Used Auto

deereman64 · Jan 2, 2008

My cars all have 130,000 plus on them. So I'm in the market for some wheels. "AHA "I say "I dont need a new one as thats way too expensive.Why not buy one that has just finished its 3 year lease and therefore has under 30,000 miles on the clock. A hundred dollars over the turn in price( the dealer has to make a profit) and I should be all set to go." I cant find anything, anywhere. Do they exist?

MrJimi · Jan 2, 2008

130K, heck, thats still new. Most people just fix them up and drive them. The $45K car will take you the same place the $2K car will
Mine has 204K and gives me 32 MPG in town

Jim

Soundguy · Jan 2, 2008

Yep... my truck's getting near 200K..

Soundguy

gordon21 · Jan 2, 2008

Check to see if a rental company (Hertz-Avis-Enterprise) has a selling depot near you. They buy the cars way under normal invoice, are maintained well and can be very good bargains. Ask to see the recording device records. Some companies use hidden recorders to determine if you drove it over 75-80MPH while renting it. That would be some reassurance that it wasn't abused. Color and model selection would be very good. Rentals seldom go over 50,000 miles.

Expect to pay about $0.50 on the original dollar for a three year old vehicle. Regular depreciation would take it to around 55-60% and the rental company started at a much lower original price.

MrJimi · Jan 2, 2008

In Florida a rental car has ( rent a car ) on the title forever, may not be an issue but something to consider. I have had a rental car a long time ago and it was fine and no different than any other car
Jim

Bird · Jan 2, 2008

I don't have nearly as many miles on our vehicles as MrJimi and Soundguy, but I, too, have bought quite a few new vehicles in my lifetime and figure I'm not likely to ever do that again. We bought our 2001 Ford Windstar SE Sport 5 years ago (12/26/02) with 27k miles on it for $14,599 (at least $10k less than the dealers wanted for a new one). It's now got over 89k miles on it. And we bought our 2001 Ford Ranger 3 years ago (12/20/04) with 36k miles on it for $12,599 (half what they wanted for a new one). It now has 55k miles on it. Both vehicles are well loaded with nearly all the bells and whistles, both came from Carmax, and I just put all new tires on both of them. We have no expectation of replacing either of them in the foreseeable future.