Buying a Car off Craigslist

ronders_

ronders_

Member
I am looking to buy a car early this summer, and craigslist seems to be the best place for what I'm looking for. I know CL can be pretty sketchy sometimes so I was wondering what you guys do for meeting the seller, checking out the car, papers and reg, etc. I am looking for a 2g Eclipse GSX under $5k, which can have some pretty serious problems like crankwalk. I obviously don't want to buy a lemon because I don't want to throw money at it. I would love to hear any craigslist experiences you've had.
 
I bought a shitty f-150 on Craigslist for $400 and sold a week later for $700. I'm basically a pawn shop.
 
I've bought several cars off Craigslist (and there is no option in your poll for this).

One was a complete lemon. I put multiple more thousands into repairs than I spent on the car. Three brand new fuel pumps. And the car was low-mileage. I finally got so sick of it, that when it broke down in the middle of nowhere I had a company come and give me $200 for it and tow it away, gone forever. Terrible experience. That car stranded me in so many horrible places, repeatedly.

The next two cars I bought off Craigslist were awesome. Zero regrets.

I've also sold two cars on Craiglist, one of mine, and one for a friend. The one I sold for a friend was a complete shit-show. Overheating when driving on the highway, etc. Basically, be warned. Very little is obvious when test-driving a car around town. You take your chances. If it is a sizeable investment, it may be worth paying a mechanic to evaluate the car for you. This will cost a decent amount, but is the only "warranty/guarantee" you can get. If the seller refuses to let you have it evaluated prior to purchase, run away and never look back.
 
Look at the car once, if you don't know much about mechanics then bring along a friend who does, or get the seller to take it to a local shop with you, most will do a basic inspection for pretty cheap, if not for free. Try to find a car with all the service history and such as well. When you're certain the car is free of major mechanical issues test drive it and make an offer.

Craigslist isn't that sketchy I've bought and sold plenty of stuff without issue
 
You gotta know what to look for. Try to take someone with you that knows cars if you don't know much. The seller will be more open to negotiating if you can point out issues while sounding like you know what you're talking about.

If you think you're ready to make the purchase take it for a quick inspection at a mechanic for like $150. If the seller doesn't let you he's probably trying to hide something.
 
Bought my current car on CL for a solid 1200 bucks. Toyota Corolla Sport Edition, so its a sports car to my insurance company which is bullshit. But id say buying a car off of CL is more about who youre buying it from. If youre buying from some human pawn shop asshole then you might get screwed but I bought mine from some old guy that was selling his daughters car from high school. Ive had the car ever since and I havent had any major malfunctions 10/10 would recommend
 
I bought my 4runner off a nice Indian couple who kept the thing pristine.

Prior to me transferring any money I made it clear that I wanted a FULL diagnostic checkup done by the local dealership, and wanted to have see tge report. Most dealerships do this for around $100. This was mandatory in my mind, and gave me a lot of piece of mind when I dropped a chunk of change on it. They were also able to provide me with all its service records, and I did my own research on cat fax and other places online to look up the vin.

I'd highly suggest you make the seller take it in for a diagnostic at a dealership(expensive, but they know problem areas and are generally nuetral parties). They can add it on to the price if it comes back clean, or you can negotiate saying that the report will make it easier to sell to others and you won't pay for it
 
13688120:uturn said:
Craigslist isn't that sketchy
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It's only sketchy if you make it sketchy. I bought a car on craigslist in March and have sold two on it previously. All transactions were smooth and I have no ragrets.

Don't fall in love with a craigslist posting. Go see it with a skeptical/pessimistic attitude. You don't want to go see a car with the mindset that "it's the one" before you even see it in person.

Like others said, look out for the red flags. If the seller is hesitant about you bringing it to a shop, they don't have the maintenance history documented, or they modded the fuck out of it, then you should probably continue your search elsewhere.

Judge the seller. In my experience it has been fairly easy to tell just by talking to someone how they treat their vehicle.

Look into what kind of routine maintenance goes into the specific car you're looking at and when problems generally arise. I don't know much about eclipses, but an example with subarus is to make sure the head gaskets were fixed if the car has more than ~100,000ish miles. If for instance that maintenance was not done and you don't mind putting some work into it, use that as leverage to bring the price down.

Don't forget to check the little things as well. When you test drive a car it's easy to overlook the simple little features. Turn the heat and AC on, turn on the radio, roll the windows up and down, check the wipers, lights, etc.
 
I've bought and sold a car on Craigslist.

Purchased my '98 Subaru Legacy Outback with 70,000 miles from an elderly couple who were moving to CA and wanted it gone. I took it for a test drive, knew that it would need new brake pads, but purchased it immediately. As soon as I did, I got it inspected by mechanics (I should have done it the other way around, but Subaru w/ head gaskets replaced+low mileage only for $3,500 go quickly). I took a gamble and it paid off. It only needed new brake pads and so I ended up paying $4,200. I had to do a few repairs as the years passed (brake line, muffler, few minor things) and ended up putting ~$2000 into it in total over 3.5 years. Most of these issues were due to age because it was from 1998. I drove it till it was at 104,000 miles and sold it.

Selling it, a bunch of people asked to test drive it, take it to a dealer to get inspected, etc. No issues with any of that. Sold it for less than I wanted (wanted $3,000, got $2,500).

What I learned:

1. Make sure you can get all the paper work for ANY repair work done. This includes buying and selling.

2. Don't be afraid to ask the owner to test drive it AND get it inspected.

3. Check out online to see what common issues are and if you experience any
 
Just sold my old car off craigslist this weekend. A Jetta that was starting to fall apart. Had a fair price on it and disclosed every issue with it. Some guy picked it up after test driving it for 5 minutes for $100 below my asking price. Was pretty easy and he was a normal dude
 
retweet on the pre-purchase inspection-- though that should for when buying any used car, be it craigslist or not. It really sucks to get stuck with a lemon without getting it checked by a mechanic. It's also good to know the problems the car you're looking at getting has historically, be it that eclipse or anything else.
 
There are many high pressure re-sale guys that use craiglist so watch out for them. They are pretty much scam artists.

I bought an Audi off one of them. He was extremely nice at first, and very personable. On the way to the inspection he pretty much forced me to go get a bank cheque first, then also tried to cash it on the way to the inspection. I got mad, told him this is making me very uncomfortable, he conceded and we went and got it inspected. The inspection came back poorly, but he already had my bank draft in his pocket, told me that a deal is a deal, even though the contract clearly stated "pending mechanical inspection that finds no major issues" etc... we got in a yelling match in the mechanics shop, then he pretty much told me to go fuck myself and walked out leaving me with the car and keys.

He called me 30 minutes later offering me $1000 cash and making sure I didn't cancel the bank note etc while I was literally at the bank trying to cancel it... I was in shock over the whole situation and the bank and police said I was SOL and it was a small claims court issue, so I took the $1000.

The repairs only ended up costing me $700 but that car never gave me any confidence after that transaction and a few months later I discovered a major problem that would run $2000+ to fix and may have already permanently damaged the engine. This issue was under a special extended warranty from the dealership but there were no symptoms so they were not willing to investigate my claim, even though I offered to pay for the labor to look into it.

I ended up selling the car on Kijiji later that year for about the same money. It gave me a bad taste for the local Audi dealerships, they were pompous fucking assholes when I tried to deal with them.

Anyways buyer beware!!

The next car I bought if craiglist was 1/4 of the price of my Audi and runs great, and I have supreme confidence that it will start properly every time. Plus I don't drive like an asshole anymore, those fucking Audis I tell ya! The transaction was great and I felt way better in my gut about the people I was buying it from!
 
13689857:TheBigApple said:
There are many high pressure re-sale guys that use craiglist so watch out for them. They are pretty much scam artists.

I bought an Audi off one of them. He was extremely nice at first, and very personable. On the way to the inspection he pretty much forced me to go get a bank cheque first, then also tried to cash it on the way to the inspection. I got mad, told him this is making me very uncomfortable, he conceded and we went and got it inspected. The inspection came back poorly, but he already had my bank draft in his pocket, told me that a deal is a deal, even though the contract clearly stated "pending mechanical inspection that finds no major issues" etc... we got in a yelling match in the mechanics shop, then he pretty much told me to go fuck myself and walked out leaving me with the car and keys.

He called me 30 minutes later offering me $1000 cash and making sure I didn't cancel the bank note etc while I was literally at the bank trying to cancel it... I was in shock over the whole situation and the bank and police said I was SOL and it was a small claims court issue, so I took the $1000.

The repairs only ended up costing me $700 but that car never gave me any confidence after that transaction and a few months later I discovered a major problem that would run $2000+ to fix and may have already permanently damaged the engine. This issue was under a special extended warranty from the dealership but there were no symptoms so they were not willing to investigate my claim, even though I offered to pay for the labor to look into it.

I ended up selling the car on Kijiji later that year for about the same money. It gave me a bad taste for the local Audi dealerships, they were pompous fucking assholes when I tried to deal with them.

Anyways buyer beware!!

The next car I bought if craiglist was 1/4 of the price of my Audi and runs great, and I have supreme confidence that it will start properly every time. Plus I don't drive like an asshole anymore, those fucking Audis I tell ya! The transaction was great and I felt way better in my gut about the people I was buying it from!
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Lol, that is entirely your fault for being totally spineless... And also buying a used Audi haha.

If op is similarly spineless and naive, he'll get taken for a ride no matter who he buys from haha. You as the buyer have the power, use it.
 
A lot of times it's no sketchier than some of the smaller used lots. And you'll get a far better deal.

You have to look out for yourself though and sometimes get a bit lucky.

Also if you're driving out of the way to see a car, you have to be willing to walk away no mater what, even if it was a long drive.

If you have a friend that's a mechanic show him some of the postings and what the person says about the car. He might be able to give you some things to ask, then tell him what they say. If you're pretty set on buying one throw him some money to come along and check it out with you. Even $100 to make sure you're not wasting your 5k is very worth it.

I bought both mine without having anyone to look at them. Both needed work but I did alright. The second one I got a great deal. I put more into my first than it was worth but I was driving cross country regularly and had the money to make it run well. When your 30 hours from home you want that.

Idk, be careful but don't be overly paranoid. You really can get some legit shit on CL for good prices.
 
13689867:californiagrown said:
Lol, that is entirely your fault for being totally spineless... And also buying a used Audi haha.

If op is similarly spineless and naive, he'll get taken for a ride no matter who he buys from haha. You as the buyer have the power, use it.
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Maybe I was spineless, or maybe the 35 year old massive brown guy I bought it off intimidated the hell out of me, half his size and very confrontational. Anyways you learn best from your mistakes, and I was very well prepared for the next car I purchased and got one hell of a deal because of it.
 
I bought my car off a website like craigslist(it was a used buy and sell type thing) and I have had it running great for well over 3-4 years. It was owned by a mechanics wife from the beginning, then he passed away she took his car she sold this one, to another person and their dad was a mechanic, so it was well looked after. It's a 2000 so it's not very new and still runs awesome. As long as you know what you are buying then you should be fine. Shady people everywhere though so just make sure you know what you're looking for and what to look out for. I kinda know what to look for, and it helps to have a step brother who is a heavy duty mechanic and does all the work on his own cars and trucks.
 
My friend bought a 1996 BMW 318ti M-Sport and an alpine head unit and speakers off of some guy for $600 (it was supposed to be $750 but the guy wanted the car gone). $1500, a rebuilt engine, and 3 months later, the thing runs like a champ. Looked like a total piece of shit, but OEM parts were pretty cheap and all thats left are some rust spots in the wheel wells that need to be filled. The interior's pretty worn out (which is expected), but long story short, $2100 got him a fairly decent first car that gave him a little shop experience. Even if something on craigslist seems like shit, still contact the seller and see what needs to be done.
 
Bought my last 2 cars off craigslist and would recommend it for cars in the price range you're looking at, you can find screamin deals if you're smart, and know what you're looking for. Bought my previous 97' Volvo 850R (loved that beast) for an amazing deal of $2500, did have some repairs eventually but its an old Volvo so thats expected.

Then got my current car which is a 1999 Subaru Outback, and i got lucky and got the car with low mileage and good price (For WA at least, subies hold their value here cuz everyone wants em)

Got mine for $4400 in amazing condition with 85k miles and snow tires already on. The dude i got it from was a Boeing Engineer who was a maintenance freak and owned the car for 11 years as his secondary car/ski car. literally had ALL the paperwork ever for it, and even stayed in touch for a while after i bought the car to see how it was going for me, and since he had just had the A/C recharged, he told me if i had any problems to just hit him up and he'd take it back to have it repaired for me lol. also offered to help/guide me with any questions i had about the car if i ever had problems lol. he was attached and thats a good sign. car is awesome

TLDR:If you get lucky you'll find someone who truly loved the car and took care of it to the highest standard, and you can find some great deals on craigslist.
 
I bought a 2010 Toyota Tacoma off of Craigslist. I had already done my research on EXACTLY what we wanted, right down to the color and options, and so once I found what we wanted--which was actually on Craigslist about 300 miles from me--I contacted the seller and told him we wanted to buy his car assuming that it was accurately represented and that X, Y, and Z were all true and correct (ie: miles accurate, clean interior/exterior, no accidents).

So I ran a Carfax, and had a him take it into his local Toyota Dealership for an inspection, where I spoke directly with the dealership and double-checked the inspection results. I purchased airfare for my husband and I to fly out and purchase the vehicle, and arranged a loan through my local bank. I had the seller fax me the registration, title, and sales contract, and brought those into my bank and they gave me a cashier's check for the amount of the car.

My husband and I then flew to Spokane and met the seller and the truck at the airport. It looked great, was as described, ran perfectly, had all the legit paperwork, he was the original owner and even had the original receipt. I did all my homework and everything was legit, so right there in front of the airport I handed him the check and he gave me the keys and we drove back to Seattle. We paid that beauty off just this last week.

It has had zero problems and was exactly what was advertised. We love our truck.
 
My only suggestion is to know what you are buying. Look up what problems occur at what mileage. Also check to see EVERYTHING is working. Like one of the cigarette lighters in my car for charging my phone doesn't work and I had no idea. If buying from a dealership, try to find a certified pre owned.
 
Not much different then walking into a used car lot and buying one.

Get a carfax, look up common problems with that model year, kick the tires, take a test drive, have a mechanic run through it if you are dropping any serious coin.
 
13690958:McNoche said:
I buy my vehicles from a car dealership, new, like a white man.
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I believe in built not bought, my friend, and last I checked I can't get a 1999 Eclipse GSX at a dealership. I guess I'll have to become "transracial" now.
 
13690976:ronders_ said:
I believe in built not bought, my friend, and last I checked I can't get a 1999 Eclipse GSX at a dealership. I guess I'll have to become "transracial" now.
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I would pay not to be given a 1999 Eclipse GSX. Are you fucking kidding me bro?
 
13690983:McNoche said:
I would pay not to be given a 1999 Eclipse GSX. Are you fucking kidding me bro?
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Stock turbo and awd, I like em. Also easy to mod and the 4g63 is a pretty stout platform.
 
done plenty of CL transactions, and a couple vehicles. I have a good friend that is a mechanic, and I'll bring him with if he is available. Most of the time you just gotta check the usual basic shit. I haven't met a sketchy person in a CL deal yet, but yes they are out there.

Just remember, you as the buyer have all the power.
 
Just sold my old car on Craigslist pretty easy transaction and no real issues. Forgot to take my old ad down and received some death threats from some hoodlums had to report to the police. Pretty sketchy. Glad my old car is sold but dam its scary to receive some emails like that simply for telling someone that the car has been sold already
 
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