Overhaulin'

If I have a budget of 4000 and a 96 caviler for possible trade in should i buy a car online or in person?

I just wondering because I want to buy a car by next week and I just wondering if anyone has experience buying cars online and if they did was the car reliable?

Public Comments

1. Cars.com is awesome, check it out.
2. don't buy off eBay, i bought two cars from there. an old mustang and a diesel ram. both were junk. they weren't as described (the sellers hid stuff from me), but it was too late for me since i now "owned" the cars. you really shouldn't buy anything unless you've seen it in person. go to autotrader.com or cars.com to find cars that you can go look at.
3. Finding a car online is fine but I would still look at it first before I buy. That's why when you shop online for cars you put in your ZIP code to get places near you to look at. There is a yahoo car finder here http://painintheexhaust.blogspot.com to do some car/area looking.
4. I would first to buy the next car and then sell the Caviler for whatever price I can get. For 4K, in the used car market, you should be able to buy a very nice car. Avoid individual sellers and try the very small ran down car lots. These type of car dealers are usually struggle for day to day survival. They have nothing to do with the quality of the car they get, they simply get them from auction lots with what they have, but, sometimes, they will get very good cars even though they have no clues. To determine the car quality is your job. You look the appearance for signs of fine care from previous owners. You then check for the strength of power train by start, speed up, listening the engine sound, and the transmission linearity (it should accelerate linearly when you depress the paddle) You then check the appearance of engine under the hood, this give you the clue of frequent touch up or rarely needing care. Finally, you check the fluids: 1. oil dip stick - oil can be dirty, but never foaming. absolutely no moisture creamy foam-like mixture inside the oil pan. If the oil is dirty, no problem. 2. check the transmission dip stick and look for fluid level and color of the transmission fluid. Dirty transmission fluid is a warning sign. 3. check for window washer fluid, radiator fluid for previous owner's diligence Do not care too much how dirty the car is inside or out. You will wash the car inside and out after you bought it. I will strip everything include all the seats, front and back, trunks and wash the car inside, and seats with pressure soapy water repeatedly until it is clean and order free. Then I will put all the seats back and let few days or weeks to completely dry. Then you have your next clean new used car under 4k.
5. well, i would mot buy online without test driving it and looking at it. I would try to find a seller, private, not a dealer, to buy from. When u test drive it, take it on the highway.. or if not, have it reach about 75 mph and see what it feels like, if its a little unstable, or if it begins to make any unusual noises, or anything other than what you should see, its usualy a bad car. also, let it run, for like 15-20 minutes, soo if it overheats. check all the features like AC, like my old car used to overheat when ac was turned on and make sure it does not happen. Check all the lights, seatbelts, features (ac, heater, windsheild wiper, doors/locks and like things you press or pull to open the trunk(if its a sedan).open teh hood, and check it, see how the engine is, you probably dont know much about it, but you will see if theres somethig wrong, place your hand over teh engine and see to make sure its not getting to hot after about 15 minutes. make sure its starts easily and doesnt jolt or do anything unusual or shake a little. and test it on turns (sharp turns if possible), and when ur driving come to any stop, and stay with the car in gear, and with your foot on the brake and see and make sure that it doesnt stall. make sure the spare tire and all the necesary tools for it are there. make sure it backs up (some cars dont). try to turn the wheel all the way when parked. and see if anything happens. try to make a uturn with it, and make sure nothing unusual happens good luck!!! and happy holidays p.s. make sure it has a clean history, no accidents, cuz those cars are usually most unreliable, ones that were in accidents, check its report on vehix.com. i would try to sell ur car, cuz trade in is a rip off, unless the car is in bad coindition, or in a condition that its harfd to sell or no 1 wants it even though people before me wrote dont buy from dealers, most of their used cars come from auctions. they buy jusnk, fix it up in selable condition, and u usualy dont know the history of it. buying it from the original owner is best. ask him why he is selling it look at teh paint job, i once was looking at a car, that had been in an accident, and one side was repainted with non-manufacterer paint, and from time to time, the color began to fade from gold to silver.