Where is the best place to find a used car to buy?

[happy2bamom]

I would like to buy a minivan, with low miles. I feel like dealships inflate the prices. Is it ok to buy a car on craigslist? Are there other sites that I could look at for finding a used car? TIA

[jjordan]

Craigslist is great if you get the car checked out by a mechanic before buying. Call your mechanic and ask how much he will charge to inspect a car for you before you buy it. Then when you find one you like, arrange with the seller to have your mechanic check it out. (When we did this, the seller drove the car to the mechanic and we all waited there while the mechanic did his inspection, but you can work out the specifics with the seller.) The mechanic should be able to tell you about repairs that are necessary/recommended right away, what might be looming on the horizon, and in general give you an idea of what sort of shape the car is in. When we did this the mechanic charged around $100, but I imagine that price varies quite a bit depending on where you are (and maybe even what kind of relationship you have with your mechanic!).

If you're buying a car from someone that is sort of far away and it would be a hassle to have your own mechanic check it out, you can find someone closer to the car and do the same thing. Maybe look for a AAA recommended mechanic so that you're not just blindly choosing someone.

[almostamom]

A friend of ours recently bought her Toyota Sienna through www.carmax.com. I know she was very pleased. The local carmax lot didn't have what she wanted, but she was able to go online, find one at a carmax in the next state, and have it shipped here for about $150. She wasn't obligated to buy it (although she did), but the transfer fee wasn't refundable if she didn't buy it. I know they also offer extended warranties (I don't remember the cost). We've been looking for a vehicle and went to their lot. It was pressure-free (which I loved!) We aren't quite ready to buy yet though.

Linda

[AnnieW625]

My parents bought their 2005 Highlander from Hertz Rent A Car and were very happy with the process, their car had less than 20K miles on it and they saved about $10K by purchasing from Hertz. It was a haggle free deal which they loved.

I have bought two cars from private parties and have been very happy with the experience. One car I needed to get an auto loan on and so the sellers just went with me to the bank to complete the loan and it was easy. I didn't have my mechanic check it out, but they had all of the records on it and had recently had it serviced so we were fine with that. The other car I bought was much cheaper so I had saved cash for that one, and since it was in my home town the seller let us take it to my mechanic for it to be looked at.

I know people who have been happy with Carmax too.

We also got a subscription to Carfax. When I sold my car I provided the Carfax report.

We have sold two cars on Auto Trader, it was great. I would start looking there too.

[BillK]

www.autotrader.com is a good place to start.

[MelissaTC]

DH and I bought two cars through Hertz years ago. We got them for a steal and each was a year old. It is too bad they closed their location here because I would have had no issue buying from them again.

[annex]

I'm in the same boat as the OP, but then what do you do with your trade-in car? I would like to buy from Hertz's Rent2Buy program (they have some killer deals on the Mazda5, which is hard to find otherwise), but I don't think they take trade-ins. Selling myself privately makes my head ache, I'd rather just lose some cash and not have the hassle of paying insurance on the old car while I try to find a buyer locally.