OT Buying a used vehicle

Sorry for the OT post but I find posters here generally to be polite people with novel well-thought-out suggestions.

I really need to replace my dying '88 Mazda pickup. My mechanic is having problems finding parts for it and urges me to get something else.

The problem, as I see it, is that if I buy a used vehicle the owner is selling it for a reason, likely mechanical problems. Just selling to get something newer is possible, but not likely, especially in this economy. I stand a good chance of just exchanging one problem vehicle for another.

I've not checked but I'm pretty sure leasing would be too expensive, especially considering the little driving I need to do. But rural living and outrageous taxi fares require I have my own transportation as long as I can still legally drive. Moving to town is not an option in the current poor local real estate market.

A repo would be nice; that's what my current vehicle was. I stumbled on it while pricing new vehicles at dealers. It worked out very well at a very good price. I have no idea how to find repossessed vehicles - I've never seen them advertised. But I may not have looked well enough.

A new vehicle is VERY expensuve, even the cheapest model coupe or sedan. I'm living mostly on SS.

What to do? Suggestions gratefully appreciated. My mechanic says he will check out anything I bring in free but scheduling this with him and the seller would probably be difficult. I know I certainly wouldn't like to take all that trouble for an uncertain sale if it were me.

TIA

Reply to
KenK
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Maybe, but I wouldn't say likely. I've sold 7 - 10 cars that I owned and there wasn't anything wrong with any of them.

Just selling to get

I would agree the economy is a factor, but you still have people selling cars to buy something else. Also depends on are you buying a $1000 car or a $10,000 car.

What makes that so nice as opposed to someone doing a private sale? If I was buying a repo, I'd be worried that they didn't do regular maintenance and also may have sabotaged the car, since it was about to be taken.

I stumbled on

Find a decent car in the range you're looking for and then take it to your mechanic for an inspection before buying it. I'd say 90% of disasters can be spotted.

Reply to
trader4
  1. someone selling doesn't necessarily mean something is wrong

  1. buy a used vehicle from a known source, that knows the cars history? your mechanic might know of something

  1. financing, might be one way to ease into a newer vehicle

  1. don't lease, especially if you don't drive much lease payments might as well go towards your Own car

  2. your mechanic is doing it for free partly because your a good customer

I'm sure others have some good ideas

marc

Reply to
21blackswan

The last two cars I traded were in great condition with no problems at all. I just wanted a new car. The buyer of those cars got a nice car with no dings.

Car I traded in 2006 probably went straight to the scrap pile.

Repo is a crap shoot. If it is only a year or two old it is probably in good shape. If the owner could not make the payments, he surely could not afford oil changes on a regular basis either.

Try the yellow pages for dealers, maybe give Avis or Hertz a call as they are a couple of the big lease outfits.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

Best thing to do is have your mechanic check the car you are considering. The small amount of money you pay him may prevent a costly mistake. If the seller does allow you to have your own mechanic check the car...then bypass him and go onto the next.

Reply to
philo 

You may need to find a new mechanic. Some mechanics will lie

--gasp!-- to you cuz they're too damned lazy to look for the parts and/or don't wanna be bothered. I jes changed mechanics for that very reason. Have you looked for the parts, online? I've got a '91 Toyota pickup and have no problem with parts. Same with the '87 Honda Civic I had before. Sucker had 250K miles on it and still got 30mph. I shoulda kept it.

As for a newer car, look for unpopular choices. Many years ago I bought a green plymouth 4-dr in mint condition for peanuts. Everything worked perfectly and it was an excellent car. But, who wants a green 4-dr? I did. I'd suggest an older Buick. Them old geezers knew how to care for a car. Also, half of Asia is still driving around in those ancient Toyota vans, the kind with the motor between the seats. Don't tell me parts are unavailable. ;)

nb

Reply to
notbob

Ken,

Not sure I understand your problem. You need a newer truck. There are lots on the market. You have a competent mechanic who is willing to give some trucks the once over. So find a few candidates. Go and "kick the tires". If you like a truck, give the owner a REFUNDABLE deposit. and drive to your mechanic. Ok, you have the asking price and your mechanic's report. Now go and negotiate a selling price. Don't forget your deposit.

Dave M.

Reply to
David L. Martel

If you want to find a repo, I'd first ask a loan officer at your bank if they ever do private sales on repos, and then ask the same of the largest bank in the area. If they do it, they'll probably put you on a notification list or tell you when the next sale or auction event will be scheduled.

The car rental agencies sell their rentals after a couple of years. From them you can get a decent deal on a clean car with full service records.

You can also look for off-lease vehicles at a local dealership.

Reply to
Moe DeLoughan

OTOH, we've had a difficult time finding certain parts for my mother's '93 Mazda sedan. Oh, they can be found - on special order, for a vastly inflated price. There's not many in the junkyards to pull parts from, either.

Reply to
Moe DeLoughan

Here are two guaranteed ways to avoid that problem.

Go to several car dealerships and pick out one or maybe two vehicles that meet your needs.

When the salesman comes out and offers to make himself useful, you tell him "I'm looking for a GOOD used vehicle. I'm interested in this car here, but I don't want to buy it unless I'm convinced there's nothing seriously wrong with it. I want the name and phone number of the previous owner so I can talk to them to make sure there's nothing seriously wrong with it before I buy it.

The salesman will hem and haw and mumble something about privacy laws preventing him from giving you that info, but then he'll tell you to wait while he talks to his manager. Tell him you're busy, but give him your business card or name and phone number so that he can get back to you. He needs time to phone the previous owners to make sure they're OK with him giving you that info.

The sales man has nothing to lose by giving you that information because he knows there's no chance that you'll buy the car if he doesn't, but a good chance you will if he does.

And, the previous owners have nothing to gain by lying to you because they've already finished their business with that car dealership. Even if the car dealership gave them a good deal on the car, they'll feel an obligation to tell you the truth about the car.

In my case, I bought a 1982 two door Toyota Corrola in 1985. The previous owners were a married couple and she was expecting a baby. So, they decided to trade in one of their cars to get a 4 door station wagon that would make it easier to both buckle the baby in it's car seat and have room for a carriage for the baby in the car too if they're going somewhere like to a shopping center or something so they don't have to carry the baby everywhere.

Try this. You'll find it works well.

Another good idea if you want another truck is to phone your local city government, gas utility, electrical utility or phone company and ask who to contact to find out when and where they auction their old vehicles off.

Businesses like gas companies need both cars and trucks for their employees to use to drive around reading gas meters and locating and marking underground gas pipes. They have their own mechanics that do regular maintenance on all their vehicles, and you can be sure the vehicle is being driven by an adult in a reasonable manner. If the vehicle needs a new engine or transmission, it's fixed as long as it's part of their active fleet. They won't say "Let's just auction this one off early." because that means one of their departments will be short a vehicle until the next vehicle purchase. So, you know the vehicle hasn't got anything wrong with it unless it happens on the way to the auction yard.

Typically, cities and utilities will buy new vehicles every year and auction off their oldest ones at the same time. Here in Winnipeg, both Manitoba Hydro and Manitoba Telephone Systems keep their vehicles for 8 years before auctioning them off and buying new. The City of Winnipeg keeps theirs for 10 years before replacing them. They figure that's about the time frame you can depend on a new vehicle before you have to start spending money on repairs. But, that would mean you'd be getting a 2004 or 2006 vehicle compared to your old 1988. And, there's still a lot of miles left in an 8 or 10 year old car that's not been driven abusively and has been properly maintained.

Reply to
nestork

I had a few Buicks. The last one was falling apart in my driveway and I gave it away with 125,000 miles on it and a list of things wrong with it. It was the last GM car I owned.

Every Buick I've owned needed warranty fixing from the first day. I've had three Hyundai and none have ever been in for any type of repair.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

Most people have excellent opinions of used Buicks...ours' is an '01 with low mileage and gets about 34MPH hwy. Not bad for a 3.8L at 65MPH. Just some brake work is all I've done in the 8 yrs we've had it. I also have a '95 Saturn that is all original except for alternator, belt-tensioner, water pump, and a couple batteries. Never blew any bulbs of any kind!

Reply to
Bob_Villa

On 2/17/2014 1:44 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote: ...

OTOH, I (and Dad ahead of us) have had probably easily a dozen Buicks going back to the first 1960 "bug-eye" LeSabre and every one has been very serviceable for the era...(expectations in 1960 were night and day compared to now and have evolved over time between).

Currently have an '11 Lucerne and a '10 Enclave having traded the past LeSabre for the Lucerne at roughly 150k simply 'cuz there's no large body comparable in production any longer...it was still a very functional car w/ the only work ever done to it other than PM was the replacement of those two little plastic lines between the water pump and the block/heater assembly on the later 3800 engines.

I like both very well altho the Enclave AWD is much less fuel-efficient (altho it was purchased for the express purpose of muddy roads in wet weather for the missus and for her to run field errands w/o having to use the 4x4 which she doesn't like because she's so short that getting into it is a chore w/o a ladder). It's a very good vehicle for the purpose w/ 20" rim and resulting clearance but while it drives very well on highway I'd not recommend it for that purpose unless they've improved economy significantly. A better axle-ratio could do wonders for that it would seem...

Reply to
dpb

You have a GREAT mechanic!! :)

I agree generally with trader about a repo. There are always exceptions but if someone was irresponsible enough to have a car repo'ed I'd be worrying about how it was treated. Ditto if the repo was due to a financial bind.

I used to share your worries with used cars but the last two we've had have been used, from new car dealers. One was two years old, the current was one year old. The first had a tad less than 30,000 miles when we purchased, the current had a bit under 20,000. Both were way less than when new; the current one by close to 1/3.

I'm no mechanic but it is obvious that cars are lasting MUCH better than they were even 20 years ago. You didn't indicate a price range but I'd be looking at used cars from a new car dealer because - guessing here - if a car they took in trade was junk they would auction or junk it; if they keep it to sell they are to some extent putting their reputation on the line even though they may not be dealers for that marque.

Reply to
dadiOH

What's the price?

nb

Reply to
notbob

One report for forty, five reports for fifty, unlimited reports for fifty five bucks.

I used these when shopping for my last car. I was leery of ending up with a Canadian grey-market auction vehicle brought over the border, so I ran the VIN on every model I seriously considered. Ran so many, Carfax contacted me and asked if I was using it for commercial purposes (meaning, was I a dealer). Nope. I'm just OCD.

Some public libraries have subscriptions to Carfax, so I'd check with your local library first.

Reply to
Moe DeLoughan

I'm 67 and I've had a car since I was 18, but I've only bought 6 cars in my life. ** I've kept each one 7 years, except the next to last which I kept 9 (and this one which I've only had for 2) They are all about 7 years old when I buy them, except the last one was 11.

I always allow 1000 over the purchase price for repairs. Maybe i'm lucky, but with only one car*** have I spent the money. To the best of my recollection, I've spent less than 100 dollars on repairs the first two years I've owned any of these cars. And though I do many of my own repairs, I don't remember any of them needing anything either. I used to drive about 10,000 miles a year. The current and previous car, it's down to 5000.

I've upped the 1000 to 2000 for the latest car and cars to follow, but I didn't have to spend much on the latest car. Though the door lock fob receiver broke after 22 months. New would be 300 or 400 plus labor. The one I got on ebay for 40 dollars seems also to be broken (because there is no way to test it if the car battery is gone when the car is towed in or if the fob is separated from the car. Or if they could test it that's probably one thing they don't test.

**The first 3 cars were free from my mother (for one summer) cousin (6 months) and brother (about 4 years) . ***That car didn't shift into high gear but the car was so powerful I didn't notice it^^. I should have and it cost almost 1000 to have the transmission repaired (30 years ago, not replaced, but the repair lasted 6 years.) . But I would have had to buy the car even if I"d noticed becaue it was the only full size Buick convertible for sale in about 14 counties of NYC and the surrounding area.

I used to check the car somewhat thorougly myself. I'd try to get there when the engine was cold so I could see how it started cold (All but one car was from a private owner. On one occasion, I had to make an appointment when to be there, and he smiled as he told me he started it up for me. Next time I told the new and used car dealer not to start it and he didn't. Of course it was an August afternoon in S. Carolina so it wasn't exactly cold out. ) I look for drips and leaks. I used to run my finger inside the exhaust pipe to look for carbon, but I'm told that since cars have had catalytic converters, there won't be any, even if the car is burning oil. So I don't do that anymore.

I drive it in every position the automatic transmission has, counting how many times it shifts A 3-speed transmission in high should shift twice. A 4-speed, 3 times. In "2", it should shift once. I move the shift lever down one notch while driving to see if it downshifts, as it should. I start in low, 1, and go faster than the normal shifting speed, and see if it stays in first until I move the shift lever to 2. It should shift right away. Then I keep the car in 2nd until it's going faster than it would normally be in 2, and then I move the shift lever to 3. It should shift right away. Same wth high or overdrive.

I definitely take the transmision dipstick out and make sure it doesnt' smell burnt. I'm told if it smells burnt, it will need a new or rebuilt transmission, even if it's working well now.

I check if it's an interference engine, one in which the pistons will hit the valves if the timing belt breaks. I don't want one of those. Get a non-interference engine, With one of those, if I don't get around to changing the belt when I should and it actually breaks., I'll be stuck somewhere maybe, but other than an extra towing fee, and the inability to shop for the best price, the repair won't be any bigger than if I had repaired it before it broke. This has only happened to me once, when my mother was in the car. I had just taken her to a dentist appointment, and the dentist left about 30 minutes after my car broke in his parking lot. I asked him to take my mother home, about 3 miiles, and I stopped a tow truck at a red light and he towed me to my favorite gas station for less than it would have cost if I had called him, And the repair was the regular price. It could have been a lot worse, but it wasnt.

The economy has hurt people who lost their jobs, those who didn't get wage increases they would have otherwise, and those whose profits depend on customers they don't have so many of. That might be 50 percent of the population, but a lot of people are either in businesses or industries that are recessiion-resistant or they're not but they've kept their job and either got the wage boost they expected, or didn't but it's not enough to change their standard of living. ,

One car I bought was from an interesting family. Mother, father, shiftless son (it seemed) and pregnant daughter who had gotten pregnant from her boyfriend and then they broke up and she moved back with her parents. (Okay, maybe it was her husband but she still moved back home) The father told me that they had 5 cars for the 4 of them, and everyone wanted to drive the convertible so they were selling it. Huh! That the one they should keep if everyone wants to drive it. I was sure he was lying and I'd find reasons to regret buying the car, but it gave me no trouble and no expense but gas and an oil change in the first two years.

One problem with an old car might be that repairmen try to sell you things you don't need. That's why I almost never take my car to a repairman. Read my thread, Problem with vintage oil furnace starting, and you can see more of the same personality.

I think so too.

You may well have gotten a good deal on this one, but I would think they sell repos at the market price like everything else. In addition, people who are about to lose their car may not take as good care of it as others do.

Stainless Steel. I didnt think one could get by on that.

I'll never have a new car. You lose thousands of dollars the moment you drive it off the lot.

He offered. Take him at his word. It means you'll have to take the car for 2 or 3 hours instead of 30 minutes when you test drive, but plenty of sellers will do that. Tell him before you drive out there that you have to have the car long enough for your mechanic to check it and that he can't just drop everything to look at the car so he has to have 2 or

3 hours or whatever he says. . Most people selling a car don't get more than one customer in the middle of a day, If it's a lot, they couldn't care less if it's gone for 3 or 4 hours. (I only drive convertibles and I have found very few at lots. Usually it's private owners. )

Oh yeah, the guy with the bad transmission. He told me he was selling his car for his son, who had a new job in Kansas and wouldnt' need a car. I guess he was going to take the Kansas subway, which goes just about everywhere. Maybe he meant that the job provided a car but he didn't say that. Anyhow, it was his way of saying, I don't know anything about the car and if it breaks tomorrow, don't blame me.

But I don't ask sellers what condition the car is in. It will just make liars out of them and make me mad if they lie to me. I look at it, see if I can find problems, dicker a bit, and if I bothered to dicker, I'm probably going to buy it. I want just what I want and I already know from the ad in the paper if it's what I want . And if the guy won't come down on the price, I'll probably pay what he asks. What's your best price? Is an easy question to ask, and the one time I tried it, I saved a little bit of money.

Reply to
micky

Yeah, same goes for oil dipstick. They'll use Crisco in engines. Dampens the sounds of a rod knock. If it smells like fried chicken or shrimp, walk away.

Reply to
Vic Smith

Back in the early 70?s, my buddy bought a '65 Camaro. You didn't need a CarFax to know it had been in a flood. You could see the water line on the backing of the gauges.

If that wasn't a dead giveaway, the chunks of mud that would fall out from under the dash when you hit a pothole could be considered a clue.

The price was right, considering how broke we were at the time. It was certainly better than the 66 Javelin his brother gave him. We flew from NYC to Cleveland to pick it up and almost had to leave it on the side of I-90 somewhere in PA. When the windshield wipers would only go up but not come down, we controlled them by sliding the lever on-off-on-off-on-off. That worked for a few hours until the switch came off in my hand. Luckily they failed "on" (up) so we found a piece of wire in the trunk, tied it to the top of the passenger wiper and pulled them down, let them go up, pulled them down, let them go up. The wire wasn't long enough to reach all the way into the window, so whoever's turn it was to control them had to wear their socks on their hands to keep them from freezing every time their hand went out the window. Besides the wipers, there was that whole issue with the headlights going off for a few minutes on a totally random basis. We were a couple of very tired, very dirty guys by the time we made it back to NYC.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

I'd be driving a Lucerne if GM treated me better when the heated seat of my 01 Lesabre broke while over the miles and under the time of the 3 year 36k mile warranty. They wanted $672 for seat bottom replacement instead of replacing the $15 element. Heated seat brake lines transmission rebuild climate control both rear window lifts (propped them up with wood sticks) steering wheel radio controls wheel bearing ignition problems rotors probably more that I missed in five years and 125,000 miles.

Thinking back, my '91 Regal was probably the best of the bunch in spite of AC repaired 4X under warranty, 2X after and I gave up, water pump, rusted gas tank assorted rear brake problems.

No more GM for me.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

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