Well, been looking actively for a used newish 100 ('99 to '01 or so) for the last couple of months. It's a lot of $$ for us so we have to be pretty careful. Never bought a car or truck in this price range before.
This is for my wife, so main consideration is no mechanical hassle for her to have to deal with. It's gotta be in great shape. It's for a DD, not a true wheeler. We want to see it and check it (no ebay). She wants peace of mind.
Seen quite a few actually. Mostly at dealers. It's been a frustrating if interesting experience.
First, all the stereotypes about used car salesmen were confirmed and then some. Most salesmen were obnoxious from the get go, especially if my wife was by herself. The very few that seemed (ah!) nice were quickly revealed otherwise after we called the first few of their bluffs. What is it with this business?
Second, the vast majority of dealers have no clue nor apparently any interest in the mechanical condition of the rigs. They go strictly by appearance and Blue Book. Most appeared genuinely amazed that I would even bother to look under the car. They kept asking me "are you a Mechanic?"
It appears that the vast majority of buyers have also no clue whatsoever. By now, I must be in the top 1% of "informed" buyers. Probably qualify as majorly anal-retentive to most dealers (and to BW <G>).
Even by BB standards, most rigs had greatly exaggerated asking prices. It was relatively easy to get them to lower their prices by about 15%. After that it's tougher.
Have not seen *a single* truck that lived up to the advertisement or dealer description, even being generous. Essentially, all the ones I checked had at least one or 2 significant problematic technical issues that need to be remedied right away and would have cost around $1K or more to fix. Nothing really ready to drive away and enjoy as is. Maybe the nature of used car buying, but in this price range, with certified cars from major dealers...?
The certification process appears to be overblown. These cars are not any better than the others we have seen, and the inspections were sloppy. We have seen certified cars that had a completely bizarre exhaust system, one with mismatched tires, some with inoperative switches, and more. By now, I can do an inspection that will closely match or better that of the official "certifier".
Most dealers had no records whatsoever or were very reluctant to try to get them.
It is really a very time-consuming job if you want to get either a good deal or a good truck. It does not help if you are mechanically-inclined and into this sort of things. Maybe we will have to change our expectations and live with greater uncertainty and risk.
I can now appreciate better why folks who can afford it will buy new.
I look forward to this being over. (So I can concentrate on getting my own 80...?)
E
This is for my wife, so main consideration is no mechanical hassle for her to have to deal with. It's gotta be in great shape. It's for a DD, not a true wheeler. We want to see it and check it (no ebay). She wants peace of mind.
Seen quite a few actually. Mostly at dealers. It's been a frustrating if interesting experience.
First, all the stereotypes about used car salesmen were confirmed and then some. Most salesmen were obnoxious from the get go, especially if my wife was by herself. The very few that seemed (ah!) nice were quickly revealed otherwise after we called the first few of their bluffs. What is it with this business?
Second, the vast majority of dealers have no clue nor apparently any interest in the mechanical condition of the rigs. They go strictly by appearance and Blue Book. Most appeared genuinely amazed that I would even bother to look under the car. They kept asking me "are you a Mechanic?"
It appears that the vast majority of buyers have also no clue whatsoever. By now, I must be in the top 1% of "informed" buyers. Probably qualify as majorly anal-retentive to most dealers (and to BW <G>).
Even by BB standards, most rigs had greatly exaggerated asking prices. It was relatively easy to get them to lower their prices by about 15%. After that it's tougher.
Have not seen *a single* truck that lived up to the advertisement or dealer description, even being generous. Essentially, all the ones I checked had at least one or 2 significant problematic technical issues that need to be remedied right away and would have cost around $1K or more to fix. Nothing really ready to drive away and enjoy as is. Maybe the nature of used car buying, but in this price range, with certified cars from major dealers...?
The certification process appears to be overblown. These cars are not any better than the others we have seen, and the inspections were sloppy. We have seen certified cars that had a completely bizarre exhaust system, one with mismatched tires, some with inoperative switches, and more. By now, I can do an inspection that will closely match or better that of the official "certifier".
Most dealers had no records whatsoever or were very reluctant to try to get them.
It is really a very time-consuming job if you want to get either a good deal or a good truck. It does not help if you are mechanically-inclined and into this sort of things. Maybe we will have to change our expectations and live with greater uncertainty and risk.
I can now appreciate better why folks who can afford it will buy new.
I look forward to this being over. (So I can concentrate on getting my own 80...?)
E
