Where's the best place to look for a used car that is in good condition and a good price?

Question

Im getting my licence in April and I probably not getting a car until this summer but I want to start looking now. My good price would be <3,000.

Answer 1

You asked for a car in good condition at a good price.

You didn't ask for the latest greatest whiz bang "ooooh look at me" car. So I have some info for you.

There's two possibilities for you.

The first is to check out the local mechanic shops. Every repair shop ends up leveraging mechanic leans on some poor unfortunate customer that can't pay his bill. When a car sits on his lot for more than 90 days, he starts the paperwork and eventually owns the car. Sometimes they just want the amount of the repair to get rid of the car because they can't afford to have the thing take up space anymore.

I was at a Ford dealership a couple years ago, and there were more than one "Tempo" (a low-resale car) whose owner simply abandoned it because the repair amount exceeded the value of the car. The dealer just wanted them to disappear, he probably would have given them away if asked nicely enough.

The second way is to check out the tow/impound yards. Often the police have them tow away cars of people who are arrested and the owner can't get their car because they're in jail. I've seen alot of Oldsmobiles and Buicks owned by old people who have simply passed away. The car get's towed away and the tow yard gets a mechanic's lean and sells it off.

You could get lucky and get a whiz bang golly gee car, but it's not likely. Some of these cars are well cared for and in good condition, but most are thoroughly thrashed and abandoned.

Answer 2

Do not consider dealerships in this price range. Or any range, really. Most are scum. You're looking for someone selling their own car.

The market for cheap used cars varies a lot from city to city, but in my experience these are the ways to find them. At least one will work for your region:

1. Craigslist

2. Newspaper classifieds

3. Community bulletin boards (like at supermarkets or on college campuses)

4. Penny-saver classified newspapers

5. Free auto-classified papers/magazines (like Autotrader's print edition, but free, and more local)

6. Park-and-sell lots. Some of these offer services akin to a used car dealer...financing and registration and whatnot. Some are just a visible place to park a car for sale

7. For sale signs on cars parked around town. These could be in driveways, along residential streets, in big-box retailer parking lots (in Prescott, AZ, for example, there's a row like that at Walmart), or along one particular street where people park cars for sale (Las Vegas, NV has two such streets)

8. Autotrader.com. Most places, it's all dealerships. Some places this is not the case.

Whatever you do, make sure you either have cash or a cashier's check on you when you go, or can get it in a hurry.


Once you know WHERE to look, you need to know what to look for.

For 3 grand, you should be able to get a car with an interior in very good shape. The only problem I'd expect is that the drivers seat would be worn, especially if it's leather. Don't settle for much worse than that.

There should be no weird sounds coming from anywhere but the interior. You need to do turns at full lock both ways and listen for clunking. That would probably be CV axles. that will cost a couple hundred to fix, but isn't a deal-killer. (VERY common in this price range) There should be NO pinging or high pitched knocking sounds. The suspension shouldn't creak much.

After your test drive, pop the hood and smell the engine. It should smell faintly oily, but not of gasoline, or anything burning.

Make sure all lights and signals work.

Make sure the heat works. AC is nice but heat is critical. (If it doesn't work, it could be the heater core, which is difficult to replace, and could end up leaking coolant...also it keeps the windows defrosted in winter)

Make sure there is little to no rust, anywhere on the car...including underneath. This may be tough in salt-states (not all snowy states use salt, BTW) but you want as little as possible. There pretty much is no such thing as "surface rust," and if the paint is bubbling, it's WAAAY past that.

Don't worry about the stereo, beyond making sure it works. It's a distraction during the test drive, and is easily/cheaply replaced.

Make sure there is no oil in the coolant and no coolant in the oil. No foam or film on the oil filler cap and such. Also the oil shouldn't be black and sludgy, it should be nearly transparent. The coolant should be greenish or orangeish, not too dingy.

If the car is advertised with a lot of modifications, either stay away, or offer a lot less than it would otherwise be worth....customization LOWERS the value of a car.

Pay attention to the seller. If he or she is some kind of idiot, do not buy the car. It was not well cared for.

Finally, bring along someone who knows cars.

Answer 3

At that price range, it may be hard to get a used car in good condition. If you do find one, I'd suggest getting a mechanic to check it out for you. We have a CARMAX dealership here and they guarantee all the cars they sell. I don't know the price ranges of their cars, but I would think they have them in all price ranges.

Answer 4

I don't think anyone can "guarantee" you a GOOD car and a reliable car in the process of just looking. However, there are places you CAN start.

Try http://www.autotrader.com and start out by putting your zip code on there to narrow down your search results. It's a neat website.

Good Luck...


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Answer 5

Start looking in Craigslist for your region.

Answer 6

my dads car sales at eBay he sells lots of cars there are lots of cars for reasonable prices

Answer 7

Find someone who really knows cars to help you find one.

Answer 8

If your from canada - autotrader.ca

IF not... i dont know