Tips for Buying Used

Dear I have my own bike yet and have no experiences with cars. Hoping some replies from our friends who have sufficient experiences in this field. Best of luck.

 

I went ot a dealership to decide what kind of car I liked, and then started looking in the paper for people selling their own cars. You probably don't want something from a wreck place. Maybe someone you know is looking to get a new car?

 

I was in the car business for 10 years so I will share a few tips with you. First off in todays market dont expect alot for $5000. If I was to buy a car in this price range I would go to a reputable used car dealer. I would look at 6 -7 thousand dollar cars and try to negotiate down from there. Be persistent and patient, they will work with you. I would insist on having the car inspected by an auto repair shop before I buy it. The salesman may balk at this request and tell you their mechanics already did an inspection. Do not accept that! Simply tell them there is no way you are buying the car without first doing this. Good luck and I will be happy to help more in any way I can.

 

And get a car fax. If you can. Ask around too. Sometimes people try to put the word out through friends that they are selling their car. Friend of mine got a great deal on a car just by having his ear to the ground. Look in the classifieds and on craigslist, but with those it really is buyer beware. Like Shane said - be persistent and don't jump at the first thing you see. Something else is always right around the corner.

 

Make sure you look at the dealerships because some of them will offer a warranty for the vehicle you are buying. Not only that the dealerships are usually more willing to work with you on the price of the vehicle.

 

Hi Steph. I was making car payments on my PT Cruiser for several years. A couple of years after the warranty ran out, I started experiencing problems with the front passenger wheel bearing. I had it replaced for just under $300.

After I got it fixed, I noticed that there was still noise coming from that area. I had a second mechanic look at it, and he did not notice a problem.

One week later I was in Miami, (I live in Key West), and there was a thumping noise that I had never heard before coming from the same wheel as I was driving on an off-ramp. I pulled over, and there I was on the side of an extremely busy road in a big crime-filled city with my head under the front of my car, looking at that wheel and not being able to see anything wrong.

That is when I made a big decision. I decided that even though I only had six months to pay on my Tee Pee Cruiser, I would probably have had this and other nightmares escalate from this car. So I immediately went to shop for a car. I ended up trading in the 2004 Tee Pee for a 2010 Kia Soul.

Now this car was clearly over my price range. However, the payments are only $100 more per month than I was paying on the PT Cruiser.

The Kia is a much better vehicle. My insurance did not rise because it has better safety features than the PT. And the best part of all is a 10 year 100,000 mile bumper to bumper warranty that even covers flat tires.

Now I know that you cannot go out and buy a $15,000 vehicle. That is way out of your price range. However, you may want to consider raising your price range and financing a used car and a decent warranty.

Since then, I have spoken to people who know about PT Cruisers, and they all told me that I did the right thing, and that it was at an age (seven years old) that it was probably going to fall apart soon. I always tell everyone that unless you are a mechanic or you know someone who is a mechanic, you really should not own a car that is more than five or six years old unless it is still under warranty.

I hope this helps you even more when you make your decision.

 

When buying a used car my suggestion would be to ensure that you take a mechanic with you to look over the car. Also you should get some sort of warranty from the dealer and that it says that any problems found will be fixed by the dealer. Also never buy on your first visit. You should also write down the kind of vehicle you would like in terms of how it would fit into your life and what it will be used for.

 

$5000 will get you a lot farther if you go to private sellers rather than dealerships. And if you're limited to $5000 then you're going to be looking at a lot of cars with high mileage, which means I'd be looking into something that runs forever like a Jeep Cherokee, Honda Accord, or a Toyota Camry/Corolla.

 

It would help if you have a friend or some one you can trust that knows cars to go with you when you look at the car. Get a mechanic to check the car but make sure the mechanic has a good reputation also, you do not want to trade one bad situation for another. Mechanics can also put you in a bad place by saying the car is good knowing it will need repairs hoping you will come to them for help with the repairs. Good luck.

 

I would definitely agree with this. Take a mechanic and try make sure he or she is not one of your friends. A lot of friends find it hard to be brutally honest with you and may succumb to your choice and taste and will not tell you that though the car looks good and would suit you, it is an absolute mess. I would hire a mechanic for their honest opinion. Let them test drive it and critically analyze the car and give me valuable feedback before making the decision to finally buy the car.