• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Would appreciate general advice on used car purchasing

A

Auggie

Golden Member
I've managed to save up about $7000 and am finally going to be able to purchase another vehicle. The limited amount of research I've been able to do suggests that a late-90s Ford F-150 might be the best bet for me in terms of price/utility/reliability. Actually reliability is paramount, and those trucks seem to have better-than-decent repair records.

The real question here is where to buy from. Carmax seems a bit expensive (as well as not having many "older" trucks in the year/price-range that I'm looking at), buying from a 3rd party seems like a crap shoot in terms of getting a truck that was mercilessly driven by the previous owner, and dealerships' used vehicle stocks are usually priced at retail.

I know all this underscores the fact that buying a good used vehicle can be difficult.

Bottom line, it seems like the best route may be to go with a third-party seller, ask permission to get the truck inspected at my garage of choice, and go from there.

Any secrets or better ideas?

(Apologies if this is a repost. If it is, just link me towards the applicable thread and let this die. Did a quick search for used car buying advice and didn't see much.)
 
Not to dissuade you from an F-150 but those model years had the worst crash ratings of any full size truck.
I have a friend that posts here (Fullmetal Chocobo) that had one, and got into a wreck with it. No airbag deployment and completely destroyed the truck.

Carmax will in general be a bit more expensive than a traditional dealer or a private seller, but deals can be had if you look.
Other than that checking out a car from a private seller and taking it to be inspected is probably your best route to go though.
 
I don't know where you live, but on Autotrader.com I see 2000-2002 F-150s for $7K all over. Most dealers' prices are 'asking' and making an offer is normal.
 
Carmax fixes their cars before they sell it to you.
Regular dealership do not.

I saw the records of what Carmax did to my car before they put it for sale. I saw it a year later when I went back to Carmax for warranty work. Lady printed up the record of my car and I saw everything they did.

New tires. Rotation
New air filter.
Oil change. Oil filter change.
Fixed dents
Painted something, forgot what.

and a whole list of other crap. It was two pages long.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top