How To Buy a Used Car (without sipping lemonade)
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I’ve never really loved cars. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while you’ll know I get little joy from spending big bucks on automobiles. But two short months ago when Carl’s 2005 Subaru Impreza got smucked by a flying truck wheel I was happy to have walked away from the car accident mostly unscathed. The nightmares of flying wheels kinda sucked, but still having a head to dream with is lovely, thankyouverymuch.
After the car was written off, it became apparent that Carl and I needed a replacement vehicle and thus had to spend some bucks on a car. Our insurance company paid out a good part of the cost (yay), but like most claims the cost to fully replace a destroyed vehicle is never a wash (boo). So given our tight budget I knew that a used car fit the bill and I asked you guys to beyond my wildest dreams and helped us replace our car. In fact, we ended up getting two used cars using your awesome advice and I want to share what worked best and what rocked most. So here’s my tale of buying two used cars on a tight budget with your advice added in! Thank you!
How to Buy Used Cars By OwnerMany readers advised us to seek a private seller locally through classified newspaper ads or to seek used cars for sale online. The reasons are simple: there tends to be less financial fuss, less marketing mess, and a lot less BS when it comes to buying used cars by owner. Here’s how I ended up buying a used 1992 Subaru Justy for $1,500 just a mile from where I live. This was to be a temporary car.
We spent two solid weeks asking friends, family, and colleagues for any leads on a used Subaru Impreza. Carl wanted to replace his written-off AWD car and would settle for nothing less than a manual transmission. Given our budget of $20,000ish (the insurance company only gave us $17,000) we knew a used 2005 Impreza was on budget, but supply was scarce.
