Buying Used

[pitotshock]

So what does everyone else do when you are buying a used car?

When I set out to buy something sporty for myself, I was open to a very wide arc of possible cars, but in my mind I was leaning toward the WRX as a likely contender. This car had to be relatively affordable as it was going to be a toy and I set myself a limit of $20K CAD.

Being of an engineering mind, first I set out to see what the used market in my area (Ontario and Eastern Quebec) looked like and put together a chart that shows the model year, how many kilometers and the trim level. As you can see in the chart below I had around 150 data points of manual transmission cars, and the blue line represents the mid or average price. As you get closer to the green line the better the deal and closer to the red line a more expensive option. It seems that the pricing is closely related to kms and loosely related to the model year. These are asking prices, but look at the amount of variation in prices for a 2016 sitting at the dealer new.

For me, the sweet spot is at the corner of the initial major depreciation drop. Where the light blue lines cross is the car I bought. My preference was a Toyota dealer, not an independent lot or private sale. I have trouble with buying a car from a person who still owes most of the value of the car to a finance company, and there is a lien on the car.

[Tcoat]

I don't buy used anymore but if I did I would also stick to a dealer.
Should I be interested in a private sale my first question would be "is it paid off and if so has it been used as collateral for a loan?". If they say yes to the first and no to the second my second question would be "Can you show me proof of that?". Nobody wants to get tangled up in a car with a lien.
Trying to set a dollar value as a best reference can be a slippery slope. There are piles of very good cars priced low and horrible ones priced high. The value of the car is dependent on the condition and local market price so to say $XXXX is a good price can be a trap. Mileage is usually a good indicator but can also be deceiving. Which would you rather have a poorly modded, driven hard and poorly 6,000 mile car or a well maintained and driven 50,0000 mile one? Of course the best case is a well maintained and driven 6,000 one but how do you know that is what you are getting? Even the dealers don't know when they take them in. I love checking out the ones for sale on here and going back and reading the sellers posts. nothing quite like a guy that says "like new, lightly driven, no issues" in his for sale thread and then reading about his 3 burnet up clutches, how his GF puked all over the interior and that time he spun out and hit a curb because all season tires are great in the snow.

[finch1750]

Drive a bunch of them and if you dont love that exact car move on. Taking you time will leave you better off in end.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by finch1750

Drive a bunch of them and if you dont love that exact car move on. Taking you time will leave you better off in end.

This^^^^^ Do not settle because it is in your price range, is easy to get, or any other reason. You may think it is fine at the time but it will nag at you until you start to nit pick it to death. Be sure that it is everything you want not just "will do".

[DAEMANO]

Originally Posted by JNthe86

I'd also add that you have a reserve set aside so that any surprises that may pop up don't catch you completely off guard. As I'm sure you're probably aware, used cars can really be a crap shoot.

This!


Modern fast cars are usually beat on pretty hard, modified by amateurs (like myself), and have more complex systems globally. So for a used Sports/Sporty car, I'd make sure to factor in a considerable cushion for maintenance (perhaps even an additional 10% of your purchase price annually.)

If you buy Certified Pre Owned, you'll pay that extra 10% upfront in the sticker, but will at least have some support from the dealer. Just be prepared to do little modification to keep from having a warranty fight.

[pitotshock]

One of the first ones I looked at had a few aftermarket pieces on it, so I came in with a hesitant approach. When I popped the hood, it still had the spur gear attached to the crank shaft from a now non-existent supercharger and half of the emissions systems had been removed. I thanked the salesman and told him this wasn't the car for me.

[FR-Sky]

why you make it so complicated?
If you like the car, test drive and buy. Get the lowest mileage and lowest cost.
If you test drive and dislike, move on.

I personally preferred to buy in dealership, it is easier for me to get finance and paper work done.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by FR-Sky

why you make it so complicated?
If you like the car, test drive and buy. Get the lowest mileage and lowest cost.
If you test drive and dislike, move on.

I personally preferred to buy in dealership, it is easier for me to get finance and paper work done.

I agree.

@pitotshock ..... I think that you are "over engineering" this project .....


humfrz

[ChimpMania]

do you play golf? you look like a guy that plays golf

[finch1750]

Originally Posted by FR-Sky

why you make it so complicated?
If you like the car, test drive and buy. Get the lowest mileage and lowest cost.
If you test drive and dislike, move on.

I personally preferred to buy in dealership, it is easier for me to get finance and paper work done.

He's an engineer

[pitotshock]

Originally Posted by ChimpMania

do you play golf? you look like a guy that plays golf

No I don't. Have enough hobbies to keep me occupied already.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by finch1750

He's an engineer

Originally Posted by pitotshock

No I don't. Have enough hobbies to keep me occupied already.

Liar!







Just kidding, I love to harass engineers.








It is just so easy to do.

[kakacarrotcake]

I find all of the cars in my price range within the area that I'm willing to travel. After I that, I eliminate any cars that have been driven more than 12,000 miles per year. With the cars left, I lookup VINs for possible listings on places like co-part etc. Once I've verified all of the vehicles carry a clear title, I make my decision based on price and condition.

[VoltsFRS2013]

I just purchased my FRS used with a 1 year certification. (12m / 12k mile Warranty, 150 Point inspection) It had 37k miles on it and here in Virginia they were asking for almost 19k out the door for the car after certification price, trim price, taxes and processing, I managed to haggle my way down to cause them to drop the certification fees and trim making our purchase in the $17s. Because my family had financed through Toyota Credit in the past on a 2002 Camry we managed to get I believe 5 years of bumper-2-bumper and free maintenance.

Given that I'm not too much of a gear head I could have probably done way better for that price, but at the same time everything around the 16-17k price range had some insanely high miles. It was extremely weird, just a few weeks ago I saw a 2013 FRS on a lot with 3k miles for 16.9k but at the time I wasnt able to purchase.