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Cheap Cars on Craigslist
Like most of us who are looking for cheap cars on craigslist, there is no better place than the craigslist classifieds. There are several reasons why the cars you find there are cheaper than any other dealership. For 1, they don’t mark up the price of the cars as a used car dealership will. Secondly, these people are trying to move their cars quickly and don’t want to take months and months to sell. And thirdly, you can occasionally work the sellers down quite a bit with a good haggling strategy. If you are looking for cars under $3,000 you will find great success on craigslist. Though be prepared to put some money into the car to get it running well. Future repairs will be likely.
Used Cars under $3,000
Cars for under $3,000 most likely have over 100,000 miles, are older than 10 years, and are in need of maintenance. Here are some possible listings you may find on craigslist:
- 1996 Oldsmobile Cutlass – 108,000 miles – $2,600
- 1999 VW Passat – 149,000 miles – $2,700
- 1995 Lexus – 143,000 miles – $3,000
- 1998 Dodge Neon – 164,000 miles – $2,200
When cars are this old, the condition of the car often comes down to how well the owner took care of the car. You should also consider a more reputable car brand. Honda, Toyota, and GM are good choices for cars that are over the 100,000-mile mark. Other places to get cheap cars are police auctions and salvage yards.
Once you find the car that you want to buy, make sure you reference Kelly Bluebook. KBB will give you pretty accurate pricing on the value of the car. Make sure the price KBB gives you is relatively close to the price the seller is offering the car at. If the KBB price is much higher, you should assume that there might be some serious issues with the car that the owner hasn’t disclosed. If the KBB price is much lower than the seller’s price, the seller has probably overvalued its price. Kelly Bluebook also offers other great advice on financing your car and suggested maintained tips.
Another great resource is carfax.com. This website helps people learn the history of the car in question. It costs a little money, though it is a great way to see if the car went to its scheduled maintenances, if it was involved in any accidents, and all other records. I always suggest this tool because it is essential to help avoid buying cheap cars on craigslist that have not been taken care of properly. In the end you will be saving more money!
Why Use Craigslist to find Cars for Sale?
There are tons of reasons why you may want to go to a new car dealership, or a used car dealership, but there are also many reasons why you should use craigslist cars for sale in order to find your next vehicle.
As we approach the younger generations, more and more aspects of ‘buying’ will be performed online. That being said, we should expect car sales to become more commonplace online, or at least as the initial starting place. If you still believe that going to the dealership is the only way to check out cars, then you should also realize your way of thinking is bloody old!
Advantages to Buying Cars on Craigslist
Guess how many people use craigslist a month? Fifty million! Can you guess what percentage of those 50 million are searching for cars? Well, I can’t tell you exactly either, but even half of percent would be huge. Whether you’re a buyer or a seller understand this: Craigslist has a thriving car market. Look at it as a huge used car dealership in your town (it basically is!).
Car Prices on Craigslist
With such a large supply of cars, prices have been driven to rock bottom levels. You can browse hundreds of cars in your area to get a good feel for what type of pricing is available. As in most of my posts, make sure you check out Kelly Blue Book or Edmunds to get an idea of what the car is actually worth.
What I also get a lot of questions about is the difference between other websites such as autotrader.com, cars.com, carmax.com, etc. The biggest difference between craigslist used cars for sale and these other used car websites is that craigslist offers a free playing field and fair competition. These other websites are out to make money on their advertising. Therefore, the car dealerships that have the most marketing money are able to monopolize these websites and root out the people that are simply trying to sell their personal car.
Should Craigslist Update Their Website?
As dated as the website looks and feels it serves its purpose better than first imagined. It lacks all of the clutter many new websites these days have. Craigslist lays out all of its options in a basic manner. Also remember that Craigslist has a HUGE amount of returning visitors. A change in the website would mean an uproar amongst users who have grown fond and used to the basic dashboard. It makes searching for craigslist used cars for sale a synch.
Avoid the Sleazy Car Salesman
Enough said…
Save Money with Craigslist Used Cars
People on craigslist are than often selling their car for a better price than you would find at any dealership. Think about it; a person that trades in their car with a dealership often times gets a bad deal. Rather than sell to the dealership who would then mark the car up considerably, they put it on craigslist and sell it for a price higher then what the dealership is offering, but a lot lower then what the dealership would have sold it for.
Overall craigslist used cars for sale offer a great deal to buyers. This post has leaned more toward the side of positive than negative, though if you follow the simple steps for ensuring you are not buying a lemon, then you are in for a good ride, and craigslist used cars will be the best place for you to find your next car!