Looking to buy used vehicle '00+ - what not to get

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: simple_gifts
A jetta from that era will guarantee you that 75% of the car has already been replaced.

That or an older Saturn SL2.

 

[simple_gifts]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: simple_gifts
A jetta from that era will guarantee you that 75% of the car has already been replaced.

It wasn't the case with our '01 Jetta at all. One failed window regulator and one MAF was all that needed replacing during 9 years of ownership.


Not disputing some might have had good experiences, however 3 coworkers appear to be "1 time" VW owners. One even traded in a TDI in shear frustration.

 

[ahoier]

Originally Posted By: kkreit01
Check a CR book, and look for the black dots. Stay away from these. According to them, this often includes most used Chryslers and GMs. That wouldn't really scare me off though, as I've never had a "bad" vehicle.
What's a CR book? Not too familiar.

As far as budget, well, I got about 3k in hand - but would be willing the finance.

And yea, I'd never buy "new" - but used, or certified pre-owned - my past 2 cars were anyways and they worked well (08 Kia Optima and 07 Kia Rio) until they got totaled...

Which has me thinking, I'm tempted to go back with a Kia, since by now the dealership knows me lol. And I'm sure they could put me in a car that same day no matter the fianancing.

I went looking around today at some closed lots, some nice used cars, but have the feeling; and have heard locals talk about how some of these buy-here-pay-here lots buy up the cars cheap at auction, slap a new paint job on them, give a little tune-up under the hood if theirs any strange noises under the hood, and then off they go to the lot.


One thought I've had, the past 2 new "used" cars I got, after the 2k down payment per vehicle, and 150-200$ monthly payments, may be better off buying a used car outright and foot the bill for any repairs that may turn up.

 

[Scienceman]

I THINK

CR means "consumer reports"

 

[JayhawkRoy]

Consumer Reports Apr 10 issue. Should have an article outlining the worst and best used cars, reliability-wise, from their data collection.

 

[sciphi]

An older Buick with the 3800 V6. Typically low miles, and sometimes very well maintained. Great on gas for highway trips, cheap to insure and repair, and something that won't attract attention to you. If you're a twentysomething male, that last quality is pure gold.

 

[JustinH]

Originally Posted By: sciphi
An older Buick with the 3800 V6. Typically low miles, and sometimes very well maintained. Great on gas for highway trips, cheap to insure and repair, and something that won't attract attention to you. If you're a twentysomething male, that last quality is pure gold.


Those buicks are nicely made, but don't forget the other old person car.

The Crown Victoria or Marquis.

 

[sciphi]

^ True. I forgot about those.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: DieselTech
+ 3 too many NEW deals to be had right now


Agreed. Even up here, used car and truck prices have just skyrocketed. It's insane.

 

[ThirdeYe]

Watch out for the GM vehicles that had intake manifold gasket issues unless you know the problem was fixed. Also, there were certain Honda/Acura V6's that had transmission issues that I wouldn't recommend. Ford had issues with their transmissions on their Escapes with the automatic. Watch out for pre-2003 Chrysler/Dodge vehicles with the 2.7 that are prone to sludging. Those are the main ones I can think of at the moment, but I'm sure there are more.

 

[eljefino]

For a car in your price range (friends, family have me shop, I'm like an east coast Critic) I like doing a mega inventory search on autotrader.com. There are plenty of "dirt lot" dealers that aren't even the loud-ad-on-tv buy-here-pay-here types. They don't mind you plunking down a wad of cash. Look for

1) location. Expensive real estate= expensive cars. You can cruise up and down an "auto-mile" of dealers all competing with each other, yet bizzarely $1000s more expensive than elsewhere. Dumpy lots in out-of-the way places have some good deals.

2) Price. It really is that easy. The expensive dealers do the same half-fast reconditioning as the cheap ones. You get a pig in a poke.

3) the title! 2 out of 3 of my $3000 car purchases were repos, and before this current economic mess. Around here the dealer sends the title in for you, in state, but I've bought in new hampshire and seen/held the title and "affadavit of reposession".

They were still good cars, though the oil was black. But hey if a dealer was too cheap to change the oil they probably didn't cover any other issues either.

For my do not buy list: Dodge Nitro, Jeep Compass, PT cruiser. All waste gas with no benefit. The popular Japanese brands: honda, toyota, will be overpriced used for what you get.

In closing when I was shopping for my sister's hyundai accent the hyundai dealer was the WORST place to go. (same with my saturn s-series). Entry level cars get traded on NICER cars, not another entry level. Usually. And the dealer doesn't want to "confuse" you with a cheap used car. (an expensive one, however...) Your kia rio that you're looking for is nice enough mechanically and should depreciate quickly enough so that you can get an 06-07 for your target price.

Oh and if you want a loan get prequalified at a bank you've already done business with. You sound like a young dude so if the dealer asks if you're financing just say confidently you've already secured it. That will make their heads spin if they think you look like an easy "mark".