First time used car buyer

[Anonymous]

We are buying our first used car after moving here.
Where do I start?
Facebook marketplace shows only private resellers, dealerships are $3k-$4k more expensive. Where do I take the car to check if its true that everything is working good as advertised? They all say get your own state inspection. Afraid yo buy. What if car doesn't pass state inspectiin. Why the seller doesn't want to do inspection?

[Anonymous]

Where are you?

[Anonymous]

What is your price range?

We bought a used car recently and found Carfax, Autotrader, etc. To be useful.

[Anonymous]

I am on a low budget. Found many on facebook marketplace. So far nothing states a problem on the add, once I call they start listing things to fix. No one has state inspection and would rather give slight discount to take care of it on my side. Should I be cautious of it?

Anonymous wrote:What is your price range?

We bought a used car recently and found Carfax, Autotrader, etc. To be useful.

[Anonymous]

Should you be cautious of buying used cars from private sellers?

Yes. Yes, indeed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am on a low budget. Found many on facebook marketplace. So far nothing states a problem on the add, once I call they start listing things to fix. No one has state inspection and would rather give slight discount to take care of it on my side. Should I be cautious of it?

Anonymous wrote:What is your price range?

We bought a used car recently and found Carfax, Autotrader, etc. To be useful.

I think you need a private mechanic to look it over. Carmax has a selection of cars under $10K. If you say dealers are 3-4K more expensive, it doesn't sound like you are looking at too inexpensive of a car to be dealing with the kind of thing you are describing.

[Anonymous]

car guru or carvana websites.

[Anonymous]

Yeaj, thats what I have noticed that its almost twice as expencive at the dealers, and I am not sure if buying at the dealer guarantees anything. I was wondering if its rare to get lucky to buy something from private seller and not spending a fortune to fix it. On an old car it matters to pay $4K (from facebook) versus $7-8K (from carfax).
Are there any good mechanic places in the area to take the car to check the insides? Frederick, Germantown, Rockville, Gaithersburg should work. THanks

I think you need a private mechanic to look it over. Carmax has a selection of cars under $10K. If you say dealers are 3-4K more expensive, it doesn't sound like you are looking at too inexpensive of a car to be dealing with the kind of thing you are describing.

[Anonymous]

We have two cars; one from a guy on Craigslist and one from the neighborhood listserv. Both had +100k miles when we bought them to give you an idea.

I didn't take these cars to anyone to check but here's what I could have done: I have my own independent mechanic and I would give him $50 to give it a quick peak on the lift and a drive around the block. There would be an implicit assumption that he would be the one fixing it for the next 5 years and/or listening to me complain about it. I trust him.

If that sounds like too much, just pay the extra money to buy from a place where you have some recourse if things go sideways after the sale.

[Anonymous]

The quality of cars goes in order like this:

New car dealer of same brand (Toyota dealer for used Toyota)
New car dealer for other brand
Carmax
Used car (only) dealer
Private Seller

Price goes in the same order, downwards. You decide what level of risk you want to accept.

For an inspection, the state inspection is not as detailed. Ask a mechanic for a pre-purchase inspection which will usually cost 1 hour of time.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the idea. We literally just landed in this country (still self-quaranteening, that was "strongly suggested" after two (every possible) tests at the airport, alas) and there is no one i know of to turn who would give me the "quick peak". I wonder if local AAA can do the "peak" work. Its my only idea for now.

Anonymous wrote:We have two cars; one from a guy on Craigslist and one from the neighborhood listserv. Both had +100k miles when we bought them to give you an idea.

I didn't take these cars to anyone to check but here's what I could have done: I have my own independent mechanic and I would give him $50 to give it a quick peak on the lift and a drive around the block. There would be an implicit assumption that he would be the one fixing it for the next 5 years and/or listening to me complain about it. I trust him.

If that sounds like too much, just pay the extra money to buy from a place where you have some recourse if things go sideways after the sale.

[Anonymous]

At AAA they told me someone toom their car for first oil change after buying a used honda at local honda dealership and it required over $2k of repairs, including cracked motor or some other important/major part. Go figure. Thanks for suggestions. Having someone i can trust now is the main lack of luck. Lol

Anonymous wrote:The quality of cars goes in order like this:

New car dealer of same brand (Toyota dealer for used Toyota)
New car dealer for other brand
Carmax
Used car (only) dealer
Private Seller

Price goes in the same order, downwards. You decide what level of risk you want to accept.

For an inspection, the state inspection is not as detailed. Ask a mechanic for a pre-purchase inspection which will usually cost 1 hour of time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for the idea. We literally just landed in this country (still self-quaranteening, that was "strongly suggested" after two (every possible) tests at the airport, alas) and there is no one i know of to turn who would give me the "quick peak". I wonder if local AAA can do the "peak" work. Its my only idea for now.

Anonymous wrote:We have two cars; one from a guy on Craigslist and one from the neighborhood listserv. Both had +100k miles when we bought them to give you an idea.

I didn't take these cars to anyone to check but here's what I could have done: I have my own independent mechanic and I would give him $50 to give it a quick peak on the lift and a drive around the block. There would be an implicit assumption that he would be the one fixing it for the next 5 years and/or listening to me complain about it. I trust him.

If that sounds like too much, just pay the extra money to buy from a place where you have some recourse if things go sideways after the sale.

Where do you live? Someone will be able to suggest an honest mechanic in your neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Here's a take on Carmax. You may not get the absolutely best price on a car. But, if you don't have a lot of room in your life for this kind of hassle, they're great. You will leave quickly with one of several cars you test drove with all the paperwork dealt with.

[Anonymous]

I woudl appreciate a recommendation in Rockville, Bethesda, Gaithersburg, Frederick. I am flexible. I just need a reliable eye to look at the car.
THank you.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for the idea. We literally just landed in this country (still self-quaranteening, that was "strongly suggested" after two (every possible) tests at the airport, alas) and there is no one i know of to turn who would give me the "quick peak". I wonder if local AAA can do the "peak" work. Its my only idea for now.

Anonymous wrote:We have two cars; one from a guy on Craigslist and one from the neighborhood listserv. Both had +100k miles when we bought them to give you an idea.

I didn't take these cars to anyone to check but here's what I could have done: I have my own independent mechanic and I would give him $50 to give it a quick peak on the lift and a drive around the block. There would be an implicit assumption that he would be the one fixing it for the next 5 years and/or listening to me complain about it. I trust him.

If that sounds like too much, just pay the extra money to buy from a place where you have some recourse if things go sideways after the sale.

Where do you live? Someone will be able to suggest an honest mechanic in your neighborhood.