Anyone buy a used car recently?

[Erni]

If you got a used car recently let me know if you went through a dealer and what the experiance was. I NEED a car asap for my kid, just too busy to give rides.

[cstone]

I found a used car for my son and his wife on eBay auto two weeks ago. Third vehicle I've purchased through eBay auto and I bought another vehicle through Car Guru. I check Facebook Marketplace frequently as well. Most of the vehicles I've bought have been from private sellers and they have all been fine. I stick to manufacturers and models that I am familiar with and know what I am looking at when I look at the vehicles. Knowing the common issues and how much vehicles are worth makes it easy to either make a deal or walk away. My general rule of thumb is I need to get one year of use for $1k of price; i.e. $3000 vehicle has to run for at least three years without any major issues.

I also have no problems flying across the country and driving a vehicle home for the right deal. I don't imagine that I will ever buy a new car from a dealer again.

[20X11]

I purchased one from a neighbor that was listed on Nextdoor app...great vehicle. Also, highly recommend Allen Gorkin at Auto Seekers, but he is a long way from Longmont. 303-902-348

[00tec]

I got my truck from Longmont Ford last summer. Dealer experience was as usual, including their BS addons like fabric protection, etc.
I had the truck for 2 weeks when it quit. A random orphan bolt was in the bell housing for some reason and it bounced up and killed the crank sensor tone ring. I did not purchase the warranty. However, the dealer took the truck in and fixed it on their dime, even when they had no responsibility to do so. The repair included removing the transmission to replace the sensor ring.

When I need my next vehicle, I will look there first, since they took care of the issue that wasnt their problem to take care of.


Still dont know where that bolt came from. It didnt belong anywhere in there.

[BushMasterBoy]

One word. "Carfax". Run the VIN on carfax.com


Regardless who you buy from.

[ray1970]

Might be selling my wife?s vehicle very soon. Would make an excellent first car for somebody. It?s a 2010 Nissan Rogue. We bought it new, it?s never been in an accident, and has less than 90K miles on it.

[Doc45]

Last year I bought my used Titan at Larry Miller Nissan Highlands Ranch. It was a good experience, paid what I wanted to pay, got a few extras to close the deal. Pretty painless and would do business again with the shop.

[SouthPaw]

For starters, I'd first find a vehicle that suits your needs. After, research all the common issues with them. Picking on Ray [Tooth], but I recall Rogue's with CVT's having issues and some were under warranty, some were not. On the same note, a one owner, low mileage unit like that is really hard to come by especially being 10 years old. Toyota trucks/SUV's in a certain range of years had rusty frames, Some Ford V8's had their spark plugs snapping off, Every vehicle has it quirks so be aware of that before going in.

I've purchased my fair share of used vehicles and thankfully have been ok for the most part. If you aren't sure what to look for, ask for help. Also don't think because it is at a dealership they have a better vehicle than the guy on craigslist. I worked at some dealerships years ago and they do the bare minimum to keep the cost down for resale purposes.

[ray1970]

Picking on Ray [Tooth], but I recall Rogue's with CVT's having issues and some were under warranty, some were not.

We had an issue. Apparently the transmissions would get hot and go into limp mode. Ours was repaired under warranty. Think it got a new valve body and I know it had an external transmission cooler installed. We haven?t had an issue since. I think if they put transmission coolers on them when they built them it never would have been an issue. Pretty sure they started doing it on the 2011 models.

[AirbornePathogen]

I bought a used Jeep a couple weeks ago at AutoTrek in Littleton. The experience was very good overall, no BS or pressure. Didn't hurt that I walked in there knowing exactly what I wanted to see. From me saying "I want this one," to the sales guy saying "Here are your keys," was less than two hours, including getting me financed. They have a location in Lafayette as well if that would work better for you. I can't complain about how they took care of me.

And they have Carfax reports on every vehicle they sell.

[Jer]

I can put you in touch with an auto broker based out of Fort Collins. He's a good dude.

[jenznat0r]

Off topic, but my 2004 Audi S4 I sold before moving out to Idaho is floating out there in the front range somewhere. Man I miss that car. I have some great pics of it but I am posting this from my phone. 4.2L v8 and a tiptronic transmission...what more do you need.

To keep it back on topic, my wife and I bought our 2015 Subaru Outback in 2016 from what is now Schomp Subaru in Aurora. Great buying experience and a great car. Subarus are great vehicles, I liked my wife's so much when we bought a 2nd car I swapped the one I bought with her and took the Subaru.

[Scanker19]

I might catch flak for this, but I can’t recommend Hertz car sales enough. No price haggling, decently priced, quick to buy once you choose, and they don’t hassle you. If you don’t mind ex rental cars. If you tell them Jordan sent you, they....may not throw you out..?

[Erni]

Thanks for all the leads.

Cstone, the $1k/yr has been my experiance with used cars so far, except new cars.

Ray, possibly interested if its an awd, but need to check safety ratings. Mamma bear is freaked out and to some degree so am I. So next car may be on the bigger side regardless of daughters desires.

Jer, how does the broker thing work?

In the meantime I am cruising websites and dealer pages looking at options and prices. Then trying to find what isses each car is known for.

[rondog]

If you got a used car recently let me know if you went through a dealer and what the experiance was. I NEED a car asap for my kid, just too busy to give rides.

Our grandson will be going into the Navy March 10th, and his 2010 Honda Civic will up FS. 4dr, standard. Ain't perfect, but reliable, and a great car for a teenager to learn in and continue tearing up. We've put new tires and brakes on it, and both front hubs. It'll be cheap, whatever the payoff will be. Might keep it in mind.....

[Jer]

Thanks for all the leads.

Cstone, the $1k/yr has been my experiance with used cars so far, except new cars.

Ray, possibly interested if its an awd, but need to check safety ratings. Mamma bear is freaked out and to some degree so am I. So next car may be on the bigger side regardless of daughters desires.

Jer, how does the broker thing work?

In the meantime I am cruising websites and dealer pages looking at options and prices. Then trying to find what isses each car is known for.

You tell them what you're looking for and they find it. They take a cut, of course, but if you're looking for the easiest use of your time find a broker. Often times the "deal" they find will make whatever their cut is worth it and the time you saved is just gravy. Primary customers of auto brokers are super busy folks for time considerations and women who don't like dealing with dealerships or private party sales for safety considerations.

[jamesm7485]

Our daily driver / dog car was a cr-v we got from Kuni Honda and it was pretty damn painless and 70k miles later we have done nothing but basic maintenance and a set of tires...

[Gman]

You tell them what you're looking for and they find it. They take a cut, of course, but if you're looking for the easiest use of your time find a broker. Often times the "deal" they find will make whatever their cut is worth it and the time you saved is just gravy. Primary customers of auto brokers are super busy folks for time considerations and women who don't like dealing with dealerships or private party sales for safety considerations.
I have a broker at HM Brown I've used several times. Another nice thing about the broker experience is that they sell your used vehicle/trade-in via auction. Got top dollar on my last used vehicle and it was hassle free.

[Little Dutch]

I think we bought both of the ?new? cars in 2019.
I found my 93 explorer for cheap on Craigslist because it had a few issues. I fixed them and it?s awesome.

My wife bought a new car in 2014 from the Mazda dealer. They negotiated on the price some, but I didn?t get them to move much.

She sold that one private market and bought a 2013 explorer from a dealer. We went to a lot of used car lots before we found what we were looking for. We took the truck for the day, the whole day, so we could drive it and have our mechanic look at it. I then called the bank and secured the loan before we went back to the dealer. I told him I wanted it and what I wanted to pay for it. He counter offered and we made a deal. Signed some paperwork and drove it home.

Don?t be afraid of used cars, but don?t get suckered into a pile of junk or blinded by a low price tag. I?ve always bought my vehicles from private sellers. We?ve always bought my wife?s from dealers. No explanation on that one...
if you go through a dealer, don?t have a stroke when you realized you forgot about the taxes.

[SideShow Bob]

I picked up a 2007 Cobalt coupe back in May, it had only just under 35 K on the odometer. It was / is in very decent shape for a now 13 year old car.
I had to drive to CO. Springs, but for a commuter car that will probably last until I can consider retiring, I got it for a good price too.

[cfortune]

I just bought a 2015 Toyota 4Runner from Rickenbaugh Infiniti in Dacono on Friday. Was pretty painless. No BS, they don't don't haggle on prices and claim to have their lowest up front (which I believe because they wouldn't budge and the vehicle was listed as a "great deal" on cargurus.com) . They also give KBB cash price for trades instead of the trade-in value. Financing guy was pushy on the extra stuff (warranty and all that). Sales guy, Ryan, was a fellow shooter though and super easy to work with, not pushy at all. If you go in, tell them Chris sent you as they have a referral program ;).