Adventures in Used Car Shopping

rml_16

So, the kid graduated high school and in the next couple months will be starting college on the other side of town, plus hopefully a job, which means she kind of needs her own car. We have about $1,500 to spend (before taxes and registration), so pickings are slim, but the boyfriend can fix a lot of things, so if the car is in basically decent shape, good to go.

Yesterday, we went to look at an '88 Camry. The guy's asking $1,800, but KBB says a '92 Camry (as far back as the website goes) in fair condition is worth $1,500, so if we end up getting to the point of buying, I'm not paying more than $1,200. The body and interior are a bit beat up (mostly cosmetic, but still), the button for the driver's side window is half off, the center console is broken, it has an oil leak.

Anyway, the boyfriend has a friend who's a mechanic and owns his own shop and said he'd do a full diagnostic on any car we're looking to buy for $45, which isn't bad. When we go to the seller's place yesterday, I asked if he'd be OK with us taking the car to a mechanic before making an offer and he said no problem. Then we test drove it and of course the kid wants it and said so and the guy starts the BS stuff that pisses me off.

First, it was that he wants the mechanic to come to his house to look at the car. Since when do mechanics make house calls??? Then it was, "I have someone coming tonight to look at it, so if it's still available tomorrow ..." and "Whoever gives me the money first gets the car ..."

I wanted to punch the guy. Anyway, still waiting to hear back from the mechanic friend about if he can get the car in today (if it didn't get sold).

gwduker

That sounds like a lot of money for an '88. I'm not big on the imports, I like my Chevy's. I have an 88 GMC Pickup with 294,000 miles on it, Still runs great. I also have a 1999 Silverado with 240,000 miles on it, and a 2001 Malibu with 280,000. My two cents worth.

wellbert

That guy is weird. Sounds like a headache.
Edmunds goes back as far as 1990. A 1990 with 125k miles and average trim level is like... $900 private party.
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rml_16

I'll look at Edmunds, for sure. My family has had wonderful luck with Toyotas and Hondas and I trust those cars. The boyfriend swears by American made, but has had a lot of major issues with his American cars that I haven't seen with the Japanese cars, especially the older ones.

Since this is just a get around town car, anyway, I'm mostly just looking for something decent in the price range, no matter the make, though. This just happened to be one of the few cars we've found that was worth looking a and it happens to be a Toyota. Definitely not worth $1,800, though.

The plan is once the mechanic looks at it, I'm going to consult with him about what HE would pay for it (whatever car we end up with at that point).

I'm just so annoyed with people. You want me to hand you more than $1,000 of my daughter's money but you want to put stipulations on it? I don't think so.

wellbert

Right? The guy isn't selling a Ferrari.

rml_16

Right? The guy isn't selling a Ferrari.

The sad thing is, this isn't unusual. I went through the same crap when I bought my first car and ended up getting impatient and got ripped off. My parents didn't really know how to go through the process and weren't a lot of help, so while the kid is going to be involved, I'M doing the negotiating and making the decision for her. This way, she'll learn (as I did) but not get burned in the lesson. If we have to work out sharing my car for a while, then we will.