I work from home and have milked for as long as I can being a one-vehicle family. With more family activities/commitments and Rockets season coming up, this isn't going to work any longer. I haven't bought a car in 8 years, and that was a new vehicle. I haven't bought a used car in over 10 years. I'm ridiculously out of practice. I'd probably be looking to spend around $15K for the right vehicle... less may be better. It won't be used all that often, but at the same time I'd like to have something nice. I assume I'm probably looking at the Civic-Corolla-Altima or the Accord-Camry-Maxima. So as far as purchasing in the Houston area, I'd love to hear your thoughts on two things: -- Where have you had good experiences buying used cars? Dealership, private seller, CarMax, Craigslist, EBay, etc.? -- Any car recommendations in that price range? Thanks.
Last vehicle I bought for myself was used from a private seller on http://autos.yahoo.com/ Transaction was great and I felt I got better terms than buying at a place where I would have been paying additional commissions/profits. No idea on what 15k would buy you but I'd imagine you could find something with about 30k miles that would be nice.
Two that I recommend: Toyota Avalon if looking for a sedan Pontiac Vibe / Toyota Matrix (same vehicle - Vibes are generally cheaper than their Toyota counterpart) if looking for SUV capability while retaining reliability and fuel efficiency
I am looking for something a bit less expensive for a first car for my daughter. Emphasis on dependability/reliability and cost of ownership. So far trying to stick with dealers, and seems that carmax charges more for the same car (I reckon "ease of doing business" carries a premium with them). We looked at a few reasonably new Corolla's for $14k (out the door). I'd actually prefer the comparable Mazda 3 but they are much harder to find in the same mileage/price.
No recommendations on your vehicle per se, but I recently read a book called Influence by Robert Cialdini, which helped a lot with my recent car purchase. It's a great book about negotiation, how the brain works, and some of the tricks that you can anticipate going into a car buying experience. Highly recommended. Good luck!
Never shop on the lot. Internet pricing is always lower, and you can still barter on the price. A good way to figure out a fair price on the car is find the N.A.D.A Clean trade value. When you low ball them throw out that number. They wont match it but they will give you a fair price if you're patient. http://www.nadaguides.com/?gclid=COfE54OmnLICFUuQ7QodxxwAkg You can browse the dealerships selection I work for http://baywaylincolnhouston.com/Houston/For-Sale/Used/ If you see anything you like, deal with me not the internet guy .
I bought a used 2009 Focus SES about a year ago. 30,000 miles and I got it for about $12K. It was in fantastic condition and has been good for me ever since. If I could have spent a few thousand more, I would have gotten a Mazda 3. Those are a step above the Focus. As for advice, I'll just say that I bought mine from a dealership for the peace of mind. I don't know enough about cars to look under the hood and tell you if it looks OK or not, so I was unsure of buying it privately. A year later, and I haven't really taken advantage of the warranty or anything else that buying from a dealer might provide (plus, it's a pain to work with the dealership, since they sell Hyundais and their service workers don't do Fords. So they have to send me somewhere else if I need anything). So while buying from a dealership might make you feel better, it hasn't really done anything for me (yet). Spoiler At the time, I was without a car and needed to get one ASAP. If I had more time to look into it all, I probably would have gone with a private seller, taken the car to get evaluated by a mechanic, and ended up getting a better deal. That is likely what I will do in the future.
Not to vibe on the stupid commercial, but always have the seller provide a CarFax report, or pay for it yourself for peace of mind. It's a must to see service records, accident reports, etc.
I actually had a very positive Ebay experience, but it's because I was able to arrange a meet with the seller and test drive before buying (lost on a last second bid, but loved the car and the seller was very courteous). Cars.com / Autotrader are both good places for private selling. My current car (03 Hyundai Tiburon GT, 39k miles $10k in 2008) was found on there in Houston and I love it 4 years later. My brother just got an 06 Mazda 3 sedan, 70k miles, for $10k on Autotrader here in Phoenix. Lots of bad apples on Craigslist, but are gems in the midst.
If you have a budget of $15k and you are looking at the Civic-Corolla-Altima or Camary-Accord-Maxima selection: 1) The Toyota and Honda is gong to cost you more because of their higher resale value compared to Nissan's, however, they will hold value as well once you own them. If you planning on running the car to its death, Nissan is the better buy. If you ever see yourself selling the car sometime in the future, Honda or Toyota is the better buy. 2) Although Maxima is the best car in this lot, it would be the worst value buy, IMO. They are expensive to begin with, so you are going to take heavy hit on the mileage at your budget level. It will also consume the most gas, I believe. Its an amazing car though. 3) If you are willing to up your budget to say about $20-22k, you can get a brand new Hyundai Sonata which has been giving Honda/Toyota/Nissan a run for their money. Good features, looks good, good gas mileage, and comes with a 100,000 mile warranty. The bad, not as good a resale value compared to others. Also, if I were you, I would not buy one of these used because the 100,000 mile warranty does not transfer over to the next person. 4) If possible I would buy from a seller directly. Someone who is in their thirties or older. A car with a low mileage that has already taken the hit of driving out of the showroom. A really really old seller. Carfax. Your own mechanic etc etc.
I was in the same predicament. I was looking for a used car that's good on gas. Unfortunately, those are in demand, so I was looking at Hyndai's with 80,000 miles for around $15,000. In my opinion, that's a bit overpriced -- and that was typical. I didn't want to buy a car for $15,000 and worry about it's reliability. That, and the Credit Union didn't want to finance a used car without a 20% down payment. I ended up buying a brand new Subaru Impreza for $20,000 with better economy. I told the dealer what financing the Credit Union offered (didn't mention the 20% down), and they matched it. In short, my advice is to buy new. At least that way, you know what you have, and in my case, I was able to match the financing a local CU was offering and avoid any down payment.
I didn't buy from them, but I had a good experience with Texas Auto Direct. I went to look at cars and found one I was interested in. The guy handed me the keys and said "bring it back." I didn't have to mess with a salesman blabbering the whole care ride. They also don't provide financing, so they don't screw you there either. And I believe they let you take the car to a mechanic to get it inspected.
Corolla. You can practically seal the hood because you ain't going to be opening up that bad boy for anything (battery in 80 months, maybe, oil by your dealership, etc.) A corolla my father-in-law now has used to belong to Mrs. SwoLy and it has about 300k miles... it will last you so as long as the maintenance is done on it like oil and you put it in regularly that's what SHE said. Hope that whatever you find may last longer than your current.
I just bought a car using capitol one car loans. Just filled out the online app, let them know what car i was interested in and how much it was. They approved me for the amount the car was listed $27,998 at 1.9% gave 0 down. They mailed me a blank check...I then took that check to the dealer and negotiated the price down to $23,998. Very easy transaction. It was a used 09 MKX by the way.
I suggest to hang out on Craigslist for a few weeks to get an idea on what is available from the cosumer side, then shop for cars 3 years old and visit Edmunds. Good luck!
I have had alot of experience with purchasing vehicles in the past few years weather it be for myself or a relative, we have all gone to the same place and that is Classic Chevy in Sugarland. I have been apart of 7 vehicle purchases from them in the past 2 years and that includes sending my mother and mother-inlaw both there to get their vehicles. Marvin Bridgewater works in there used car division and I really fell that he provides his customers with the best service possible. As a dealership they are fair on pricing and are willing to do whatever it takes to make their customers happy with their experiences. My example is from when I purchased my truck from them, a few weeks after the sale I noticed my tires where wearing oddly, (they were the crappy stock tires) and all I had to do was call them and they cut me a check for $1000.00 to get new tires, the also threw in a bed liner for my truck
http://arthurfontes.hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Use-The-Four-Square-System-To-Sell-Cars Some good info here
