Home and Auto Buying older used cars - Page 3

**007** · 06-20-2012, 05:25 PM

Do you purchase without having a mechanic look at it?

Found a decent car for my teen that ran and looked great but when I checked the VIN history it showed that it was in a total loss collision back in 2006 when it was only 4 years old. Since that time it only has an additional 10k miles on it for a total of 113k.

The seller was fine with me taking it to a mechanic until I told him it would take at least 2 hours because I was having them check the frame too. Then the seller balked on me. Said he has another buyer willing to purchase without using a mechanic.

Do people really buy used cars without checking them out at all?

Deberg_1990 · 06-20-2012, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brock

You can buy a really nice car for 4k. You certainly don't need to settle for a wrecked dodge.

This, I'd walk away. Too many Other car options out there.

Oh, and buy a Honda, Toyota or Nissan if your going for an older used car.

Brock · 06-20-2012, 06:36 PM

http://topeka.craigslist.org/cto/3089873844.html

Easy to work on, 1500 or more under budget.

**007** · 06-20-2012, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brock

You can buy a really nice car for 4k. You certainly don't need to settle for a wrecked dodge.

if only I could find them around here. Seems like every time I find one that looks like a good deal, it ends up having over 150k miles on it. Came across a 2004 Malibu today for 3K. 150k miles and the interior looks crappy. Couldn't test drive as the dealer was closing down. The price makes me nervous though. KBB and edmunds have it priced higher. The VIN checks out though. No theft and not totaled out.

**007** · 06-20-2012, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

This, I'd walk away. Too many Other car options out there.

Oh, and buy a Honda, Toyota or Nissan if your going for an older used car.

nobody is selling them in our price range. That is what I would prefer to buy though.

**007** · 06-20-2012, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brock

http://topeka.craigslist.org/cto/3089873844.html

Easy to work on, 1500 or more under budget.

not a chance. I'm not a gear head and have no desire to work on a car myself so being easy to work on is not a selling point for me.

**SAUTO** · 06-20-2012, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brock

http://topeka.craigslist.org/cto/3089873844.html

Easy to work on, 1500 or more under budget.

Except for one of the shittiest electronic carb ever
Posted via Mobile Device

**Bugeater** · 06-20-2012, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guru

if only I could find them around here. Seems like every time I find one that looks like a good deal, it ends up having over 150k miles on it. Came across a 2004 Malibu today for 3K. 150k miles and the interior looks crappy. Couldn't test drive as the dealer was closing down. The price makes me nervous though. KBB and edmunds have it priced higher. The VIN checks out though. No theft and not totaled out.

Meh. Not sure what mileage is your breaking point but pretty much anything that has over 100k is going to be a crapshoot. I'd take a well maintained 150k vehicle over a similar 100k vehicle if it saved me a couple thousand bucks.

**SAUTO** · 06-20-2012, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guru

if only I could find them around here. Seems like every time I find one that looks like a good deal, it ends up having over 150k miles on it. Came across a 2004 Malibu today for 3K. 150k miles and the interior looks crappy. Couldn't test drive as the dealer was closing down. The price makes me nervous though. KBB and edmunds have it priced higher. The VIN checks out though. No theft and not totaled out.

probably a 3.4L that's getting ready to blow up...
Posted via Mobile Device

ReynardMuldrake · 06-20-2012, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

I've owned two cars in my lifetime. Both were used and right at 10 years old when I bought them. I didn't have either checked out by mechanics.

The first was a 98 Honda Civic. It was my first car and I didn't know what the balls I was doing anyhow so I just went to the lot, drove it up the street, then took it home. I bought it at 137,000 miles and never had any issues for two years. Then all kinds of problems started kicking in. Anything from power windows not responding to coolant hoses coming loose. Finally the big problem: the transmission started slipping. I was just tired of the car at that point so I took it to trade it in for pennies. The people at the dealership went to the Carfax and found out the car had been checked in at 207,000 miles about a year before I bought it. So apparently someone rolled back the miles quite a bit to get more value. That's pretty illegal but since I had bought it "as is" there wasn't much I could do.

Doesn't matter what the warranty was, if someone's rolling back the odometer, that's fraud. You should have taken them to court to recoup the difference in the value of the car.

Brock · 06-20-2012, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JASONSAUTO

Except for one of the shittiest electronic carb ever
Posted via Mobile Device

Meh. If that's the case, slap an edelbrock on it and be done with it.

Brock · 06-20-2012, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guru

not a chance. I'm not a gear head and have no desire to work on a car myself so being easy to work on is not a selling point for me.

I understand. You're just going to have to be patient, check craigslist every day, and wait for the right deal to come along. (don't buy from a dealer)

Fairplay · 06-20-2012, 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phobia

Mechanics are expensive. I just bluff that I'm taking the car to a mechanic and come back talking about all the problems. Then I lowball them.

cheater

Deberg_1990 · 06-20-2012, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phobia

Mechanics are expensive. I just bluff that I'm taking the car to a mechanic and come back talking about all the problems. Then I lowball them.

Note to self. Don't ever sell a car to Phil.

Fairplay · 06-20-2012, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phobia

Mechanics are expensive. I just bluff that I'm taking the car to a mechanic and come back talking about all the problems. Then I lowball them.

If i had confidence in the car i would let someone have a mec look at it but i would go up there with them. I wouldn't just hand them the keys.

**007** · 06-20-2012, 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brock

I understand. You're just going to have to be patient, check craigslist every day, and wait for the right deal to come along. (don't buy from a dealer)

The real problem for me is that I work graveyard so most deals are gone by the time I wake up. The ones that I have been able to talk to don't want to wait for a inspection. kind of puts me behind the 8 ball.

I feel like I have to just take a risk which I really don't want to do.

First car I ever bought for myself I went without an inspection and ended up losing nearly 1500 bucks to new CV joints and new rotors.

06-20-2012, 05:25 PM
007 Shaken. Not stirred. Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: London Casino cash: $13810126 VARSITY	Buying older used cars Do you purchase without having a mechanic look at it? Found a decent car for my teen that ran and looked great but when I checked the VIN history it showed that it was in a total loss collision back in 2006 when it was only 4 years old. Since that time it only has an additional 10k miles on it for a total of 113k. The seller was fine with me taking it to a mechanic until I told him it would take at least 2 hours because I was having them check the frame too. Then the seller balked on me. Said he has another buyer willing to purchase without using a mechanic. Do people really buy used cars without checking them out at all?
Posts: 65,560

06-20-2012, 06:36 PM	#32
Brock Say hello to my little friend Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Larryville Casino cash: $9598422	http://topeka.craigslist.org/cto/3089873844.html Easy to work on, 1500 or more under budget.
Posts: 47,314