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Smart Shopper AutoTrader Experiences
85 messages, Last post on Feb 09, 2008 at 9:39 AM
You are in the Smart Shopper Forum. Your Hosts are kirstie_h & tidester
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I agree with Terry. Back in 1985 I put an 81 Toyota Celica in the autotrader. It sat there for 3 weeks, in the meantime my ordered 85 Toyota Mini-van was due in. I got on the phone and called the San Diego Union/Tribune and placed an ad that read something like this: Beautiful silver blue Celica in excellent condition. 5spd manual transmission, a/c, am/fm cassette, alloy wheels, 39K miles, one owner, all service/maintenance records. New baby forces sale! $xxxx or best offer. Call xxx-xxxx up to 7pm. I placed the call on a wednesday, ad came out friday morning, car was sold Saturday morning. Best $39.95 I've ever spent. : ) Mackabee |
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| Also, an ad in the local paper will get a lot more SERIOUS callers. | |
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I just bought a '99 Chevy Prizm via an AutoTrader.com ad. Went through about six different dealers before settling on two to actually visit. Found and bought the car I was looking for in two weeks. I tried looking at the want ads in the local papers. Never found what I was looking for or just priced too high. But I also agree that some of the advertisers there do not post what tranny or what mileage or the vin# which can be aggravating. I was fortunate in that only one dealer I called about in their ad was already gone. Overall, not a bad buying experience. I'd use it again. Leo |
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About the VIN number? when they don't post the tranny, you can bet it's a stick. If they don't list the miles they are probably high.
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Hi isell, Well because, with vin# you have the option of doing a carfax. This might bring up a red flag and save you some $$$. The other two I have to agree with you in that it usually means that they're purposely avoiding stating it due to high mileage or an "undesireable" tranny. Although price usually reflects the high mileage. BUT from a customer's perspective it would allow me to narrow my search or at least keep me from wasting my time on what would otherwise be consider dead lead(s). Regards, Leo |
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| In some cases, I think people assume everything has an AT, so they don't bother to put it in. Unless I see stick indicated, I figure it is an AT, although sometimes they are mis-labelled. | |
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What Leo said. You're right with the miles, usually, but the AT often gets forgotten... of course, every Taurus will proudly state: "Automatic, V6" or, my favorite: "3.0 V6" (of course, but which one!???) and "highway miles". Don't' get me started. BTW, you often have the attitude, "why would you care", or "this is no big deal" with used cars. I think it's because you don't deal with the used-car market much, and because you work at a stand-up store... so your used cars are likely to be in good shape. You ought to try hitting the pavement looking for a $2k car sometimes... it's a jungle out there! My typical "phone interview" with a seller lasts easily 10-15 minutes.. I've learned how to get a feel for them and their car over the years... but there's a reason I haven't bought a jalopy in a long time. It's really aggravating... So I'm with Leo on this one. -m |
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I just didn't understand why the VIN number would be important. I wasn't thinking about using CarFax. I too, have bought many a beater over the years. I got pretty good at sorting through the ads and interviewing people. There were certain phrases that wouuld scare me. " The body is in good shape for it's age" "It probably could use a tune up" " It runs a little rough...it just needs to be driven" I bought quite a few cheap old cars and helped a lot of friends do the same. This is probably what led me to the car business when I found myself on the short end of corporate downsizing. |
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| ...when doing a phone 'interview' about used cars, especially beaters, it's important to ask specific questions. Vague questions like 'How's the body?' is going to be answered with an equally vague, it not completely misleading answer. Though I can't exactly call most of my car ownership experiences great, I do usually prepare a list of a few questions for each car (especially those seemingly avoided in the ad like mileage and transmission type) and jot down responses while I'm on the phone. I do think it helps. | |
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be careful what you ask for... cut&paste following. "How To Make The Phone Call So you pick up the phone and say this: Hi, my name is X, I’m calling about your ad in the paper. At that point, they’ll either start talking about their Prizm, or they’ll say – and this happens rather often – “Which one?” If they’re also selling a toaster oven, fine. But if they’ve got more than one car for sale, beware. Your job is to figure out if you’re talking with an individual selling their own car, or a dealer selling cars while posing as a private owner. This practice is called “curbstoning” and is often used to unload undesirable cars. I will not deal with someone like that as a matter of principle. Why bother? There are plenty of nice cars out there. Next, start asking questions. How long have they had the car? How does it drive? What’s the gas mileage? Get them talking. Ask if the title is in their name. Are they the first owner? Did they have any trouble with it? Has the car been smoked in ($500 hit) or do they have a dog? Dog smell is all but impossible to remove. Where did they go for service? Did they get the recommended service done? And a big one: Has the car ever been in an accident? Has it had any paint work done? A $1000 fender bender with subsequent dent work and repaint will lower the value of a newer car by at least $1k. A $5k accident with frame damage lowers the value of the car by 40% or so, even if it is perfectly restored – this is a fact that few people are aware of. No sense in buying a car that will give you a BIG headache when you try to sell it two years down the road. Even if there were just some scratches, the fact that paint work was done brings up question marks that lower the value of the car. If you ever need any paint work, better keep all the documentation. Always ask this question: May I ask how you figured out your asking price? Wish I’d’a thought of this one sooner. This gives me ammunition for later use; every time I ask it I get information that is useful. When interviewing people about their cars, use your imagination. If you’re buying an SUV, van, or truck, don’t ask “Has this vehicle been used to tow heavy loads”? Instead, tell them you’re interested in using the vehicle for towing a travel trailer or some such, and ask about their experience. If they get all gushy about how well their F150 pickup dealt with their 4,500 lb. fishing boat every weekend, you can either start saving for a new transmission or go and buy something else." -Mathias |
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