Buying a used car.
 

Well it’s been 60 years since a bought a used car. Ive been checking the classifieds here and on craigslist, inserting by owner The Villages. I found several reasonable looking cars in $4000 to $7500 range that go from !998 to 2005. So my question is has anyone else looked for and purchased such cars and how did you make out.

Is all in the mileage and the odds. Most vehicles in the 50 -65K range need brakes and struts, Most approaching 90-100K need plugs and coil packs. Of those repairs most people will only repair the brakes when they squeal and the plugs/coils only when the engine light comes on. The struts are very rarely replaced.

If you factor these costs into an inexpensive car it's still pretty affordable at the price point you are looking at.

If you go a few more bucks, you can get a 2-3 year old car from Hertz. A 15 to 20 year old car is pretty old.

We bought a little Nissan Versa Note from them and have been very happy.

https://www.hertzcarsales.com/all-in...3&geoRadius=75

Here is a good example at $9600, a 2017 with 40k miles:

https://www.hertzcarsales.com/certif...95fbd5c9e1.htm

I would stay away from Craig's List, that's a good way to get scammed, robbed or killed. Buying from the classifies probably would be OK as long as they live in TV.

I look for cars using Autotrader, the last 4 cars I bought I found on that site. You can set your search for example, 100 mile radius, price $8000 to $12000, brand, model, mileage, etc.

Then I look at Yelp.com to see reviews for that dealer. Main thing is to find a dealer that doesn't add dealer fees. For example, a Hyundai from Jenkins has $899 added in dealer fees, from Hyundai of Central Florida in Clermont has zero dealer fees. There are other sites such as dealerrater.com, but I found reviews are more honest on Yelp.

My most recent car was a new Hyundai Kona and it was $3300 cheaper in Clermont than at Jenkins. Besides price, on Yelp Hyundai of Central Florida had great reviews as far as the dealer itself in customer service. On Autotrader click on advanced search and you can put in parameters of your search.

Autotrader Find Your Car

Yelp - Reviews

After you find the car at the right dealer, go to Kelly Bluebook and find what your trade is worth and what you should pay for the car you're buying.

Carmax in Orlando is a good company for used cars. I sold two cars in different years to Carmax in Baltimore and they paid me exactly the KBB wholesale price. Carmax has a large inventory and they are all over the country. They can bring a car from another Carmax if it fits your needs.

Kelley Blue Book | New and Used Car Price Values, Expert Car Reviews

Carmax

There is an Automax in Ocala, it's a different company and I don't know anything about them. Looking at their place, they have far fewer cars than Carmax dealer would have.

Thanks guys all good advice. Mileage I’ve been looking at goes to 129k

With 30 plus years in the automobile business I can tell you stay away from the used car dealerships here, I’ve actually bought a few cars here in the villages, if you use Craigslist make your keyword the villages in your search. Car fax and,wwwkBB. Com is a good way to figure the value of what your buying but only use it as a private party sale. If you need assistance feel free to contact me it’ll be my good deed for the week. I won’t charge you for helping.
Kazzariti@gmail.com
The last villager I helped buy a new Benz saved over 4K

Check if the car has a timing belt. Most timing belts need to be replaced around 100,000 miles. Depending on the car this be very expensive.

No matter what year you buy....always have an independent mechanic check it out for you.

Check out this link: Access Denied
Toyota stopped using timing best years ago but Honda still uses them a lot.
Big fan of auto trader.
Have you considered a low cost lease with no money down?

I purchased a used car that I saw on Autotrader. I also purchased the Carfax report for the car in addition to taking to the dealer for an inspection.
Carfax was very helpful it provided;
Title history.
How many owners.
How many accidents.
Water damage.
Maintenance history.
Odometer reading.

Due diligence is the key. Get the VIN and run a Carfax or other reports that are like Carfax. Also ask if you can have a mechanic check it out. Even if you don't intend to follow through with having it checked, it is very telling if you ask that question and the owner says no. I haven't done anything with Craigslist down here but when my kids were getting to driving age, I used Craigslist several times for both buying and selling. Common sense applies - if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. There are many websites and apps that you can use if you want to stay away from Craigslist though. The classifieds section here on TOTV is good but selection may be limited based on what you are looking for, unless you are shopping for a sports car or antique.

We bought an absolutely beautiful used BMW convertable that we saw in the classifieds right here on TOV. We paid less than the price of a new golf cart for what we view as the luxury car of our dreams. A one owner car, always garaged, very well cared for (with all service records), never seen snow or road salt, with only about 60,000 miles. The low price is because the car is 13 years old . I would say the car is about a 9.5 on a scale of 10 condition wise. It is almost too nice because I feel the need to wash and wax it to keep it looking like when we bought it. I plan to put a couple thousand dollars into it just to be sure the components that typically fail with age are updated (I wish it was that easy to do with my own body). It appears to be hit or miss when good cars are available, but if you take your time and are patient one will come along.

If I were selling a car, I would allow the buyer to bring a mechanic to look at the car, but I don't think I would allow the car to be taken to a repair shop. I would be more suspicious of the buyer then he would be of me.

Honda has not used a timing belt (they use a timing chain) in their 4-cylinder engines in quite some time - at least 14 years, maybe longer. Their V-6 engines have been using timing belts. I would certainly recommend going with a car with a timing chain if at all possible. You can easily determine this with a Google search.

Be watchful for vehicles that were anywhere near the Houston, TX. area...in the last couple of years.


Buyers beware of flood cars from Houston


Another good reason to have a good mechanic look it over before purchasing...even if it costs you a few dollars.