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Used car purchase

Krteczech

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I need to buy used car for my daughter and don’t want to spend over 7k. Can you suggest reputable sites I should be researching and what I should focus on?. Car will be probably purchased in Colorado and will be used in Minnesota. She liked my Toy Matrix. All suggestions welcome. Thanks.
 

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Well, we sold our dd's Mazda 3 on craigslist.

A friend has had good luck on Car Max.

We also had good luck at used car lots. Bought the Mazda 3, which is a great little car, at a Mazda lot.
 

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I don't think you can get any more reliable than a Toyota Corolla. But I don't know how far back you'd have to go to get one for $7K. Check www.cars.com/ I had a good experience buying my Tundra from one of several dealers there.

Jim
 

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I don't think you can get any more reliable than a Toyota Corolla. But I don't know how far back you'd have to go to get one for $7K. Check www.cars.com/ I had a good experience buying my Tundra from one of several dealers there.

Jim
I really like Toyotas as well. Have owned quite a few over the years. But again, look at the Mazda 3. It's got a lot of features and generally costs less than Toyota.
 

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My favorite site is called cargurus.com. You can do a search for a specific car and price and see if any dealers have one in a set distance. Also tells how long its been on the lot and if there has been any price drops. Can also check accidents, lemon law buyback or if it was a fleet vehicle.

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Recently steered my grand daughter to a Corolla on Craigslist Marketplace. It was a 2006 with about 160,000 miles for $1800. It wasn't cool enough. I think she wants a 2014 Civic for $16,000, lol. Want and gets are very different dealio's.

Bill
 

TheTimeTraveler

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Check Consumer Reports and I think you'll find that Hondas, Toyotas, Subarus, Kias, and Hyundais (spelling?) rank near the top for quality USED cars. Think Japan and Korea for well built used cars! It's very sad that the American Cars really can't compete when it comes to quality. Just the opposite from the 1960's when the American Cars were the King of the Road.




.
 

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Just a thought

If you’re paying cash then I would look into a lease
In MN there’s Walser which owns many dealers and I hear ads with great lease plans all the time

$7,000 cash or a couple hundred a month
At the end. They’re both worth the same. Cash car less. Lease give it back
 

Luanne

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Just a thought

If you’re paying cash then I would look into a lease
In MN there’s Walser which owns many dealers and I hear ads with great lease plans all the time

$7,000 cash or a couple hundred a month
At the end. They’re both worth the same. Cash car less. Lease give it back
I don't know if you can get a lease on a used car. Maybe you can.

I'm not sure why you are suggesting a lease though if they are willing, or wanting, to pay all cash?
 

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I don't know if you can get a lease on a used car. Maybe you can.

I'm not sure why you are suggesting a lease though if they are willing, or wanting, to pay all cash?

No
Not aware of a used car lease

But many think paying cash for a car is better
Not always
Used has the chance of higher repair bills and the possibility of getting a lemon

So. If you do the math
$7000 cash and maybe repairs Vs $0 down $189 month for 36 months is less than $7000

In 3 years what’s that $7000 car worth??
 

bbodb1

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I don't know if you can get a lease on a used car. Maybe you can.

I'm not sure why you are suggesting a lease though if they are willing, or wanting, to pay all cash?

This is where the math nerds will come in handy - there MIGHT be a case here where it could be advantageous to lease a vehicle as opposed to purchasing it. I am NOT saying this IS the case, but I would think the math should be considered especially if leasing is an option. That also might get the person in a new (instead of used) vehicle.
 

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I am not sure if leasing a new car for 23 years old living in inner city would be beneficial.
She will be driving to school and job assignments just in Twin Cities and had assigned off street parking. Normally she bikes or takes public transportation, but her school assignments and research will require winter commute at night. She is not picky, but needs to load her bike sometimes.
 

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Just a thought

If you’re paying cash then I would look into a lease
In MN there’s Walser which owns many dealers and I hear ads with great lease plans all the time

$7,000 cash or a couple hundred a month
At the end. They’re both worth the same. Cash car less. Lease give it back
Here's the problem. A lease is for the person on the lease. Highly unlikely that the driver would qualify. I'm not aware of co-signers on leases.
To lease an auto for someone else's use is the equivalent of renting a hotel room for teenagers. Just not on the up and up.
But, I do agree with your logic regarding the benefits of a new car under warranty!
 

Luanne

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Here's the problem. A lease is for the person on the lease. Highly unlikely that the driver would qualify. I'm not aware of co-signers on leases.
To lease an auto for someone else's use is the equivalent of renting a hotel room for teenagers. Just not on the up and up.
But, I do agree with your logic regarding the benefits of a new car under warranty!
You can have someone cosign on a lease. My dd is leasing her car. She ended up being able to qualify on her own, but if it had been needed I could have cosigned.
 

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So. If you do the math $7000 cash and maybe repairs Vs $0 down $189 month for 36 months is less than $7000

In 3 years what’s that $7000 car worth??

I'm personally not a fan of a lease, you've got to double check the fine print. Some need money down and have mileage limits. A $7k car is going to be worth at least half that in 3 years, particularly if you drive it as little miles as those low lease offers will allow. That changes the math on the comparison. Find a reliable used car and have a mechanic check it out. Might have repairs, might not. But our family has purchased a decent amount of cars in the last 20 years and nearly all have gotten us to 200k miles. I wouldn't overlook a reasonable ford focus, had two for commuters and they both got to 225k miles without any major repairs. Just brakes, fluids and tires and one water pump. Now if winter driving is a concern I'd check out a Subaru, they seem to go and go and really get through the snow for a car.



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I'm personally not a fan of a lease, you've got to double check the fine print. Some need money down and have mileage limits. A $7k car is going to be worth at least half that in 3 years, particularly if you drive it as little miles as those low lease offers will allow. That changes the math on the comparison. Find a reliable used car and have a mechanic check it out. Might have repairs, might not. But our family has purchased a decent amount of cars in the last 20 years and nearly all have gotten us to 200k miles. I wouldn't overlook a reasonable ford focus, had two for commuters and they both got to 225k miles without any major repairs. Just brakes, fluids and tires and one water pump. Now if winter driving is a concern I'd check out a Subaru, they seem to go and go and really get through the snow for a car.



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I don’t disagree
I never was a fan of leases either. Until I realized by leasing I could change cars before I got tired of them and I had zero depreciation and zero warranty issues

Sure there’s good deals on used. But if I had to put money down. I’d bet there’s more lemons than great deals

If you do your due diligence then you should be fine on a used
But many people look at the paint. That’s it
 

easyrider

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For us, leasing is only for business purposes and used as a write off. There is no advantage for an individual to lease a vehicle, imo.

Bill
 

Gypsy65

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For us, leasing is only for business purposes and used as a write off. There is no advantage for an individual to lease a vehicle, imo.

Bill

Unless you trade often

I’ve seen people take a huge hit every couple years by trading in
Which btw I think is generational ??
My guess? People over 55 get their monies worth
Under ? Do not
 

klpca

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Unless you trade often

I’ve seen people take a huge hit every couple years by trading in
Which btw I think is generational ??
My guess? People over 55 get their monies worth
Under ? Do not
My mom (age 81) never leases, always buys - sometimes new - ALWAYS gets rid of the car for one reason or another. I bought my Mini new in 2012. It now has 85k miles on it. In that same time, my mom has owned a Lexus sedan, two Mini's, a Toyota Rav4, and now owns a Genesis. I'm not how she remembers what car to look for in the parking lot.
 

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She doesn’t need a new car, yet. Especially for inner city primary use. She sure doesn’t need a lease if for no other reason that she/you are would be responsible for any damage, scratches, etc.

Toyota’s and Honda’s are great cars. Like what has already been said, check out www.cars.com and www.cargurus.com Enter your desired price range and see what’s available. Use www.kbb.com to see what each car was generally worth on a trade in to get an idea of how much the dealer is into it for so you can ballpark where to start negotiations. Definitely don’t use carmax. They like to preach their no haggle pricing which is truly a rip off IMO.

If you are looking at private party purchases first start with www.kbb.com again to get a fair trade in price they would have received if they had traded it instead of selling it outright. Then look at the private party price and a selling price between those two numbers would be a fair price to you.

Make sure you take it to a private mechanic to get it checked out prior to purchase. Good luck.
 

wackymother

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We just sold a couple of well-loved cars over the course of two years to two friends who needed them for their young-adult kids. You might put out there that you are looking.

Looking for used cars, I use Cars.com and Cargurus.com. In our area, Craigslist cars almost always look fishy. Also, we have a salesperson at a dealer who has been really helpful, so when we are looking, we ask him to keep an eye out for us and he emails or calls if they get something suitable.

That said, we've only ever bought Toyotas (lots of them) and Subarus, and we have our mechanic check the car out before we buy. Most used cars in that price range need at least $600 work to be safe and reliable, but we factor that in when we buy.
 

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We just sold a couple of well-loved cars over the course of two years to two friends who needed them for their young-adult kids. You might put out there that you are looking.

Excellent idea.

On the topic of leases, they maybe a good idea for someone who really likes having a newer vehicle and doesn't drive a lot if miles. You are still paying the depreciation just at a lesser amount.

For way too many, a lease is a way to drive a vehicle they really can't afford to keep up with the Joneses. And I dont think it's generational. I know young and old people who do leases or buy new vehicles often and others who are perfectly content driving old beaters. We have one friend who is a multi millionaire with multiple houses across the US and I've never seen him drive a newer than 10 year old vehicle. It all just depends on what's important to you and how you want to spend your money. I think that no matter how you go about getting your vehicle, it's a way to lose money. The amount of money is dependent on your choices.

Lastly, I think that the price of new vehicles, particularly trucks and SUVs are astronomical. I have a tough time plunking 40k (or more) on a rig that will show rust in a few years when driven in the snowy upper midwest.

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Luanne

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We lease, some of our cars. I personally drive a 2013 Honda CR-V that was paid for when I drove it off the lot. Dh leases. He really likes getting a new car every three years. Even in the days before he was leasing cars it seems he never kept a car for long. At this point in our lives the only car payment we have is his, so I say let him have his brand new toy every few years. :) Dd is leasing her car because she could get a new car with less money out up front. She was just starting a job and both she, and her dad, wanted her to have a good, safe car. She plans to buy the lease at the end of three years, and she will have saved the money by then to do that.
 

wackymother

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Lastly, I think that the price of new vehicles, particularly trucks and SUVs are astronomical. I have a tough time plunking 40k (or more) on a rig that will show rust in a few years when driven in the snowy upper midwest.

We always drive used cars...we've never even looked at new cars. We just bought a 2016, which seems like brand-new to us! Its sticker price, three years ago, would have been $45,000. FORTY-FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS! We paid about half that.

BTW, you can get a really good deal on cars that are about three years old, because they're coming off leases.
 

Passepartout

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BTW, you can get a really good deal on cars that are about three years old, because they're coming off leases.
Another good reason or two to check out lease returns is that they are (usually) cared for by service contracts with the carmaker. And they may have been driven more carefully because the original lessor didn't want to get dinged for damage or excessive mileage at the end of the lease.
 
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