Buying a used car...dealer vs private owner, pros & cons?

[Kimberly9701]

Thanks so much for all the replies so far! I'm going to check out autotrader.com and cars.com. I have also found cargurus.com.

Yes we would like something reliable. Insurance is also a concern, we'd like something that isn't too expensive insurance wise. We saw one on craigslist yesterday that was from an auto broker. I guess they get cars that people trade in when they buy new ones.???? It was a 2009 Chevy Cobalt for $4000, but it did need some repairs (has a bent rim, so probably needs new tires and alignment we were thinking). It only had 95,000 miles on it. We didn't even go look at it though. Still wondering if we should.

Another thing we're finding is that a lot of cars have open recalls on them. So I'm hesitant on that too.

We are leaning toward going with a dealer if we ever find a car in our price range at a dealer. We like the idea of a warranty too. Oh well, the search continues.....

Don't at all be concerned with an open recall! That's a free fix from a dealer! You don't get charged for recall work! You just need to go to a dealer that sells that specific brand.

A quick way to identify lower insurance rates in my area is the number of doors. 2 door vehicles have higher annual insurance fees.

Some vehicles are near write offs in a collision. Hybrids have too much electronics. Sadly nearly every vehicle has an airbag now. Some vehicles have nearly a dozen!

Airbags actually lower insurance rates.

They are more based on-
Most importantly anyway--
Cost of parts and labor.
Where you live.
How you use it.
How many are stolen per year.
And first and foremost-
Age and driving history of the driver.
Oh and when people claim "a red car is more expensive insurance!" Also, not true.lol

 

[disneyeveryyear]

I just sold my mom's car in that price range. It was a 2004 Buick Rendezvous with 80,000 miles. When my mom died, I contacted a friend who had a 15 year old with a permit. I knew they had bought a car when their older child turned 16, so I assumed they would soon be looking.

Since I was selling to a friend, I took it to my mechanic and had all the repairs done that were needed, I allowed them to take to their mechanic if they so chose (they didn't) and I provided them the receipts for the most recent tires, repairs, oil changes, etc.

I sold it under KBB value.

Of course, after they said yes, I had two other people approach me about the car. It appears I could have had a bidding war. Oh well, it was one less thing for me to worry about.

 

[traces7]

OP here again! We're still looking for a car. We were close to buying one yesterday, but than I came home and read some reviews and got a little scared, especially after we saw some of the repair records. This was at a dealer. It was a 2011 Chevy Cruze LT, anyone know anything about them? I pretty much think we're going to rule them out. Too many bad reviews. Seemed like a nice car though! We were all disappointed.

The old Malibu died on DD's way to school at the beginning of June, so we put in a new battery and alternator, and it's running again, but no more repairs!

So anyway. Can anyone recommend a good used car under $10,000 for a teenager. I'd like it to be as new as possible for safety reasons. But, also not too expensive to insure. And good in the snow. Any recommendations? We've found a couple, but there always seems to be something just not right about them.
Thanks so much!

 

[runwad]

I've always gotten the word out at work and to my friends that we were in the market for a car. We've been lucky to have gotten some really great, low mileage older cars from older people. Those are the best cars! Got DD a 2002 Camry w/56,000 miles in '14 from an older couple who no longer needed 2 cars. Hubby got an 06 Buick Lucerne in '12 with around 60k miles from a co-worker who's father died. Just tell everyone you know you are looking and tell them to tell their friends. I think that is the best way to get a quality used car. Good Luck!

 

[traces7]

We keep hoping this will happen, no such luck so far!

 

[Sagginit]

I would vote Honda if possible. I am on my second and my first was 20 years old when I sold it (got the same price I paid so in the 6 years I owned it only put in the cost of repairs and maintenance). My first I got from a family friend, previous owner was an older woman (garage kept), second owner wanted to trade in for an SUV so they sold to me. The second I got from my brother, he was going to trade in when they got their Subaru and the dealer was offering him only about half of KBBV. The first I bought and sold cash, so since it was worth so little ($1200-$300 depending on where you looked up the value). Selling it I had a lot of issues with people low balling me and making difficult requests. If you are searching on a site like Craigslist keep that in mind. People might expect you to negotiate a little (and should price accordingly) but some people genuinely can sit on the car for months until they get a decent price. I had at least 20-40 inquiries for a 20 year old car, although many tried to offer me 1/5 of what I listed it for lol. If you can't network to find a car from family try to found out a little about the history of the car and the person (pictures can sometimes tell you this). In my experience young people are often not the best at maintaining cars (for lack of experience) and older people, particularly the retired, can offer you a great car for a decent price as they use them less and are more likely to be garage kept. Reasonable people can provide service records or at least a history of what has been done recently to give you an idea of any work that might be around the corner. If you can get it inspected that is great, but depending on the price the person might not want to be bothered as they are selling it as is. I let people look under the hood of my car, they could see key parts I said were replaced were newer and the type of parts put in. For $1000 I was not driving all over town to mechanics, I had a take it or leave it attitude as what do people really want from a 20 year old car anyway?

On that note also some cars are easier to get repaired and others you end up at a dealer for parts every time something breaks. My mother bought a certified used Cadillac from a dealer and it was nothing but issues, even with a warranty and became time consuming as they had to keep resetting the electronic system so she could only go to the dealer. The more common a car is I think the easier it is for your local mechanic to get parts and fix it for you. I have heard VW can last a long time too but I think repairs/parts may cost a bit more. I would avoid a two door car. My family had a few of them both fairly used and new. They didn't hold their value as much and I think as a new driver its hard to drive in a long car low to the ground (the collection including an oldsmobile, thunderbird, and a monte carlo for reference). I learned to drive on the oldsmobile and my honda was ten times easier for me to handle.

One thing to be wary of is if someone has multiple used cars for sale but is not a mechanic or small used car dealer, then something may be off. My stepfather fell for a scam once. A woman called up and enquired about a car he was selling. She showed up to test drive with some kids and was talking about how she was a poor single mother and the car she was driving was just a loaner and she really needed a safe car for her kids but could only afford X amount. It was about 2/3 of what we listed the car for. He felt bad and said ok, miraculously she had the cash with her and was ready to take it on the spot. The car turned up in town in a lot next to someone's house a week later with a for sale sign asking MORE than we even listed it for to start. We called to see what had happened and a guy answered who gave us a fake story about the former history of the car. A relative of mine recently had a used mini-van to sell and they had similar calls, lots of people with sob stories wanting the mini-van for 2/3 to 1/2 of what it was listed for. People are basically flipping cars which is not good if they are not mechanics and have no intentions of giving the next person an honest history of the car.

 

[tink2dw]

In 1989-1996, the golden years of buying used cars. You could sale your old car for 3 times as much, as the car companies would gave on a trade-in. So, people sold their old cars on the BAND NEW Craig'sList for $500.00 - $600.00 hundred Dollars

In 1989 I bought my First Chevy Cavalier. It start ever time. It did needn't need any major repairs.
Just regular maintenance. It had appositely 170,000 mile on it. That Cavalier just ran, ran and ran. till it was over 300,000 mile. I had to retire her, because it cost to much to fix the ignition switch.

Then I bought a 1992 Chevy Cavalier. It was just perfect. It only need general regular maintenance. A couple from Church need a car. I sold it to them. It is still running.

In 1996 our teen needed a car we bought another Chevy Cavalier. Our bought teen bought it me 4 years later. And is still Driving the car 6 years later.

The Insurance on two cars has been under $150.00.

 

[kymom99]

Thanks so much for all the replies so far! I'm going to check out autotrader.com and cars.com. I have also found cargurus.com.

Yes we would like something reliable. Insurance is also a concern, we'd like something that isn't too expensive insurance wise. We saw one on craigslist yesterday that was from an auto broker. I guess they get cars that people trade in when they buy new ones.???? It was a 2009 Chevy Cobalt for $4000, but it did need some repairs (has a bent rim, so probably needs new tires and alignment we were thinking). It only had 95,000 miles on it. We didn't even go look at it though. Still wondering if we should.

Another thing we're finding is that a lot of cars have open recalls on them. So I'm hesitant on that too.

We are leaning toward going with a dealer if we ever find a car in our price range at a dealer. We like the idea of a warranty too. Oh well, the search continues.....

I'm not sure how it is where you live, but a warranty on a used car around here is unheard of unless you get a certified used car. And those cant be found for $4000. My husband bought a used Explorer from a dealer. We got it home and the check engine light came on. Too bad. But it was a sensor and only cost around $100 to fix. But then a few days later a piece cracked that allowed coolant to leak. Dealer wanted $700 but we got a local mechanic to fix it for half that. Go into it planning to spend some money on repairs. Also before you buy, take it to a service center. Most around will check them over for free. That can help with your negotiation.

I bought a certified used car. Even though it was less than a year old and 7700 miles that gave me an extended warranty to 100,000 miles. That's not in your price range, I understand.

Your best bet is to find someone you know selling a car. My son is driving my dad's old car. His friend got a car from his great grandma. Not exactly a trendy car, but reliable.

 

[luvdisney00]

My 21 yo daughter was recently in a terrible crash in her 2009 Toyota Corolla. She was driving on the highway when a new driver turned into the side of her car sending her flying off the road into a telephone pole. Her airbags deployed, all of the glass in the car broke, and even though there was no rear end impact the rear end crumpled. The cop who had to remove the door could not believe how well the passenger compartment of the car held and protected her. The airbags and the engineering of the car saved her life and she was miraculously relatively unharmed. When we saw the car in pieces with no glass, no trunk and no front end, we were very grateful to Toyota. I would highly recommend this car!

 

[traces7]

My 21 yo daughter was recently in a terrible crash in her 2009 Toyota Corolla. She was driving on the highway when a new driver turned into the side of her car sending her flying off the road into a telephone pole. Her airbags deployed, all of the glass in the car broke, and even though there was no rear end impact the rear end crumpled. The cop who had to remove the door could not believe how well the passenger compartment of the car held and protected her. The airbags and the engineering of the car saved her life and she was miraculously relatively unharmed. When we saw the car in pieces with no glass, no trunk and no front end, we were very grateful to Toyota. I would highly recommend this car!

Thanks for your story. I was always interested in Toyota Corollas. Glad your daughter is ok!

 

[tink2dw]

I saw an Ad for Drive Time used car lot. I went to their web site. You might to check them out.

We accept trade-ins! 30-Day Limited Warranty! included 5-Day Return! Guarantee FREE AutoCheck history reports!

 

[tvguy]

I'm not sure how it is where you live, but a warranty on a used car around here is unheard of unless you get a certified used car. .

It must vary. I live in a very competitive car market, supposedly more car dealers in this area than any other part of the nation for the population. A used car dealer would never stay in business here without offering even a very basic warranty. And of course all of them will send you an extended warranty.
I am not a fan of extended warranties but I bought both my kids cars from Hertz. Both were "Hertz Certified" so they carried a 1 year warranty. On the first I purchased a Hertz 5 year 100,000 mile warranty. When I bought the second car, Hertz was in the middle of switching warranty providers for the 5 year warranty, so I got on the Internet. I bought a Ford factory 5 year 100,000 warranty from a Ford dealer on the east coast for less than my local Ford dealer wanted for the same warranty. There are dealers that have found that they can make a lot of money make a small profit on a Ford warranty, but by selling in volume on the internet.
I only bought the extended warranties because both kids were going to be away at college. Both were a waste of money, neither car required a single repair in 5 years or 100,000 miles. But I did buy a little piece of mind.

 

[Gena001]

Almost all of our cars we've purchased from the original owner. Even purchased a 200+k miles car from an original owner and it's great! (But that particular vehicle...we knew the owners and the guy who maintained it for them. )

I've seen lots of cars on Facebook groups, too.

As for the Chevy Cruze...a friend purchase one brand new. Less than 100 miles. I dint recall if it was a manual or automatic transmission, but it went out 2 weeks after he purchased the car. He didn't mistreat the car. The dealer gave him a new trannie, But he discovered the transmission was a known issue to that particular model. He traded the car in fir a larger, used, vehicle shortly afterward.

I'd say get a Carfax. There was lots of flooding in our area a few months ago and I think some of those wind up for sale.

Good luck!

 

[Gena001]

And one more thought...stay away from Wranglers. My friend was rear ended at a red light and the E.R. doc commented that the car probably came out unscathed, but the occupant didn't. They have no absorption and the passengers take the brunt of the impact. He was right...car looked decent after the accident and she missed a month of work, still doing therapy, and probably facing a surgery or two in her near future. She got a Jetta instead.

He said he sees that all the time with those cars.

 

[BellePrincessBelle]

I saw an Ad for Drive Time used car lot. I went to their web site. You might to check them out.

We accept trade-ins! 30-Day Limited Warranty! included 5-Day Return! Guarantee FREE AutoCheck history reports!

Drive Time is a glorified Buy Here Pay here, like J.D.Byrider.

 

[dalmatian7]

I work in a new car dealership. Even our lowest priced certified used small cars would never be in that price range. However, that doesn't mean you can't find something decent in that range. It will more than likely be older or high mileage.

I agree on the recalls. The manufacturers recall everything now (missing stickers under the hood etc) so an open recall is not always a bad thing. Sometimes recalls are announced a few weeks before they release parts, or the selling dealer (if off brand or independent) may not know about the recall.

One thing on warranties, we sell both factory and aftermarket. Personally, I prefer factory only because they include towing even if you do something stupid (like lock yourself out or a flat tire).

Not sure of your personal budget, but you may be better off buying a little bit better used car with that $4,000 as a downpayment and financing a small amount. Even if it was for you and you gave your daughter your vehicle.

Do you have any kind of relationship with a dealership? It never hurts to let them know what you are looking for. That way they can give you a heads up should they get something. We sell a lot of our lower priced trade ins to an independent used dealer. There isn't always something wrong with them, just the relationship we have. But if the sales dept knew of an interest, they would always prefer to sell to a customer.

Lots of independent mechanics often know if their customers are looking to sell, have a elderly relative no longer driving, etc.

 

[kymom99]

I will throw another thought out there. We have bought a couple cars, well actually 3, from a guy who buys cars at auction. You tell him what you want and he tells you what he can sell you one for. He has them looked over by a mechanic. If there is less than 50% left on brakes for example he will have them replaced. One time I took my car back and said the brakes were squeaking. He sent it back to the mechanic and they made it right. If you have anyone like that in your area, it's worth a look. Ask around

 

[traces7]

Not sure of your personal budget, but you may be better off buying a little bit better used car with that $4,000 as a downpayment and financing a small amount. Even if it was for you and you gave your daughter your vehicle.
.

This is what I think we will be doing. We've decided we'd rather get a safer, newer car for her.

I will throw another thought out there. We have bought a couple cars, well actually 3, from a guy who buys cars at auction. You tell him what you want and he tells you what he can sell you one for. He has them looked over by a mechanic. If there is less than 50% left on brakes for example he will have them replaced. One time I took my car back and said the brakes were squeaking. He sent it back to the mechanic and they made it right. If you have anyone like that in your area, it's worth a look. Ask around

I'll have to check into this.

 

[verleniahall]

go through a dealer - we bought a used car from the dealership, and 2 weeks later the Catalatic Converter went out - if it had been a private deal it would have been on us - as it was, the dealership reimbursed us for hotel, food, UHAUL trailer and the gas my parents spent driving form KS to TX to get us (we had went on a weekend trip to San Antonio and we broke down just outside Belton TX)

 

[dhardawa]

I just bought a car for my 16 year old Friday. I was looking for something that was decent quality, reasonable miles, and cheap. I ended up finding a guy selling a 2006 Kia Sorento. His mom had owned it and recently passed away. It has 130,000 miles on it, but I could see from the Carfax report that it had been serviced regularly and was taken care of. It needs new tires and I'll have to have someone look at the brakes, but other than that, it seems to be in great shape. I paid $2,750 which is about $1,000 under KBB value and about $3,000 - $4,000 under the KBB price if I had bought from a dealer. I fully expect to put $1,000 into it with brakes and tires, but it's still a good deal.