used car advice

[octothorp]

So I'm looking at getting a relatively recent used car, (2006ish), and I had done my research, narrowed down a few models and gotten consumer reports done, now I'm starting to go out and actually test driving vehicles.

One of the places I looked at today is one that sells repossessed cars. Is there anything I should be concerned about when I purchase a car from such a dealer? I've done the vehicle history check and the abstract is completely clean (no accidents, and no liens or similar conditions), although the most recent owner apparently ran up about 45000 km in about three months of ownership (and the last owner was in Quebec, so I assume at least part of that mileage is a cross-country trip). Should I be concerned about that 115,000 km in four years? Are the warranties that such businesses offer typically reliable?

Any suggestions would be great. All my other cars have been borderline junkers and I'm feeling a bit daunted by purchasing car with any real value.

[Bill Bumface]

If buying a used car that new I would only buy private or at a dealership that used to sell those cars (depending on what brand it is).

Advantages of private:

-Best price possible. Odds are you aren't getting ripped with a car that has shady history (i.e. from Quebec... don't touch eastern cars)

Advantages of buying from a dealer:

-If you're financing you'll probably be able to get very low interest. With places throwing out 1% in some cases, you'd be dumb to pay cash even if you had it

-They usually tack on a year or two of warranty (depending on the manufacturer) to the original factory warranty. No question this is built into the price though, and it will cost more than a private sale.

-Fully inspected, and it's in their best interest to do a good job if they are warrantying it

-Lots of selection, easy to find cars and arrange times to look at them

[Deegee]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

Advantages of buying from a dealer:

-If you're financing you'll probably be able to get very low interest. With places throwing out 1% in some cases, you'd be dumb to pay cash even if you had it

Just want to add to this in that I know purchasing new from some companies at 0% there is a pretty monumental financing charge associated with their financing. Do dealerships do that with used vehicles too when they offer those prime rates of 1%?

If they do I would strongly recommend you check and see what your bank can offer.

With interest rates so low right now, your bank should be able to do under 10% fixed for you on a car or under 7% on a floating rate, even for a private sale. That interest won't be misleading like some (not all) of dealership financing can be.

[Vulcan]

Yeah, as hulkrogan says, avoid any cars from Quebec. Some make a practise of bringing them out west just before they fall apart and try to disguise any rust that's happening. Even if you don't find any rust, it's going to happen.

[Draug]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

Yeah, as hulkrogan says, avoid any cars from Quebec. Some make a practise of bringing them out west just before they fall apart and try to disguise any rust that's happening. Even if you don't find any rust, it's going to happen.

Quebec has also been used to funnel car from New Orleans that were flooded during Katrina. That, combined with the huge rust issues, are two good enough reasons to never buy from Quebec.

I'd look at buying from BC, if possible. They have the best climate for cars in Canada.

[Tower]

http://uploading.com/files/O649PWN6/...t Car.mp3.html

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by Deegee

Just want to add to this in that I know purchasing new from some companies at 0% there is a pretty monumental financing charge associated with their financing. Do dealerships do that with used vehicles too when they offer those prime rates of 1%?

All of the dealers I was shopping at (looked at cars between '03 and '05) had no finance fee whatsoever. This was last year before the world fell apart and I was still able to get 1.9% on a used car that had previously been exempt from every financing special ever offered and was minimum 8%. This was in response to people heading to the US at the time to buy cars, prices got slashed, and financing incentives were great. Now that the world fell apart it's even better and you are buying a car at the best time in at least 10 years. I don't remember in my life brand new BMW's going for 1%.

I usually buy a car about every 2 years. I've done new, used, purchased, leased, private, dealership so feel free to ask any questions you have and I can fill you in on my experiences.

[Sample00]

hi,
let me know if I can be of some assistance.
we may or may not have what you are looking for on our lot, but I can find it for you through the dealer auction Adessa.
give me a buzz through email axel@valqwestmotors.ca or PM.
you can also visit our website, www.valqwestmotors.ca
thanks

[ernie]

Find a reputable dealer...it can be a used car lot or a dealership that puts an honest effort into selling used cars. Ask around. You also may want to narrow the used car lot down by finding out which ones specialize in the type(s) of cars you are interested in. I recently bought a used car and got it from a lot that specializes in imports...in particular Euro imports. These lot owners often tend to be enthusiasts of the cars they sell.

Make sure the car had one owner and has a clean service history. You don't want to buy a lemon, but luckily a lemon will often show up at low mileage. If the dealership can not tell you where the car came from stay away from the car and the dealer.

After that it's really do a good test drive. It is often easy to tell which cars were well taken car of and which ones weren't. Look for how clean the dealer was able to get the car on the inside. A nice clean car indicates something that is well taken of, a car that has dirt/crumbs that seem to be ground in and no amount of vacuuming can remove indicates a previous owner that didn't care much for his car (after all it was a lease).

And of course how the car drives will also give you an indication on how well it was taken of. I would recommend that as you are going with a newer 2005/6 type car that you drive some brand new models of those cars (if there have been no substantial modifications made to the model in the last few years). This gives you a basis for how the used car should drive if it was well taken care of and a bad car will be pretty obvious.

[octothorp]

Thanks for the advice. Wouldn't a thorough inspection by an independent mechanic reveal whether this particular car had a shady history and whether the car had any serious issues that the dealer was trying to hide?

[ernie]

Originally Posted by octothorp

Thanks for the advice. Wouldn't a thorough inspection by an independent mechanic reveal whether this particular car had a shady history and whether the car had any serious issues that the dealer was trying to hide?

It would likely tell you if it had been in an accident but necessarily other more routine repairs on parts that keep on failing if the car was a lemon. But certainly do an independent inspection as you will want to know if you will be spending hundreds of dollars on brakes or other stuff the week after you buy it.

[jar_e]

Not to threadjack from octothorp but I do have a financing question. Is the financing rate in any way negotiable? Any one know what the average rates are? Last time I paid 8% and I'm interested in picking up a new vehicle here within the next month.

[Bill Bumface]

^Nope. I've never heard of a dealer able to move on financing, and there is no way right now with how low the rates are.

About all you can do to leverage financing is to roll more in (i.e. if you owe on the car you are trading in, or if you want to finance some dealer installed options).

[octothorp]

Just wanted to post another thanks for the advice and an update. I ended up buying the Volvo that I was looking at in the original post (the one from Quebec) for about $7000 less than similar models were going for at the volvo dealership, and I just got back it back from the Volvo specialist where it's been given a thorough inspection and a clean bill of health.