Best place to find a used car?

[JustinH]

I'm looking for a used car, where are the best website to find one?

I have been using autotrader and cars.com to find local dealers.

Any other sites I am missing?

Don't want to get into craigslist too much.

 

[eljefino]

What model years/ price range/ kind of car/ warranty/ value are you looking for?

CPO would be your top 1/3
CL middle 1/3
BHPH bottom 1/3

Particular make & model in mind?

 

[dnastrau]

Try Ebay as well as:

www.cargurus.com

Andrew S.

 

[Cujet]

Well, I wish you luck. Used cars are no bargain today. Any family members have cars for sale?

I get flamed for suggesting new cars as a viable alternative for used. A well chosen new car can be cost competitive, over it's lifetime. The prices of used cars simply make no sense to me.

My friend purchased a brand new, 2014 Honda Accord Sport with 6 speed manual transmission. $22,500. That's easily a 200,000 mile car. That's 11 cents per mile capital costs. Zero cost for repairs for at least 60,000 miles. Interestingly, his insurance cost went down from his truck. Plus he gets 31MPG. There's savings in that too.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: Cujet
My friend purchased a brand new, 2014 Honda Accord Sport with 6 speed manual transmission. $22,500.


Wow!! I had no idea you could get one of those that cheap! KILLER deal!

 

[fdcg27]

+1
There are some real deals on new cars and cheap financing is widely available.
Decent used cars seem expensive for what you get, especially if you use a sensible allocable capital cost per mile metric.
I'd bet that with a little looking, the OP could find a killer deal on a leftover '14 MY car.

 

[Mr Nice]

It depends on Justin's budget for used car.

$3000.... $5000... $7500.... $10,000 ...???

 

[John_K]

I like everycarlisted.com.

John

 

[SrDriver]

I have been retired now for several years and live in a neighborhood mixed with retired people and young professionals.

When an older person passes away the family is often from out of the area and wants to settle the estate and you can find some great deals on well maintained vehicles with low miles on them.

Often if you check with people that settle estates they can point you in the right direction.

 

[ronbo]

Read the "best" place to get a good used car is at a new car dealer. They keep the cream puffs and auction the rest.

 

[jimbrewer]

Originally Posted By: Cujet
Well, I wish you luck. Used cars are no bargain today. Any family members have cars for sale?

I get flamed for suggesting new cars as a viable alternative for used. A well chosen new car can be cost competitive, over it's lifetime. The prices of used cars simply make no sense to me.

My friend purchased a brand new, 2014 Honda Accord Sport with 6 speed manual transmission. $22,500. That's easily a 200,000 mile car. That's 11 cents per mile capital costs. Zero cost for repairs for at least 60,000 miles. Interestingly, his insurance cost went down from his truck. Plus he gets 31MPG. There's savings in that too.


Agreed. You don't even have to drive it hundreds of thousands of miles to come out ahead. Plus, the likelihood is that the used car market will be normalizing to considerably lower prices as all these cheap leases I'm seeing expire in a couple of years, just as you go to trade it in.

The percentage play might be to take a cheap lease now and jump into the used car later.

 

[fdcg27]

Originally Posted By: ronbo
Read the "best" place to get a good used car is at a new car dealer. They keep the cream puffs and auction the rest.


There's also no more expensive place to get a used car.
Also, not all of the used iron on a dealer lot is all that fresh.
Most try to hit a number of price points down to five grand or so, and five grand won't buy you much these days.

 

[GenesisGuy70]

Used car lot.

 

[Chris142]

Craigslist.but your going to look at a lot of junk before you find your cream puff. That's where I found my f250. It was at a used car dealer

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Originally Posted By: ronbo
Read the "best" place to get a good used car is at a new car dealer. They keep the cream puffs and auction the rest.


There's also no more expensive place to get a used car.
Also, not all of the used iron on a dealer lot is all that fresh.
Most try to hit a number of price points down to five grand or so, and five grand won't buy you much these days.


Well yeah and often the $5k model will be deliberately repulsive to try and get you in something better/ pricier. Cigarette burns in the seat etc.

I looked at a Saturn in 2002... it was around a 96 SL1 with 70k for $7k when they had brand new ones for $9999 (end of model run.) Don't buy a used cheap car from the dealer of new cheap cars of the same make. Hyundai dealer had the same experience.

 

[Kestas]

I've had some luck with small dealers in South Florida. There seems to be an abundance of rust-free vehicles left by the old folk that pass away.

 

[JustinH]

Looking for a $12k max car.

Low mileage automatic transmission import.

Honda, Toyota, Scion, etc.

Under 60k miles.

I am in central Texas so maybe within a few hours of here.

Used car prices have gone way up. I had a 08 Marquis I drove for two years then sold it for the same price I bought it for. My wife has a matrix she has had for 3 years, and she can sell it for right about the same as what she bought it for used.

 

[KzMitch]

Originally Posted By: Kestas
I've had some luck with small dealers in South Florida. There seems to be an abundance of rust-free vehicles left by the old folk that pass away.


There's a metric ton of slightly used Cadillacs, Buicks, Lincolns, Grand Marqius, etc.
Low miles and salt free.
And no better way to test the A/C.

 

[Mr Nice]

I'm in Orlando area, lots of cars under $10k in nice condition if you look.

 

[SatinSilver]

Originally Posted By: JustinH
Looking for a $12k max car.

Low mileage automatic transmission import.

Honda, Toyota, Scion, etc.


Someone mentioned nice trade-ins at new car dealers. I would check there first. Here's a 99 Camry with 40k miles at a toyo dealer here for $6500:

http://www.metrotoyota.com/used/Toyota/1...07a1e8c2a74.htm

or a 07 Sentra with 11k miles for $9900:

http://www.metrotoyota.com/used/Nissan/2...f2f295dfbd7.htm

05 Solara with 25k miles for $11k:

http://www.metrotoyota.com/used/Toyota/2...901025658ee.htm

Of course these are outside your area and this is the rust belt area. We've bought many cars from this dealer. Probably get $1-2k off of those prices.