The Joy of searching for a used car

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: needsducktape
Originally Posted By: 01rangerxl
I don't understand going through the effort of selling the car privately, and neglecting to fill up the oil. Especially on something nice. This is a 2006 car, not some old farm beater.


Exactly -not only that, it was a 1 owner car so one might expect it was taken care of...
Nope, neglected.

I got lucky being he was too ignorant to bother checking the oil. -

Keep looking, I searched around for quite a while to get my Focus wagon, 5 spds are pretty rare and one actually showed up locally but it was beat on pretty good plus underhood seemed to have a couple engine seeps and maybe the PS as well... So I kept looking and found a nice loaded one one that looked good underneath and under the hood.
My time is valuable to me, but a nice private sale can save you 20+% over a dealer, so even with all my driving time to look at cars, it still works out to like $200-250/hr...

 

[Rock_Hudstone]

Originally Posted By: KrisZ
I don't understand what all the fuss is about. How is shopping for a used car today that much harder than in the past?

The recession killed new car sales for a few years and they are only beginning to recover now.
Also, people held onto their cars longer, hence the supply of used vehicles is not anywhere near what it once was.

In 2003 we bought a relatively loaded 1999 Monte Carlo for my mom with 44,000 miles in perfect condition for $8000 and the dealer had two to chose from.

Try finding a comparable low mile, 4 year old vehicle today for less than $12,000, if one can be found at all.

 

[yesthatsteve]

Originally Posted By: Rock_Hudstone
Originally Posted By: KrisZ
I don't understand what all the fuss is about. How is shopping for a used car today that much harder than in the past?

The recession killed new car sales for a few years and they are only beginning to recover now.
Also, people held onto their cars longer, hence the supply of used vehicles is not anywhere near what it once was.

In 2003 we bought a relatively loaded 1999 Monte Carlo for my mom with 44,000 miles in perfect condition for $8000 and the dealer had two to chose from.

Try finding a comparable low mile, 4 year old vehicle today for less than $12,000, if one can be found at all.


This.

In 2001, I bought a 1995 Mercury Tracer with 98k for $2800
In 2004, I bought a 1998 Lumina with 99k for $2800
In 2006, I bought a 2002 Prizm with 40k for $6500

Two years ago, I bought the xB in my sig, two years older than the Prizm was when I bought it and with 94k miles on the odometer, for $6500.

We thought about trading in the Ody during Cash for Clunkers, as it qualified, and my lovely wife was itching for a new car. It's worth now about what it was worth then, but it's nearly five years older and has at least 70k more miles on the odometer.

The supply of late-model used cars has dropped by nearly 25%, while demand hasn't dropped much, if at all. That drives prices up all along the used car spectrum, leaving precious few bargains at any price point.

Increasing new car sales the last year or two will help ease some of that pressure in the near future, if those numbers can be sustained.

 

[Artem]

I looked at a 2008 BWM M3 a few weeks ago and upon initial start of the engine, there was very loud knocking and rattling. I instantly noticed the LOW OIL warning lights on the dash, with the digital oil meter showing EMPTY!

I pointed it out to the sales guy and he said "strange, i drove it home last night and it ran fine"

He goes and gets a quart or Mobil 1 0w40. We pour it in, I start the car, still showing LOW. He went to get another quart... poured it in, still showing LOW. He told me to just go on the test drive and that their mechanic will take a look at it tomorrow.

I walked away from the car after the test drive. I couldn't even bring myself to rev it up to it's 8,400rpm rev limit while knowing that it's low on oil.

idiots!

 

[KrisZ]

Originally Posted By: yesthatsteve
Originally Posted By: Rock_Hudstone
Originally Posted By: KrisZ
I don't understand what all the fuss is about. How is shopping for a used car today that much harder than in the past?

The recession killed new car sales for a few years and they are only beginning to recover now.
Also, people held onto their cars longer, hence the supply of used vehicles is not anywhere near what it once was.

In 2003 we bought a relatively loaded 1999 Monte Carlo for my mom with 44,000 miles in perfect condition for $8000 and the dealer had two to chose from.

Try finding a comparable low mile, 4 year old vehicle today for less than $12,000, if one can be found at all.


This.

In 2001, I bought a 1995 Mercury Tracer with 98k for $2800
In 2004, I bought a 1998 Lumina with 99k for $2800
In 2006, I bought a 2002 Prizm with 40k for $6500

Two years ago, I bought the xB in my sig, two years older than the Prizm was when I bought it and with 94k miles on the odometer, for $6500.

We thought about trading in the Ody during Cash for Clunkers, as it qualified, and my lovely wife was itching for a new car. It's worth now about what it was worth then, but it's nearly five years older and has at least 70k more miles on the odometer.

The supply of late-model used cars has dropped by nearly 25%, while demand hasn't dropped much, if at all. That drives prices up all along the used car spectrum, leaving precious few bargains at any price point.

Increasing new car sales the last year or two will help ease some of that pressure in the near future, if those numbers can be sustained.


Yeah, but have you guys noticed the prices of new cars lately? Did you compare them to the prices from the pre-recession time? Most compacts can barely squeeze below $20k and some can be optioned up over $25k easily. That kind of money used to buy you a full size sedan.
So naturally the prices of used cars will creep up as well and can no longer be compared to prices from a decade ago, heck the cannot even be compared to prices from pre-recession time. I fully get what you're saying because if I was shopping for a 9 year old car 10 years ago, I probably would've paid about $2,000 for it and not $3,700 that I did for my Focus.

But that was not my point. My point is that a lot of people here give an impression that one cannot find a reasonably priced used car and instead should buy brand new. I don't believe this to be true at all. Yes the prices of used cars crept up, but also these cars can last so much longer if they were reasonably maintained. And given all the search tool available at our fingertips, searching is easier and faster than ever.

 

[needsducktape]

Originally Posted By: Artem
I looked at a 2008 BWM M3 a few weeks ago and upon initial start of the engine, there was very loud knocking and rattling. I instantly noticed the LOW OIL warning lights on the dash, with the digital oil meter showing EMPTY!

I pointed it out to the sales guy and he said "strange, i drove it home last night and it ran fine"

He goes and gets a quart or Mobil 1 0w40. We pour it in, I start the car, still showing LOW. He went to get another quart... poured it in, still showing LOW. He told me to just go on the test drive and that their mechanic will take a look at it tomorrow.

I walked away from the car after the test drive. I couldn't even bring myself to rev it up to it's 8,400rpm rev limit while knowing that it's low on oil.

idiots!


now that is tragic.
Somone drops 60K on an m3 and they cant give it an oil change once in awhile?!

 

[Spazdog]

You should try motorcycles.

I've all but given up on Craigslist. They either don't have the title ("I bought it from a friend of mine who lost the title....I can't remember his name but he's my friend...") or it sat outside in the rain, ice, sleet and snow for a year+ and now "just needs a carb adjustment".

Sure. That's all it needs.

The ones that have a title and are in somewhat acceptable condition? The owner wants full retail price on. He's gone online and saw a dealership selling the same machine for $X000.00 and he is firm on that price. He doesn't have the overhead or sales staff that the dealer has, but he wants that price. Okay, buddy....it's your machine. But it's my cash and the we shall part ways here if you are unwilling to negotiate. If you took your bike to the dealer that had that price and tried to trade it in? They would give you maybe half of what I am offering.

Some are truly ridiculous and want more than new retail price. Like breaking it in for me and having the dealer change the oil and adjust the valves and chain adds to the value of the machine. No, it's used now. It's lost value. Not gained over the price of a new machine.

 

[KitaCam]

Another thought...100k miles in THIS century is 50k of most cars made in the LAST century...(I'm not looking at luxury cars here).

8 year old cars, (e.g. family sedans, compact) cars made since 2005 with 100k miles are likely as good as 4yr old cars @50k made back in the 90s...technology, (if not owners' maintenance) has improved cars' longevity.

...so when looking for my "new" car I revised my outlook and willingness to consider a car with more miles than I had back in the last century.

 

[Silverado12]

Try www.carsforsale.com. Pretty good site.

 

[Benzadmiral]

Originally Posted By: Rock_Hudstone
. . .
In 2003 we bought a relatively loaded 1999 Monte Carlo for my mom with 44,000 miles in perfect condition for $8000 and the dealer had two to chose from.

Try finding a comparable low mile, 4 year old vehicle today for less than $12,000, if one can be found at all.


In '07 I picked up my Buick, originally a $30K car, age 4 w/ 44K miles, for about $13K. Now, anything even remotely comparable to the PA will have to be well over 5 or 6 years old to approach that price.

 

[Mykl]

This thread has kind of made me realize that I'm a serial car shopper. Even pre-internet I'd go out and buy print Autotraders just to look. Now, rarely a week goes by when I don't get on the various web sites and just look, occasionally even venturing onto car specific forums to see what vehicles are going for.

I'm not in the habit of buying and selling every six month, I've become fairly stable there, I guess I just love the search.

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

Originally Posted By: Rock_Hudstone
In 2003 we bought a relatively loaded 1999 Monte Carlo for my mom with 44,000 miles in perfect condition for $8000 and the dealer had two to chose from.

Try finding a comparable low mile, 4 year old vehicle today for less than $12,000, if one can be found at all.


Someone I know last month bought a 1 owner 09 Mercury Grand Marquis LS with 57K miles on it for 12K bucks at AutoNation in Miami..I do not think that was a bad deal..It has all service records..All work was done at the dealer every 5K miles or less..Plus it is in excellent shape.

 

[hattaresguy]

I bought my last used car when I wasted time looking for a cheap car for my sister last year.

I don't understand how or why people trash their cars so badly, when for most people its the most expensive thing they own. 95% of the cars I looked at were either smashed up and rebuilt, or just generally trashed and run into the ground. I'm talking about 2-5 year old cars here for $8k-$10k. What a nightmare. I mean I looked at a 2010 Versa with 15k miles that looked like it hadn't been washed since it left the dealer, and kids used it as a backstop for baseball. They wanted $10k for it...I'm like really it needs $3k worth of body work.

Its cheaper to just buy something new, exactly what you want and drive it into the ground. That way its not beat on.

You can do pretty well CPO with some high end cars because people generally tend to maintain a $100k car, but anything sub $30k its just not worth buying used.

Besides if you buy a $30k car and drive it for 200k or 10-12 years the life cost is pretty comparable to any decent used car.

 

[Rock_Hudstone]

Originally Posted By: CROWNVIC4LIFE
[Someone I know last month bought a 1 owner 09 Mercury Grand Marquis LS with 57K miles on it for 12K bucks at AutoNation in Miami..I do not think that was a bad deal..It has all service records..All work was done at the dealer every 5K miles or less..Plus it is in excellent shape.

Right, before the economy crashed in 08' I was casually car shopping for friend, a dealer in the area had a 2004 Grand Marquis GS with 40,000 mi in excellent condition.

As I recall asking price was around $6000. I suggested it to my friend but he passed.

 

[javacontour]

Yep,

I think prior to (and maybe including) 2007 about 16 million new vehicles were sold each year. That number went down to 10 million/year when the economy slowed down in 2008/2009.

So when ~40% of sales stop, that will put a big crimp in the used cars available in the market.

Originally Posted By: Rock_Hudstone
Originally Posted By: KrisZ
I don't understand what all the fuss is about. How is shopping for a used car today that much harder than in the past?

The recession killed new car sales for a few years and they are only beginning to recover now.
Also, people held onto their cars longer, hence the supply of used vehicles is not anywhere near what it once was.

In 2003 we bought a relatively loaded 1999 Monte Carlo for my mom with 44,000 miles in perfect condition for $8000 and the dealer had two to chose from.

Try finding a comparable low mile, 4 year old vehicle today for less than $12,000, if one can be found at all.

 

[Silverado12]

Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
I bought my last used car when I wasted time looking for a cheap car for my sister last year.

I don't understand how or why people trash their cars so badly, when for most people its the most expensive thing they own. 95% of the cars I looked at were either smashed up and rebuilt, or just generally trashed and run into the ground. I'm talking about 2-5 year old cars here for $8k-$10k. What a nightmare. I mean I looked at a 2010 Versa with 15k miles that looked like it hadn't been washed since it left the dealer, and kids used it as a backstop for baseball. They wanted $10k for it...I'm like really it needs $3k worth of body work.

Its cheaper to just buy something new, exactly what you want and drive it into the ground. That way its not beat on.

You can do pretty well CPO with some high end cars because people generally tend to maintain a $100k car, but anything sub $30k its just not worth buying used.

Besides if you buy a $30k car and drive it for 200k or 10-12 years the life cost is pretty comparable to any decent used car.



That was my experience looking for a pickup truck. Everything I looked at was beat to (you know what) and had high miles for a premium price. I just bought a new truck for a few thousand more.

 

[SteveSRT8]

I guess I'm weird as I LOVE car shopping! I have several folks who like to take me with them when they go as well.

My fav is the big Auction in Tampa, they have a ton of nice cars at reasonable pricing and are very reputable. I used to buy directly but now my friend simply charges me 100 bucks if I buy something, quite a bargain.

 

[crw]

Here is an example CL listing in my area:

http://eastidaho.craigslist.org/cto/3772402499.html

The guy goes on to say that this is the "m3" version of the Z3. Apparently someone glued an M3 badge on the trunk.

The real embellishment comes when he says that the book (who's book?) price is 14K trade-in or 16K private sale. If you go to Edmunds website right now you'll see that the private sale price should be around $7141. Sigh.

 

[dishdude]

Originally Posted By: crw

Here is an example CL listing in my area:

http://eastidaho.craigslist.org/cto/3772402499.html

The guy goes on to say that this is the "m3" version of the Z3. Apparently someone glued an M3 badge on the trunk.

The real embellishment comes when he says that the book (who's book?) price is 14K trade-in or 16K private sale. If you go to Edmunds website right now you'll see that the private sale price should be around $7141. Sigh.


HA! It's even a salvage title.

 

[needsducktape]

Originally Posted By: dishdude
Originally Posted By: crw

Here is an example CL listing in my area:

http://eastidaho.craigslist.org/cto/3772402499.html

The guy goes on to say that this is the "m3" version of the Z3. Apparently someone glued an M3 badge on the trunk.

The real embellishment comes when he says that the book (who's book?) price is 14K trade-in or 16K private sale. If you go to Edmunds website right now you'll see that the private sale price should be around $7141. Sigh.


HA! It's even a salvage title.


I can't believe some people. If he sells that thing, he doesn't have a buyer, he has a sucker