You can buy a high quality, reliable, exotic car like Mercedes or a full size Navigator or Jeep for $1200 and drive it for years with no maintenance problems.
The problem is most of the cheap, used cars are scams or lemons. Most, but not all. You just need a systematic approach to find the good ones.
Use craigslist
Craigslist is where cheap cars get listed and snapped up quick. People desperate to sell use craigslist and ebay, but ebay has less volume and costs money.
Set up this search in craigslist:
- Search for autos & trucks in local area
- For sale by owner only (no dealers)
- 200,000 miles odometer max
- $500 and $2000 asking price
- 1999 or newer unless you want a classic
Eliminate as many by description
Look for negative words like "needs some work" or "head gasket blown" or "has some rust" or "small transmission problem". Assume it's actually HUGE problem and the car is a piece of junk. With this you will eliminate 9/10 ads. Your stated goal initially is to eliminate as many cars as quickly as possible. I follow up with only about 5% of the ads I look at.
Contact seller with friendly intro
Best is to send seller a text message, just ask it's for sale. Then say you want to buy it but have some questions and follow up with phone call.
It's critical to call right away. Do not email. People selling used aren't necessarily tech savvy, they will think you're a scammer.
It's critical to call right away. Do not email. People selling used aren't necessarily tech savvy, they will think you're a scammer.
Contact seller with these standardized questions
Get them on the phone ask the questions below. You don't even have to write answers down. The good cars will have good answers for every questions. Again, look for any reason to eliminate the car. If you get a bad answer on any question, just end the phone call and move on.
The key with these questions is to BE SPECIFIC.
Bad question: "How well does it drive?"
Good question: "Is the battery charged?"
Sellers will bend the truth unless they are given scoped questions. I prefer yes/no questions, and number-scale question. Ie: What is paint quality between 1-10?
Questions:
Questions:
- Is title clear?
- Is title in your name?
- Any accidents?
- When can I come look at it and when can I buy it?
- Is check engine light on?
- Do all systems work? (AC, lights, turn signals, high beams, windows, door handles, door locks,. interior light, audio system, seat belts, heat)
- Any known mechanical or other malfunctions?
- Does it start?
- Is battery charged?
- Condition is engine (1-10)
- Condition is transmission (1-10)
- Does transmission shift correctly all the way up to highway speed 4th gear?
- Condition of tires (1-10)
- Condition of brakes (1-10)
- How many holes in exhaust and how big are they?
- Can it pass NY state inspection?
- What is condition of exterior (out of 10)
- What is condition of interior (out of 10)
- What is mileage?
- Does it have plates?
- Can I test drive it?
- Can I take it for inspection (at my expense)?
- How long has it been listed, or not driven for?
- Can you send photo of title (through SMS or email)?
- How bad is corrosion under body?
- Is it sandpaper roughness
- small flakes (you can scrub away with your hand)
- large flakes (you can peel pieces as large as a thumb off)
- Area where you can see through entirely?
- How bad is corrosion under paint? (1-10)
Be super critical. The good cars come with good sellers and they will answer all your questions. If there is any refusal or ambiguity do not pursue the car.
Be very afraid of rust / corrosion
Few things about rust.
Corrosion under the body means there is rust everywhere. In the bearings, transmission, drive shaft, steering column, suspension.
Corrosion is like cancer, it will grow.
Metal will always rust if oxygen and water can get to it. That's why all metal surfaces in new cars are either protected with either permanent coating (paint, or other water sealant) or with oil (inside the engine and transmission oil splashes on everything -- it's not just for lubrication!).
If there is lots of corrosion, it's already too late. It's like a stage 4 cancer patient, they will die.
Surfaces are protected with Systematically everything will break. It's basic physics.
Buy a car that is being driven
i like cars that have plates and are being driven right now. I like when the seller is driving the car at that moment while talking to me. Cars with no plates are almost always junk because they've been sitting outdoors getting rained on and corroding.
Why you should be doing this
There are 255 million registered cars in the US, most of them used, and cars that are well cared for will drive to 250,000 miles. It's idiotic and environmentally irresponsible to spend lots of money on a car. A 2000 Audi will get you from A to B in exactly same comfort and time as a 2016 but cost 60X LESS. I can't think of any other asset that deprecates so rapidly in cost yet so little in value it provides.
Every new car purchase means huge amounts of resources burned creating the new car, and waste created in putting an old one in the grave.
Good luck and enjoy your $1200 exotic car.
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