Used Cars

[wdj]

Hello all!

Was hoping for a bit of help here - I'm delving into the world of purchasing a used car for the first time in my young life. Any recommendations of reputable used car sellers in the Metro area?

Any info is appreciated. Many thanks!

[MWCGuy]

Reynolds and Bob Howard are pretty good. Your best bet would be to arrange bank or credit union financing before you shop. If you have no credit you will probably need a co-signer. If you don't have a cosigner, save your money and buy from a private seller or a car auction. Don't go to the we finance lots (Express Credit Auto, Drivetime, The Key) you will pay double the value of the car by the time you pay it off.

[BBatesokc]

Hello all!

Was hoping for a bit of help here - I'm delving into the world of purchasing a used car for the first time in my young life. Any recommendations of reputable used car sellers in the Metro area?

Any info is appreciated. Many thanks!

Everyone has different experiences with car lots. I personally was screwed by Bob Howard on an online bait-and-switch several years ago.

I also personally hate dealing with salesmen at the big lots.

I'm personal friends with the owner of a large chain of new/used car lots and I don't even buy from him.

I've bought several cars from small independent dealers and on Craigslist and I've never been unsatisfied.

When dealing with a small dealer I just make sure they Do Not offer 'Buy Here Pay Here' - that's the first sign they are going to charge you too much.

I've bought a few cars from Taylor Sales near SE 44 and Oklahoma. Very small lot, but he always has 10-25 good quality cars. Every car I have bought from him I either sold for more than I paid or broke even - and none has ever had a mechanical issue. The most recent one's I bought from him were a loaded Ford Edge and a loaded Jeep Liberty Renegade Edition.

I've also bought cars on Craigslist and been very satisfied. I have a few cars, but the one I drive the most right now is a Toyota Prius I bought on Craigslist. Been a great car with awesome gas-mileage.

The down side with small lots and Craigslist is you have to bring cash or your own financing.

Personally, my car buying tips are;
1.) Pay cash, don't borrow the money.
2.) Buy used. Unless you have money to throw away its pretty ridiculous to buy new.
3.) When buying used look for a car that is 3-5 years old as it will have already taken the biggest depreciation.
4.) keep in mind resale. Looks for makes and models that resell easily and make sure you get a good deal so you don't lose much or any money in the future.
5.) Run a car history report.

Personally the 'best' used car I've ever bought was a 2006 Infinity FX35 that I still own. Bought in about 2010 for less than half of what the original (and only) owner paid just 4 years earlier. Never been in the shop and still feels as tight as it did when it was new. Not to mention, you can't beat the infinity dealer service experience. Take it in for oil changes and they offer me a loaner! Only took them up on it once - I usually just hang around and eat their breakfast, watch cable and surf the web. Had a couple of little recall items over the years and got loaners for those service days too. I'd buy another in a heart beat.

[Roger S]

Personally, my car buying tips are;
1.) Pay cash, don't borrow the money.
2.) Buy used. Unless you have money to throw away its pretty ridiculous to buy new.
3.) When buying used look for a car that is 3-5 years old as it will have already taken the biggest depreciation.
4.) keep in mind resale. Looks for makes and models that resell easily and make sure you get a good deal so you don't lose much or any money in the future.
5.) Run a car history report.

I can't say it any better... So I'll just quote what Brian said.

[Jeepnokc]

Diffee Motors has long been considered one of the better dealerships for used. Good low mileage clean cars. Vic Diffee still owns and runs it like a small family business.

[stick47]

I more or less followed the advice on this link though I did not see the link at the time. It enabled me to pay off a $30,000 home loan 25 yrs ago in only 4 years and that let me ...... and the next step allowed me to ..... IOW, It's a long game and the wise play it that way.
Drive Free, Retire Rich - daveramsey.com

[MWCGuy]

I more or less followed the advice on this link though I did not see the link at the time. It enabled me to pay off a $30,000 home loan 25 yrs ago in only 4 years and that let me ...... and the next step allowed me to ..... IOW, It's a long game and the wise play it that way.
Drive Free, Retire Rich - daveramsey.com

I just paid off a 2005 F-150 I bough back in 2006 with 9700 miles on it. I purchased it from Reynolds and they were awesome all the way around. I am just now seeing the light with Dave Ramsey's point of view. I paid 17,500 in February of 2006. I paid the first four years and refinanced the last two with BOK. After it was all said and done I pretty much threw away 12,500 just to drive something new. If I kept the vehicle I had at the time for a few more years I could have put together the money and bought from a private lot or a private seller and owned it outright. I am done with financing cars. I would much rather have the money in the bank.

[BBatesokc]

I just paid off a 2005 F-150 I bough back in 2006 with 9700 miles on it. I purchased it from Reynolds and they were awesome all the way around. I am just now seeing the light with Dave Ramsey's point of view. I paid 17,500 in February of 2006. I paid the first four years and refinanced the last two with BOK. After it was all said and done I pretty much threw away 12,500 just to drive something new. If I kept the vehicle I had at the time for a few more years I could have put together the money and bought from a private lot or a private seller and owned it outright. I am done with financing cars. I would much rather have the money in the bank.

Now, how do we instill that into our kids? I wish a Dave Ramsey type class was mandatory in high school (for more than just a semester).

We bought our son his first vehicle - Isuzu Tropper - by paying $3,500 cash and giving him a list of 'to dos' that had to be done by summer's end to make up for it.

Wouldn't you know it, he moves out, sells it and at least twice got into some over-financed truck/car he couldn't afford and was paying twice as much for.

Fortunately he matured quick enough (22 now) and got out from under the finance scam and saved up and bought a used dependable truck with cash and he's thrilled to not have that payment hanging over him.

Now trying to convince him to find a small inexpensive home to buy before interest rates go up further and sell it in a few years and start working his way up to a nice fully paid off house by the time he's 40.

[SSEiYah]

I was in the market for a used truck. Brian nailed it in post 3, Cash, 6+ years old, 100k, etc.

I bought a 07 F150 Extended Cab 4x4 truck w/100k for less than $8000 at the surplus auction last Friday (2nd Friday of every month). According to the Tag office, they said the taxable value was $14,000, so I ended up paying taxes $6k more than purchase price, only downside. As far as dealers with these trucks, hard to find the "base model" aka manual windows, vinyl floor mats, etc, most are optioned out. So far I've invested $900 into it for a windshield, wheels and tires. I also installed brake rotors myself as pads were good, but rotors were warped.

Surplus auction is a good choice for someone with some mechanical know-how as these are all 100K+ 6-10 year old vehicles mostly. Prices are pretty much between wholesale value (at dealer-only auction) and the trade-in value a dealer would pay for a vehicle.

Keep in mind, this is pretty much cash only, so you need the cash and some cash potentially for repairs. There is a risk involved where you cannot drive the vehicle to test it, this may be a deal breaker for you. I highly doubt you would be able to get a loan from any bank for one of these.

If you don't have cash and need a vehicle, you are going to pay a lot more than you can resell it for most likely and have interest to worry about. Also, factor in a repair budget for just about any car with over 60,000 miles. So if you are considering buying a 3 year old car from a "buy here pay here" lot with a crazy interest rate, you might as well just buy a brand new economy car from Kia or Hyundai or something. They are dirt cheap, get 35mpg+ and I believe have very good financing as far as interest rate. Try to find something with 0%. You still lose money driving off the lot, a lot of money, but then again if its a cheap car. Compared to interest paid over 5 year to Express Credit Auto/Key/etc you may be better off with new with a 0% rate. I'd look at the full amount paid over 3 or 5 years used and make sure that buying used is "worth it".

[kevinpate]

Buy a dependable car.
Drive it until the wheels fall off.
If repairs can be had at a reasonable price, repair and drive another year.
They ain't pretty when I am done with them, but they have been rode well and at times hard, and for many a year before they have nothing left to give beyond their salvage value.

[wdj]

I really appreciate all the good tips/info! Thanks, y'all.

[Just the facts]

CarMax - Browse used cars and new cars online