Used cars suck

I bought one from a reputable dealer. Its not like I answered a Craiglist ad and bought one off some guy's driveway. So yeah the Carfax report said everything was fine and dandy but Ive already spent over 800 bucks in repairs on it and I haven't even owned it a year. Get a new car if you can and if you cant afford it then lease one. Even if you get a used car from a big dealership dont expect them to be completely honest and aware of whats going on. I had to replace the entire power steering 8 months after I bought it and recently I have had another issue. If you think the deal is too good to be true then it probably is.

I've had several Hondas over 150-200K that I drove for quite a while and never had issues with. I have a CRV right now that is pushing 189K that hasn't given me any crap (knock on wood). I also have a 2012 TL SH-AWD, but the CRV gets used in the winter because of the salt and crap all over the roads here in MI. CRV lives a much harder life. :)

Before this CRV I had another one that I drove from about 160K to around 210K and then sold it back to the guy who sold it to me. He missed it. I never had to do anything on that except oil changes and brake pads (timing belt was done right before I bought it).

Well they say never buy a car brand new buy it 1 or 2 years old because it loses value right after it leaves the lot. The one I got is older than that anyway.

Since I started driving I have used 8-10 year old Hondas and have never had a problem with them. Maintaining them at the 120-150k mile mark costs a good bit of money, but still nowhere near what a new used car costs. All of my Hondas have made it to 215k without issue and only started feeling like a Ford by that point if it was mostly city miles.

By contrast, I have owned a used Ford Bronco II, Saturn and VW Bug 60s model, and all of them attempted to ruin me financially with their constant repairs.

I bought my 1998 Camaro Z28 used. It hit over 200k miles last month. The only problems I have had with it in the 8 years I've owned it was the water pump failing(early last year) and this past Monday, the fuel pump failed. I can't complain. Well, I kind of can. Since it has an LS1, which is the same motor in the C5 Vette's, parts can be pricey. BUT, I get GM parts for cost. :)

My 1999 Corolla my parents bought new and gave to me when it reached around 100k miles. It's held up pretty well over the past 5-6 years I've been driving it. The only complaint I can make about it is as it's gotten older it's starting to burn oil meaning I just need to keep an eye on it. And considering I've put about 55k miles on it I'd say that's pretty good.

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Originally Posted by DarkDragon

I bought one from a reputable dealer. Its not like I answered a Craiglist ad and bought one off some guy's driveway. So yeah the Carfax report said everything was fine and dandy but Ive already spent over 800 bucks in repairs on it and I haven't even owned it a year. Get a new car if you can and if you cant afford it then lease one. Even if you get a used car from a big dealership dont expect them to be completely honest and aware of whats going on. I had to replace the entire power steering 8 months after I bought it and recently I have had another issue. If you think the deal is too good to be true then it probably is.

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No matter if you buy a used car from a dealer or off the street.. there's no way to know something is going to go bad...
That's the risk involved with buying a used car. What kind of car did you buy, and with how many miles etc?

Used cars regardless of how old are eventually going to have something go bad on them, it could be years down the road or the next day. consider yourself lucky that's all you had to pay.

I had to put in over a grand into a used car within the first year. I had to replace the CV shafts, ball joints, front struts, brake shoes and pads, tune up, tires, and eventually a clutch.

But all of that stuff is going to need replaced eventually. When you buy a used car always buy with the mindset of something will eventually go out and you will never know when, and you will never know how the previous owner treated the car, or how well they maintained it.

Carfax is only good for some things, but it wont tell you what's on the verge of going out, or when.

Carfax reports are bullshit. It's just a piece of paper. Next time pull out the dipsticks for the oil and transmission. If they're low or the oil is black, or the dipstick has a lot of black crust on it from burned oil, then the car probably hasn't been well taken care of. Hell, crawl under that sucker and look for leaks. :D

edit: I don't know what part of the states you live, but I'm from the southeast and here there aren't any good dealers. They're all a bunch of crooks, and are only good if you've got cash and can haggle the crap out of them. Personally, I would feel more comfortable buying a car out of someone's drive way. Old people sell the best used cars.

If you're a driver who tends to keep their vehicle for 10 or more years, you might as well purchase the vehicle brand new. Sure you may save a few bucks by purchasing a 1 or 2 year old vehicle but you can never really determine how well the pervious owner treated his or her vehicle.

I used to be a big Toyota fan and my faith in the brand never waivered. That was until the string of recalls and issues that sullied their reputation in mid-2000 onward. We had a fewToyota Corollas and a few Tercels but I'm now driving a Honda Civic and I am happy with my purchase.

Any car can break. I have seen new Hondas on tow trucks. Uncommon yes, but it happens. They have thousands of parts, many of which move and are put together as fast and cheaply as possible. On top of that they keep adding more and more. I find it a miracle cars run as well as they do all things considered.

I really wish companies would stop advertising "service" and putting so many unrealistic ideas into peoples minds. I don't care how many promises of 200 point checks that they have some hipster sounding douche bag making over some shitty ambient sounding music in a commercial, its a damn car and it can break.

No insult to any here working at a dealership but I would never trust one. My experience working at one was worse then anything I could have imagined. I worked in the body shop and more then one brand new car got nailed in the parking lot that we had to fix. Do you really think record of those repairs will ever make a car fax report?

Iron Lizard, I totally agree. Even though it was a new vehicle, I made an agreement with the sales rep and sales manager to let me test drive the vehicle for two weekends. Then what I did was take it to my personal mechanic to inspect it. Once everything checked out, I happily paid off the vehicle. Even though it was a new vehicle, I needed to ensure that everything checked out. I baby that vehicle as if was my first born child. Even though the manual says that you can do an oil change every 8,000 kms, I still do it every 5,000kms just to keep the life blood of the vehicle nice and clean. I can it preventive maintenance. And to think it's not even in the same class as a beamer! :p

Sure car dealerships make money when a vehicle is sold off the lot. But they make a hell of alot more money not only replairing vehicles but maintaining themas well ... maintenance schedule anyone?

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Originally Posted by Iron Lizard

No insult to any here working at a dealership but I would never trust one. My experience working at one was worse then anything I could have imagined. I worked in the body shop and more then one brand new car got nailed in the parking lot that we had to fix. Do you really think record of those repairs will ever make a car fax report?

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On the subject of dealerships. As I stated above about my fuel pump failing, I contacted Nimnicht Chevrolet here in Jax for shits and giggles. A genuine GM fuel pump purchased through them would have cost $1200. Cost is a little over $600. Dealer cost is $333. Fucking crooks. LOL

Hrm, Funny because I leased a brand new car once. Got raped in the ass every month on car payments, got raped in the ass every month on crazy high insurance costs and 6 months in the clutch blew up and was NOT covered under warranty. I left them the car in anger and got raped one last time with a final bill for what I still owed on the car. They sold it and took off the difference but it was still a hefty bill. I would never lease a car again. I say buy off lease cars that are only 3 years old and have low KM's and some form of dealer warranty left on them.

Cars are complex mechanical machines and shit is going to break! My buddy had a brand new 2005 Montie Carlo SS when they came out with the "Pace Car Edition" and it was only like 3 months old when the power steering rack broke. Sure it was covered under warranty but point is the power steering can break on any car at any time. It's part luck when it comes to cars!

$800 in repairs over a year on a used car isn't exactly rare. That could be an alternator, new battery and tires. Not a big deal. Next year might be better.... or the engine could blow up! It's a gamble.

Now, my 1998 Escort ZX2 on the other hand....

I bought that car from craigslist for like $1,200 back 6 years ago. It needed new breaks and that was about $400 IIRC (the front calipers were shot) so for $1,600 I bought a car witch had the carfax report, only 2 owners, all the paper work and it now had new brakes. The car was in very nice shape, 5 speed, low miles (less than 90k) and ran great.

6 years later that car doesn't owe me one cent! Not ONE cent. Hell... I owe it! Sure it's pretty much shot now. I've driven it hard for 6 years, I accidentally drove it down a curb in the winter and tore up both rocker panels. The engine knocks, the clutch is nearly toast, the breaks are shot again and the under body is pretty rusted out thanks to 6 years of Canadian winters.

Sounds bad? No, it's not. Think about it I bought this car for $1,600 6 years ago and haven't put all that much into it in all this time. Sure a battery here, an alternator there. That's about it other than regular maintenance.

I haven't had a single problem with the car, under the hood, the engine or anything major other than the alternator in 6 years! That's awesome!

I had a cheap decent little car that cost me almost nothing for 6 years and it is many times cheaper on insurance than the new car was.

Now if I had a new car the insurance payments alone would be at least double what I've been paying every month for the last 6 years. That more than pays for the odd thing an old car may need to be replaced.

Used cars can be MUCH cheaper than new cars. MUCH, MUCH cheaper with a little luck.

Don't forget to check your insurance. You might think you're getting away with cheaper transportation with a new car but insurance on a new car can be expensive (I'm sure it depends on MANY factors) but check first!

My insurance on my new car was 3 times the cost of my Escort. THREE TIMES! I could have busted an alternator once a month for 6 years in a row and still come out on par! Oh wait that STILL doesn't count the high monthly payments!

Personally if I buy a "new to me" car anytime soon it will probably be a used hatchback. Something small and good on gas. Honda Civic, VW Golf, or maybe a Toyota Yaris 3 door hatch. Hell, just about any 3 door hatch with a stick shift would do!

One of the best things you can do for yourself - learn how cars work and how to fix them. You'll save a TON of money. Cars aren't THAT complicated. If you are looking at American / Japanese, everything is pretty much the same on every single car that's built, it just might be located in different places. I'm on my 40th car right now. Cars 39 and 40 are in my driveway, along with my wife's (which I don't count toward my count). Not every car I've owned has needed something fixed, but just about the only thing I've ever had to take a car in for is an alignment - and that's only because I don't have an alignment rack. A jack, a couple of jack stands, some basic hand tools, and [a friend with] an air compressor and some air tools will get you a LONG way.

The Europeans on the other hand, like to do some WEIRD shit. 80% of it is the same, but they like to overengineer the crap out of things (like using vacuum for central locking instead of electronics actuators), which is why their shit breaks all the time. ;)

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Originally Posted by Cornholio857

On the subject of dealerships. As I stated above about my fuel pump failing, I contacted Nimnicht Chevrolet here in Jax for shits and giggles. A genuine GM fuel pump purchased through them would have cost $1200. Cost is a little over $600. Dealer cost is $333. Fucking crooks. LOL

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Well yeah when you buy a car from a dealership they want you to get service, maintenance, repairs through them and they constantly send you reminders in the mail to remind you. Of course its a dumb idea to go back to them and its better to find a reputable local mechanic.

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Originally Posted by DarkDragon

Well yeah when you buy a car from a dealership they want you to get service, maintenance, repairs through them and they constantly send you reminders in the mail to remind you. Of course its a dumb idea to go back to them and its better to find a reputable local mechanic.

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I do most the work on my car myself, unless it's something too intensive. For that I have a few friends that are mechanics and where I work I get GM parts at dealer cost. The only reason I didn't replace the fuel pump myself is because I would have to drop the fuel tank. Forth Gen F-bodies are a pain in the ass to work on. Especially if you have to do any engine work. The motor is literally crammed under the hood. The 3.4L and 3.8L 3800 series V6 isn't too bad, but if you have an LT1 (5.7L V8) or an LS1 (5.7L V8) like me, F-bombs are inevitable. LOL

I bought a used car thought it was awesome, was praising all of the shit above about it being awesome and cheap. Bullshit. Bought a NEW car later... no regrets. On my second new car and I love it. Well worth the time and $$$ Just save the money and you'll get something new and have a warranty. Yes I know they can break and have quirks - my '12 focus likes to throw fits with the SYNC but w/e.

I'm a big fan of "buy used, drive it until the wheels fall off." That $800 repair sucks, but that would only be what, 3 new car payments? The other 9 would add up to a hell of a lot more than that.

Unfortunately our Canadian winters kill our vehicles. The worst thing is the salt! So this year I am going to put my plan into action and try and purchase a reliable used vehicle. I'll drive the sh*tbox in the winter and the newer vehicle during the summer months. In this way I'll be protecting my investment while at the same time reducing the amount of insurance I pay yearly.

I hear creaking sounds when I apply the brakes going very slow right before coming to a complete stop. That arent loud but I do hear something. My mechanic checked my car out a month ago and the breaks checked out fine. Im wondering if I should be worried.

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Originally Posted by GohanX

I'm a big fan of "buy used, drive it until the wheels fall off." That $800 repair sucks, but that would only be what, 3 new car payments? The other 9 would add up to a hell of a lot more than that.

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That's my mindset I bought an 97 LHS back in 07 and fucker lasted me for 5 years. Granted it was a bitch to maintain at times but that was my car. It would've lasted longer had I not been in a wreck. I had spent well over 1500 when I did that and I parted it out for a measly 200 dollars lol.

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Originally Posted by DarkDragon

I hear creaking sounds when I apply the brakes going very slow right before coming to a complete stop. That arent loud but I do hear something. My mechanic checked my car out a month ago and the breaks checked out fine. Im wondering if I should be worried.

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That's normal. When you're breaks pads and rotors get more worn they will "shimmy" against each other at slow speeds. It's nothing to worry about. It especially happens on after market pads that might not have the same tolerances as OEM stuff. A lot of mechanics put silicon on the backs of the pads when they install them to cut down the vibrations and keep them from squeaking in their housings, but it's nothing really. It's like when you rub your finger over a clean window and it squeaks. It doesn't happen at higher speeds because the rotor is turning faster.

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Originally Posted by MN12BIRD

Hrm, Funny because I leased a brand new car once. Got raped in the ass every month on car payments, got raped in the ass every month on crazy high insurance costs and 6 months in the clutch blew up and was NOT covered under warranty. I left them the car in anger and got raped one last time with a final bill for what I still owed on the car. They sold it and took off the difference but it was still a hefty bill. I would never lease a car again. I say buy off lease cars that are only 3 years old and have low KM's and some form of dealer warranty left on them.

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Yeah, never lease cars. Totally a waste of money. All that money not going for the title of the unit and they want you to buy the unit after leasing it. It's a load of shit.

This is coming from a guy who works for a car finance company high risk collections department 90+ days past due "Skip" accounts.

I can go on and on about all the tricks that dealerships will do to sale cars for their part of the cash.

My rules of buying a new car is simple (if you must go new): *Finance through a credit union, no banks (a lot cheaper APR%). *If the dealership said must finance through them, give them the middle finger and leave. *Research the vehicle value and try to lower down the final vehicle value when at the dealer lot. *Everything that dealerships will tell you is full of shit, the most important part is the two page legal document called "Retail Installment Contract," what's on there is WHAT'S going to happen (once the contract is signed then dealerships don't have to worry about you or the car anymore unless you have a service contact).

I can really go on and on about this, but if you can go used if possible. I seen enough stupid people's lives being ruined because they signed for an unit that they couldn't really afford in the first place.

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Originally Posted by ThunderForce

I can really go on and on about this, but if you can go used if possible. I seen enough stupid people's lives being ruined because they signed for an unit that they couldn't really afford in the first place.

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Which is just as much fault theirs as it is the dealer's because they were too stupid to take 5 minutes to look at likely one of the biggest (second to a house) biggest purchases in their life and do some math. I don't feel bad for those people.

Since I do my own repairs, I look for a vehicle to be cheap & easy to fix. So my vehicle of choice for the time being (and since 2004) is the Crown Vic - as far as modern cars go, it's pretty simple & parts are plentiful. It might be nice to have a vehicle with a warranty though...

-Rob