First Time Car Buyer

[ZeeMore21]

Hi Everyone,

I'm hoping for some advice. I will be moving to Nashville to start a PhD in the fall. From my experience while down there for Open House in addition to other students' advice, it seems that it would be kind of hard to get around the city without a car. Unfortunately, I still don't have a car, and I really don't know when and how to start looking for one...preferable a used vehicle. I've lived in the East coast my whole life, so I never really had trouble getting around since public transportation is pretty efficient. I've also have had really great people as friends who never minded giving me a lift if I needed one...but I must say, it does get kind of old having to depend on others for transportation...I rather just be able to get up and go whenever I feel like it.

Luckily, I will be living pretty close to campus, so it won't be a problem running back and forth between campus and my apartment. There is a bus line close to my place, but I do not know much about it. A car would be useful for things such as shopping, visiting other students, and getting to other locations in Nashville. My roommate is not from the U.S and actually doesn't have a license yet, so the pressure is on me to find a car fast.

Right now, I'm not really sure about how to go about looking for a car, what would be a reasonable price for a used vehicle, and how long the whole car search process could take. My parents, who understand my position as a broke humanities student, have offered to help me pay for a used car, but at this point, being close to 24, I rather take full responsibility for finding and paying for a car myself. I also am wondering if it would be better not to rush the car search process in the summer, and just wait until I get down to Nashville and figure it all out. I would like to hear what anyone's opinions are about this situation. Thanks! And sorry for rambling.

[eklavya]

Zee, there are several ways you can find and buy a (used) car.

First, turn to your best friend - google. Search for websites that list used cars in your area. Search for auction websites where cars go on auction. Search for banks' and credit unions' sites where they advertise the cars they confiscated from loan takers who couldn't pay back their loans in time. Then of course, there is craigslist. You can also look on sites like cars.com, autotrader, enterprise car, and so forth, but these cars will be slightly expensive. Still, doesn't hurt to look around.

Whenever you go to groceries, check their magazine/flyer containers (usually near main the entrance/exit) for vehicle classifieds.

You can also go talk to few dealers in the area to see what kind of cars they have and how much do the ones you would like to buy usually go for. However, because of dealership fees involved, cars at dealerships are usually marked higher than what a owner would sell for.

Also see if your university has a newspaper or some other sort of advertisement means where students advertise to sell and buy stuff. You might find a car this way if graduating students (esp international) are trying to sell their vehicle.

Another place to look for is the local newspapers - town gazettes, magazines, etc. Most local media these days can be found online, so you might not have to wait till you get to your college town to start shopping!

I am going to a city where the public transportation has been consistently rated within the top 3 in the US in the past few years. My area I am going to live in has few bus routs going to my campus. And I am taking my bicycle with me. Still, I am also taking my car for the very reasons you mentioned - grocery, friends, perhaps camping out little far in the foothills and such. Owning a vehicle certainly adds up in your bills (insurance, gas, maintenance costs, etc) but it's definitely worth it.

Good luck with your search!

[ZeeMore21]

Thanks for the help bhikhaari!

Zee, there are several ways you can find and buy a (used) car.

First, turn to your best friend - google. Search for websites that list used cars in your area. Search for auction websites where cars go on auction. Search for banks' and credit unions' sites where they advertise the cars they confiscated from loan takers who couldn't pay back their loans in time. Then of course, there is craigslist. You can also look on sites like cars.com, autotrader, enterprise car, and so forth, but these cars will be slightly expensive. Still, doesn't hurt to look around.

Whenever you go to groceries, check their magazine/flyer containers (usually near main the entrance/exit) for vehicle classifieds.

You can also go talk to few dealers in the area to see what kind of cars they have and how much do the ones you would like to buy usually go for. However, because of dealership fees involved, cars at dealerships are usually marked higher than what a owner would sell for.

Also see if your university has a newspaper or some other sort of advertisement means where students advertise to sell and buy stuff. You might find a car this way if graduating students (esp international) are trying to sell their vehicle.

Another place to look for is the local newspapers - town gazettes, magazines, etc. Most local media these days can be found online, so you might not have to wait till you get to your college town to start shopping!

I am going to a city where the public transportation has been consistently rated within the top 3 in the US in the past few years. My area I am going to live in has few bus routs going to my campus. And I am taking my bicycle with me. Still, I am also taking my car for the very reasons you mentioned - grocery, friends, perhaps camping out little far in the foothills and such. Owning a vehicle certainly adds up in your bills (insurance, gas, maintenance costs, etc) but it's definitely worth it.

Good luck with your search!

[lambspam]

Kelley Blue Book (www.kbb.com) will give you an idea of how much you should pay for a given car based on the model, age, mileage, features, and condition. When you run across a car ad that interests you, toss the specs into the car value tool and it'll provide the expected value of a car in excellent, good, or fair condition.

[singlecell]

I recommend CarMax http://www.carmax.com/ (there is a store in Nashville). I bought my last used car from them. They have certified used cars under warranty and there is no negotiating on price. They also have a 1-month guarantee against any problems, so no buyer's remorse and you can't get stuck with a lemon. For someone who doesn't feel confident about cars or negotiating this is an excellent way to go.

Good luck!

PS: A used Volvo is bombproof and will last forever... and how academic will you look in an old Volvo station wagon with elbow patches sewn on your jacket?

[hejduk]

If you know enough about cars to feel comfortable buying from a private buyer, definitely suggest Craigslist or Ebay. You'll save 1000s over dealer price. Just sold my last car on Craigslist, and bought my Mini Cooper on Ebay. Saved over $6k on the Mini! Selling the wife's car shortly before we head across the country, but i'll sell her's on Craigslist as well. Make sure to do a CarFax, even if you buy from a dealer.

I'm comfortable with cars, but also have a friend who is a mechanic, but I know not everyone is in the same position.

[rising_star]

My first thought is don't buy a car. Does the city where you're moving have ZipCar, Hertz Connect, or other car-sharing programs? If so, go with that. It will save your hundreds a year in maintenance, insurance, and registration costs. This makes even more sense if you won't use a car every single day (and, since you say you won't need it to get to class, that seems quite likely).

I second the CarMax recommendation if you're not comfortable with cars. They make it very, very easy to buy a used car. I also agree that you should get a CarFax report regardless of where you buy your car.

You'll want to read used car reviews on edmunds.com and from Consumer Reports to get a sense of what cars are a good value to buy used and which will generally be nothing but trouble. From there, you have to check Blue Book values to see what you want that's in your price range. I recommend that you start doing the research part now, so you can get a handle on what a fair price for things where you'll be living is. Oh, and find a good mechanic that's willing to check out the car for you. It may cost $50-75 up front but can save you from buying a complete lemon.

FWIW, it took me over six months to buy the car I have now but, a lot of that is because I am very picky and knew exactly what I wanted in terms of make, model, mileage, and features. Being flexible can help you buy something more quickly.

[VandyPeabody2012]

zee, i see that you are at Vandy from your siggy. there are so many places to go nearby for fun if you live near campus. Just rent no more than a couple blocks away (Acklen to Ashwood are good areas to look). But you said you already have a roommate... How far from campus are you?

[Golden Monkey]

I've been pricing used cars too, and have found that finding something with low miles (like less than 50k,) a recent model year of a make/model with a good reputation for reliability, and good gas mileage is really hard to find a good deal on. The gas prices now have driven up the prices of used compacts/subcompacts that get good mileage, and they're not depreciating the way they used to. Since there's nothing like new car reliability, I've just decided to buy new instead.

I just read a story on Yahoo, though, that predicted prices to drop from this fall through the winter, so I'm not going to buy anything for a while.

[ktel]

My boyfriend is currently going through the process of finding a used car at auction. His friends referred him to a guy who has access to the dealer auctions (but is not a dealer) and will charge a small fee to purchase the car for him. He should save 1-2 thousand dollars going this route.

I bought my used car through a friend of a friend 4 years ago for $2000. I would guess another $3000 of work has been put into it since then (my dad pays for my car repairs). It's a 1997 Eagle Vision with about 250,000km at the moment. It's been a perfect first car and I'm going to sell it to my neighbor when I leave for about $500.

[runonsentence]

I've been pricing used cars too, and have found that finding something with low miles (like less than 50k,) a recent model year of a make/model with a good reputation for reliability, and good gas mileage is really hard to find a good deal on. The gas prices now have driven up the prices of used compacts/subcompacts that get good mileage, and they're not depreciating the way they used to. Since there's nothing like new car reliability, I've just decided to buy new instead.

I just read a story on Yahoo, though, that predicted prices to drop from this fall through the winter, so I'm not going to buy anything for a while.

I can speak to this as well. When I was looking for a car back in 2007/8, I had decided to only look at compact Toyotas, Hondas, and Subarus because my family's had such good experiences with these cars and because they're rated so highly for reliability on Consumer Reports. However, the price for late-model used cars with 3k miles or more on them was not much cheaper than just buying new, so that's eventually what I just did.

I bought my car in February (not many people are keen to walk around a parking lot in Jan/Feb, so prices were a bit cheaper). I also used online quotes from several dealerships to haggle a good price on my car, saved myself about $2k.

Although it's been a pill to pay a car payment while in grad school, I'm really glad I did it. I'm starting my third year of school but only have 26k miles (partly racked up from drives home, partly from my commute when I was still working full time). My car will still be in good shape by the time I graduate, so I won't have to deal with trying to find myself a car once I'm fresh out of school.

Edited July 19, 2011 by runonsentence

[ktel]

If you go the new car route, according to my boyfriend, there is somewhere where you can print off what the dealer paid for the car. This can be extremely useful in the haggling process.

[ZeeMore21]

zee, i see that you are at Vandy from your siggy. there are so many places to go nearby for fun if you live near campus. Just rent no more than a couple blocks away (Acklen to Ashwood are good areas to look). But you said you already have a roommate... How far from campus are you?

Hey! Nice to meet a fellow Vandy (is that what you call someone who goes to Vanderbilt? lol). I will be living on Acklen Drive...so I won't be too far from campus. Where do you live?

[ZeeMore21]

Thanks for the great advice posters!

[Golden Monkey]

I can speak to this as well. When I was looking for a car back in 2007/8, I had decided to only look at compact Toyotas, Hondas, and Subarus because my family's had such good experiences with these cars and because they're rated so highly for reliability on Consumer Reports. However, the price for late-model used cars with 3k miles or more on them was not much cheaper than just buying new, so that's eventually what I just did.

I bought my car in February (not many people are keen to walk around a parking lot in Jan/Feb, so prices were a bit cheaper). I also used online quotes from several dealerships to haggle a good price on my car, saved myself about $2k.

Although it's been a pill to pay a car payment while in grad school, I'm really glad I did it. I'm starting my third year of school but only have 26k miles (partly racked up from drives home, partly from my commute when I was still working full time). My car will still be in good shape by the time I graduate, so I won't have to deal with trying to find myself a car once I'm fresh out of school.

I ran into the same thing the last time I bought a car. A loaded, used Honda Civic with 30k miles was as expensive as a new one with fewer options. Since reliability was a lot more important to me than a moonroof, I just bought new instead.

Just out of curiosity, I looked up a 2007 Honda Fit Sport (41k) miles compared to a new 2011 Honda Fit Standard. The 4-year-old car with 41k miles on it is $15,599, while the new one is $16,670!

I did find some good prices on cars with iffy reliability reputations (for example a 2007 Dodge Caliber for $9000,) but I really don't enjoy waiting for tow trucks a whole lot.

[long_time_lurker]

Another CarMax recommendation here. I got my new car (they have a new Toyota dealership in Laurel, MD) there but the whole operation is absolutely wonderful and I'm sure it's great for used too. My wife already said she'll gladly make the 3 hour trip (one way) to buy from them. No haggling, no nonsense, the price on the website is the price you pay. You can shop from home using the Internet. Forget used car dealers (or even other new car dealers) they quote you one price and then add on a bunch of nonsense, bait & switch, etc.

If you have a car now, they make you an offer to buy your car, and it's binding, so even if you buy your car elsewhere CarMax will still buy your car for the amount they offered. It is not a scam like at traditional dealers where they offer you let's say $1000 extra on your trade-in and then just raise the price of the car by $1000. You know what the car you're buying costs because it's online, and the price they offer you for your existing car is on paper. Not to mention, they gave me $3000 for my car (which was blue book) and the nearest place which supposedly gives good deals offered me $1100.

[Golden Monkey]

I got some amusement from looking at prices (mostly from Carmax,) because it's interesting to see which cars seem to depreciate a lot, which cars' owners apparently don't drive much before selling, etc.

A random sampling of the $16-$18k range in used cars will get you:

$18K: 2004 BMW Z4 with 72k miles

$18K: 2011 Ford Fiesta with 15k miles

$16.5K: 2008 Ford Mustang (V6) with 45k miles

$16K: 2003 Mercedes C230 with only 32k miles (!)

$18K: 2009 Honda Fit Sport with 33k miles

$17K: 2006 Nissan Maxima with 68k miles

Meanwhile, dealers' sites for new cars are listing:

$18K: 2012 Hyundai Elantra

$17K: 2012 Honda Civic LX

$18K: 2011 Honda Fit

$17K: 2011 Ford Fiesta

$18K 2012 Ford Focus S

$17K 2011 Toyota Yaris

$18k 2011 Toyota Corolla

My conclusion is that if you want to buy something stylish, fun, impractical, etc., used is the way to go. For instance, you can be the only grad student driving a Benz, or if you want to drag race at green lights in a Mustang (though you'd better spring for the V8 if you're going to do that,) you can buy one of those for the same price as a new, or low-mileage grad-student issue econobox. If you're about to buy a boring econobox like me, it doesn't make much sense to buy used instead of new, unless you're going to buy an older econobox (for instance, you can get a 2005 Hyundai Accent for 10K.)