I've bought cars in the past from craigslist, and it was an easy process. But, I've been looking for the last few months and nothing seems interesting. I'm open to any reasonably priced and reliable car. Nothing turns up. Instead, I've gone the new car route. Now, I understand that used cars are more expensive for the moment, but the problem seems beyond that.
The problems are:
-
Listings are mostly high mileage POS. There's nothing inherently wrong with this type of listing, but I'm trying to get rid of my high mileage POS and don't need another one. This actually seems indicative of times. With the crazy used market, it makes sense to drive car into ground and then just buy new.
-
Scam listings. Why does the $5000 4runner with 50k miles have a palm tree in the background when this is Colorado?
-
The decent car, but priced way above KBB. Your car is not in excellent condition with a dent (always done by the previous owner) or cracked windshield. I could get this exact car brand new from the dealer for $500 more. Maybe I could negotiate down to KBB levels, but given the hassle of going out to the owner and costs of of a pre-purchase inspection, it's not worth the risk.
Much of my problem has been moving from a wealthy urban area to a poorer rural area. Wealthy people (generally) take better care of their cars. More of them will be available within a closer distance. Space is at a premium. Rural people drive further distances and probably drive cars into the ground before selling them.
I'm curious to hear from others on their experience with CL cars.
November 03, 2017 at 05:41PM
