A good friend of mine recently got in a car accident and totaled her car.  Fortunately, she and her passengers emerged from the wreckage unscathed.   After her insurance assessed the damage, they gave her a settlement of $9717 which included a registration fee refund and the salvage value less deductible.

So with $9717 in hand and no extra money to spare, she begun her search for a new USED car off of Craigslist; the land of spam & scams to the ignorant or gems & diamonds to the well-informed.  After a few weeks of searching on Craigslist, she ended up purchasing a 2002 Audi A4 1.8T for $6500.

In the end, with the guidance of friends and family, she ultimately found a gem after sorting through a shopping list of cars from private sellers.  Here’s the advice she was given:

When purchasing a car on Craigslist here are some general rules to follow:

1.    1st or 2nd owner at most

2.    Less than 100K miles (depending on the condition)

3.    Clean, not salvaged title

4.    Stay away from “New” or “Rebuilt” engines or transmissions

5.    Tread lightly with used car dealerships.

• Used car salesmen have a bad reputation for a reason. They generally sell auctioned off, repossessed, and cars that generally haven’t been well maintained. Then they fix them up with cheap parts and make them appear as though they are in good condition.

Phase 1: Craigslist search query

1.    Enter the make and model of the car you’re looking for

2.    In the Drop-down, select “cars & trucks – by owner

3.    Enter a minimum and maximum amount.

• I tend to follow a -40% to +40% range of my budget.  For example, if my budget is $10,000, I will type in a range of $6,000 Min to $14,000 Max.

4.    Select the “has image” box.  Seller has no image?  Then it’s not worth YOUR time to pry.

5.    he goal is to create a list of all possible used car candidates.

Phase 2: Research and due diligence

1.    Find out the value of the car (KBB Price)

2.    Research common vehicle problems with the make, model, and year

3.    Scour outside marketplaces (eBay, newspaper ads, etc)

4.    Filter out cars based on your own personal assessment

Phase 3: Contact seller via phone/email

1.    Do not waste yours or the sellers time. Ask questions that are not already on the listing.

2.    Clean or Salvaged title?

3.    Are you the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd owner?

4.    Do you have other pictures

5.    Has it been in any accidents, if so, what happened?

6.    Do you have a CarFax Report?

7.    Do you have maintenance records?

8.    If you sense any deception or fumbling of words, back out.

Phase 4: Dealing with the seller in person

1.    Bring another person that is car savvy for a second opinion.

• Having a companion will also help prevent being strong armed by the seller

2.    Test drive the car

• If possible, take the vehicle highway speeds

3.    Be a skeptic and question any scratch, strange noise, scent, blemish, etc

4.    If you sense any deception or fumbling of words, once again back out.

Phase 5: Negotiate and Closing the Deal

1.    Once you’re comfortable with the vehicle, you can pay the price outright or negotiate.

• It’s up to you from on where you want to go from here.
• You have so many cards to choose from.  Here’s a few
  • I like the car but I’m trying out a similar car for $500 cheaper…
  • Can you throw in the ski rack sitting in the garage?
  • I have to discuss this with my wife/husband, it’s $500 over my budget…
  • etc..
    

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If you have any other tips for our readers, please post them below.  I’m no used car expert, but I definitely know if I’m getting ripped off.

Selamat jalan! (Malay)

Photo Credit: WhosThisValGirl

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