Whether the air conditioner, CD player, etc., are working.Too many owners or incomplete service records often indicate a problem car, so either significantly reduce what you're willing to offer, or keep looking. How many owners the vehicle has had, and whether the car has service records you or your mechanic can review.Also, your resale value will be about half of what a good car with a “clean” title sells for. Safety is also an issue you should assume, for example, that you will not have functional airbags in a car with a salvage title. Insurance companies often will insist that the damage was due to a pre-existing condition or made worse by prior damage. With a salvage title vehicle, your insurance company will probably refuse to offer collision coverage, and you may face difficulties in settling a claim even when a wreck was another driver’s fault. In order not to waste time looking at bad cars, ask for photos of the car and be sure to clarify, over the phone: In either case, you'll be facing a slightly greater sales expertise than with a private seller. If he asks you “which one?” then you know that you're probably dealing with an auto salesman posing as an owner, or with a “broker” - someone who sells a small number of cars part-time for local owners who prefer not to deal with the hassle of selling. When you e-mail or call the seller, mention only that you're interested in “the car” or “the truck” he is selling. What does this mean for you as a buyer? Rely more on the lower numbers from Edmunds when negotiating, and don’t take seriously a seller’s claims that “I’m selling this for below Blue Book value.” Almost all vehicles sell for less than their Kelly Blue Book value. The most popular sites to check are:Įstimated values at Kelly Blue Book and Nada tend to be unrealistically high, while Edmunds and Black Book estimates are fairly accurate or even slightly low. At the Craigslist site, after you click the “cars & trucks” tab, select "by owner" - don't buy from dealerships unless you're willing to overpay.įind out what a typical car of that year is really worth, and decide if the one you’re looking at is a bargain or overpriced. Decide on five or six kinds of cars you'd be willing to accept, and do a keyword search on them every day. If your area’s Craigslist isn’t very active, most of these tips apply for buying a car through the online or printed classifieds as well.ĭon’t commit to one specific model. But if you do a bit of research, ask appropriate questions, and take a few sensible precautions, you’ll be in the best position to find a good deal. There is always a great deal of uncertainty when shopping for a used car.
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But if you live in an area with an active community, this can be a great place to begin your search for a used car. The auto sales section on Craigslist can sometimes seem like the used car showroom floor of your dreams or, more often, a vast, unrelenting junkyard.