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Clarks 5 Steps to Buying Craigslist Used Cars
Rather then making you listen to my tips for buying used cars on Craigslist, I figured I would post an article from someone who recently purchased a car from a craigslist seller. His name is Clark, and I asked him to explain his process of finding the vehicle on Craigslist, to the actual purchase of it.
1. Search for the make and model of the car
I’ve always tried to be a savvy car buyer and never buy brand new cars. It’s not that I don’t have the money, but that I would rather spend it elsewhere and buy a car that ‘gets the job done.’ The main points that I look at within a car are the make, year, mileage, and price. You have to find a happy medium between all 4 of these points. I look for cars that are before 2004, a reputable brand, under 75 thousand miles, and under $25,000. You’ll find that searching for these criteria will bring a lot of results.
Other advantages would include a carfax report, one owner, highway miles, used by a woman, extended warranty, serviced at all required times, a normal cause for selling, and passable after a mechanics inspection.
Other disadvantages include clear damage to areas of the car, modified, dirty, low sale value, short description, and no pictures.
2. Contact the seller
Once you have put your list of cars together, make sure to reference Kelly Blue Book to make sure the cars prices you have found are relatively close to the KBB prices. After your research is complete contact each of the Craigslist used car sellers. I always like to get on the phone with the seller, so if they provide a number, call it! When you email or call, ask for more info, and when they can provide you with a service report. If the car missed regular service checkups and you don’t get the best info on the car, move on to the next seller. Once you have found one that you feel comfortable with, set up a time to test drive.
3. Take the car for a test drive
If the seller does not let you take the car for a test drive for whatever reason, leave! Something is probably up with the car. When you do get to test-drive a car I always like to take it on the back roads and highway. Visualize yourself in the car for the next few years. Is it a good fit? Does it drive well? Also take a look around the car to check if it is clean, if there has been any visible damage, etc. Take account of the seller as well. Do they seem to be the type of person that would properly maintain the car, i.e. are they anal!
I always take a buddy along for the ride as well to get a second opinion. Sometimes you can be so excited that you overlook some obvious flaws. It’s also for safety reasons! Once the test drive is over, be sure to tell the seller you will get back to them in a few days to a week as you have other cars to look at. This may help to reduce the price!
4. Deeper Research
Once you have narrowed down your list of potential cars, contact each seller and tell them you would like to take it to a mechanic for an inspection. If a seller says no, then you can cross that car off the list. Next, order a carfax report to check if the car was ever involved in any accidents. Each of these steps may cost a little money, though if you avoid them you could be up the creek if the car breaks down after just a few days or weeks. Lastly, make sure the Craigslist seller has the title to the car and is not still paying off the loan.
5. Offer Your Price
Since you have gone through some effort in your research, you should have a good idea what the car is worth, which should also be close the Kelly Blue Book value. If the sale price of the craigslist used car is close to this, then I will typically offer a price a few hundred dollars below. Craigslist dealers always work a little wiggle room into their prices that they will be willing to come down from. Don’t get to cheap with the seller though, especially if you believe the car to be in excellent shape and at a fair price.
6. Purchase the car
Once you and the seller have settled on a price, I recommend all buyers look at the state regulations and requirements for car ownership. Before meeting the seller, make sure they are also aware of any documents they need to bring and sign. It’s also a good idea to contact your car insurance agency to let them know you are going to be purchasing a car from a private dealer.
When you arrive at the set location I always bring a friend for safety reasons. You can bring cash, but other forms of payment are a safer option. Before paying make sure the seller gives you the title, and all other signed documents needed. If the seller is still paying a loan, it is a good idea to accompany them to the lenders office to make sure they pay off the balance and receives the title.
I found that following these basics steps really helps to ensure that I am getting the best craigslist used car for sale possible. I am confident that it drives well, that the price I am paying for is fair, and that I am going to have fun driving it for many years!
Craigslist Used Cars
Craigslist is a classified ads website that is sectioned by local regions, and has thousands of used car ads. This is useful in car hunting because you can drill down to the county you want to buy a used car in, and then put in a search term to narrow the local results even further. First, go to craigslist.org and pick the state you want to look in, then the region on the sidebar. There is a “for sale” directory (craigslist doesn’t capitalize), and look for the “cars+trucks” link.
The “cars+trucks” link brings you to a warning screen to read about common scams on craigslist. Take a minute to go over it. You will see a menu on three ways to view car and truck ads. You can view “all”, or you can view by dealer only or by private owner only. Once you click on one of those links, you can narrow the search by a few factors.
The “search for” text box is for any search term you want to put in, to narrow the list of results. For example, here you could put in “Mustang” to see only Mustangs. The “in” pull down menu tells you the type of sellers that will show. Check a radio button that will search the title or the entire post. Check a box to pick only ads with images. Finally, you can enter a minimum and/or a maximum price.
Tabs at the top should be the names of the counties in the region you are searching. Clicking on one of these tabs will narrow the results to that county only, so you do not have to include the county name in the “search for” box.
Once you find ads you want to explore further, you will see two ways of contacting a seller. Typically, phone numbers are included in the ad, but sometimes you will see only an email address. Most ads are straightforward with more than one picture and a phone number to call.
It’s important to prepare when contacting a seller. Look up the blue book value of the car first to ensure the used car is reasonably priced and to gauge any room for price negotiation. Ask the seller if they have maintenance records and how flexible they are on the price. Cars with comprehensive service records are a much safer buy. If you aren’t satisfied with the answers to these questions, move on.
Once you hear the answers you want on price and service records, set up appointments with the owners for visits and test drives. If possible, take someone else knowledgeable about cars if you aren’t. Look the car over thoroughly, in and out. Check that the promised service records exist and confirm the price. Take it for a test drive to make sure everything looks and sounds normal. Get the VIN so you can run a car report like CarFax, if you are interested in taking the deal further. Thank the seller for their time and let them know you have a few other cars to look at before you make a decision. Let them know when you will get back to them.
When you have decided which car you want to purchase, and you contacted the seller and came to a final purchase price, it’s time to close the deal. Make sure you have the forms from your local motor vehicle department, to get tags and transfer title. Call your auto insurance company and arrange for insurance. Meet the seller, pay to close the deal and take possession of the car, being sure to get a receipt for your purchase and the signed title.