994]

The newspaper classifieds used to be a way to find a nice old person owned car, 8 years ago I had trouble on Craigslist finding something decent and picked up a newspaper and found an old-man-owned 2000 Camry and bought it.

Nowadays Facebook Marketplace is the hot place and old folks are posting on Craigslist.

Another tip is to look for something that wasn't mainstream. An example, want a Chevy Uplander? Look for a Buick Terraza, Pontiac Montana, or a Saturn Relay. Old folks probably own or if not, they're for sale and nobody remembers these cars exist. When people want a commuter sedan, they look for a Toyota Camry. What about the Lexus ES300 or ES330? Toyota Avalon? Toyota Solara? Slow sellers.

Can probably get a Kia Sedona or Hyundai Entourage that's newer and lower miles for less than an Odyssey or Sienna. Maybe senior owned too.

 

[eljefino]

You want an "arbitrage of knowledge", to know more than the guy selling the car, and to know that this particular bad apple is actually a good one. Like knowing "all Subarus blow head gaskets" yet this particular displacement, model year, and turbo/ not turbo does NOT blow them.

 

[alarmguy]

South Carolina auctions require a dealer license.

Ill disagree. We were at this place. Granted it was ten years ago. We could show up live, pay a one time fee to bid on vehicles. Here is the website. I guess one can call but the website shows the online bidding.
Best we were told at the time we could bid on anything that was on the lot and were also given the dates and times to inspect the cars before bidding.

There is a way, I dont know if something changed in the last 10 years but dont think so. I suspect after seeing your post and looking at their website. (im not spending much time on this because we were at the location and given the times to inspect the cars) I just cant remember the procedure so I assume the fee we were going to pay was most likely someone acting as a broker for us.
Filtering through the site it says there is always a way, I suspect it's something along this line and they were on site or the company was acting as broker, cant remember the details.

https://help.iaai.com/s/broker-search?language=en_US

"Brokers: Brokers are registered buyers who purchase vehicles on behalf of other people. Brokers can be helpful to buyers who do not have the license necessary to bid in certain locations and buyers who need assistance with bidding, payment, transportation and shipping services which brokers also typically offer. Brokers charge a fee for their services and have their own terms and conditions."

But we were allowed access to the vehicles, 100's of them for inspection and given the times to inspect.

Sales list - IAA

https://help.iaai.com/s/article/How-do-I-register-to-bid?language=en_US

@zzyzzx
@VanLifer39

 

[GON]

Ill disagree. We were at this place. Granted it was ten years ago. We could show up live, pay a one time fee to bid on vehicles. Here is the website. I guess one can call but the website shows the online bidding.
Best we were told at the time we could bid on anything that was on the lot and were also given the dates and times to inspect the cars before bidding.

There is a way, I dont know if something changed in the last 10 years but dont think so. I suspect after seeing your post and looking at their website. (im not spending much time on this because we were at the location and given the times to inspect the cars) I just cant remember the procedure so I assume the fee we were going to pay was most likely someone acting as a broker for us.
Filtering through the site it says there is always a way, I suspect it's something along this line and they were on site or the company was acting as broker, cant remember the details.

https://help.iaai.com/s/broker-search?language=en_US

"Brokers: Brokers are registered buyers who purchase vehicles on behalf of other people. Brokers can be helpful to buyers who do not have the license necessary to bid in certain locations and buyers who need assistance with bidding, payment, transportation and shipping services which brokers also typically offer. Brokers charge a fee for their services and have their own terms and conditions."

But we were allowed access to the vehicles, 100's of them for inspection and given the times to inspect.

Sales list - IAA

https://help.iaai.com/s/article/How-do-I-register-to-bid?language=en_US

@zzyzzx
@VanLifer39

One can pay a broker which is essential a used car dealer to buy a car at auction for them. In many states to include South Carolina, a private party can't bid/ buy a car at auction.

 

[JTK]

It's all about timing and luck with FB marketplace or similar. My last two used vehicle purchases were found on FB marketplace. The 2015 Nissan Versa was kind of a gem. I bought it off the original owner in 2019, it was cared for and had maintenance records. My 2016 Chevy Malibu was a lot sketchier, but a decent deal for what I got. Both vehicles had clean titles and I came with cash. We used blank receipt forms printed right off the state DMV page.

 

[alarmguy]

One can pay a broker which is essential a used car dealer to buy a car at auction for them. In many states to include South Carolina, a private party can't bid/ buy a car at auction.

I think I said that after reading your reply to me. We were able to go to the auction location, inspect cars and with whatever fee we were going to pay would be able to put in bids. No need for me to comment further, we were there, on location and as I said 10 years ago, maybe it was 13.
You're implying a used car dealer, that is incorrect. The words broker are clearly used in the links provided. I can only assume if the same rules were in affect 10 to 13 years ago that there were brokers onsite.

From the link I provided
"Licensed Brokers are experienced buyers with the ability to help individuals and businesses purchase practically any vehicle from any IAA auction. They can also provide assistance with domestic transportation and often help with shipping vehicles to international destinations."