After I had learned to identify scams on Craigslist, I got to work researching real potential cars. I grabbed a scribble pad from the dollar store, a gel pen, and started listing cars that at first glance looked good. I put the Year, Make, and Model as a heading for each entry. To the side I wrote the phone number of the owner, as listed on Craigslist. Below the heading I put the cost, and then below that the mileage. After that I went to my Edmunds.com appraisal site and listed the MPG and the Consumer Rating. Then I did the appraisal and wrote that amount at the bottom. A lot of people want hundreds of dollars more than their car is worth. I feel sorry for them.
I searched mostly Nissan Maximas and Altimas, Toyota Camrys and Corollas, and VW Jettas (a friend has one). Several friends told me they are happy with their Hondas, but that brand tended to be slightly above my price range. Toyotas and Nissans are better deals. One big thing to me is the gas mileage. I’m a good driver and can get the upper end of the range of fuel efficiency, but if a little Ford Taurus will get me 19 mpg while a similarly priced Nissan is nearer 29 mpg, I’m ruling out the Ford. Different years of car get different mileage, so I have to pay attention.
I narrowed my list down to the best deals (runs well, new tires, maintenance records on hand, no accidents) and did a little more research on those models, reading through the Consumer Reviews on Edmunds.com, and editor reviews if there were any. From the editor reviews I learned what to watch out for on a test drive (turn radius, blind spots). And the Consumer Reviews let me know first, whether the higher ratings are for looks or for reliability and fuel efficiency; second, they told me what tends to go out, and at what mileage. Were repairs frequent or expensive? That way I could see if those repairs had been made recently to my potential cars. You have to use a critical reading of the Reviews to get good information out of them. Some vehicles reviewed were not well maintained, or the mechanics were not good. Other people complain whenever a vehicle needs a repair. A car at 100,000 miles is going to need a major fix or two. My Saturn cost me about $700 in repairs every year, so if I can get better than that, I’ll be happy. Finally, some people complain about performance (like they wanted a race car or a truck instead) and about little things breaking (having to slam the trunk lid, or rattles on the inside). I’m not picky about those.
Next I took the initial steps of contacting the owners of the cars that survived my research. I looked especially to get the VIN #’s, and for information about exact model (is it an LE, an SE, a GXE? – and what on earth do those mean anyway?) as well as to confirm that mechanical condition is good (especially, with the mileage I was looking at: near 100,000, for the engine and transmission). Due to schedule constraints I was unable to set up test drives right away, so I contented myself with requests for more information, resigned to the possibility that a good deal might not be available by the time I was.
To God be all glory.
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