I’ve purchased dozens of cars, some from rather sketchy sellers, and yet I don’t think I’ve ever truly been “ripped off.” How could that possibly be? Well, I have a strategy that works for me, just as I’m sure you — dear enthusiast — have a strategy that works for you. So tell me: How do you make sure you don’t get ripped off buying a used car?
I’ve made a lot of mistakes when car-buying. I purchased a Willys CJ-3B that, unbeknownst to me, was more of a sculpture than a car thanks to heaps of Bondo covering the imperfect body below. I also recently bought a Chevy K1500 that seems to have a transmission input shaft bearing problem. Plus, that Pontiac Aztek I bought doesn’t seem to want to idle.
I could go down the list of vehicles I’ve purchased that have ended up costing me many hours in the workshop, but I don’t think I could really point to a true “ripoff.” Honestly, the worst deal I’ve probably ever gotten on a car — technically speaking — is my Galvanic Gold 2021 BMW i3S Rex Giga World. I paid over 30 grand for this car, and — because it’s so new, and because it’s an electric car — it’s depreciating like a rock. Right now I bet it’s worth maybe 25 big ones, and as I put more miles on it, that value will drop further and further. That’s fine, as I’ll never sell it.
How is it that I’ve avoided being ripped off? Well, I believe that, if you’re capable of fixing cars it’s quite easy to avoid taking a huge hit to your wallet. Take my Willys CJ-3B. Yes, there’s bondo on it that I didn’t know about, but because the Jeep wasn’t running and I’d have to put time into rebuilding its carburetor and fixing its brakes — I snagged it for $5,900. This is so cheap that, even with the bondo, I won’t lose a dime on this purchase. The Chevy K1500? I bought that for $4,900, so even if I had to replace its transmission, it’s still a good deal.
Still, even if I can afford to be a bit careless checking a vehicle’s condition (since I can just fix it myself for cheap), I do take some precautions, with a few examples being:
- Typically I’ll meet in a well-lit public place
- I’ll make sure the name on the title is the seller’s name
- I’ll make sure the VIN on the title is the car’s VIN
- I’ll check the oil to look for coolant (milkshake)
- I’ll go underneath with a flashlight looking for rust or leaks or other issues
- If there’s rust, I’ll poke at it with a key or flathead to see if it’ll poke through
- I’ll ask to start the engine cold, listen for piston slap or other sounds
- I’ll drive the vehicle at low speeds and highway speeds, getting the temperature up to operating temp
- During the test-drive I listen for bearing/gear noise or any strangeness from the motor
- During the test drive, I pay attention to how easily the vehicle drives in a straight line
- I punch the accelerator during the test rive to check response/stress the engine mounts/transmission mounts a bit
- While driving and while the engine idles, I look at the exhaust for any indication of burning coolant or oil (sometimes I’ll smell it)
- I bring a bill-of-sale for both of us to fill out
What precautions do you take when buying a used car? Do you try to buy from only reputable businesses/friends? Do you take the car to a shop for an inspection? Let me know in the comments!
Red flag used car. Kids needed a second car for sil to pick up baby at daycare 6 mile daily rt. 13 Leaf low miles $3500 on Craigslist. Call, make appointment to go to “owners” house. We show up, no Leaf. They tell me on phone car in Home Depot lot. Yup, found Leaf at HD, no license plates, they show up ten minutes later. They open up Leaf, shuffle us in back seat, drive us around the block. I ask about title. “Dad” owns car, “owner” has signed title. We ask to drive. “Owner” says you rode in it, you’ll drive it after you buy it. You said you would buy it. BTW charge said 24 miles. Every part a red flag.
Make sure it has an Xtronic CVT. Anything else isn’t even worth paying money for.
I’ll never get to reach David Tracy levels of used car purchase experience (I’m 20 years older than David, yet have only had maybe a dozen+ different cars so far, and never owned more than three at a time) but I too have never been ripped off in terms of price or (more importantly) condition. I chalk this up to luck as much as my finite knowledge of cars/how they work/what to look for when considering a used one. The last few cars I’ve bought I didn’t even bother to get a mechanic to inspect them before handing over the cash… I just felt like they were too good to stay on the market long, so I jumped in with both feet and simply bought them on the spot.
Which is why I now have a low-mile (albeit bit ratty looking) NA Miata *with* a hardtop for less than my neighbor spent fixing a single dodgy headlight assembly on his BMW 5 series. 😉
My preferred method is to buy cars that are sufficiently obscure that nobody can criticize with any certainty that the price paid was too high or that it isn’t supposed to be emitting those sounds, or sparks, or odors, or fluids, or pieces.
The jurisdiction I live in has a few things to make it easier:
A government-provided package (used vehicle information package) that shows the registration history of the vehicle – previous owners, original sale information, branded title info, liens against the vehicle, etc. etc. that is required when selling the vehicle.
Since this is a larger population jurisdiction with barriers that tend to prevent cars from easily moving into/out of the province (US border to south, language barrier to east, sheer distance to west, and Arctic to the north), it kind of forms an island. Generally, if the UVIP looks reasonably tidy (fewer, longer-term owners, no brands on title), it’s probably a better car.
The province also requires a safety inspection for registration only. Filtering out vehicles that don’t come with a safety inspection will cut out a lot of the crud. Cars the have them tend to trade for a premium, so if the owner is willing to spring for the inspection, it’s probably a better vehicle overall. As-is special? Beware.
The vehicle itself. Know what you’re buying. Is it a model resistant to indifferent maintenance, or is it known to have issues? Aiming cheaper? Pick unpopular versions of cars that were decently reliable – stick shift boring economy sedans were a staple of mine.
The owner. The ad can say a lot. Punctuation? Full proper sentences when replying? Do they seem like normal, reasonable people when you look at the car? Do they have a service history? Do they give pretty straightforward answers when asked questions?
The basics, really.
Going to look at an 83 celica supra on monday; gonna be reading a lot of these tips. My usual method is: Fall in love with car, check bank account, go look at car, if its not a heaping pile of garbage: Buy it
I do my own work so typically, if I like the car enough I do what it takes to fix it. Kinda in the same boat as DT
My biggest thing I’ve learned is Carfax. I want a perfect Carfax on a car that I NEED. Last car was one owner, no accidents of any sort and all oil changes at the dealership where it ended up in the Carfax. Thing has been absolutely flawless for 10+ years.
I’m willing to pay more for that perfect Carfax. But even with that, I’m going to do my own inspection. My big thing is to look at the tires. I looked at one car one where the tires weren’t just worn, but looked melted. I wonder how many accidents it had on a track that didn’t get reported to Carfax.
Absolutely none. Give me your poor deals, your tired engines, your huddled underneath the vehicle piles of rust. I have a loving wife and two wonderful kids, I need my emotional scarring to come from my cars. 2x if it has British markings on it. Those I prefer to buy sight unseen.
I’ve bought a couple of vehicles from private sellers, and the vibe I got from them was a big factor in whether I moved forward with the sale.
The Corvette I got from a guy who owned at least four of them of different generations and had a C4 on jack stands in his garage installing a race suspension for track days. His wife was making him sell the C5 because he had just bought a new C7. The car was basically mint.
The Prius I got from a non-car guy who had been gifted a newer crossover from his parents(-in-law maybe?). He’d put thousands of dollars into it in new tires, new battery, new brakes, new bearings, and probably a couple of things I’m forgetting. Cosmetically the car was a bit of a mess, but I was specifically looking for a beater and mechanically this car was quite sound. It was such a perfect fit for what I was looking for that I wondered more than once if I was getting scammed somehow, but I think he really did just want the car gone and it’s been great for over 70k since then.
In both cases the sellers were very open about why they were selling and what, if anything, was wrong with the car. TBH, both were better experiences than I’ve had with most dealers, who I almost always get a very bad vibe from, even if I can’t point to a specific thing they did wrong. That could be my bias, but I didn’t exactly go into the private sales assuming good faith on the other side either.
Inspect everything. Don’t take the sellers word for anything. And, bring along a bluetooth OBD reader and have a good app for it on your phone, to make sure there are no codes hiding under a battery disconnect or anything.
I got through college in the 90s by buying the absolutely cheapest cars I could find and then driving them until I couldn’t fix them with a small set of tools in the parking lot of whatever apartment I was in at the time. The most I ever spent was $1100. I did most or all of the things to check the condition of the car DT noted but when going for the lowest priced option there was always going to be somethign that was sketchy.
The benefit to buying true junk was that even if something completely failed I could always manage to sell it for a couple hundred bucks to sombody that would use the parts. Two of my favorites from the long list were a ’67 Plymouth Fury and a ’72 Olds 98 which both ended up being purchased to run in the local demolishon derby. The Olds went home the champ! Proud moment there.
One thing we did to check cars with manual transmissions was to drive it so the frint bumber was touching a solid wall such as a concrete retaining wall, put it in gear and then see if the clutch slipped too much. But that was when the cars had solid bumpers.
Since I’m usually buying the same handful of old BMW models over and over (E32, E34, E36, E38, E39, E46, E53) I know what to look for, and 99% of the time I know more about the car than the person selling it, so nothing gets past me. I’ve shown up to buy a car with a compression tester, boroscope, flashlight, dealer software on a laptop (ISTA), with a jack/jack stands. Usually when I show up with all that stuff, people realize they’re not going to be able to lie about anything, so they fess up pretty quickly. I also run a full vehicle history report at my dealership job prior to looking at the car, so I know every recall that’s been done, along with every dealer service it’s ever had.
I buy from CarMax. Super easy, they care about the customer and the experience, and stand behind what they sell. Bunch of family members have also bought from them. Probably 20+ cars in the last decade or so were bought from them by myself and my immediate family combined.
Here are my tips from over the decades of purchasing:
Look at the car in the daytime under good light, and walk around it. Look for irregularities.
Check everything you can touch and see. If bending or crawling is difficult, bring someone with you to do it for you, and/or find a way to get the vehicle on a lift.
Test drive in the most inclement conditions you can (a cool wet night is my preference, bonus if it’s cold & snowy), as this is what can determine advantages of one car over another, especially if you’re on the fence for choice.
The brands used by the previous owner can indicate the level of care and commitment to the vehicle, especially for critical components. Take tires for example: Recent name-brand tires in good condition? Usually a green flag. Cheap-brand and/or worn/aged tires (especially if they exhibit uneven wear) can be a yellow or red flag.
How well do the headlights work?
Are the rear turn signals amber?
Are all the lights visible to other road users? For instance a number of vehicles have the reverse lights below the rear bumper, where they may not be as visible to other drivers, especially in taller vehicles.
Do the wipers move fast enough in heavy rain?
How good is the traction control and AWD system if equipped?
How predictable and reactive are the brakes?
Are the controls intuitive?
How good are the mirrors?
Can this easily be parallel parked?
Does the defroster move air enough to clear the windshield?
How quickly can you turn down the volume?
Can you find and use the hazard switch in less than a second or two?
What condition are the fluids?
Does it have a spare tire? Is it full-size?
How crummy and frustrating is the spare tire jack to use, if equipped?
How easily and quietly can it be locked/unlocked?
Will the exhaust wake the neighbors?
Will this draw unwanted attention?
Does my significant other (if applicable) need to have a say in this purchase, and what would they say?
Where can I get parts for this? Are they convenient and communicative?
If I need to get service at a dealership, what does that look like in terms of distance, time commitment, and any perks for being an owner?
Can I afford not only the purchase, but the maintenance, repair, upkeep, registration, taxes, and insurance for this?
I get the warm touch angle, but CarMax markup makes my eyes water. And they seem to find the most used-carsy sales staff.
Yeah the markup can hurt, but they genuinely stand behind their vehicles with that warranty they include. Was in for an oil change and one of the customers was picking their vehicle up after having an $7K engine replacement at no cost to them. Legitimately impressive stuff.
I’ll pay a little more money for that kind of peace of mind. Not enough to buy new, necessarily (doesn’t fit my use case of under 20 miles/day) but something I can get 3-6 years of use out of with little bother and additional expense is quite appealing. Same reason I’ll buy name-brand “tier 1” tires: yes, other tires can work and will perform well, but the additional peace of mind and additional capability and performance edge justifies the expense.
All great tips, I’ll have to bookmark this article. I spend a good amount of time looking at listings but never pull the trigger on anything because I’m somewhat petrified of the process. I hate dealing with randos and don’t trust anyone I don’t know.
I bought 3 cars private party and all had issues.
Bought by 73 K10 at 14 in ’94 with my dad and by the time we got it home realized it had cooling issues and needed head gaskets. Luckily my uncle was a car guy and told us the body alone was worth what we paid.
A few years later bought a ’88 GTA 350. Turns out it needed new injectors and intake gaskets. I paid 6K for it and that was almost a grand repair bill. Had to fight with the seller a bit, but he wanted halves with me on it.
Bought a ’00 Firebird Formula in ’07. No real mechanical issues (I DD’d that car for years and it was damn reliable), but I had a hard time registering it. I bought it out of state, my state requires VIN verification to register. I took it to the local spot and they couldn’t verify it. The tag was under the windshield, but the door jamb sticker was gone for whatever reason.
The inspector didn’t know where to look for another location. Couldn’t find anything online, I even called GM. Finally, the seller got the info to me on where to go, I had to go to the state garage, that guy verified via numbers underneath the car. I asked where he found it, but he wouldn’t tell.
This process took weeks, and my temp tag ran out. They don’t renew them, but I went to a different DMV and just got another as if I was getting one for the first time.
I hate going to dealers, but at least I haven’t had to deal with any issues while going that route.
Plus there’s the trouble of just getting the damn car home in the first place if you want to make one trip and don’t have a truck/trailer.
There are several for when I’m buying but only really one when I’m selling. I have a counterfeit pen to check the cash with. You can purchase them at walmart. Honestly, I’ve never had anyone get irritated that I was counting and checking their money. Well, except the the one guy that tried to buy a car with counterfeit bills.
Get the VIN even before you look at it so you can run a car fax. I also ask for service records. It is not a dealbreaker if he does not have them, but it helps if he does. For Facebook Marketplace, I investigate the seller a bit to make sure it is a normal person rather than someone reselling cars they bought at auction.
Agree, I find that I’m more inclined to trust a dealer who posts the CarFax on the listing, and trust listings on CarFax’s site accordingly.
Assuming the report is good, of course.
I generally go into each interaction expecting to get ripped off. Everyone selling a used car is getting rid of it for a reason. And that reason often has to do with the car itself. Whether or not they’re going to up front about that reason is the question. Did they really knock $4,000 off the book price because the AC system “just needs a fuse”, or is the subframe rusted to hell and the car will be lucky to make it home. Even if that subframe looks good, I’m going to ask for another $1000 off just to make sure.
Basically, I just try to buy used cars cheap enough to not be too upset if they crap out in short order.
I am exactly with you. If I am buying a car 5 grand or under I just assume its fully trash and anything better than that is a win.