Went used car shopping today. So interesting

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I'd suggest focusing on vehicles for sale within a half hour drive to start. Expand your horizons if the make & model you want is not available nearby. Good luck.
 
Originally Posted by aquariuscsm
Car shopping is fun if you want a car. Car shopping sucks if you need a car.


Exactly!
 
Originally Posted by aquariuscsm
Car shopping is fun if you want a car. Car shopping sucks if you need a car.


Exactly!
 
Used car shopping is like online dating. Most aren't as good looking in person and have more mileage and issues than initially described.
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Cargurus and be willing to travel for the right deal.

We made it an overnight family trip 7.5 hours one way to get my 2013 F150 Lariat.

Couldn't find anything closer that met my wants.
 
Man! I don't envy you. The endless driving around to investigate dry holes was something I almost forgot about. When you are under the gun to make a purchase by a certain date that's the worst. (And the potential for a bad purchase goes up exponentially).

I agree completely with CUJet. Think about a new car. Heuberger (?) in Colorado Springs has no haggle pricing which ought to inform you of the true price of things at least.

I'd broaden my horizons from an ultra popular model. A

big discussion here a couple of weeks ago about Mazdas. With an extended high deductible factory warranty from a discounted (about $1,500) you can even take a chance on a Jeep.
 
Originally Posted by rsylvstr
Cargurus and be willing to travel for the right deal.

We made it an overnight family trip 7.5 hours one way to get my 2013 F150 Lariat.

Couldn't find anything closer that met my wants.

That is the first place I would look . Then the other online sites .

Last 3 cars we have purchased ( since 2015 ) , we found them on the internet . 1 in our home town , 2 were 125 miles away ( 1 was new ) .
 
Originally Posted by WhyMe
Yeah I know. Kinda need to find something before the insurance wants the rental car back .

We were in a similar situation a few years ago. Some guy (100% at fault) hit my wife's van but our insurance handled everything for us from arranging a rental to cutting the check for our totalled Odyssey. Once they told us it was totalled, we started looking for a car. Mind you, car shopping, models we were interested in, etc were the farthest thing from our minds two weeks prior. My wife loved her Odyssey and intended to keep it for as long as possible. Once our hands were forced, she decided an SUV or minivan weren't necessary anymore as our kids are getting older. Anyway, after a week or so, I called the adjuster and told him I haven't found a car yet (really hadn't) and wasn't comfortable rushing into a purchase. He said "no problem, keep the rental another week and keep me updated".

So, call the adjuster and tell him/her you (might) need more time. If the other insurance is paying, they'll probably tell you "too bad" though.
 
Just skip the Kitsap peninsula if your heart is set on Subaru. Pricey here. People love them out here. Just not my cup of tea. They sell for more than I think they should in the is area.

Might try going over the pass to eastern Washington. Sometimes used cars are a bit cheaper out there. When I was looking for trucks that was case, but the guy I have bought my last four cars from
beat all of those so I didn't have to travel.
 
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Originally Posted by MCompact
Originally Posted by aquariuscsm
Car shopping is fun if you want a car. Car shopping sucks if you need a car.


Exactly!


Yup
I enjoy it very much provided I'm not in a hurry. The last time I needed a car, it quickly became apparent that buying new is not such a bad ideas as I previously thought.
 
Originally Posted by Cujet
I've been used car shopping and here in South Florida, we seem to have an abundance of "Flood Vehicles" from other parts of the country. They try hard to hide it, and I could easily be fooled. Good thing the Carfax seems to indicate problems.

It's one reason why I often strongly suggest purchasing a highly discounted new car vs. used. As the cost per mile over it's lifetime is rarely over 5c per mile more.

The risk of getting a bad used car is rather high despite significant effort. Been there, done that.



100% truth.

The problem is too many people WANT something they don't really NEED, so they buy used to afford the want.

If you're smart buy what you need while might cost LESS new.
 
5c/m increase is like 50% increase in depreciation cost/mile on a sedan! How does that compare on SUV and trucks? I've been aiming for 10c/m on my vehicles (except for my truck, I knew that was was going to be expensive).

I realize that fuel costs are right up there (8 to 10 cents per mile?) thus a 5c/m increase in depreciation is going from like 20c/m to 25c/m, so more like 25% when taking into account fuel; repairs and maintenance is what, another 5, maybe? [I think I run well under that, so maybe it's safe to ignore.]
 
Originally Posted by AC1DD
Originally Posted by Cujet
I've been used car shopping and here in South Florida, we seem to have an abundance of "Flood Vehicles" from other parts of the country. They try hard to hide it, and I could easily be fooled. Good thing the Carfax seems to indicate problems.

It's one reason why I often strongly suggest purchasing a highly discounted new car vs. used. As the cost per mile over it's lifetime is rarely over 5c per mile more.

The risk of getting a bad used car is rather high despite significant effort. Been there, done that.



100% truth.

The problem is too many people WANT something they don't really NEED, so they buy used to afford the want.

If you're smart buy what you need while might cost LESS new.

I bought our 2013 Lexus GS350 F Sport used under CPO.
This is a $60K car; I was happy to get it for the price of a nice Accord...
And Lexus CPO includes 2 year bumper to bumper warranty, which is good for a car with this much electronics.
 
Several years ago I was checking out a somewhat rare car at a borderline shady used car lot when a dilapidated Mercury Marquis pulled up. It looked to be a husband and wife with several kids. Every body panel was either dented, rusted, or both- and the muffler was audibly rotted out. When the guy shut the car off it dieseled for several seconds before dying with a loud backfire. A haze of blue exhaust fumes drifted around the now silent heap.
I thought to myself, "Those poor sods are about to be clubbed like a baby seal."
 
Originally Posted by JeffKeryk
Originally Posted by AC1DD
Originally Posted by Cujet
I've been used car shopping and here in South Florida, we seem to have an abundance of "Flood Vehicles" from other parts of the country. They try hard to hide it, and I could easily be fooled. Good thing the Carfax seems to indicate problems.

It's one reason why I often strongly suggest purchasing a highly discounted new car vs. used. As the cost per mile over it's lifetime is rarely over 5c per mile more.

The risk of getting a bad used car is rather high despite significant effort. Been there, done that.



100% truth.

The problem is too many people WANT something they don't really NEED, so they buy used to afford the want.

If you're smart buy what you need while might cost LESS new.

I bought our 2013 Lexus GS350 F Sport used under CPO.
This is a $60K car; I was happy to get it for the price of a nice Accord...
And Lexus CPO includes 2 year bumper to bumper warranty, which is good for a car with this much electronics.

Originally Posted by JeffKeryk
Originally Posted by AC1DD
Originally Posted by Cujet
I've been used car shopping and here in South Florida, we seem to have an abundance of "Flood Vehicles" from other parts of the country. They try hard to hide it, and I could easily be fooled. Good thing the Carfax seems to indicate problems.

It's one reason why I often strongly suggest purchasing a highly discounted new car vs. used. As the cost per mile over it's lifetime is rarely over 5c per mile more.

The risk of getting a bad used car is rather high despite significant effort. Been there, done that.



100% truth.

The problem is too many people WANT something they don't really NEED, so they buy used to afford the want.

If you're smart buy what you need while might cost LESS new.

I bought our 2013 Lexus GS350 F Sport used under CPO.
This is a $60K car; I was happy to get it for the price of a nice Accord...
And Lexus CPO includes 2 year bumper to bumper warranty, which is good for a car with this much electronics.


For purposes of our discussion and op's situation a late model used car especially with a warranty would be the functional equivalent of a new car. At least you can efficiently shop at the dealers on a tight deadline.

On a popular car like a Subaru in Washington State the used car discount is likely to be disappointing.

So far, the depreciation cost per mile for my truck bought under similar circumstances 8 years ago is 15 cents per mile with zero cents per mile in repair costs, with current depreciation costs in the 5cents per mile range.
 
What about Carvana which is online, delivers the car to your driveway, and has a several days money back guarantee on all cars? Plus they have a financing tie in with a lot of credit unions. They have a 4,000+ mile warranty on all cars or balance of factory warranty.
 
We chose carvana because they gave me top dollar for trade, and somewhat fair price on purchase of the car, and $1000 black friday cash rebate.

Ended up with a Ford Escape, it has been good, three issues not noted.

1.) Heavy smoke smell, had to deep clean it and buy an Ozone machine, and change cabin filter. Not a big deal, I have it under control now.

2.) One hubcap was cracked when they were transporting the car, did not note that. I purchased a Keystone refurb cap for $20 and put it on myself.

3.) Carvana installed incorrect battery in the car, with no tiedown whatsoever. Battery was leaking acid from the terminal, tiedown was left in the engine bay just sitting there.
I resolved issue by purchasing $99 walmart battery and self installing.

Other than that I would say "not bad" experience.
 
No matter how you go about purchasing the Subaru, you'll have to buy about two years used to match the price of the competition new.
 
I was lured into a new car purchase after much consideration and almost always siding on warranty versus pre-owned gambles.
I like piece of mind but you almost always have to pay for that.

Know what you are willing to compromise on and shop the market honing in on exactly what you want or would be ideal. Wiggle room can mean you are willing to consider other colors or other option packages to get or live without. The less flexible you are for the vehicles out there, the more tied you are to a smaller sampling and typically, less leverage for negotiating. For years, the car I wanted to go out and buy or consider was almost always the hot item of the times or that market area. "Dealing" at times was merely standing in line to see what colors they might be getting in and paying X over the list or msrp if you can believe that !!
crazy2.gif

I did no such thing at the time.

My car is now approaching 2 years old with 11,100 miles and ready for o/c #2 next week. As luck would see through, I got exactly what I wanted at almost $5000 off msrp, then negotiated a cut rate price on a better warranty. 2017's were soon to be replaced and the fancier version so popular, I didn't want. Although the '17 warranty wasn't the same as 2018's. I was able to wiggle in a fair price for a 10/100,000 versus factory 3/36,000 and 5 power train. I thought of it as getting a new vehicle for a tad over 20 when it's not easy finding a decent later model pre-owned for much less. Considering I'll drive this for most of the 10/100, I'm very pleased.
 
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