The Craigslist Used Cars for Sale section can be the used car dealership of your dreams if you know how to use it. It can also be nothing more than a huge scrap heap of pain and uncertainty if you simply wander in unprepared. With a little bit of preparation, however, and a touch of luck, you will be able to find great deals on used cars in your local area.
The first thing you should know about Craigslist is the same thing you should be aware of when doing business with any stranger. Trust must be earned. If you don’t know someone, whether it’s a used car salesman in a fancy showroom, a student selling his car on the Craigslist Used Cars for Sale section, or your daughter’s new boyfriend, don’t automatically give them your trust.
You can be friendly and polite, but don’t be naïve. Where Craigslist and used cars are concerned, this means doing your research, getting second opinions, and being careful.
Before you even log on to Craigslist and begin your search, there are a few other places you should visit first. Start with getting a good idea of what kind of car you want, and look it up on a well-known auto site. Edmunds.com and Kbb.com are great places to check out regular asking prices and user reviews of any vehicle model imaginable.
Have a few different models in mind, and find out which make and year you will most likely be able to afford. Read plenty of reviews of these models to give yourself a good picture of the car’s general state and any problems that usually come with it.
If you will need a loan to be able to buy the car, handle all the gruesome loan details before even getting on Craigslist to look for your car. Even if you find the car of the gods at the price of your dreams, if you don’t have financing already arranged, chances are that the car will be sold long before you can come up with the money.
Before even applying for a loan, however, it’s important to make sure that your credit history is accurate. Get a credit report and read through it carefully to make sure that it is mistake-free, and then apply for a loan of the amount you need.
A CarFax.com Vehicle History Report can give you the intricate details of the history of any car in the country. It will probably be worthwhile for you to subscribe to their service while you are looking for a car so that you can get a detailed, accurate, and unbiased history report on any vehicle you consider.
Once you have compiled all the resources and information suggested in the above paragraphs, it is finally time to visit Craigslist. The more active your local Craigslist community is, the easier it will be to find the car you want.
Even with a low amount of local activity, however, there are usually still plenty of options. Click on the For Sale section and visit the Cars and Trucks sub-section.
To obtain the best search results possible, run a search for your preferred model of used car. Click on the options that read Only Search Post Titles and Only Show Posts with Pictures to help narrow down the search a little.
If location is important to you, only search for nearby listings. If you don’t mind traveling a bit to track down your car, feel free to broaden the geographic targeting a bit.
When you find a model that you are interested in, get a Vehicle History Report from CarFax.com, and then contact the owner to arrange a meeting and a test drive. When viewing the car for the first time, take a mechanic friend along, if you can, to help you inspect the vehicle.
When buying on Craigslist, stay away from salvaged vehicles, shipped vehicles, and money order-only vehicles. There is no way to know what the salvaged vehicle has been salvaged from, and vehicles that can only be bought with money orders or must be shipped from abroad are usually scams.
As long as you go into any transaction prepared and armed with a bit of common sense, you shouldn’t run into any serious problems. Using the Craigslist Used Cars for Sale website can be a rewarding experience and can get you some great deals on used cars.