Buying a used car in Milwaukee

[pretendastronaut]

I need to replace one of our two cars, but we put about 3,000 miles a year on it, so I don't need a new car. But I don't have a lot of car buying experience, especially around Milwaukee. Anyone have an suggestions of where to look for a decent used car is in the Milwaukee area?

[Invader3K]

The last car I bought was used. These days you can just go on autotrader.com and poke around until you find something that's a good deal.

[owbc]

I bought a car a few years ago (in the Madison area) from a seller I found via Craigslist. Obviously there are plenty of scams and I would be hesitant to follow up on an ad in a bad neighborhood, but it worked for me. Some dealers post there as well, so it is at least worth a look.

[tristarscoop]

I think I've said this elsewhere, but I always suggest talking to mechanics. They often know people looking to unload cars and they know what kind of maintenance has been done on the car and whether its well-taken care of.

[chadomac]

I'm actually looking for a used car now too, so I'm glad this thread came up. My goal is to avoid a car payment for at least a couple of years, so I'm looking for an older car in the $5000ish range. I've been checking Craigslist and Autotrader... autotrader definitely seems to have more newer used cars than older/cheap used cars... but I can go carless for a short time if need be. I am going to avoid a dealer if possible.

[DatHoser]

We went through carsoup.com. Don't laugh, but we wanted to go through a dealer and that site allowed us to narrow down the search pretty well.

 

Whatever you choose, good luck!

[mothershipconnection]

Looking for cars on Craigslist is like looking for anything else on Craigslist. There will be scammers, complete weirdos, and driving 30 minutes to find a piece of junk that's nothing like they described or showed in the photos. We drove an hour to look at an Altima based on exterior pictures and they said the car was in good shape - too bad they didn't mention that the interior was absolutely trashed. Then, once in a while, you find a tremendous deal from an honest person, but you have to be very patient. The last 2 cars we bought for my wife were found through Autotrader: one from a private party and the last one from a dealer.

[RyDogg66]

I have used Cars.com and I ended up with a good used van from Milwaukee about 5 years ago that I am still driving. I am sure it is the same as carsoup and autotrader, but it is just personal preference and what you are used to.

[chadomac]

Have any of you bought used from a private seller? Everywhere I read online about buying a used car privately, they say "make sure you get it checked out by a mechanic before buying"... but finding people that are actually open to letting you do that seems difficult. I don't know anything about cars, so I would really love to be able to have it checked out before giving someone thousands of dollars and then driving away.

[RightFieldCoder]

If you're selling a car by yourself, how willing are you to hand over the car keys to let them "get it checked out by a mechanic"? Selling a used car is as risky as buying a used car. I haven't done it, but try setting up to pay for them to take it to a mechanic you choose. Pay the mechanic ahead of time and leave it up to them to physically get it there. Then they don't have to worry about you stealing it.

[Gobias Industries]

If the person actually wants to sell you the car they will a) agree to come with you to your scheduled checkover or b) let you leave something with them as collateral. If they give you some kind of round around about why you can't bring it to a shop they are lying.

 

I've bought close to a thousand cars on craigslist the last 4 years (most don't know I'm a dealer, I just pay them and get the hell outta there). Outta that many, I've been scammed twice. Once was because I was stupid and gave someone $500 down to hold a car for 2 days. There were many signs why I shouldn't have down that. The guy was a complete clown and was pretty shady, but the car was very nice (after this all went down I'm pretty convinced it wasn't even his). I went to pick it up 2 nights later and he basically taunted me from his track phone and said he gave me a fake name and home address and said I was sol on getting my money back. Generally, you should be able to get a good gauge about the person's character by just talking to them on the phone and then meeting them in person. The only other time I was scammed was because I bought a car with frame damage. That was back before the days of carfax though.

 

I will also note that out of all those cars I bought, nearly everyone that I've bought from has said that their car is perfect/needs nothing. This has been the case maybe 1-10% of the time. Unless you're buying an 08-11 model private party, expect to fix some things. That's why you're paying less than retail. If you don't have a mechanic that you trust/ can give you a good rate, you'll probably have to piss that money right back away in repairs.

 

What I recommend? Research some reputable dealers in your area/ask for recommendations from people you know. Find the right vehicle. Negotiate it to a price that looks good to similar models on cars.com. NADA value is a good guide but used car prices are a little out of whack right now on especially on slightly older vehicles because of cash for clunkers. This route will save you a lot of hassle.

[RightFieldCoder]

Gobias, do you work in the Milwaukee area?

[Gobias Industries]

Oshkosh. I do buy most of our cars out of the Milwaukee area though.

[WV Brew]

For new cars, TruCar.com is a great resource. They list all cars of a given make, model and trim level sold in your own area and give you an idea of how much you might spend. They also have a beta used car version called Clearbook.trucar.com. If you know what type of car you are interested in, you might try this.

[pretendastronaut]

Spent the day looking at used cars, which isn't exactly how you want to spend you Saturday. "What's it going to take to get you into one of these cars today?" How about having a car I feel like putting my money towards? No? Okay.

 

"My manager is so confident in this car, he's willing to include a warranty for an additional $600." "That's not really including it, that's selling me something for an additional $600 and speaks nothing to the confidence in the car."

 

Anyway, we found one at a dealership we're interested in, but I see on the CarFax its been in two accidents, but it seems like it was maintained well over its history. I normally take our main car to the Toyota dealership, and this is a Honda. If I want someone to check it out, should I look for a Honda dealership? I don't have a mechanic to reliably take it.

[mothershipconnection]

In this one instance, if you want to have a check-up done, the Honda dealer would probably be the safe bet. They're likely to know about common design flaws to check for, though in my experience you'll never get a Honda man to admit that their design is less than flawless. In general, I never take my car to a dealership, as their prices are typically insane. You need to find someone who knows something about cars and can recommend an independent mechanic.

 

Better still, everyone should learn to do their own basic repairs. A Haynes manual on your car is a good place to start. On top of that, the wonders of the internets have brought us tons of enthusiast forums that have fantastic summaries of common repairs with pictures and diagrams. I just completed a replacement of my blend doors (they control heat through your vents) that the dealership charges $1,200 for. I did it myself in an evening for $131. That's a significantly higher hourly rate than I get paid at work. Yesterday I flushed my coolant, replaced my lower radiator hose and thermostat, and changed the belt. I did this for $98, which is less than the dealership wants for the coolant flush alone.