How To Buy A Used Car Using Craigslist

Buying a used car from a private party can be a bit intimidating. How can you trust someone you met on the Internet, right? The truth is that you can't really trust anyone, a private party or a salesman at a dealership. The only real option is to really do your research. It may seem daunting but the steps I'm about to outline are absolutely necessary to having a good car buying experience on Craigslist.

Before you get started looking on Craigslist for a vehicle there are a few things you want to do first.

1. Check out KBB and Edmunds to look up prices and read reviews of the makes and models you are looking at. Having a good idea of the problems associated with a particular car and how much it is worth will give you an advantage when trying to sort the good deals out from the rubbish on Craigslist.

2. If you are planning on financing your purchase you want to make sure that your credit history is accurate before applying for a loan. You are entitled to one free report from each of the three credit reports. Take advantage of this to make sure there are not any mistakes that adversely effect your credit score, if there are then you can call the bureau and have them removed.

3. If you are planning on getting a private party auto loan then apply for it before hand. Most listings wont stay around long enough for you to try and arrange financing after the fact.

4. Get a subscription to CarFax History report. For 40 bucks you can get an unlimited subscription for 30 days. This is probably best because you can get a report on any vehicle you are interested in.

Once you have all the of this done then you should be at the point where you have the following information handy:

A. A list of car models that you are interested in buying, one is fine but the more options you leave yourself the more likely you are to find a really excellent deal.

B. A range of years for each model that you would be happy with. Typically you will see different generations of a model over the course of a few years where major features change. You can use Edmunds to look up features and changes from year to year to make your decision.

C. A price range you feel comfortable paying for each model. Both Edmunds and KBB offer price guides for used cars, but in my experience the KBB prices tend to be more realistic. Obviously if you have gotten a private party auto loan you will want to make sure these ranges match up with the total amount you have been approved for.

Trying to start looking without this information is a recipe for disaster. You may end up buying a car that is notoriously unreliable, or one that has been overpriced. Whatever you do, do not rely on the seller to give you all the information you need to know.

If you feel comfortable with everything up to this point then its time to start searching for your next used car. Log onto your local craigslist. You will find the cars under "For Sale" and "Cars and Trucks"

For best results I recommend searching for your model name, selecting "only show posts with pictures" and "only search post titles" and leaving the geographic targeting to your broad region.

For now don't bother putting in a minimum or maximum price, you want to make sure your price ranges are on par with what is actually being listed. If they do, then you can set a price range to filter out the higher priced newer cars and the lower priced cars that are older than you are looking for.

You should now have a fairly good picture of the cars that match what you are looking for available in your area. Now you will need to go through each one and find the ones that you think are the best deals.

Obviously some will have lower mileage, upgraded stereos, recent servicing. If you find one even remotely interesting ask for the VIN number of the car if it was not posted and run a CarFax report on it.

The CarFax will give you details on the cars history and show any accidents or other red flags that the seller may have tried to hide. A good rule of thumb is if there are any serious problems on the report that the seller didn't identify himself then you should probably just move on.

When you find one that you are ready to buy arrange a time for a test drive. Also see if you can have a mechanic inspect it before purchase. Most sellers are more than happy to let you, assuming you pick up the bill. This will probably run you about 100 dollars, so you don't want to do it for every car you look at. However, it is definitely worth the investment if you are ready to buy a car to have it inspected before you buy it, because if something is seriously wrong with the car you are only out 100 bucks. Chances are if you have gotten to this point there won't be anything too major, but it is better to be safe. Also if something minor comes up you may be able to talk the seller into the reducing the price accordingly. Even if nothing comes up the 100 dollars is worth it so that you have documentation that the car was in good shape when you bought it.

Like I said in the beginning of this post, you cannot trust anyone but yourself when you are looking to buy a used car online. The fact is the seller is trying to sell something, not get you a good deal. So here are a few things you will probably see that you should be wary of:

1. People trying to sell salvaged vehicles. They may say it only is salvaged for theft but there is no way for you to really confirm anything about the vehicle. Which puts you in a situation where you really just have to take their word for it. Proceed at your own risk.

2. People offering to ship vehicles. This is a SCAM! Do not have a seller ship you a car upon receipt of payment.

3. Sellers who request being paid with money-gram or money order. This is also a SCAM! Do not deal with a seller who will only let you pay by these methods.

4. People selling cars with mods, especially engine mods. In general these are the type of car owners that really push their vehicles. I'd rather buy a used commuter vehicle that spent most of its time driving at normal speeds on the freeway and not 80 mph down a winding mountain road, but that's just me.

I've bought several cars on craigslist using these methods and have never had a serious problem and have found some excellent deals. However if you think I've missed something leave a comment or get in touch, it may be worth adding to the hub.