Used Car Shopping

[B1GEast]

Anyone have experience buying at a small local mom and pop type dealership?

My inclination is to buy from the big box guys but there are some good prices with the smaller guys and less fees.

I know they typically buy cars at auctions and usually on the lower end, but I've seeing some really nice cars advertised.

Any places you could recommend such as Lava Motors, etc. thanks.

 

[husky429]

It all depends on what you're looking for. If you want that one owner, no accident car that came from an expired lease, the big dealerships are probably a better option.

If you want a decent used car from an auction, there are plenty of places. I'd have a trusted mechanic (or friend with ample experience) give it a once-over before purchase.

 

[Scottzer]

Whatever you do, I would stay away from carvana. I know a guy who runs a shop, and there are major problems in a good chunk of those cars. Recently, those guys delayed shipment on a car purchase, and when it arrived there was a timing issue with the car that those guys didn’t fix before sending to the customer.

 

[JMick]

Personally I wouldn't buy from a used car lot besides CarMax with a CarMax warranty.

Private party sales and dealers are typically the way to go. Private party because it'll be cheaper than any business and reliability is a crapshoot anyway, so why pay more. Dealer because you can get a certified pre-owned with a warranty.

 

[superjohn]

Anyone have experience buying at a small local mom and pop type dealership?

My inclination is to buy from the big box guys but there are some good prices with the smaller guys and less fees.

I know they typically buy cars at auctions and usually on the lower end, but I've seeing some really nice cars advertised.

Any places you could recommend such as Lava Motors, etc. thanks.

Just go with the car you like the most at the best price, it doesn't matter if it's coming from a small shop or a big dealer. I've bought from a small shop several times and it was incredibly simple, painless, I got the price I wanted and had no problems with the cars. My experiences at large dealerships was always a PITA as they were dishonest. The one time I was able to make a deal at a large dealership there was way more haggling and it took way longer than at the small places but I still got the deal I wanted in the end.

 

[dennismenace]

I found Carfax (title /service history is right there) best met my needs. First I chose the used car models of cars that I liked and did the original reviews and follow up ones to weed out potential problems up front.
Next I wanted cars with regular maintenance at a dealership and with low miles. Chose a range limit of prices. One or two owners at most and no accidents or leased vehicles.

Have to be ready to move ($) very quickly because others are looking as well. Best to buy through a dealer who has done the mandatory CT 150 pt vehicle inspection. In one case I bought from a west haven used car dealer and took the car with their permission to a nearby Lincoln dealer for an independent inspection ($125).

Carfax sent me emails as soon as they had a match and the MKZ did not even have pics up. I called and they told me body was immaculate. Drove immediately to West Haven.

Very happy because I chose what I wanted after much consideration and research. Eliminated most of the potential risks I thought of.

I think jumping quickly helped me on this.
Good luck!!

 

[Fishy]

Anyone have experience buying at a small local mom and pop type dealership?

My inclination is to buy from the big box guys but there are some good prices with the smaller guys and less fees.

I know they typically buy cars at auctions and usually on the lower end, but I've seeing some really nice cars advertised.

Any places you could recommend such as Lava Motors, etc. thanks.

Ask @zls44 - he knew a place where it was pretty easy to buy used cars off lease.

This probably will not help, but we just bought my daughter a ‘25 Honda Accord LX. Totally the base model, but very livable and it was $30,000 out the door, tax and delivery included. Maybe an option?

 

[imno1]

Are you buying new or used? Find the car you want and even if you’re paying cash tell them you’re financing. Be careful when looking at a price online because most dealers are going add a dealer fee of around a grand plus another $300 or so for title and registration. I’ve seen fees as high as $1900 for new.

 

[WillB4]

What I did was go to the dealer and ask for a car that has just come off lease. You know it was serviced correctly and fully checked out when it came in.

 

[sledog]

Watch for the swimmers. Lots of floods w the FL-NC hurricanes this year.

 

[HCCForever]

I bought from a small used car lot. I regret not having the car checked by a reliable mechanic since I had to replace the CVT transmission a month or so after the purchase which was expensive. Make sure to perform your due diligence. Mine was a known issue for Nissans. I'm still satisfied with the purchase a year later even with the issue.

 

[Chin Diesel]

I have always started my car searches looking for 3-year old cars coming off leases.

 

[SixRings]

We’ve bought two cars from theses guys over the last 15 years and couldn’t be happier with the honesty, price, and support. They’re right on 44 in Canton.

Used cars for sale in Canton, Manchester, Waterbury, New Haven, CT | Canton Auto Exchange

Used cars for sale in Canton, Manchester, Waterbury, New Haven, Connecticut | Canton Auto Exchange | Cars in Hartford CT, Manchester CT, Bristol CT, Torrington CT, Newington CT, New Britain CT, Plymouth CT, Wethersfield CT, Windsor Locks CT, Wolcott CT, Litchfield CT, Southwick MA, Watertown CT...

www.cantonautoexchange.com

 

[yungdowork]

I recently bought a used car from a small dealership and honestly it's been a bit of a headache. There was some problems with sensors that tripped the check engine light right after we got it home. Luckily, they were gracious enough to fix but it took them 3 tries to fix it so I kept having to drive it back in and either get a ride or wait for them to tinker with it every time. They also failed to properly align the control arms which completely ruined the brand new set of tires that were on the car when I bought it. Lastly, the radiator cracked within about 8,000 miles of purchase at about 103k miles.

I'm sure you'd have a better experience at a lot of small dealerships, but in retrospect I'd definitely just go with a CarMax special.

 

[zls44]

Ask @zls44 - he knew a place where it was pretty easy to buy used cars off lease.

This probably will not help, but we just bought my daughter a ‘25 Honda Accord LX. Totally the base model, but very livable and it was $30,000 out the door, tax and delivery included. Maybe an option?

It was Carite across from Bradley. Not sure they’re still open up there.

 

[NJHusky]

Watch for the swimmers. Lots of floods w the FL-NC hurricanes this year.

How can y tell if a car was a ‘swimmer’?

 

[Puppy Love]

Another vote for buying a car coming off lease. I’ve done that twice. We also once bought a rental for a daily commuter. Sold it after 5 years (just didn’t need it anymore] and that person is still driving it.

 

[Fishy]

How can y tell if a car was a ‘swimmer’?

Check the footwells for carp.

 

[sledog]

Check the footwells for carp.

The fish cause the frame, etc, to rust, etc

 

[HuskyHawk]

Anyone have experience buying at a small local mom and pop type dealership?

My inclination is to buy from the big box guys but there are some good prices with the smaller guys and less fees.

I know they typically buy cars at auctions and usually on the lower end, but I've seeing some really nice cars advertised.

Any places you could recommend such as Lava Motors, etc. thanks.

Yes. But it was a local place with a good reputation. They were mostly selling and servicing "luxury" brands. A lot of local people drive those care and these guys can offer a little more than the lowball wholesale they get trading them in. So had a good inventory of locally owned used cars. Some of those places just buy wholesale and the risk is that they don't check the off lease cars as closely as big dealers. In some ways I trust traded cars more than the off-lease cars.

My advice from getting absolutely great used cars and lemon used cars is to drive it more than once. Drive two of the same car as well. Not just the one. Sometimes you can tell right away. I didn't trust my gut on a Lexus RX, and it sucked. Bought a BMW 328 after driving 4-5 of them at the same dealership, one stood out, no rattles, no vibrations, just rock solid. And it was for years.

 

[Chin Diesel]

Yes. But it was a local place with a good reputation. They were mostly selling and servicing "luxury" brands. A lot of local people drive those care and these guys can offer a little more than the lowball wholesale they get trading them in. So had a good inventory of locally owned used cars. Some of those places just buy wholesale and the risk is that they don't check the off lease cars as closely as big dealers. In some ways I trust traded cars more than the off-lease cars.

My advice from getting absolutely great used cars and lemon used cars is to drive it more than once. Drive two of the same car as well. Not just the one. Sometimes you can tell right away. I didn't trust my gut on a Lexus RX, and it sucked. Bought a BMW 328 after driving 4-5 of them at the same dealership, one stood out, no rattles, no vibrations, just rock solid. And it was for years.

We have a good sized independent car dealer near by and I love going there to check out all the different brands of similar cars. If I want to drive a truck, I can drive a Ford, GM, RAM and Tundra all at the same dealer. Drive them back to back to back. Same for SUV's or cars. I love it. I know the route I drive and it gives me a good idea of how it will perform. Downside is since they're an independent, they have to wait for the dealers to get their picks at auctions.

 

[HuskyHawk]

We have a good sized independent car dealer near by and I love going there to check out all the different brands of similar cars. If I want to drive a truck, I can drive a Ford, GM, RAM and Tundra all at the same dealer. Drive them back to back to back. Same for SUV's or cars. I love it. I know the route I drive and it gives me a good idea of how it will perform. Downside is since they're an independent, they have to wait for the dealers to get their picks at auctions.

My favorite thing about the place I got my car is that while they got some inventory at auction, they bought a lot of local people's cars, because they could beat the wholesale price. Trade in is so lazy now, it's just wholesale and we won't really consider the shape your car is in. Horrible.

Definitely think test driving is like "measure twice, cut once". You need to drive the specific car, preferably more than once. Some dealers near me let you take it for a day if they think you're serious.