Why I hate buying a used car

[MikeH]

1. Dealers can't and won't tell you the history of a car.
2. Craigslist has 1-2 scams on every popular model every week.
3. Sellers both private and dealer will lie to get you to look at their car or come to their lot. This makes no sense to me but I have a long list of examples. (not everyone is a liar but a suprising number are)
4. Carfax is a joke and in my opinion a scam to get your money.
5. Kelly blue book and NADA are irrelevant. Good luck trying to buy a car anywhere near what they say it's worth. Though the insurance company will use it to reduce their liability if you get in an accident.
6. Private sellers think their 200K+ miles cars are worth 4-5K because they say Honda on them. Seriously? Are people actually buying these cars?
7. If you're online and there aren't pictures, there's a reason. Kind of like internet dating.

Ok, rant over.

[teamafx]

Amen! I have been looking and you are 100% correct! I can't find a car worth what people are asking.

Junk
Scam
to many miles
over priced

[bren]

I am looking right now too. Not a fun process.
I wish there was a VW dealer closer to Battle Creek. Probably going to go with a used Honda or Toyota. Hard to know if you are getting a good deal or not. Certified used does seem to provide some assurance.

[dave]

I hate selling a used car far more,I always worry that something is going to go wrong with it and whoever bought it thought they got screwed.

Of course I never under stood why anyone would cover up,hide,or avoid telling someone of any problems with a vehicle just to make a sale. Not right...and my brother in law just did that to someone.

Now on buying, Lately It seems that some of the better priced cars seem to be at the dealers,of course it depends on how much you want to spend and which dealer.

[MadMike]

We,Heide&I just bought her a newer Toyota Corolla,Here's the story,Some of you know me ;D ;D,We drove her Tundra up to Cheboygan 56mi oneway,we walked in to the Showroom(My hat turned sideways ;D I said (insert Hillbilly accent)"I want to buy my honey here one of them thar cars with a sticky gas pedal and a Life insurance policy" at first I thought they would just Sh#@t ,but they/We Laugh and ask if we believed all the bad rep the Toy's were getting,we said No and I pointed to Her truck and told them 'it's a Porsche with a lift Kit'and we luv it"We ended up get her a used Lease car that some body turned in with 19,000mi for $13,000,I ask if the oil was ever changed I was told Yes, a Lease car must be Maintained or they must buy it ,It's not a VW but a good little car and great mileage, 38city and the best with a tailwind @65-70 mph was 47mpg,Madmike

[bren]

We just today bought a used Honda Insight. 2010 model with only 6900 miles on it. It is rated at 40/43 for mileage. On the computer this car says it has averaged 44. Should be a good highway/mileage car for Marie. Funny thing is it has paddle shifters for when you want to be bad and play.
Drove a base civic and a civic hybrid. Liked them all. This was just the best overall deal for us.

[ghiastein]

Just a word of warning.

Stay away from a used Hybrid.

My Father has a Honda Insight that he purchased new back in early 2000 ish. It is sitting and rotting in his back yard not even 10 years old. After the car turned 7 years old the super batteries went bad. Last time he priced new batteries they were some where around $7,000 to $8,000. The car is virtually worthless because even with the purchase of new batteries the value is no where near the cost.

So it sits under a tree. Just seems like a waste to me because if it was not a Hybrid it would be a good around town car.

[MadMike]

AJ that just plain SUX Wonder why it can't be coverted to a diff Battery system? Volts are Volts, the Motor won't know what the diff is as in Gell vs.Lead acid, Maybe Golf Kart or HighLow Batteries

[bren]

AJ:
Send your Dad to this site. www.insightcentral.net/forums/honda-insight-forum-1st-gen-discussion/11191-us-ima-warranty-10-year-extension-updated-all-50-states.html
This is a forum for both the original insights and the new ones. I did not read this thread but maybe there is some factory help for him? I have got to believe there is a lower cost way to fix the batteries.

[MikeH]

Four weeks ago I bought a 1995 Honda Accord with 50,000 miles on it from my chiropractor. Now that's low miles.

Low miles is not 150,000.

Actually driven by a 70 year old woman. ROFL. Seriously... 70 year old woman and a virgin to boot, so the back seat wasn't used.

;D

[ghiastein]

Thats good Mike

Bren that thread that you linked was dated 2008. That is about the time that Dad gave up on the Insight.

I found something similar last year in 2009 and told Dad about it. He told me that he checked in to that and missed the dead line.

I don't know its not my car.

The irony is that my father who never liked VW's and thought my diesel Rabbit was a joke. Purchased a Jetta TDI to replace the Insight.

Last time I talked to him about the Insight he told me that he was planning on installing a V8 with a rear axle. I think he was joking.


Sorry for the hijack Mike.

Back to ranting about Buying a used car.

[dansam]

Ive bought 2 new cars and probably over 30 used ones. Ill take a used car any day. Let the Original owner take the depreciation hit and work out all the new car bugs. Just have it looked over by a reputable shop or take a blanket and some coveralls and get dirty. I like how Muir talks about buying a used car. Especially the part of feeling the zen of it all.

[MikeH]

I feel the zen when I'm buying a vintage VW. I know virtually every system than can go wrong and how to recognize it.

Haven't experienced the zen when buying anything else, primarily because I'm not an expert in other car systems and to accurately judge the condition.

One missed oil change can reduce the life of an engine dramatically and you won't know it until it hits the magical 125K mark and starts burning oil. There's just no good way to test for that.

But I agree, used is the way to go if you're patient and can wait for just the right car. I bought a new Malibu in 2009 when the rebates prices were so insanely good and have regretted it ever since.

[bren]

We leased a 2007 Malibu. It goes back 08/31. I won't miss it at all!

[dave]

Aug 2, 2010 17:02:28 GMT -5 bren said:

We leased a 2007 Malibu. It goes back 08/31. I won't miss it at all!

I read somewhere that after 07 the quality of the malibu got alot better..