georgiaw

Help !!

we have a lovely chrysler Pacifica ... which we bought when we arrived a couple of months ago .. and please no knocks about it ... some love american cars some don't .. we like this car

Now onto the problem ... we want a second car as literally a town runner ... no major commuting .... but where to look to find one is another matter ...

We've tried craigslist, ebay etc but are nervous of buying because we aren't car buffs and aren't too sure of the buying process either

so I guess what we are looking for is 2 things ..... advice on the car buying process .. registration etc (but of a mystery still dealer did it all for us last time !!) and also any tips on good dealers / small town sellers that sell sub $4-5k cars !!!!


any help gratefully received !!

georgia

PS we live in the needham/dedham/wellesley area

SpoogleDrummer

I used Autotrader.com to find our current car, though I did go to the dealer to ask about one car and ended up driving away with another. Unfortunately I know nothing about cars myself so can't help with what to look for, we took the wife's dad who used to be a mechanic but we may well not have bothered as he only pointed out faults with the car after we'd had it a few weeks :curse:.

georgiaw

Thanks for this ... hadn't realised that there was an autotrader here .... should have known better ....

Patrick Hasler

SORRY

But it's a pile of shit

Watch Top Gear on BBC America ..... Chrysler can't build cars !

lisag8070

If you have a Carmax in your area...give that a try as they usually have a good variety of cars and prices..

georgiaw

Ok so you clearly you don't understand the phrase "please no knocks about it"

Thanks for your unhelpful comment

georgiaw

[QUOTE=lisag8070;6921275]If you have a Carmax in your area...give that a try as they usually have a good variety of cars and prices..[/

thanks for this i'll have a look on google !!

Bob

about 2-4 hours drive away from the OP...

best place really is craigslist and ask a mechanic to come by....but there are loads of places...depends how much you want to spend or what you want to get, if you want a Honda, the place on Rt9 up the road from you is pretty good apparently, but closer on Rt 9 towards you, the Toyota place is good and so is the Volvo place.

The GM dealer next door to where Vinny T's used to be is also a good place and they have a great body shop if you need one.

$4-5K will get a bit on the edgy side of a beater though especially with winter on your door, but sorting a car out is easy, your insurance broker should do it all as part of the service, they give you a slip saying you've got insurance and will register the car and get plates/tags, then you get car inspected with the registration and plates. Inspection stickers don't transfer with new owner, nor goes registration sticker even if you had a set of old plates and sticker.

JohnCT

Welleslly area I would search Craigslist for Camry from 1997 or '98, run away from the cars that don't appear well cared for cosmetically. Also stick to the rich towns in your area where people make more than you do, seriously do you think poor people take care of thier cars? .....Go to Lexington but not Dorchester...Ask the sellers if you can take it to your mechanic and run away if the answer is no. A little dickering is expected, but using kbb.com as a rough guide don't hesitate to spend full "private party" price if the car looks spiffy. It might be prudent to keep 1000 USD budget buffer to bring everything up to snuff. I would take the time to look at this one for example.....http://boston.craigslist.org/bmw/cto/902319586.html It is priced close to top dollar for year/mileage, but if it looks well cared for and has some up-to-date service information, it might be right for you. Use normal people skills to evaluate who you are dealing with.

Good luck,

John

tonrob

But it's beige!

TruBrit

always best to check out the Better Business Bureau www.BBB.org for recommendations when buying goods.... can't think what the UK equivalent is if anything....