This seems to be a recurring trend...

Why is it that when people buy a used car, they believe every lie the dealer or owner spews at them, then a few weeks after buying it, decides it might be wise to get it checked out. And then they're pissed to find it needs sometimes thousands in neglected maintenance and repairs.

Example 1: My friends work at Rasmussen BMW/Mini. A few months ago this guy bought a used Cooper from a private owner but didn't bother to have it checked out. They brought it in and the undercarriage was rusted to hell from having spent much of its life in a road salt state before coming to Oregon. The technician said, "Well if they had brought this in before, I would have told them NOT to buy it."

Example 2: Guy buys a used 2002 Hyundai Santa Fe from the Toyota dealer after his RAV4 gets totaled. Now he finds out that it's at 120,000 miles and needs a timing belt, water pump, shocks, struts, tires, an alignment, and rear lower control arms. And the ABS has begun acting up. Guess what? He's already bought and paid for it and has just now scheduled an inspection with the Hyundai dealer.

I can understand not knowing about the timing belt but do people not even have the common sense to check the tires on the car they're buying?

A tip for all of you. IT'S CALLED A PRE-PURCHASE INSPECTION FOR A REASON.

[/rant]

 

I drive every car through various roads and inspect it with a fine toothed comb and bring along someone who knows about cars just in case I miss something. Everyone should do this.... some people however don't even test drive cars before they buy them

 

If buying used, buy with warranty...

 

ppi>* had one done on the boxster and it had some things on it that made some people question it, but told me what i need to replace. $200 can save you thousands

 

lease ftw - new car every 36 mo. and zero heartache

 

Yea but any person with a good financial head will say never lease a car, ask Mr Buffett

 

That's great if you can limit the amount you drive as per your lease agreement.

 

i think you gotta accept that there are people out there that have the very slightest interest in cars, and they buy it because it looks "cool" or because they just needed transportation or just aren't interested in researching it.

For every owner that zainos the shit out of their cars every other month, there's the owner that washes it once a year.

 

Yeah some people are complete idiots when it comes to buying cars. I work at an auto parts store and you would not believe how many people come in for parts for a car/truck and have NO idea what they even bought. How do you hand over thousands of dollars of your hard earned cash and not even know what you're buying?!?! They literally come into the store with the temporary registration from the DMV looking for parts. The registration as most of you know only has the year and make of a vehicle. So they come in asking for parts for this car (they point at their registration ). I tell them that it says the make and year but not the model. I ask them what model it is and they say they don't know, they just bought it. Idiots, they are everywhere.

 

Reminds me of a kid i knew in high school...he bought a used mustang. I asked him what kind of engine it had and his response was, "Does it matter? it's a mustang!" I saw it later and don't know what year it was (late 80's?) but it was an LX automatic 4cyl model.

 

I won't buy a used car unless an inspection at the dealership of my choice is included in the price.

 

from a metro region outside NYC. all commuting is done via public transportation. 12k miles a yr is almost unfathomable...to me, at least. maybe its my own world, but ppl tend to lease. and that is reflected by local car dealer advertisements. most things in the papers are lease deals. rarely do you see finance pricing.

 

I bought my FX35 from a dealer 800 miles away from my house and had it shipped to me without ever seeing it or test-driving it.
I bought it from a Lexus dealership who sent me over 150 pictures of it, guaranteed it's condition, provided work-orders for every little thing they fixed or replaced on the car (new brakes, new tires, new wipers, all fluid changes inc. tranny, etc...) all with an unconditional 30-day buy back guarantee if there was ANYTHING about it I didn't like it.
Almost a year later and I could not be happier with the transaction...not to mention I got if for $5k less than anything offered around me.

 

It sounds like you took the proper steps to help guarantee you're not getting fucked.

I would buy used w/o seeing the car under a similar situation.

 

What does he know?

Oh wait, Buffet not Buffer ... Oops?

Seriously though, Warren Buffet drives a car that's a million years old. I'm happy he has $35B in net worth but I have different interests than he does and one of them is driving a car that was made in the same decade I'm currently living in

 

I usually make sure to have any used car inspected. Do not take the dealer's word for it.

 

Leasing is cheaper if the car sees everyday wear and tear. I will never purchase another everyday car nothing major will occur within 3-4 years, if it does the car is under warranty. My car is just becoming a financial pain in the ass. I just had the 50k mile service done, it needed new tires and soon its going to need breaks, all of this adds up to more then $2,000. For 1k more I could have a 3k down payment on a leased car and I would not have to worry about future problems.

 

Contextually, leasing a base Nissan Versa is just stupid. There's not much to go wrong with it and cars like that usually will last for years without major issues.

If you get into the BMW/Audi/Merc/Jag arena that's something else entirely. Especially if they have free maintenance.

 

Used cars have their place as do leased cars. Depends on buyers situation and needs. There is no easy one size fits all answer like with most things.

Same with leases which come with different terms, some good, some bad. What is right for one of us is wrong for another.

Stop thinking your answer is the only answer. This is for posters that complain about others ideas.

 

Some people just don't drive enough to want to pay off a car they will get tired of and have to spend $$ maintaining. Me, I could never stick to the terms of a lease especially mileage. I see how this works for other people though.

 

what if you buy a used acura from an acura dealership. not certified pre owned but just same make as the dealership.

would you still recommend a ppi? and if so, where would you take it?

 

^Yeah, what if the above situation occurs?

In my car purchasing history, i've never bought used, but am very open to it. Especially considering the savings involved in letting the first buyer take the depreciation hit.

So what do you guys normally do for a car inspection when buying used from a dealer like Acura, BMW, Audi, etc... Do you bring your own mechanic and let him look it over? Do you "borrow" the car for a day to take it to the shop? How does this work?

 

One's own mechanic (or someone in the business who is knowledgeable and reputable-- a friend's mechanic, perhaps, or marque/performance specialist shop) can inspect the car, which I recommend especially if the warranty is less than one year.

I've had sellers and dealerships offer to let potential buyers take the car to a mechanic for inspection, and have told friends to do it when they were looking (I don't know enough to qualify, esp. with the newfangled electronic systems in newer cars ).

 

I did a lot of PPI when I was in the automotive biz, it was extremely rare to have a car come through that was 100%. I spent over 10 years of my life working in that biz and in that span I had maybe 5 or 6 cars that I could find nothing wrong with. Granted I was very critical and a lot of the time they were little problems, but the rest of the time there were major problems and what was most shocking is most of these cars came from dealers with clean CarFax reports. I learned to trust my experience and looking at the car rather then a piece of paper coming from a third party who has never seen it - there was a thread about this a few weeks ago.

 

Assume you are doing business with an 'honest' dealer or individual. Tell the truth that you want the vechicle checked by a professional. Probably have to leave a deposit and perhaps write a 'subject to' contract saying you will complete the purchase depending on condition. You will need to establish cost and appointment with the mechanic in advance.

Of course if they balk, you walk.