The keywords I use to search for a reliable used for sale by owner car on Craigslist are owner low m

I tried in every way imaginable to get someone else to take responsibility. But it became apparent paris to london travel that anyone else would head to a used car lot, find a car that they loved and could afford, and buy it without digging deeper into the history, maintenance and reliability of the car. I finally gave in and began what will be known as my year of living dangerously learning about cars.
It is vital to have someone you trust (a mechanic) thoroughly check out any used car you are thinking of buying prior to purchase. Before you do that, however, look for evidence of undisclosed repairs, funky smells, neglect, or oil leaks. Don t buy someone else s problem.
Unless you totally trust the owner, check the history of the car by running the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) through a service such as Carfax.com. This service will tell you the number of owners, paris to london travel reported accidents, flood damage and last reported odometer reading.
When looking at how much car you can afford to buy, consider the true cost of owning a car, which is much more than the price you pay for the vehicle. After that are the taxes, registration, insurance, maintenance, tires, gas and the occasional ticket.
The make and model of the car seem to impact the cost of insurance more than the year, current mileage or the price you paid. Make sure you check with your insurance carrier to get an estimate on what your insurance will be before paris to london travel you purchase the car. You can also check online at the various insurance company home pages to get a quote. I discovered that the 1999 Lexus RX300 I was contemplating was going to cost almost paris to london travel as much in insurance as the 2006 Ford F150 truck. Who knew?
CarMax is a great place to go to try on cars. The sales pressure is really paris to london travel low and they have a ton of different kinds of cars on the lot. They have a no haggle policy on the price so you won t have to haggle paris to london travel with a car salesmen, but you won t get an INCREDIBLE deal. However, if I only had one day to buy a used car, I would go to a CarMax to get it because I know they would have something on the lot I would like and feel secure in buying.
The keywords I use to search for a reliable used for sale by owner car on Craigslist are owner low miles. I think the best used car is one that has been owned by only one person who knows the car s history, has personally taken care of it, and has maintenance records.
I m still looking paris to london travel for my ideal cars, but I have learned paris to london travel soooo much since I started my search. The last car I bought, I didn t even know (or care) about how many miles it had on it. I didn t realize that it mattered.
Shop on a rainy day NEVER buy the first time you visit look around don t zone in on the one you want wander around then ask for their best deal on the car you re interested in, but don t be too interested.
I was lucky enough to have a friend who knows a lot about cars come along on two test drives. He pointed out things I never would have noticed. One car had 25,000 miles on it but had already needed new brakes. He thought the previous owner had been driving it really hard for that to happen. Also, little things were neglected, like a back brake light that had been cracked paris to london travel so long there was sand in side.
@A.F. I totally agree with you. I think walking paris to london travel in with cash in hand will give me an edge to get a better price. The seller knows that there are real green backs waiting to jump into their hands. If they want the money, they will be more willing to agree to my price. (I think.)
We have bought several used, almost like new, rental cars from Hertz. The cars are about a year old and include the remainder of the manufacturer s warranty. From what I understand, they only sell the best of their fleet, about 20%. They will reduce prices paris to london travel from time to time. I recommend Hertz over the other rental company sales. You can check their website for a listing of available cars, but it may not be complete. In May of 2009, we got a 2008 Hyundai Elantra, loaded, 23500 miles, for $9950. It had been reduced twice. I recommend you get your own financing rather than use theirs which will be on the high side. No hassle shopping. They show you the repair/service paris to london travel record for the car.
@Laura I ve been thinking about really checking into buying a used rental car. I was uncertain about buying something that had been driven by so many different people. Unfortunately, I know someone that is a stunt driver who will rent cars to practice on. This makes me a bit scared about the wear and tear factor. I do like the idea of renting the kind of car that I want to buy so that I can take a REAL test drive in the make and model. Did you do that?
@BB: I am not in the market to buy a car, but only recently I have become very attracted to the Mini Cooper so cute! However, my husband would never permit me to get one for at least one reason: its smallness makes it unsafe, a not-shabby reason! We always check the various insurance and highway safety test scores paris to london travel before purchasing a car. Did you consider safety when you purchased yours?
@Diane: Regarding safety I have taken this somewhat into consideration. One of the cars that I am looking to buy needs to be a real gas saver, so at first, I was looking at the Smart Car, but when I started to look into it, I realized that it was just too small for highway driving as far as I am concerned. Overall, cars are so much safer than they used to be that I haven t done extensive paris to london travel research into the safety ratings. Now that you have mentioned it I guess I have another area of research. paris to london travel Thanks I think.
I didn t rent the kind of car I wanted first. I narrowed my choices down to three cars..Hyundai Elantra, Toyota Corolla, and Honda Civic. I eliminated paris to london travel the Honda because it is very difficult to find this car at rental sales, they are pricey, and tend to have high mileage since owners keep them longer. paris to london travel When I started to compare paris to london travel the Elantra to the Corolla, the Elantra proved to have many more extras, and reviews were excellent. I did test drive the car at Hertz when I went to see it, and bought it right then. I had read reviews on Edmunds and Kelly Blue Book. Hertz rental sales cars have lower mileage and are better priced than other rental sales. I didn t drive the Elantra at a dealer paris to london travel before going to Hertz. I went to one dealer and got the classic sales game, so I decided then to get a car at either CarMax or Hertz. If you are unsure what kind of car you want, yes go and take a test drive. And it is possible that some rentals are used for stunts, but I know Hertz stands behind their cars. They only sell the best of their fleet.
paris to london travel @Bobbisbargains: paris to london travel I actually was asking Bargain Babe about safety research when she bought her cute Mini Cooper. That s also part (a vital part!) of being a savvy shopper. In response to your comment, I don t understand how safety is not a top-priority issue on everyone s car purchase list. Yes, many cars are safer now than they used to be, but that doesn t immunize paris to london travel them against crashes with the many larger vehicles on the road as well as vehicles driven by phone talkers, text messengers, drunk drivers, and plain bad drivers. I think we tend to have a false sense of security unless we have had the misfortune of being involved in a serious accident. (Gratefully, I haven t.) In my opinion, it is NOT smart to buy a Smart Car or ANY car that doesn t earn 5 points on the critical areas tested in the crash tests performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway paris to london travel Safety, for example. (The IIHS also has results for older cars.) What can be more vital than the safety of our loved ones and ourselves? Okay, I ll get off my soapbox now.