Used Car Buying Advice

Oh yeah trying to buy a car is a headache all around, especially if someone doesn't have a fortune to spend. Plus once you buy it, it is yours. Even if it craps out on the way home, it is no longer the seller's problem.

Toyota or Honda are usually the best bet. I trust Toyota the most. American cars are junk.

If they do not have the title in their name - avoid it, no matter how good the deal seems otherwise. Could be a stolen car.

If something seems too good to be true than it probably is.

If it says anything about transmission problems then just avoid it because there is no cheap nor simple fix for that.

Also, look up a potential car on carcomplaints.com no matter what year make and model you are thinking of getting. If engine and/or transmission problems top the list then try to avoid. Sadly enough, early 2000's hondas were known for transmission issues. I know that contradicts what I said above but just at least investigate that site.

One other thing - whatever the seller says about the car's condition, take with a grain of salt because they might say whatever you want to hear. They may not know about some problems the car has or they may not mention it OR might downplay it like, "Oh that is an easy fix, $20 part at the junk yard."

If it were easy, they would have done it.

Some of the better cars are trade ins at a dealership .i strongly recommend taking someone to check the car over before you buy .most private sellers are selling their car as its got too excited to keep repairs it .good luck

I know this is late advice, but here's some info.

1) Reference
I would look for the annual car issue of Consumer Reports, because the summarized information about how specific cars have fared, repairwise, over time (tables in the back). It brings together the collective experience of hundreds of thousands of auto owners, which is a much broader basis of experience than a few personal anecdotes & biases.

When I bought my first vehicle, I used that information to only look at vehicles which had "above average" or better performance regarding engine, transmission, etc., problems. That led me to discovering NUMMI, a plant in California jointly-run by GM & Toyota where the former built versons of the latter's vehicles, and had great longevity with few problems.

Though the partnership was disbanded (the plant was bought by Tesla), the GM crypto-Corollas (Chevy Nova II, Geo Prizm) and crypto-Matrixes (Pontiac Vibe) have been great, long-lived cars which owners have loved.

2) This is a particularly bad time, because of how even used car prices have soared.

I think buying from an individual is hard, but having any used vehicle checked out is well worth it.

BE AWARE OF REAL EVIDENCE OF FLOOD-DAMAGED VEHICLES.

3) Routine maintenance of vehicles is incredibly important, incl. changing the oil/oil filter, engine & air cabin filters, checking/topping off brake, transmission, and coolant fluids, checking tire air pressure, and even flushing the radiator. Checking the brakes (incl. testing the master cylinder) & spark plugs is also a good idea. And, on older vehicles, visual inspection of the rubber "boots" near each front wheel can prevent a costly repair.

4) You might save by buying a standard (manual) transmission, too, if you cam drive one.

I'd go to a reputable dealership. Let one of the sales staff know what you're looking for. They could get a decent, cheap used car as a trade in that is maybe a bit old to appeal to their main customers so they would send it to an auction rather than put it on forecourt. Let them know you'd be interested in a car like that. They should check car, service and might give some warranty. Good luck.

If seller says no to having a shop look it over avoid the car. You can spend as much or as little as you want and get both a great deal for a good car and a horrible deal on a bad car.

Buy a runable Toyota. Any year/model. Have it checked out!

Be VERY careful buying online. The midwest and south and some eastern states even have had massive flooding over the past 2 months. Lots of cars that were partially underwater...have had water in the transmissions and rear ends and were considered "totaled" by insurance companies are now being "cleaned up" and sold to unsuspecting buyers.

Personally id buy private. Way better price and they will haggle more. You just have to be patient and know what your looking for. I try to buy off people that are ocd/clean freaks. The vehicle will be well kept and if they have maintenance records you can see what is done. Carfax will tell you if any accidents and body work.

Do you need a car, or could you survive with a motorcycle/motorscooter? It would be much cheaper, all around, with mileage and everything, getting licensed and all. Otherwise sorry but I would suggest not using FB, I've read about too many scams & dangerous situations. Certain brands of vehicles run a long time, even with a lot of miles. Maybe ask your family if they can help you with finding a car with a lot of miles but a well maintained engine.

Like the others said a reliable brand like Toyota, Honda - but also run a Carfax check on the VIN# - so you can be sure the car wasn't previously totaled

Always get a used car checked out ..but for 3 grand you outta know you are buying a lemon ! 3 grand as is will bet you a used 100,000 miles plus vehicle .. my suggestion is buying a new used one from a dealership where they will do a 5 star/point inspection before selling it

This probably won’t help much, but I heard about a good site on a podcast for buying and selling cars called edmunds. The full disclaimer is I haven’t used it myself, but it looks pretty good. It could be worth looking into at the very least. Here’s a link. I wish you the best.

https://www.edmunds.com/

@Saucylover you're in a tough dilemma unfortunately! There are many people out there who will prey on you, few are honest! Your best bet is to find a friend who's mechanically inclined and bring them with you, let them test drive too. Or, buy off someone you know and trust, even if it's a bit more $$$.

Don't buy from Marketplace. I have a friend who bought a car worth AUD7,000 from there and she got jipped. There's a lot of trouble with the car so she tried to contact the seller and this person never answered and her calls.

try to find a toyota in your price range hondas are good cars but sell more than a Toyota a 2002 toyota is a good target price and find some to scan it for you if the scanner shows not ready codes walk away some one erased the codes im a retired mechanic

Do you know what a car fax history of a vehicle is?

NEVER, buy a second hand car without a diagnostic test