Buying a second hand car........advice?

[henrythomas]

Hi Friends.

Some nice fellow has recently plowed into the back of my car while i was waiting at a red light. His car was a nice big SUV. My car, while functioning perfectly, is now considered a writeoff which is quite irritating.

As a result im starting to think about buying a new (well, second hand) car. I probably have a budget of 5g's which i know aint much, but yeah, quite poor atm. A mid 90s corolla is what comes to mind at the moment. The problem is, im not really experienced in this area as my last car was bought off a family friend.

Any of you guys ever gone private? Used car dealerships? Other? Had any luck with private? What things have you done to ensure the car aint going to fall apart? Yeah pretty much screwed without a car so i need to get the ball rolling on this kinda soon. Any help is very much appreciated.

[Betrivent]

I bought mine private. Things to check for are:

Rust
Make sure the AC works if there is AC
Brakes
Transmission (drive it around and see if it feels funny)
Check windows, make sure they work

check the vin

[tomato]

I've always bought used cars from private parties, until my Yaris, which I bought used from a dealership, under their certified program.

Car must be in visibly in good shape (if it looks abused on the outside, it probably is) Check for rust, rust is a problem. Clearcoat peeling off is OK, but big bumps suggesting the car was in an accident or just abused are not).
Pop open the hood, visual inspection of the engine bay, check fluids.
Check condition of tires. Do a brake test.

Very important, don't skip that test if you're not a mechanic: car must pass your mechanic's examination (one you trust, not theirs) Yes, it'll cost you but you'll be glad you did because the mechanic can give you an excellent idea of what expected repairs and how much the car will cost you. in the future.

If the car has records showing maintenance, that's great (try to see if people kept up with regular maintenance) but no subsitute for your mechanic's examination.

Go with a sure thing (Hondas, Toyotas make excellent DD).

In addition, these days, I run Carfax, and this time around I even subscribed to Consumer Reports so I could access their database and see what cars came up on top mechanically during the last 5 years (Yaris has an excellent reputation mechanically, but fewer comfort features and negative feedback on the paint, according to CR (and also according to this forum, too)). In a nutshell that's pretty much it.

Best of luck!

PS. I've been very lucky with private (didn't do it this last time because I couldn't find what I wanted in this economy and I lacked time to do it, so I shopped online instead and went to a dealer)

[Bob Dog]

Be careful of the suspension, as in maybe the car had an accident. On a straight level strip of road, going at a fairly slow speed, briefly lift your hands off the wheel, if it pulls to the left or right you may have damage to the undercarriage tha can not be repaired.If you hit the brakes and it pulls one way or the other this often indicates chassis damage as well.
You can smell the oil or tranny fluid (if it is an auto) and if it smells burnt there could be a problem. Look for oil leaking from wear the head meets the block, this can indicate warped heads, another possible problem. Light grey residue in the exhaust pipe can indicate that the car is burning oil.

[mr9865]

for 5 grand you should be able to buy a car in the 2000s

[ryota]

from my experiences i would say all of this is good advice... definitely take it to a mechanic and get a car fax! while looking in the engine bay, look for aftermarket parts and if you find any walk away. ALL of those broke on my last car and cost me a few grand. also look for parts that have some kind of writing on them (mrant for categorizing), iy'll give you an idea of what has already been replaced. and lastly... find someone who isn't shady as a mofo to buy from.

haha you've got a lot to remember from all of these posts but if you follow even most of the advice you come out with something that will be a good car for you.

[bronsin]

They tend to have a lot of miles but I suggest an ECHO. Its hard to find a good one at the drop of a hat. I always keep an eye out for one to buy for friend or familly member.

[wooverstone8]

For 5K you can pick a moderately used 2000-05 Toyota ECHO. They get 35-40 MPG average.

[scape]

buy private in my opinion. dealers will always make extra money on the deal, so the car will always be priced higher than a private party deal; and usually in sneaky condition...private parties generally do not lie to strangers, b/c you probably know where they live by the end of the sale and can go kick their ass haha. what you can also do is type up a piece of paper and have them sign it, stating what condition it is and any and all known issues, including past repairs.
check the vin, like someone said, some places online allow 1 free check if you sign up. and check all repairs and oil changes, they should have receipts!
also make sure you have the REAL title in hand, and that they sign that puppy over to you.
for 5 grand you can get quite a nice corolla i bet, maybe 03? check kbb.com for prices; and i believe no car is in excellent condition, so select good or fair depending on what you think you'll see
good luck!!

[Shroomster]

carfax is a joke. if the accident is not reported, it will not show up on carfax. also they have incidents that show up on reports that aren't for the correct vehicle.


I don't trust them

[DevilGirl]

I know in my area there are a few GOOD small "dealers", so to speak. They're little family run places that sell used cars. I've gotten a few off of them, and the only issues I had were when an a$$hole smashed the one, and the other not until over 100k after multiple years of ownership, and a whole lotta beating by me (driving hard and fast, as well as constantly going onto and around construction sites). Price for either was around $5-$6k.

[kustom play]

Be careful of the suspension, as in maybe the car had an accident. On a straight level strip of road, going at a fairly slow speed, briefly lift your hands off the wheel, if it pulls to the left or right you may have damage to the undercarriage tha can not be repaired.If you hit the brakes and it pulls one way or the other this often indicates chassis damage as well.

ummmmmmm no?????


could mean you need an alignment

and as far as Chassis damage, it can be fix

if you worried and can do maintance yourself then just get a mechanic to inspect it. Ive bought tons of private cars and never had an issue, just check it out before and you'll be all set

[Forrest]

from my experiences i would say all of this is good advice... definitely take it to a mechanic

THAT is the BEST advice. Take a mechanic you know well and TRUST and have them do a full inspecition of the car. Their expertise may lower the price of the car for you. Also, records on car service. Many people keep these records ..so ask if they are available on routine services, major repairs, etc.

As another poster said, you should be able to get something newer for 5grand.

[auxmike]

My friend's used '05 Corvette convertible came up clean on CarFax. He had to do something for the car with his insurance company 2 years later and found out THEN that the car had $6k worth of bodywork claimed in the past by the first owner in this PRIVATE purchase. The guy stated the car had never been hit.
Trust NO ONE but God! :mad:

[YAR1S]

I bought my last car and my yaris both from craiglist, there are a lot of good deals on there but beware of the scams... lots of people like to say their car "looks nice" or "drives like a charm!" but when you show up its a whole differnt story... none the less, craigslist is great for local deals.

My only advice besides what are people have told you is:

Have a look inside! Does it look dirty or clean? A clean car shows that the person cares about the car and more than likely took care of it! If it looks dirty or the person never bothered to clean it up a bit before showing it to you, BEWARE. A dirty person is not a good thing for a car... I would never buy a dirty car.

Good luck!

[AlexNet0]

My friend's used '05 Corvette convertible came up clean on CarFax. He had to do something for the car with his insurance company 2 years later and found out THEN that the car had $6k worth of bodywork claimed in the past by the first owner in this PRIVATE purchase. The guy stated the car had never been hit.
Trust NO ONE but God! :mad:


agreed, carfax means nothing around here.

[advocate]

Have a look inside! Does it look dirty or clean? A clean car shows that the person cares about the car and more than likely took care of it!

+1


This is simple but excellent advice.

[jambo101]

Not sure where qwfewf is but if its near Quebec you are in luck if looking for used Toyota Echo..Close to 800 of them for sale.
http://www.autohebdo.net/result/result.aspx?searchtype=adv&kw=&dp=&age=&kfr=1&kto=2000000&category=4000&mk=TOYOTA&md=ECHO&yfr=1900&yto=2009&pfr=0&pto=9999999&postal=&distance=&city=&pro=QC&region=&type=province&dm=7&mph=false&rentalOnly=false&pricedOnly=false&pl=true&dl=true&coao=false&amvoq=false&isparts=false&searchStatus=used&videoonly=false&view=list&subregionlabel=Ontario

Welcome to the forum HenryThomas

[MUSKOKA800]

Many current year, higher mileage Yaris I see advertised here are from rental fleets. Beware. Oil changes could have been few, and far between. If at all.