How did you find buying a second-hand car?

We are struggling at the moment as there doesn't seem to be anything suitable and second-hand cars really seem to hold their value and are expensive. Having said that we don't want to spend $20k on a brand new car.

Do you know which is the right magazine which will tell us what the values of cars up to 10 years old are? We will then be able to use this as our benchmark and will be in a position where we can negotiate with the dealer or private seller.

Can we get the magazine at a newsagents?

Thank you!

Lemon Aid guide.

Imports hold their value more than domestics, but total cost of ownership is less. It costs more to buy an import, but as a rule you lose less when you sell it.

APA http://www.apa.ca/

Used car buying in Canada is very much buyer beware. Go to someone you trust or is recommended. The better the vehicle often the less negotiating power you have.

We had heard something about Lemon Aid. Need to get a copy.

Thanks very much for your response, we will be aware when looking for a second-hand car!

CAA do inspections, you can call them and they'll take a look for a fee. Most libraries have copies of the Lemon Aid guide.

Best thing to do is look on kijiji to get the idea of prices per mileage, for the type of car you are looking for. Currently we are looking for a PT Cruiser, we want a manual, preferably blue or purple, preferably a GT. We are finding once the miles go over 175k/200k then the prices drop considerably, this is quite true for many cars, we want a much lower mileage one, we will end up with one it'll just take time.

If the ad says surface rust, it means there is lots of rust. If it says runs well it means the body's crap. A lot of people over price their cars, if it has chrome wheel arches beware of rust underneath - they're a good cover up.

OH has just asked what type of car you are looking? He looks on kijiji several times a day - he could also check at work if your willing to travel. One thing we have found is cars in Edmonton seem to be much rougher than the cars in Calgary. One reason we feel second hand cars hold their value a little more is the lack of population, fewer people = less competition for the second had car market. It is possible to get a bargain, it just takes hard work and dedication and lots of false starts

I'm on the opposite side, trying to sell my car. Been on Autotrader and slowly decreasing my price over the last 2 months. Just listed on Kijiji. I'm one of the cheaper cars available for my model and year despite having really low KM, hardly getting any calls

Any suggestions on how to get it done?

My hubby will update the ad every three or four days so it stays near the top of the list, he will also post under Calgary, Red Deer and Edmonton. He never advertises with Autotrader. He also lists his cars for cheaper than the competition, but more than he'll accept. He always buys cheap too though.

Hope you get a buyer soon

What car do you have, and how much do you want for it?

Bit of an Arthur Daley on the side?

The modern entrepreneur is constantly gazing into the crystal ball of opportunity.

I have a good Toyota Echo 2000 for sale, in Edmonton if interested, drop me a line

I don't mean to rude but I was asking about a car.

Feeling the need to defend my ownership of a domestic car (Pontiac G5) after this comment . Amazingly I won a GMC Sierra truck 3 years ago when trying to buy a car and failing due to expensive insurance etc, see many similair threads. Anyway sold the truck back to the dealership and bought the G5 which was much more practical for us.

Either way the car's been good to us, but now with 2 young kids we upgraded so trying to sell and having a real struggle, guess that's one of the issues of buying domestic.

Thanks for the advice on relisting, like that idea with Kijiji.

Autotrader was a necessary evil I thought, they messed me around to begin with kept kicking my ad off online citing "wrong price - suspected fraud." No idea what "wrong price" means, too high or too low, or just $1 off, couldn't get a square answer, very frustrating.

Here's the ad with the rest of the details if anyone is interested - linky

Waaaaaaahhhhhhh

Hi

Its true the second hand cars here in Calgary are very expensive but why bother with a second hand car.
Are you Ok with a Hyundhai? You can get a new car for around $10,000 and they also offer 60 month zero interest as finance. I would have bought the Elantra if I did not buy my new SUV last year on a 48 month zero interest. It has got good reviews and I drove it a few months ago as a rental. It was really good value for money. I think you can get an automatic Elentra brand new for about $15000. You can get good deals if you put down a good downpayment and there are plenty of dealers offering zero interest. Just shop around.

Good luck.


QUOTE=AllyS;8604954]How did you find buying a second-hand car?

We are struggling at the moment as there doesn't seem to be anything suitable and second-hand cars really seem to hold their value and are expensive. Having said that we don't want to spend $20k on a brand new car.

Do you know which is the right magazine which will tell us what the values of cars up to 10 years old are? We will then be able to use this as our benchmark and will be in a position where we can negotiate with the dealer or private seller.

Can we get the magazine at a newsagents?

Thank you![/QUOTE]