Buying Used in an age of Complaints

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Hi everyone!

Been lurking for awhile and gotten great info, but I needed to ask a very specific question, so figured I would join up. I am in the market for a new to me car, as I usually always buy used, and I am just running into an issue that I am sure is just me mind screwing it to death. I started my journey by picking a few cars and then going onto carcomplaints.com, and boy was that a mistake. It seems like everywhere you turn every modern car model has some serious issue like consuming all the oil, total transmission failure, or blown head gaskets. I was seriously considering a 2009 Camry because they seem dependable, but then found out their condensers collect mold and smell the car up, and there seems to be no permanent fix. I hate to use the phrase "they dont make them like they used to" but it just seems to apply! I know not everyone is experiencing these issues, but it makes you think twice before throwing 5-10K at something that might just bust a 2K transmission bill on you. Advice, suggestions, reassurances?
 
I prefer to buy clean, high-mileage cars with a good service history, preferably one or two owners depending on age.

If the car is clean it was cared for.

Service history allows you to track any recurring issues or verify that common trouble spots have been corrected.

I like higher-mileage because to me, it would indicate that any "gremlins" are either non-existent or have already been addressed.

Buying cars this way has kept me in a string of mint-condition German cars, that have all been trouble free for me.
 
I've only ever bought one new car, and the "new" colorado is demo.

Nothing else that I've ever owned has had under 50,000 miles on it, most around 70k+.

I don't like "new", as you own every single scratch, and that plays havoc with my head.

I've owned in my younger years plenty of cars at 120k miles + when I bought them, and in those years, I was moving on every couple of years.

You can tell (generally) if something's been neglected...
 
Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
I prefer to buy clean, high-mileage cars with a good service history, preferably one or two owners depending on age.

If the car is clean it was cared for.

Service history allows you to track any recurring issues or verify that common trouble spots have been corrected.

I like higher-mileage because to me, it would indicate that any "gremlins" are either non-existent or have already been addressed.

Buying cars this way has kept me in a string of mint-condition German cars, that have all been trouble free for me.


As long as the service records are there, no problem.

But I do know car flippers who have a questionable car detailed, and it will look like one of those well cared for cream-puffs. They haven't figured out how to fake the service records yet, but I predict that will be coming soon.
 
The least reliable car sold today is more reliable than a Japanese car from the 90s which was once the hallmark of quality.

Ironically as vehicles become better engineered and require less maintenance there's this segment of the population that refuses to take care of them at all. That's the majority of compliants you'll read about, especially online. Not to say there isn't the occasional recall, those are pretty easy to spot.

Just the other day my doofus neighbor was mowing the lawn. The motor was screeching on occasion because they probably haven't checked the oil since they bought the thing. Pretty soon there will be a mower in the trash and an online review about this "piece of junk" brand.
 
There are always a few lemons here and there, but OVERALL - there really isn't one "major" (Daewoo, Kia and Hyundai included) car maker that "consistently" builds "bad cars"

Most complaints are probably on the order of 1 or two per 1000 cars of that model.

Do what I do: talk to neighbors, friends, and even random strangers at filling stations! "Hey, I've been thinking of buying one of those! How do you like it?"
 
Originally Posted By: DdDd
The least reliable car sold today is more reliable than a Japanese car from the 90s which was once the hallmark of quality.


That assuredly deserves a link to the study...got one ???
 
All great advice! I have run into one guy that was questionable. I opened the hood to a 2005 corolla and man you could eat off that engine cover. The whole engine bay was black and shiny from a fresh coat of dressing. I generally like to give people the benefit of the doubt since thats how I like to detail my engine bays, but when dealerships do it I get suspicious. Lucky for me I knew to check under the oil cap, and of course there was a nice foam under the cap, so no deal from me lol.

I dont think my major concern is people keeping up with the service records, those help and are important, but it just seems like all the major car makers are taking short cuts and ending up with [censored] product in some area. I am just not sure how to buy a car now when with a little research you find all kinds of complaints about brake lines rusting or a certain year range having transmissions that will just quit on you.
 
Do not let these complaints scare you away from certain vehicles. If the used car has been taken care of and it has a pretty good reputation, like a Toyota Camry, then u will be fine. The last new car I purchased was an 02 S10. I've had at least 5-6 cars since then and they were all used cars and they were all reliable despite what people on the internet complained about . Do your homework and take your time when buying used.
 
That is a good way of looking at it. Like I said I am sure not everyone is experiencing these problems. Just like not everyone had spark plugs snap off in their early 2000 Ford F150, but its hard to focus on the good I think when all you have are complaints on certain websites. I think asking real people like you said is a good way to go.
 
Originally Posted By: barkingspider
Do not let these complaints scare you away from certain vehicles. If the used car has been taken care of and it has a pretty good reputation, like a Toyota Camry, then u will be fine. The last new car I purchased was an 02 S10. I've had at least 5-6 cars since then and they were all used cars and they were all reliable despite what people on the internet complained about . Do your homework and take your time when buying used.


I was actually looking at a 2007-2010 Cadillac CTS or ATS. I see you have one of each, how do you like them?
 
It's the internet, most people will not post about their trouble free experiences, most will post their problems in search of support or solution.
Therefore internet is rather useless at gauging overall reliability.

Funny you mention Camry and the smelly AC. My former friend's 01 Camry had the exact same problem.

I find that a forum like BITOG, which is not dedicated to any specific make or model, is quite useful at getting an overall feel for a specific model. Yes you will get some fan-boyism going on, but not to the same extent as on the make/model specific forums and it will usually be corrected.

However, if you start a thread asking about opinions for, let's say, two specific models you narrowed down, good luck getting the consensus, unless one of the contenders is really a known, horrible car.
I find that the best result, with BITOG crowd is to narrow your search to two, three models and ask about it one model at a time. So start a thread for one, let it run its course, then start a new thread for the other. Don't start them all at once.
This way you keep most of the fan boys out and mostly get responses from people that have experience with the model in question.
 
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Looking for a car for my kids I have run into the same thing. I use carcomplaints.com as a guide to see if the car I want has some troublesome areas I need to ask questions about and check first when I go look at the car. Use the website to your advantage because when you see a car has had thousands of power steering issues in a select model year, and the Craigslist ad for the same car says, "has a little power steering problem, a cheap fix according to my mechanic" you know it's not even worth looking at.
 
Originally Posted By: c502cid
Looking for a car for my kids I have run into the same thing. I use carcomplaints.com as a guide to see if the car I want has some troublesome areas I need to ask questions about and check first when I go look at the car. Use the website to your advantage because when you see a car has had thousands of power steering issues in a select model year, and the Craigslist ad for the same car says, "has a little power steering problem, a cheap fix according to my mechanic" you know it's not even worth looking at.


That is also something I did not think about, that is a good idea. My biggest issue comes with figuring out that a certain year had a major issue and then seeing only that year online being sold in bulk. At that point you have to figure out if its still in good shape, or if they dumped it once it started going down hill.
 
Originally Posted By: DdDd
The least reliable car sold today is more reliable than a Japanese car from the 90s which was once the hallmark of quality.

Not a chance. Link or this is complete nonsense.
 
I'd agree on the paint jobs from the Japanese in the 80's
smile.gif

So if the guy does not present a link it is nonsense?
Sounds like a lazy reader here. You could Google it yourself and see if there is a study. Just saying.......

Originally Posted By: planeman223
Originally Posted By: DdDd
The least reliable car sold today is more reliable than a Japanese car from the 90s which was once the hallmark of quality.

Not a chance. Link or this is complete nonsense.
 
How many people who have a trouble free car go posting on forums? Very few. Mostly it's complaints looking for company or to vent. I recently bought a oled tv and while researching it found mostly complaints and problems. You would think those TV's are junk. I bought one and it's great. Same with a Mercedes. Reading the forums, it looked like nothing but problems. But you have to think about how many hundreds of thousands are out there with no problems.
You can get so mired down that you won't buy anything.
 
I generally prefer to buy 2-3 year old CPO cars. I did buy the Club Sport and Mazdaspeed 3 new, but that was because they were both limited production cars and I wanted each one optioned in a specific way.
I've never had a problem with new, used, or CPO cars. I've also bought a couple of older cars from private individuals with no issues. In all three cases, knowledge is strength.
 
Originally Posted By: Linctex
There are always a few lemons here and there, but OVERALL - there really isn't one "major" (Daewoo, Kia and Hyundai included) car maker that "consistently" builds "bad cars"

Most complaints are probably on the order of 1 or two per 1000 cars of that model.

Do what I do: talk to neighbors, friends, and even random strangers at filling stations! "Hey, I've been thinking of buying one of those! How do you like it?"


I disagree. Look up Ford Focus and Fiesta Lawsuite or car complaints on 2012 - current Focus and 2014 - Current Fiesta.

My 2016 Focus at 19K miles has been towed 4 times. First at 701 Miles. Now the infamous tranny is acting up. My Wifes Fiesta MY 2014 was recalled for door latches that fail and cause the doors to fly open when you hit the brakes, a leaking gas tank that causes fires, they lied about the EPA MPG rating and sent us a check for that, the brake booster failed at 5k miles. Ford cars are pure garbage. I hope the buyback from the settlement will be high enough to get me out of Fords.
 
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