My car needs to be replaced and I am going to need to purchase a moderately priced used car. To buy a car in my price range, I will probably have to buy one through the "want ads". Does anyone have any tips for getting the right car at the right price? I am a single mom who doesn't know much about cars.
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Here's on older request on a similar topic.
Can I get a decent car for $1,000?
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Samarins.com has a checklist you can take with you when you search for a used car...
www.samarins.com/
Carfax.com has a service to check a cars history. It appears to cost 14.99 per report. Or you can order unlimited reports for 19.99. www.carfax.com/
Has anyone used this?
Cars.com has some useful information...
www.cars.com/
You can look for the car you want in your price range and request that you be able to take it to a mechanic of your choice for a general inspection.
Not all, but some places will do an inspection for free or for a minimal cost. This isn't always a guarantee you won't have ANY problems, but they can check the obvious areas you may encounter problems with and let you know what it may cost you to fix.
Someone else sent in the following info ...
Carfax.com has a service to check a cars history. It appears to cost 14.99 per report. Or you can order unlimited reports for 19.99. www.carfax.com/
Has anyone used this?
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We bought a truck and a car from dealers and if you request a Carfax they do it for free! They don't volunteer this information! We would not buy a car without it!
Check with the Automobile Association. Here in Canada it`s CAA.I find them to be very helpful
I'll give you the same advice I gave my own daughter. She didn't listen and is having all kinds of problems now. Don't buy the first car you look at and don't buy with your emotions. Just because a car looks sharp, doesn't mean it will run as good as it looks. She even checked it out on carfax, but all that told her was the car had never been in an accident and had never been in a flood. Look for oil leaks, listen to the engine, does it knock or ping, whine or whistle?
I bought my daughter's first car (she paid me back ;-)) from an individual. It was an excellent car, and I wish I had one like it now. It was a Chrysler Le Baron. and a one-owner car. I learned about the car from a newspaper ad. The car was exactly as described in the ad. I t hink it is rare to see someone describe a car in "excellent condition" when it is not.
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