Where/How Do You Buy A Used car?

[amateurbob]

When my friends and family need to find a car they usually turn to me for help. Given plenty of lead time, l can usually find a decent car at fair price.

I have seen some people on the forum post some insanely good car purchases.

Where do you find these cars at?
I have found craigslist and marketplace to be like mining for gold in a sewer.
Dealerships tend to be absurdly overpriced and sell a lot of junk.

It would to be best to find someone you know selling a decently maintained car but that isn't always possible.

Please share your strategies and techniques.

 

[zzyzzx]

Learn how to negotiate a used car purchase and buy it at the dealer.

Facebook Marketplace / Craigslist is mostly only good for test drives without having to show your driver's license or a credit pull.

 

[Dave Sherman]

I guess I've usually had good experiences buying used from dealerships, I can think of several cars I've bought used that were all well maintained and far from junk. The Ram I bought at 22,000 miles and the Nissan we just bought had 28,000 from the same dealership. The Honda Pilot I had was used from the Honda dealer, maybe a little overpriced but it was also in excellent condition.

 

[demarpaint]

I found over the years if you know how to check a car out you'll do better buying private, at least around here. Even buying used from a dealer you still have to know how to check out a car. Again at least around here, on Long Island.

 

[fdcg27]

Used cars are where you find them.
I've gotten good prices from dealers and private parties alike.
The ideal way in which to buy any car is to not really have any immediate need for it and to keep in mind that there are always more out there.
Also, ignore the meme that there is a car shortage going back to 2019. Judging by the number you see for sale this is not the case but is only a negotiating tool for sellers.

 

[MCompact]

Unless it's a rare/special interest car I'm unusually looking at a CPO- so I go to a dealer.

 

[ClutchDisc]

I always used to be the type that would go private party over dealer every time. Now that I moved to a more remote area I have found it easier to go dealer vs private party. There is less inventory on the private party side where I am at. I have also come to appreciate a clean and detailed vehicle vs someone else’s mess and filth. I don’t understand not at least cleaning a vehicle before listing it.

I have good success at small mom and pop dealers. Just need to feel them out. But they typically have better prices than the large dealers. Of course I am normally buying older cars with more miles than a lot of people do, so perhaps that is how that works out for me.

Oh and I also have good success talking these dealers down on price based on my inspection of the vehicle.

 

[RooflessVW]

When my friends and family need to find a car they usually turn to me for help. Given plenty of lead time, l can usually find a decent car at fair price.

I have seen some people on the forum post some insanely good car purchases.

Where do you find these cars at?
I have found craigslist and marketplace to be like mining for gold in a sewer.
Dealerships tend to be absurdly overpriced and sell a lot of junk.

It would to be best to find someone you know selling a decently maintained car but that isn't always possible.

Please share your strategies and techniques.

I am always passively searching for the next car.

When the Honda was totalled I spent probably 3+ hours a day actively searching.

The right car eventually comes along. It was almost a full month between my Honda being hit and buying the Defender.

 

[amateurbob]

I always used to be the type that would go private party over dealer every time. Now that I moved to a more remote area I have found it easier to go dealer vs private party. There is less inventory on the private party side where I am at. I have also come to appreciate a clean and detailed vehicle vs someone else’s mess and filth. I don’t understand not at least cleaning a vehicle before listing it.

I have good success at small mom and pop dealers. Just need to feel them out. But they typically have better prices than the large dealers. Of course I am normally buying older cars with more miles than a lot of people do, so perhaps that is how that works out for me.

Your Armada and Sienna were some of good purchases l was referring to.

 

[97prizm]

When my friends and family need to find a car they usually turn to me for help. Given plenty of lead time, l can usually find a decent car at fair price.

I have seen some people on the forum post some insanely good car purchases.

Where do you find these cars at?
I have found craigslist and marketplace to be like mining for gold in a sewer.
Dealerships tend to be absurdly overpriced and sell a lot of junk.

It would to be best to find someone you know selling a decently maintained car but that isn't always possible.

Please share your strategies and techniques.

Local retirement home, and no I'm not kidding. I worked for two different retirement homes and many residents give up driving or go into a Healthcare. In many cases the families don't want the burden of mom and dad's vehicle.

 

[ClutchDisc]

Your Armada and Sienna were some of good purchases l was referring to.

Thanks! I looked long and hard for both. I talked the dealer down $500 on the Sienna based on its need for new shocks / struts, and the Armada I talked them down $600 based on the tires showing some dry rot.

 

[amateurbob]

Do people notice regional price differences? It seems the Southeast of the country has lower priced cars but maybe l am seeing things.

 

[robbobster]

Typically when I buy CPO…search nationwide and shop online via AutoTrader. Negotiate the deal online, sometimes requires a phone call or two. Sign all paperwork online. Have car shipped to me.

But I haven’t bought a car since 2019 so online search tools have likely evolved a bit.

 

[k1xv]

I buy CPO cars with warranties from the dealer. They are low mileage, coming off of leases, and dealer maintained from new.

 

[amateurbob]

Local retirement home, and no I'm not kidding. I worked for two different retirement homes and many residents give up driving or go into a Healthcare. In many cases the families don't want the burden of mom and dad's vehicle.

That's a very clever strategy. Not one l would thought of.

 

[SevenBizzos]

I've bought them about every way possible. I do a lot of work on the front end figuring out if the car meets my standards. I've never had a bad purchase, thankfully.

 

[k1xv]

I knew someone who wanted to buy a repairable used motorcycle that had accident damage. He had the chutzpah to call the survivors of people killed on their motorcycles, to see if they wanted to sell the motorcycle involved in the accident.

 

[ClutchDisc]

Another thing I do is look for what I believe is the most reliable vehicle in the segment I am looking for. I research, research and more research to come to that point. A strong powertrain is important to me. This then allows me to feel comfortable buying a higher mileage vehicle. I will take higher miles over rust any day especially on a vehicle with a strong powertrain. A lot of people are scared of high mileage vehicles so they tend to sit on a lot longer. Plus the price is lower to start with. But because they sit longer, the dealer is generally eager to sell and will also negotiate down in price.

I do all my own car repair so this tactic works very well for me. It probably wouldn’t be right for everyone.

 

[supton]

Another thing I do is look for what I believe is the most reliable vehicle in the segment I am looking for. I research, research and more research to come to that point. A strong powertrain is important to me.

I do that to convince myself that whatever I'm thinking about is a bad idea--dig deep enough and you can find all sorts of problems.

 

[amateurbob]

Another thing I do is look for what I believe is the most reliable vehicle in the segment I am looking for. I research, research and more research to come to that point. A strong powertrain is important to me. This then allows me to feel comfortable buying a higher mileage vehicle. I will take higher miles over rust any day especially on a vehicle with a strong powertrain. A lot of people are scared of high mileage vehicles so they tend to sit on a lot longer. Plus the price is lower to start with. But because they sit longer, the dealer is generally eager to sell and will also negotiate down in price.

I do all my own car repair so this tactic works very well for me. It probably wouldn’t be right for everyone.

Our research strategies are almost identical. Unfortunately my talent with a wrench while improving is still limited.
I am not afraid of a higher mileage proven power train either assuming it has been moderately maintained.
I am also one those weirdos that maintains a list of those "proven" vehicles to pounce if l find a good one.