used cars
 

im in Arizona and having a real hard time finding where I should be looking for used cars. Back home, I would just use autotrader or gumtree but here the decent cars (2-3 years old) seem to be with the dealers who I feel are trying to rip me off.

Any ideas pleass? Thanks!

Re: used cars
 

Have you tried CarMax?

Re: used cars
 

thanks for replying.
I checked carFax but will check carmax now

Re: used cars
 

Don't expect good used cars to be cheap.

Re: used cars
 

The US is the opposite of the UK. In the UK new cars are expensive, and used cars remarkably cheap, in the US new cars are cheap, and used cars are remarkably expensive.

IME Anything less than $5,000 is likely to be utter junk that is fit only for the scrapyard. ..... Keeping such a vehicle on the road is going to need a continuous stream of repairs. :(

Re: used cars
 

Good cars hold their value so much that it is often better to buy new than one only a few years old. I bought my low-end model new but it was cheaper than a 3-year-old high-end version of the same model (and those didn't linger on the market for very long at all).

Re: used cars
 

Usually AAA can help with finding new cars, and they maybe able to help with used cars as well. Narrow down which cars are acceptable first, and then give them a call or email.

Re: used cars
 

I just bought a car through carvana. An online company. If you know what you are looking for, they are very good and ended up with the best deal on the car I wanted.

Re: used cars
 

Agree with Pulaski - I am in the market for a new truck and a new F150 is cheaper than a 3 year old one with all the rebates.

Re: used cars
 

That's undoubtedly true, but I still have no idea why? :confused:

Re: used cars
 

It's the rebates. $500 off here, $1000 off there. Total rebates on the truck I am looking at are $7800. Then add the fact that you pay no ad valorem tax on new cars in GA but you do on used and it soon adds up.

Re: used cars
 

OK, yeah, I can see all the numbers, ..... but why doesn't the market price of used vehicles fall to a "fair" amount less than the price of a new vehicle? The "market" for used vehicles is, from a pure economics view point, a good approximation to a fair market - lots of equivalent "units" for sale with lots of competing sellers and many buyers. Assuming the buyers are aware of the price of a new vehicle, the price of a used vehicle should be lower. :confused:

In the case of Ford truck some people may be wary of the aluminum bed that they now come with, but didn't until very recently. I certainly would be if I was looking to buy now. :unsure:

Re: used cars
 

The shortage of used cars stems from the deep plunge in new-car sales between 2008 and 2010, and the virtual disappearance of new-car leases during the financial crisis. As a result, three-year-old cars are now hard to find and even older models are holding their value.

Another factor is a change by the three Detroit U.S. auto makers. To keep factories humming, they once leased tens of thousands of new cars to rental car fleets and then moved them onto dealer lots as used models after a few months.

There are fewer of those vehicles because manufacturers cut excess production capacity in recent years. Cash-for-clunkers rebates also took many older vehicles off the road.

The scarcity pushed up used car prices, often to the point that consumers who finance a purchase with subsidized interest rates can get brand new vehicles for about the same as a monthly payment required for a late-model used car.

Look at my 2012 Fusion - I financed it when I had significantly newer credit then I do now. At the time I was willing to fork over a higher interest rate to get the car. Now I have been offered a clearly subsidized rate on a truck that is ALOT lower than what I am paying on a used car - through the same dealership! Now I realize that brings credit into it as a factor, but I do think it's part of the issue of keeping used car prices high.

Re: used cars
 

They pay you if your car fails the smog test, which should raise prices at the low end, in the UK you don't get anything if you fail the MOT. Maybe that's one of the reasons why I was easily able to sell my car which in the UK would have been scrapped for $700.

Re: used cars
 

Georgia doesn't have a smog test - so that bins that theory, at least in GA.

Re: used cars
 

If you're buying from a private party, you might be able to get a decent deal. From a dealer, nope. Any dealer is going to stick about $2k straight on what he paid for a used car, then mark it up some more ahead of negotiating it back down with the customer. OTOH, if buying new, you should expect to knock $2k+ off the sticker price, quite likely more. I've bought four cars new in this country, and got all of them below the likely price of a 2-3 year old model. Yes, I may have been able to negotiate lower on the used, but I didn't feel like it. When buying new, I don't go to the dealer until I have my price fixed - usually by cold calling dealers until I get enough of what I want. Other advantages of buying new are loan rates that are often better, and an unused warranty. That's worth a bit of cash in of itself.

Re: used cars
 

I did something similar. I don't have the stomach for unreliable cars anymore, so I wanted a nearly new car that would be reliable for quite a few years. I looked at dealership-certified cars and was surprised (coming from the UK) that there was little difference in price between a new car and and a two or three year old car. I phoned all the manufacturer-affiliated dealerships in the area and played them off each other until I got a price down to what I was happy with. I ended up buying a new car for about $250 above factory invoice price with a 0% APR loan.

Re: used cars
 

Back in 2009 I was lucky, I bought a 9 month Jeep with 9,000 miles for 15k under MSRP. I agree that it was a shock when I started shopping for a used car. I have looked at ex rental cars from Hertz and Thrifty they seem to be more fairly priced.

Re: used cars
 

I've heard that, with care, a Jeep might last twelve months, or even longer! :lol:

Re: used cars
 

I did get a lifetime Chrysler warranty on it because of that.

Re: used cars
 

Your lifetime? .... Or the lifetime of the current incarnation of Chrslyer corporation? :rofl:

Re: used cars
 

Which ever is the shorter. Its annoying because I don't want to get rid of it now. I can pass it onto my kids as long as I remain the owner and Chrysler stays in business. Jeeps are not great cars but its been reliable ish, and has reasonable safety ratings.

Re: used cars
 

I saw a GC SRT 392 this morning. It looked very nice. :) ..... It wasn't moving at the time though, which is all too common for Jeeps. :lol:

Re: used cars
 

I thought that it was probably the lifetime of the vehicle ... :sneaky:

Re: used cars
 

On the dealership screen it says 99 years.

Re: used cars
 

Did it also say "Terms and conditions apply" somewhere in an unbelievably small font that looked as it it might have been designed to allow the 10 Commandments to be engraved on the head of a pin?

Re: used cars
 

Not so far, they repaired the roof without a problem. There is a $100 deductible. It appears to cover everything that you would expect from a manufacturer warranty.

Re: used cars
 

My search for used car is very frustrating. Craigslist is a joke, ads labelled as private party are mostly dealers. The prices are far above the kelly blue book value.

About once a month a real private party puts an ad on Craigslist, but the car is gone within 15 minutes. The last time the car was gone, and then relisted 7 days later for $$$$ more.

I'll try Carvana...

Re: used cars
 

Did you try New Cars, Used Cars - Find Cars for Sale and Reviews at Autotrader ?

Re: used cars
 

"above factory invoice" you say? Are you aware that in the US there is such a thing as "factory hold back"? My point is it is hard to say what the dealers profit is. More like a shell game.

Re: used cars
 

And "rebates", "volume discounts", and "dealer incentives". A dealer is even less likely to pay the "factory invoice" price than a retail customer would pay the MSRP. :rolleyes:

Re: used cars
 

Yep. Almost zero inventory. Cars that are available are 10% over KBB value.

Re: used cars
 

What on earth are you looking for? :confused: Autotrader has hundreds of thousands of listings. ..... I just looked: within 25 miles of my home there are 1,700 Chevys, over 160 of them for under $8k.

BTW, You realise that KBB figures collected from dealers, are distorted, so that they can buy trade-ins at "more than book", don't you? :unsure:

Re: used cars
 

Try truecar

Re: used cars
 

With a young family I am in the market for a minivan. they do not excite me, but very....practical.... :embarrassed_smile:

Maybe San Diego has too many soccer moms but I cannot find a decent price anywhere.

The best deal is to buy a new Odyssey for $3000 off MRSP - i got that offer through trucar

Re: used cars
 

I still don't get it. ..... I have just been to Autotrader.com, and searched for used minivans within 50 miles of San Diego 92093 and found 546 to choose from. Given that they're much of a muchness, mid-market vehicles, neither luxury nor ultra basic, what is it that you're not finding within 50 miles of San Diego? :confused:

There are 67 Honda Odysseys upto six years old, mostly priced $20k-$24k. Is the price your stumbling block?, because in San Diego the weather is such that vehicles last a LOT longer than you might be used to in the UK. I would expect a Honda Odyssey to run for well over 200k miles, so one that is 60,000-80,000 miles is barely broken in.

People are also probably doing 20,000+ miles a year, so vehicles that from a British perspective look well used and half worn out are, in an area like Southern California, nearly new and with many years of use left in them.

It is the same in my neck of the woods - our Honda Accord has just clocked up 310,000 miles, and despite having recently needed a new engine (at 296,000 miles), it still has its original clutch, exhaust system (except the cat), and starter motor. The brake pads were last replaced 230,000 miles ago (I don't know why the first set only lasted 80,000 miles.) The current set of tyres have 70,000 miles on them and should be good well into 2017, and hopefully 100,000 miles, like the last set. The previous sets did 80k and 60k. :)

Re: used cars
 

That is really good because ours don't even last 15K...anything over 12K is a bonus frankly :o

The second hand market is a weird one though. Down my way, can find a Disco, '08-10 going for $15 with 60-85K mile range. Lexus IS 250, '08-13 fully loaded for under $16K in the 45-90K mile range which is about a third of the cost of a basic new model. Mid range cars, you don't see that kind of saving and anything under the $8K mark is looking for a major repair at some point. Dead brands can get a good saving, a '11 Saab is about $4-5K but some parts are getting really expensive, especially the cat so while you can get a lot of loaded car for your money, I might not recommend it, unless you're up in Maine, where there's a few Saab junk yards and they're cheaper to maintain up there than in other places.

Re: used cars
 

:goodpost:

Re: used cars
 

This is also the time of year the new 2017 models are being brought out, so you may be able to get a good deal on a 2016. This is what I have recently been offered, not quite a minivan but has an option for 7 seats.

2016 Kia Sorento L model FWD

Automatic transmission, 5 passenger seating
Power windows, power locks, power mirrors
A/C, Bluetooth, Cruise control and more
On Sale now for $23,231

Or

2016 Kia Sorento LX model AWD

In addition to the options shown above, you also get:

Roof rails, Rear Camera display, Rapid charge USB port
UVO Eservices
On Sale now for $25,725

Re: used cars
 

Is it the tyres, the car, or the way you drive? :unsure:

These have all been Michelin MXV4 Primacy tyres, rated at 80,000 miles (for some reason the second set was only rated at 60,000 miles). We use the car mostly for commuting at high speed on highways or fast back roads.

While these Michelins aren't the cheapest, they last so long that they are probably among the most economical. I think we usually pay around $160-$180 per tyre installed. I don't believe in skimping on tyres, or brakes, so I doubt I could save more than $20-$30/tyre at the time of purchase and still feel comfortable, but might be giving up 40,000-50,000 miles of life - other brands usually aren't rated beyond 50,000 miles.