I'm looking to sell my car (and get out of paying the note) and buy an older dependable car to drive for a few years until I can afford to pay CASH for something nicer. Ideally something dependable for 3K or less. Anyone have any experience buying a car from a (non-dealership) used car lot? I see some great deals from them on Craigslist but I don't know how credible some of these car lots are. I don't really feel comfortable buying from an owner.
I'm doing the same right now, but I'm sticking to Carmax. Good deals on cars that are taken care of and they make a fair offer on your vehicle. Though, they won't have anything that cheap because they don't sell anything over 100K miles.
some of those deals on CL seem too good to be true. I actually e-mailed on one. It was for a 2004 nissan murano, with low miles for $4K. the lady said she lived on a cruise ship and the car was in north dakota. It just seemed weird. I think with any used car you are taking a chance. Either from the owner or a sales lot. If you find a good deal, you can't be too afraid, because with a $3K budget, you'll be taking a chance. But that's just the nature of used cars. You never really know until a couple months down the line.
One of my friends just sold his car at Texas Auto Direct (off of 59) for about $600 more than what Carmax was offering him. I'd give them a look after you get your car appraised at Carmax. As for buying a used car, even Carmax has its lemons. I know a few people that have sold their cars to Carmax in not-so-good conditions (i.e. a rear-ended G35, a GTI that had engine failure, another car that had mechanical problems, etc).
This here guy has some GREAT cars : Spoiler :grin: I bought a great Pontiac 6000 off a used car lot... look for a car with ONE previous owner... those are the best...
Carmax will buy any car. But every car that they buy doesn't make it to their lot. Those that don't are sold at auctions.
I wasn't aware of that though when I was searching for a car months back, I looked at some of the cars CarMax had listed on their website and I am pretty sure most has had their fair share of modifications.
At $3K I'd likely go private. Or buy a really good bicycle . Car Free is liberating! (but only if the wife has a car).
Yeah, texas direct and car max are good places to sell your car, but you could still put it on autotrader.com. As for buying a car for 3-4k, I bouh=ght my daughter a sable a few years ago and its going strong. What you really want to do is find a used car that hasn't been wrecked or under water. They have those car inspector people for $100 bucks and they will give it a good look-see.
I've looked into Carmax but the cheapest car I've seen there is for about what I owe on my car now, so the whole transaction would be a wash. I saw a couple of good deals at Auto Direct. How easy/hard it is to win an auction for someone as ebay-inexperienced as myself? I guess I could go private but I just hate to do that. It just seems like you have to deal with so many shady weirdos. I guess a more realistic budget would be about 5K. Seems like there would be a bigger market for buying and selling good cars that happen to be older and high mileage.
this. got my second car here for a hell of a price with low miles they have really good cars check it out
I bought a couple high-end imports from the used car lots on Richmond/Fondren (mostly Middle Eastern sellers) and I had no complaints. Much cheaper and the cars were in very good condition. I had a mechanic that I'd known for several years inspect the cars so that was also a relief. I can't say the same for every used car lot but there ones out there that are honest people selling good products at a better price than dealers.
i have a general question about used cars. how much do you expect to be able to knock off of the total price of a used car that is in the $24000-29000 range. i plan on going to the dealership with the loan approved and no trade in to be negotiated. so i guess the only thing to talk to them about would be the actual price of the car. and i know there are things that are taken into consideration for example how long the specific car has been sitting at the dealership unsold, but i dont know what range in $$$ would be average for a car in that 24-29k price.
this has nothing to do with the topic at hand but why did you capitalize cash in your post? just seemed weird to me that is all...carry on
I though the same but I had one of their cars inspected prior to buying and a bunch of hidden damage was found. I went back to the sales guy and told him about the inspection and her just walked away with no explanation; like I walked into my kitchen late at night and turned on the light; he was the roach. Just make sure to get the car checked out by a mechanic you trust. Oh yeah, don't use someone recommended by them as they suggested I do. I'm sure the inspection would have been the exact opposite.
