How to Find Quality Used Cars on Craigslist

Is your car worse for the wear? Does your car look and run like it has seen better days? Do you want to trade up to a more reliable ride? Regardless of where you fit in regards to the concerns raised by the questions above, the answer to your question is one of two things: a new or used car. If you want to save money and if you want to get the most bang out of every hard-earned buck you spend on a set of wheels, your best bet is to go with a used car. Considering how fast cars depreciate, you can get quite a great value for used cars that are at least five years old. While relatively newer used cars look better, if you want to truly save money and get the most value for your money, you need to look at cars that are five years old or older. At that end of the market, you have a lot more choice and you have a lot more bargaining power in terms of pricing and selection.

Used Cars on Craigslist

Get a better deal with Craigslist

While there are many methods for buying a used car, if you want to truly walk away with a great bargain, one of the best places you can search for is the used car section of Craigslist. Why? Craigslist offers two powerful factors that truly work to reduce the price of Craigslist used cars: it is not overly commercial and a lot of people who are in a rush to get rid of their cars advertise there. It is not uncommon to see used cars advertised on Craigslist for basically giveaway prices. Still, you need to keep your wits about you when shopping for cars on craigslist. Otherwise, you might still end up with a bum deal.

Sizing up Craigslist used cars the right way

First, you need to stop fixating about the lowest prices and focus first on condition. Since Craigslist tends to attract low-cost advertisers, finding a low cost car is not the issue. The issue is to get a car that you will be happy with both in the short-term and the long-term. This means you need to focus on quality and details like mileage and how heavily the car was used and whether the former owner still has service records. You need to look at the car with a trained mechanic so you can quickly see if the car is in good enough shape as to be worth buying.

By following the tips above, not only do you get a good deal on used cars at Craigslist, you also get peace of mind. Make sure you don’t get too caught up in low prices and focus on quality instead.