Ask anyone the standard questions: 1) Does it have a salvaged title? 2) Was there only one original owner? 3) Any body work performed or insurance repairs done to the vehicle? 4) Any maintenance records available and all routine service performed? I've bought from Carmax and it was ok...they do take back the car, no questions asked, as I've done that once...I would be leary of craigslist as i tried to buy a cheap car but every single one was wrecked, or had something wrong with it...
You could probably get a high mileage 90's Jeep Wrangler within your price range. Do you have to commute?
Many Wranglers from that era are likely to have gone through quite a bit of extra wear and tear. I sure put some hard beach/dirt/mud/water miles on my '87. Went through one paint job, a couple clutches, a transmission, etc.
for under $3k, you probably need to buy from private seller. prior accidents should be considered for under $3k. Not much risk there. No floods though. for commuter, I say ~2000 chevy prizm, for van, ~2000 villager
so are we. You can't throw out a $24-29k price range without letting us know: 1. What kind of car you're looking at? Important since a $24K Accord has lower depreciation than a $24K Mustang. 2. How you are going to knock down a couple of thou on a USED car. Sure there's wiggle room on a used car but it's not going to be much...unless you're buying the car from a pre-own dealership that sells the car in a new version (ie a used Toyota from a Fred Haas Toyota or something) 3. What options you want and/or can live without. If you're going to go in and want all the bells and whistles in a used car, the salesperson can sniff that out and won't wiggle on the price. Put a list together of options you DEFINITELY want and options you'd like but can do without. That way, you're not going to set yourself up for disappointment.
I would think it'd be like buying a new car, but never having bought a used car, I don't know. I would think it would depend on the rarity/popularity of the car. For that price you could probably get a nice new Accord that'll last you a long while. What car are you looking at? Check out kbb.com - they show what you can expect for used car pricing. You can try places like edmunds.com, carmax.com, and autotrader.com for ideas, as well. Another thing you can do is find the car you want and go to forums for that make/model and ask people there if it's a good price.
Ok, i once helped a family member buy a car off craigslist and it turned out great. 2006 toyota corolla for a family member. What we did was purchased Carfax for unlimited VIN # look ups. I would make it a point to ask the seller for the VIN# and if they were hesitant I would just get it while i went to go look at the car and call somebody that was on the internet and they would run the number and tell me if it was in a wreck etc. It took more time this way but eventually we found the car that had a clean history report. Now keep in mind that not everything is reported on carfax...so if there is a huge gap since something was last reported then I would hesitate to pull the trigger....Cash deals are the best because u pay for the car straight up and no car payments....Anyway, someone mentioned Emmons...good place...they only offer cars with a good car fax report....Also, greensheet is a good place to find cash deals....In total, I think our family has bought three vehicles from private parties...no regrets....DO you know of the flea market lot off I-45 and AIRLINE? Its ghetto as hell but people put cars out there all the time...you may find yourself a diamond in the rough.
Have you considered a Volvo 240? They have outstanding build quality, and can easily handle 200,000 miles and more. A Volvo 240 in good condition is priced right in to your range (~3,000$), and are very dependable.
ive pinned down almost exactly what i want, a 2009 infiniti g37 sedan. the only option i "have to have" is the premium package (sunroof,ipod connection) being the most important parts of that package i want. i would like to have the illuminated kick panels to but they are not a must considering im getting used. the nav and sport package would be nice but i can live with out those, just depends.
yeah i should probably get a new car like an accord and it would end up being better decision in the long run but ive already made my mind up. ive checked those sites i was just curious in general what if any you could knock off those price points.
If it's an 09 you're wanting, I'd look at the CPO's. The only unfortunate part is that CPOs are harder to negotiate upon since they give you pretty much an extended warranty (in most cases anyways) on top of the existing warranty. I just searched for CPO 09 G37 sedans and came up dry though there's a number of 2009's that aren't CPOS here . Here's a 2008 G35 (smaller engine but who cares? ) from Expo Motor . It's loaded to the gills. Good luck on the hunt, though.
There is actually a lot of room to negotiate on used cars as the profit on a used car is usually higher than that of a new car. Just consider what Carmax offers to buy a car versus the price them sell these used cars. Just research Blue Book, NADA, KBB values, and look at cars selling on Ebay to get a range of price range for a particular car. The more popular the car the less haggle room that will be available unless it more wear or miles than typical. Less popular cars such as a Hyundai Accent would be easy to haggle on since it's there probably aren't alot of people kicking it's tires.
