Buying a used car (Seattle) under 10k

Buy from a private party, car lots charge a ton of markup.

Also, I would never, ever buy a salvage title - money pit (or major safety issue) waiting to happen if you can not verify the repairs.

Do you need an SUV? If not, don't waste your money paying a premium for one, get a good reliable used car instead for much less.

Thanks for the info. I've contacted several people (private party) trying to negotiate but they won't budge on the price (also well over KBB). The dealership that's selling the salvage car has paperwork to show the damage was in the rear and the paperwork for the repairs if that helps.

I do need an SUV for work unfortunately, I have lots of tools I lug around and I have to drive through snow all winter.

Should I still stay away from the salvage car?

1. KBB is usually above what a lot will pay for the car.
2. never buy above kbb
3. look for an auction type place, around here in pittsburgh there is one call blue knob auto.

It is the end of the year you can probably get into a new car for a great price, or even wait until the old 2012 vehicles are still on the car lots in the first quarter of next year.

Have you considered a wagon? They're not as hip, but they're typically (depending on the wagon) every bit as functional, spacewise. Look into Subaru / Volvo for AWD stuff.

Alternately, you might be able to find a Volvo XC90 (SUV) in that price range. I've got one that I like a lot. It's been pretty reliable, but it uses a lot of gas.

I would be careful with a rebuild title car - it could have been in a flood, a serious wreck, or who knows what. I would look into Consumer reports to find a list of reliable vehicles for 10K. For that amount of money, you might want to consider other options than an SUV or increase your budget.

http://news.consumerreports.org/c...10000.html

and detailed list for cars, minivans, and SUVs (many price ranges)

http://www.consumerreports.org/cr.../index.htm

Watch the newspaper adds for cheap ass deal, settle for less and buy new. Used is real crap shoot and time consuming. KBB does not mean a thing this is free market not Russia. Dealers would love you to think book value is set in stone. Trade that Tacoma in book turn around get way over book. House prices are not set in stone because not all houses are created equal. Pay more for 1 owner loved car period.


Should you stay away from salvage lol are you kidding me? Those are worth half book value fixed perfect. Many dealerships making a killing selling these junkers.

I was looking at Jeep Patriot fwd,5sp New $10,995 or less in WA was going to fly down there and drive back.

Quote from radb : Watch the newspaper adds for cheap ass deal, settle for less and buy new. Used is real crap shoot and time consuming. KBB does not mean a thing this is free market not Russia. Dealers would love you to think book value is set in stone. Trade that Tacoma in book turn around get way over book. House prices are not set in stone because not all houses are created equal. Pay more for 1 owner loved car period. Should you stay away from salvage lol are you kidding me? Those are worth half book value fixed perfect. Many dealerships making a killing selling these junkers. I was looking at Jeep Patriot fwd,5sp New $10,995 or less in WA was going to fly down there and drive back.

I would definitely look at the state you live in. Each state varies on the rebuilt title status. If you want a rebuild, I would have it checked by a mechanic that you trust first. I completely agree with paying more for a one owner car. You'll probably have better luck with maintenance and how the car was treated.

Thanks for the great info everyone. I have a 25 year old station wagon now and get a lot of jokes from my co-workers. I think I'll stick to a SUV.

A used subaru sounds good. I heard volvo's are high maintenance. I've never known anyone that owned one. Everyone tells me to stick with Japanese made cars.

A last-generation Subaru Legacy or Impreza, non-turbo is what you want, pretty much bulletproof reliability and if you get it with stick shift you're good to go for 200K+ miles.

Alternatively, just buy any FWD econobox (ie. Corolla or Civic) and with the money you save vs AWD you can buy a good set of tires every year and 2 sets of chains for the snow.

Just FYI: I recently bought a five year old Toyota with approx. 52K miles from a private owner. KBB, of course, was his reference point. Using all the same specifications, I calculated the value with Edmunds' True Market Value and that estimate was $2,500 to $3,500 lower. Between those figures and factoring in the immediate maintenance costs (after third party mechanic inspection), I negotiated from $10,995 to just over $8,500. Other private parties and dealerships were asking for $12-15K for older models of the same vehicle with way more mileage...

My situation might have been unique, but you can certainly get a fair deal when working with the right private owner and relying on patience and logic.

Good luck - hope everything works out

Where I live, I see the same thing. NO ONE GIVES A SH...T about KBB prices. You either buy it or GTFO. My BIL just sold his car above KBB prices and told the buyer to take a hike if they didn't like his price. They bought his car. With the way the economy is, fewer people are buying new cars and trading in their older cars, causing a shortage....shooting up the prices of used cars.

I've seen salvaged cars with 100K miles and they still want an arm and a leg. In fact, I've seen some sellers even sell their cars more expensive than dealers. LFMAO. You just have to keep searching on craigslist, autotrader, or even ask around if the people you know knows someone who is getting rid of their cars.

With Craigslist, you just have to be careful of scams. Don't send money, do face to face transactions. If the car price sounds too good to be true, it probably is. And don't buy the car if the seller's name is different from the paperwork (Check for DL). Don't listen to their sad story or that they are selling on behalf of their aunt, uncle, parents, etc.... it might be a stolen car. And do your deals at a bank.

I'd go Subaru Impreza, something along the lines of: http://seattle.craigslist.org/est...90669.html
It's $10,950 with over 100k miles. I'd personally find something with fewer miles but maybe a little over $10k. Go with Continental Extreme Contact DWS all season tires and you'll be good to go in the snow.

If this car were for me, I'd go with something like this Acura MDX for $10,990: http://www.universityaudi.com/use...f2017f.htm
High miles, yes, but I bought my Honda from these guys and I know them a little bit. University Audi hates negotiating (and so do I). Offer them a reasonable price and they will have a hard time saying no. That's what I did. They won't nickel and dime you cause they don't like doing that. Their prices are already reasonable so they won't have to negotiate.

Here's a Toyota Highlander SUV for $11,900: http://www.universityaudi.com/use...cbe311.htm

This is my personal choice, a 2003 Honda Accord for $10,900 (only has 67k miles, that's nothing for a Honda): http://www.universityaudi.com/use...a68f66.htm

For most of the cars I listed above I would offer $10k OTD (out the door). That includes taxes, title, and licensing fees. See if they bite on any of those. That would be a good deal. Make sure you test drive them before buying it. If financing make sure you are pre-approved. It makes the process easier and there are no surprises. Nothing would suck more to test drive it, wheel and deal, only to find out you can't afford it.

I have a jeep patriot i bought used, 117k miles and still see them selling on ebay and CL for 8-9k.

I was suprised by that.