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I love buying used cars and motorcycles!
Bought my first one at 16, my last one 8 months ago, and many, many in between.
I've never had a bad experience. And, this may be hard to believe, but every single one of them I've ended up eventually selling for more than I bought it for. Every single one!
(Of course, that is based on purchase price only, not including money that I've sunk into the cars for maintenance, repairs, etc. etc. Still, pretty good).
Some keys to my success:
1. I've never, ever bought from a dealership of any kind. Not once in 30+ years. Private party every single time. These days, with Craigslist, I limit the search to private party only.
2. Why is that? There's a bunch of reasons. A savvy, experienced buyer can get SO MUCH information from the actual owner of the car. Esp. these days. I can usually tell from a 5 minute initial phone call if the car is worth pursuing. But then actually meeting the person, finding out about them, seeing their house, other cars, etc. etc. is a gold mine of information. It's never led me wrong. Also, in person most people are terrible poker players. I'll take my chances with a private party owner, as opposed to a dealer/broker/professional car seller, any day. They are the exact opposite of a private seller. A dealer must, on the whole, buy low and sell high, i.e., make a profit on you. Private sellers are the exact opposite. They generally just want to get rid of their old car, they aren't experts on pricing, don't depend on it for their living, and just want a pleasant, easy transaction. Most are willing to let money go for that (I in fact do it myself when I'm a seller, I almost never let a serious cash buyer go).
3. Unless the car is less than a half hour away, I do a fair amount of due diligence. Questions about the car, his ownership, pink slip in his name, etc. If I get past the first call, I'm generally 75% of the way there.
4. When I show up, I show up with cash ready to go. This is highly motivating to a seller and most sellers are willing to substantially discount to get the deal done, the cash in their pocket and the car out of their driveway.
You really have to have a methodical method of quickly separating the wheat from the chaff. Otherwise, it can be a tremendously time wasting and frustrating experience.
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