How do you guys shop for cars?

[BPH]

These last couple of weeks I've been shopping for a white work truck that can attach a trailer. Nothing special; looking for something around $6000 or less so I won't have to finance it, 200k miles or less so it won't crap out anytime too soon, and just overall not a piece of junk.

That has been proving to be much more difficult than I thought it'd be...

First car I looked at I'd have needed to finance. It had some issues but what turned me away was the $3k in extra fees and 9% interest rate, so I decided I had to find something I could buy outright.

Second car turned out to be a massive piece of junk once I got it inspected, so I quickly said no to that.

Third car I was going to have inspected today actually, but somebody bought it last night since it had taken me 2 days to get a question answered by the dealer since the owner is rarely in, apparently.

I've been looking at Facebook Marketplace and Craiglist, but noticed a lot of people don't check their messages. I've also been going through sites like AutoTrader, AutoList, ISeeCars, etc but the AAA mechanic I had inspect the second car suggested I avoid dealers since they'll tack on extra fees to get the car out the door.

I'm not much of a car guy, but I'm doing my due diligence the best I can and I'm surprised it's taking this long to find something that isn't garbage. I have my radius set to 100 miles in most of these searches, and I'm not wondering if I need to expand further. The problem then would become wasting several hours (during my work hours) to drive up and inspect the cars, and needing to drag somebody else along whenever I DO find the right truck and need them to drive the other car home.

Hoping there are some people here who buy a lot of cars or have experience with this and can recommend how I should go about this.

 

[Travel memoir21]

You'd want something that is good on Gas that can take you from Point A to B.

You'd want to clean it, wash it every week, and decorate it inside in your own unique way according to your personality.

But anways.... Lol haha, the Gym or Fitness Center is right near my house and I'm thinking of buying a Bicycle to just ride my butt all the way there to burn some extra calories.

Thinking of doing some Solitary Cycling as well.

 

[BPH]

You'd want something that is good on Gas that can take you from Point A to B.

You'd want to clean it, wash it every week, and decorate it inside in your own unique way according to your personality.

But anways.... Lol haha, the Gym or Fitness Center is right near my house and I'm thinking of buying a Bicycle to just ride my butt all the way there to burn some extra calories.

Thinking of doing some Solitary Cycling as well.

This had nothing to do with any part of my question, leading me to wonder why you bothered typing it.

 

[SW15]

You're doing mostly everything you can.

The type of car you want isn't on a conventional dealer's lot. Conventional dealers are going to have newer, higher cost pre-owned vehicles on their lot.

Some of the shadier used car lots might have the type of truck you seek. You want to avoid those types of "Buy Here, Pay Here" type lots.

The best way to go for what you want is through finding an independent seller.

 

[BillyPilgrim]

I know you said no dealers OP but finding an up-and-coming dealer with a small lot (that has little overhead) and pay in hard cash you have a good chance of getting a decent deal.

 

[BPH]

If anybody experienced would like to browse through this, I compiled a list of trucks within 100 miles that fit my parameters, then 250 miles.

If anything in here doesn't look like crap and would do the job I mentioned in the OP please let me know: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JvmAHKu_KNnDAczWPFQliqTdvhF5LJb2qmdgqBvJAdg/edit?tab=t.0

 

[sevbucmash]

How about GSA auctions? And also eBay auctions?

 

[Oatmeal31]

These last couple of weeks I've been shopping for a white work truck that can attach a trailer. Nothing special; looking for something around $6000 or less so I won't have to finance it, 200k miles or less so it won't crap out anytime too soon, and just overall not a piece of junk.

That has been proving to be much more difficult than I thought it'd be...

First car I looked at I'd have needed to finance. It had some issues but what turned me away was the $3k in extra fees and 9% interest rate, so I decided I had to find something I could buy outright.

Second car turned out to be a massive piece of junk once I got it inspected, so I quickly said no to that.

Third car I was going to have inspected today actually, but somebody bought it last night since it had taken me 2 days to get a question answered by the dealer since the owner is rarely in, apparently.

I've been looking at Facebook Marketplace and Craiglist, but noticed a lot of people don't check their messages. I've also been going through sites like AutoTrader, AutoList, ISeeCars, etc but the AAA mechanic I had inspect the second car suggested I avoid dealers since they'll tack on extra fees to get the car out the door.

I'm not much of a car guy, but I'm doing my due diligence the best I can and I'm surprised it's taking this long to find something that isn't garbage. I have my radius set to 100 miles in most of these searches, and I'm not wondering if I need to expand further. The problem then would become wasting several hours (during my work hours) to drive up and inspect the cars, and needing to drag somebody else along whenever I DO find the right truck and need them to drive the other car home.

Hoping there are some people here who buy a lot of cars or have experience with this and can recommend how I should go about this.

Continue to do as much due diligence as you can. Owners that have paid attention to their cars typically write detailed descriptions on them. If someone says nothing is wrong with it, super high chance they are lying and trying to hide something, unless it has the records to show or was owned by an elder. Biggest factor is patience. Gems aren't very common, but it's well worth your while to wait for them. Continue to look every day or every other day on Craigslist and Facebook marketplace. Generally, be vary wary of dealerships no matter how small or big their lot is. They always hide something and actively try to **** you over. There are rare exceptions. And that's not to say you can't find a gem, that they don't know much about

For context, back in 2017 I had picked up a 1995 Acura Integra stick shift with only 88k miles on the odometer, for only 2 grand. I brought someone with me to check out another car posted on Offerup that was at a small dealer. On the same lot, he spotted that car, convinced me to buy it, and taught me stick shift the same day. 1 owner, elder

Last year, I bought a 2002 Honda Civic with only 46k miles on the clock. They were selling for $5800 and I lowballed with $4000. We agreed on $4200 and it's been mine since. They were hiding the fact that the headgasket was blown, by putting in a bunch of sealer to cover the issue. Cost me $1500 after I found out, but it's still a good deal EOD. 2 owners, both elderly


So I guess moral of the story is, buy from old people. And you want a truck? Toyota Tacoma is the answer

 

[sevbucmash]

How used car dealers get their vehicles?
They go to auctions, all kinds on online auctions, and they purchase their vehicles sight un seen. Then they do some work to sell it, sometimes no work what-so-ever. Then they sell you. Not all stuff is fixed. If you buy warranty from them, that's how they fix stuff they were suppose to fix in the first place.

 

[sevbucmash]

headgasket was blown

Blown head gasket also entails overheating, head and block warping. The reason it blew in the first place is because of warpring, either head or less often block.

 

[Chow Mein]

Dude, I scrapped every bit of penny I could to afford a $7k salvaged car…back in 2009. Wtf are you doing with your life to only be able to afford $6k- also living* with your parents?

 

[sevbucmash]

One more thing, BHP.

Do not buy a used car from rust belt. Look at Florida, Texas, Arizona, etc. Because, essentially you are buying a rusted out piece of crap, if you don't go south.

 

[Oatmeal31]

Blown head gasket also entails overheating, head and block warping. The reason it blew in the first place is because of warpring, either head or less often block.

Yes, the heads were warped. Overheating causes that. Never found out the true reason why the car overheated in the first place since I'd have to ask the original owners, but this year Civic, with the D17 engine is known for having a really fragile headgasket. The heads were only slightly warped, thankfully, and just had to be machined

 

[sevbucmash]

Car Questions Answered

My name is Brandon and I am a used car dealer. I created Car Questions Answered to share the ins and outs of the used car market from the perspective of a car dealer. I share with you updates on car prices, what's happening at the dealer auctions, and what it's like being a dealer. My goal is to...

www.youtube.com

 

[BPH]

Continue to do as much due diligence as you can. Owners that have paid attention to their cars typically write detailed descriptions on them. If someone says nothing is wrong with it, super high chance they are lying and trying to hide something, unless it has the records to show or was owned by an elder. Biggest factor is patience. Gems aren't very common, but it's well worth your while to wait for them. Continue to look every day or every other day on Craigslist and Facebook marketplace. Generally, be vary wary of dealerships no matter how small or big their lot is. They always hide something and actively try to **** you over. There are rare exceptions. And that's not to say you can't find a gem, that they don't know much about

For context, back in 2017 I had picked up a 1995 Acura Integra stick shift with only 88k miles on the odometer, for only 2 grand. I brought someone with me to check out another car posted on Offerup that was at a small dealer. On the same lot, he spotted that car, convinced me to buy it, and taught me stick shift the same day. 1 owner, elder

Last year, I bought a 2002 Honda Civic with only 46k miles on the clock. They were selling for $5800 and I lowballed with $4000. We agreed on $4200 and it's been mine since. They were hiding the fact that the headgasket was blown, by putting in a bunch of sealer to cover the issue. Cost me $1500 after I found out, but it's still a good deal EOD. 2 owners, both elderly


So I guess moral of the story is, buy from old people. And you want a truck? Toyota Tacoma is the answer

I was only able to find 1 Tacoma on that list. Unfortunately, it is also the furthest car from me geographically and while it has a hitch it doesn't look to have the plugins to attach a trailer.

The fact that it's been on the market for almost 3 months leads me to believe something may be wrong with it, but I'll still inquire.

Dude, I scrapped every bit of penny I could to afford a $7k salvaged car…back in 2009. Wtf are you doing with your life to only be able to afford $6k- also living* with your parents?

Because I'm A. not blowing all my money on this one vehicle, and B. need to make other purchases along with the truck, such as the trailer, numb nuts...

 

[sevbucmash]

What you need a trailer for?

 

[Bible_Belt]

The load you are pulling dictates the best vehicle. If it is something light, like a mower trailer or small fishing boat, you will have a lot more options. As soon as you move up to full size truck, gas mileage plummets, unless it is a fairly new one. And mileage continues to drop as power goes up. An old f250 is going to get about 8 mpg.

Look at new truck prices and that explains why used trucks are harder to find. Ford wants 70k for a nice new f150, 50k for a ranger, and 30k for a maverick, which is more like an imitation truck.

 

[Bokanovsky]

One more thing, BHP.

Do not buy a used car from rust belt. Look at Florida, Texas, Arizona, etc. Because, essentially you are buying a rusted out piece of crap, if you don't go south.

This is solid advice. An old American or Japanese truck from a state where they put salt on the roads in winter is going to be a rust bucket (German cars have much better corrosion protection but since the OP is looking for a pickup truck, this isn't an option).

Also, a Toyota is probably going to be a better choice than a domestic truck for long-term reliability.

 

[Bible_Belt]

This is solid advice. An old American or Japanese truck from a state where they put salt on the roads in winter is going to be a rust bucket (German cars have much better corrosion protection but since the OP is looking for a pickup truck, this isn't an option).

Also, a Toyota is probably going to be a better choice than a domestic truck for long-term reliability.

I agree on Toyota quality. They are pricey as used vehicles but hold their value much better than others.

The saying with rust is that by the time you can see it, what you see is only about 10 percent of the actual damage. Another thing I have learned is that when the truck seller also offers a plow for the truck, that means it has been used to clear lots, typically with a salt spreader strapped to the back. Municipalities sell off those trucks at 60-80k miles, because that's about when they fall apart.

 

[sevbucmash]

Toyota / Honda all crap boys.

Made in Japan what counts.

If it's Toyota and not made in Japan then it's as good as chevy. Look at door seal stickers for the country of origin.