Posted on 09/11/2010 7:30:20 AM PDT by Inappropriate Laughter
The "deals" that are out there often (in what I have seen) have something wrong with them.
Could be an engine or transmission problem, could be a front end problem steering / suspension problem, could be a difficult and/or expensive to fix electrical problem, etc.
Best to take it on a test drive note engine response, transmission shifting, steering and brakes. Also if the check engine light is on (could be a sign of a big problem and you don't know unless you can read and decipher the exact fault codes) or the horn or turn signals don't work (could be the circular sliding switch called the clock-spring in the steering column.
I've bought several vehicles over the past few years - learned a lot.
I guess I should also mention what I consider my most important hard learned lesson - hope it doesn't get me banned - Buy from someone in the suburbs and not the city. Sorry, but some people are either clueless or decide to spend their money on things other than maintenance and just do not take care of their cars...
Guess how I know all of this...
We bought my daughter a used Ford Escape back in June. It was from an owner who had it parked at the end of their property. In ONE DAY he had 18 people stop to look, great price, and we bought it that next morning because we had the cash, other people were suppose to meet him at bank and lo & behold they had no money in their account, what the heck were they smoking thinking they could get away with a scam AT THE BANK.
They were hoping that he would feel sorry for them and give them the car for what they had instead of what the car was worth.
Lots of people playing these kinds of games now.
My understanding is the best way to buy a car (I am usually the buyer, but this would probably be best for the buyer also) is to meet at the Department of Motor Vehicles / Secretary of State Office, and if everything goes ok with the title transfer then pay the seller cash there.
Good luck all...
Ditto here. Hubby drives a 2003 Ford Escort ZX2 with 40,000 miles that we bought for $4000 cash. That was 3 years ago, and 45,000 miles later it's still running great.
I'm still driving a '99 Nissan Quest with 135,000 miles which is also paid for. I work at home, however, so I figure it'll last me another 10 years!
Mrs. Prince of Space
You better get a diesel if that is your concern. You might get a car to survive but good luck with a modern refinery. It is easier to grow and create your own biodiesel than gasoline/ethanol in a post electronic world.
Naw. You'd just need a piece of house so you could forage from all the other cars that were disabled by the EMP...
bad link
It was comical to see my petite daughter stuff her 6'3" girlfriend and her 6' tall cousin into that little "sewing machine on wheels", but she actually received the "coolest car" award in her senior year.
And how long do you think the ethanol treated gasoline is going to be usable?
Do you have a legit link to this story? If so could you post it please?
Agreed. Knock on wood, so far we made a “good” purchase. We drove it, and during the test drive, came back to our home and I ask my 13 yr. old son to fetch me a CD to test the CD player, well the stinker brought me a Guns & Roses DVD NOT a CD so now the CD player doesn’t work, we’ve tried disconnecting the battery hoping it would reset but no luck. Took it to the dealer the following day and basically only needed a rear windshield wiper blade. OH and new tires but we knew that plus would feel much better with brand new tread. That and for some reason, I’ve talked to others, ONLY ONE KEY, so spent the necessary time at the dealership for a new extra key for 80.00 or so bucks, no remote, figured it was for emergency only anyway, would have been 150.00 with remote.
All in all, daughter is VERY happy with it vs. driving my old tank of a 1998 Expedition. But we feel the Ford Escape is still not too terribly small nor too large . . . just right for my baby grizzly bear. LOL
Since we have two Expeditions, Mercury, and now the Escape, a couple of years ago my husband bought the little reader thingy that reads “check engine” codes so at least when we do have to go to the shop, we know what to expect. :)
Any “new” or “old” vehicles from now on will be Ford or Toyota . . .we do have an OLD 1990 Chevy pickup that I bought new back then that we keep to haul mulch or whatever in.
The modern day equivalent of pulling farmers’ trucks over and dumping their milk canisters onto the road.
2. I do not buy into buy used honda or used toyota. from what I have seen there is a 2K plus premium on every one of these cars. When the equiv vehicle is 1.5K and honda toyota is 3.5K I figure that there is still the same chance that the honda or toyota need serious money put into it. I have bought several brand new cars and I have bought lots and lots of junkers over the years. I cannot bring myself to buy a 2 year old car. I know the clunkers are the best value and if I want something nice I buy new. My most recent purchases was a
1. 1999 hyundai elantra for son. I have about 3 K into it and he has been driving it for pushing 2 years ( rule of thumb - if you get car for 1K/year over life of car you have done real good)
2. 2002 kia spectra. Bought about 1 year ago for 2.3K. I have put another 1.5K into this. If car lasts another year I will feel good, if it lasts more I will feel real good. It has good body and runs good.
BLS says used car prices are up 17% YOY.
I showed him the dry as a bone dipstick from his powering steering.
I said, "You know what this means?"
W/o missing a beat he said, "I need a longer dipstick?"
LOL, we call ours the “roller skate.”
GOTO www.govdeals.com , search by zipcode and find a good police cruiser to buy ,,, your typical 2003 or so Crown Vic with 100k miles will sell for about $2k.
And I thought I was the only crazy one....I transistorized the ignition in my Opel, but I keep a spare points distributor around.
I guess I am in a distinct minority here but I’ve never seen
the sense in buying a used vehicle. If you buy from an individual you can get a decent deal. If you buy from a dealer you will get screwed. There are plenty of good deals on new cars right now; especially at the end of the year and the new ones are little more than a used one from a dealer. As I said, if you can get a good one from a private individual you can save money. But then there are the warranty costs which can be substantial. No one can really repair a newer car today. If you need engine work or transmission work you are looking at thousands and thousands of dollars. And it probably still won’t be fixed right. But if you want to throw your money down a rathole, be my guest.
Oops. Try this href="http://www.bangordailynews.com/story/Business/Finding-good-used-cars-more-difficult-these-days,153496
Late models cars from corporate and rental fleets, fixed prices well under KBB/Edmunds - Simmons-Rockwell, Inc., Horseheads, New York and Hallstead, Pennsylvania. Immediate family have driven six cars from there over the last 8 years and keep going back for more.
Yep, those deals are now very rare. I have noted, too, lots of mid-'70s to early '80s diesel Mercedes sedans (240D and 300D models, mostly) riding around on car haulers these days. People really want those for their bank vault build quality, reliable (EMP-proof) diesel power and fuel economy. Wish I'd picked one up to tinker with about five years ago.
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