How Picky are You When Used Car Shopping?

[phantom]

I bought a new-to-me car about 4 months ago. Then, last week, that car was totaled and I had to replace it. After a stressful few days, I was able to find a replacement that was nearly identical. It was $100 less than what the insurance company was giving us, a year newer than what I was replacing, and had 3k fewer miles. But, I nearly drove my husband crazy in the process, and I wonder if I'm overly picky for a used car shopper.

I like small SUVs with 4WD/AWD. I don't want a white, silver, or red car or a tan interior. I want a backup camera. I'd rather not pay a couple thousand dollars extra to get luxuries like heated seats, a sunroof, or a remote start. (I do see value in heated seats and remote starts, but I don't think I'll ever understand why people like holes in the ceilings of their cars.)

When talking to sales people, some tell me they like when customers know what they want. Others just keep asking if I'm sure I don't want to look at a white car. I know a lot of people here buy their cars used, so I'm curious how picky those that do tend to be.

[Jluke]

That doesn't seem picky at all.

Of course, I wouldn't set foot on a car lot without previewing their used inventory online first to see if they had any car(s) that fit my criteria. I would then request more info and pricing before going in. And if they didn't have something online, I'd send an email to ask if they recently acquired any vehicle that met my needs.

I prefer new cars though.

[disneysteve]

I'm somewhat picky. I'm okay if the car has bells and whistles I don't particularly care about as long as it also has the features I do care about and the price is acceptable. Color is not negotiable - no white, silver, black, or tan.

I think when shopping for a car, it's much easier if you know what you're looking for. It might make it harder to find a car but being able to narrow the search is helpful. Of course, if all you want is a set of wheels at a certain price point, finding a car is going to be much simpler.

[cypher1]

I'm also picky for used cars as well. While I don't mind colors white or silver, I hate red. While I love the color black, I will never buy that color due to getting so hot in the summer and all dirt shows up. Everyone thinks I'm crazy for not liking leather, and prefer cloth interior. I don't like sitting on freezing seats in the winter, nor scalding in the summer.

It took me several months of pricing/researching my used Honda CRV I wanted, which I admit I overpaid a little bit for what I wanted. I ended up buying from a dealer ship, which I absolutely cringed going there. Even if they were a fixed pricing lot, I wanted them to stop talking and let me check it out.

[disneysteve]

It took me several months of pricing/researching my used Honda CRV

The problem is that you often don't have that much time when shopping. It's usually because a car got totaled or died and isn't worth repairing. That's what can make it difficult to be overly picky.

[snafu]

Wow! I know we are a diverse group, I have a different criteria for buying a car. I do a bit of research on make and model for our difficult [winter] driving conditions and am flexible for most I always check the common repair details offered in Lemon Aid. I discovered I like buying privately, from the owner and always ask for their maintenance and repair envelop/binder.

I really don't care about interior or exterior color nor do I ask about most bells and whistles. Heated seats are nice in the frozen north for the 1st 5 minutes. @ 3 y/o our current car had all wheel drive but with good tires I've never once slid off the road in spite of driving through the Rocky Mountains in blizzard conditions. Unless you're an off roader, how many times a year do you use 4 wheel drive?

[phantom]

Of course, I wouldn't set foot on a car lot without previewing their used inventory online first to see if they had any car(s) that fit my criteria. I would then request more info and pricing before going in. And if they didn't have something online, I'd send an email to ask if they recently acquired any vehicle that met my needs.

I like to start my search online too. But, we had some bad luck this time around and kept finding ourselves talking to salespeople who couldn't show us the cars we'd came to see.

The first place we drove to was an hour away, and when we got there, we realized the car didn't actually have a backup camera. (My husband assumed that because it was the same year, make, model, and trim package as the car we had just totaled it would. So, that was his mistake for assuming and mine for not double checking.) Since we had driven all that way, we decided to test drive a slightly bigger, white vehicle with some extra features. My husband liked it, but I didn't want to spend more money on a car that wasn't even a color I liked.

The next place was only 10 minutes away, but after 20 minutes of looking for the car we wanted to see, the salesperson discovered that the mechanics had decided it would cost too much for them to get up to their standards and still be able to turn a profit on, so it was no longer for sale. We were pulling out of the parking lot when the salesperson called us back because they had literally just gotten a trade in that met all my criteria. We took a look before we left and I really liked it, but it was newer and likely to be more expensive. So, we said we'd consider it when they'd had time to clean it up and set a price for it.

For the next place, we called to make sure they had the car we wanted and that someone would be there to show it to us the next day. This was about 30 minutes before they closed for the day. A couple hours after they opened the next day, we double checked the listing right before leaving, and it was gone because the car had sold.

The fourth car we considered was listed as red, but the pictures made it look dark purple, like the car we'd just lost. Other that possibly being red, it seemed perfect. I called and confirmed the pictures showed the actual car, and I was still a little surprised when we went in and found that the car was actually there and looked like it had in the pictures. We got to test drive it in the snow, then bought it on the spot.

[phantom]

@ 3 y/o our current car had all wheel drive but with good tires I've never once slid off the road in spite of driving through the Rocky Mountains in blizzard conditions. Unless you're an off roader, how many times a year do you use 4 wheel drive?

I don't care much about 4WD vs. AWD, but when the roads are bad, I like to own at least one vehicle that has the ability to use all four wheels in the snow. The car I had before the one that was totaled had 4WD and I found myself using it multiple times every winter. The one that was totaled had AWD. Our winters aren't as bad as some places, but we do have a lot of hilly roads that don't get plowed consistently.

[cypher1]

The problem is that you often don't have that much time when shopping. It's usually because a car got totaled or died and isn't worth repairing. That's what can make it difficult to be overly picky.

That is true. Everyone's situation is always different. I used to keep two high mileage cars; winter beater for pulling my trailer, and main one for commuting.

I eventually sold both and stuck with a newer model (newer meaning under 10 years old) with lower mileage and 4WD. So I had a lot more flexibility in offloading my vehicles once I found what I wanted.

@ 3 y/o our current car had all wheel drive but with good tires I've never once slid off the road in spite of driving through the Rocky Mountains in blizzard conditions. Unless you're an off roader, how many times a year do you use 4 wheel drive?

I completely agree. While I love 4wd/awd, it's not a need for most of us. In the past for my FWD vehicles, I'd just get another set of wheels with winter tires and never had problems.

[snafu]

In hopes of being helpful, I mention, please don't rush the purchase of a vehicle. If your current vehicle has ceased or crashed, I suggest you rent a cheapie or something in the manufacturer's line up you're considering. I think it's worth the time to look at one of the general [not sponsored] auto directives like Consumer Reports or Lemon Aid for weaknesses and repairs.

Take the time to think through the features you 'need' in a vehicles and add those you'd like. Imagine your week, is it a practical commuter? Is it easy to load and off load at the grocery, Home Depot or IKEA? Can I get the kiddies in, strapped and out easily? Can granny get in the front seat without assistance?Does it need to go to a special [inconvenient] dealership for service ? Do parts always require special order?

It's helpful to call your Insurance agent to verify any special insurance details about the make and model you desire. I learned the vehicle I planned to buy was nearly the top of the stolen list...for example. What a royal pain it would be to have my car stolen ARRRH don't want to go there!

[Gailete]

I have very specific things on my list which my hubby thankfully goes along with. I have tried other vans, but Chrysler/Dodge mini vans are the only ones I can get into and out of comfortably. I don't care about color. we do care about rust, we want low mileage. We are low mileage drivers ourselves. From the end of 2014 to the end of 2017 we drove 13,480 miles. The odometer was up to 80025 at the beginning of the year. Hopefully we will be able to drive it for a good 4-6 years or more. I hate getting used to new cars.

[disneysteve]

I hate getting used to new cars.

I don't mind getting used to a new car. I just hate the whole process of shopping for a car. That's why I keep my car as long as possible. I kept my last one for 14 years.

[Gailete]

Just to clarify, to me a used car purchase is a 'new' car. I too hate shopping for them as well. I hope this one goes for another 10 years. Now that I am in bifocals, trying to look over for that second to adjust the heat or whatever is difficult through bifocals. When my son is in the car with me, I make him do all of that. I know some people are terrific at pushing and pulling dials and sticking DCs in their players, but I am not and I know it.

One day I had to go to the health department to get a TB test. Really bitterly cold day and I couldn't figure out why I was freezing and wasn't getting any heat. Finally hit a long traffic light so I could look at things to see I had been turning on the air conditioning as high as it would go! I do believe I have mentioned here that I have a form of dyslexia. And unless I can think about something and check my hands for left or right, I almost consistently get them mixed up and backwards! Including the heater thingy in cars! Boy did I feel stupid.

[scfr]

Not picky at all except about price and safety. But of the 5 cars we have purchased in 25 years, only 2 have been used. The first was because that was our only option (not enough saved to buy new), and the second was because a friend was returning to his home overseas and offered us a screaming deal on his car. We're actually considering a used car right now because another friend is selling. Even though it's not in a color or style that we ever would have chosen, if we can get a good deal on it we might take it because it's a safe/reliable vehicle, it passed the "insurance company check," and we know it's been meticulously maintained. The 3 new cars we have purchased have been deals where we were not able to make many choices (although we did choose make and model or had narrowed it down to only a couple choices), which I believe resulted in better prices than we would have gotten if we had been picky. But, yes, it takes us an extremely long time to buy a car because we are looking and waiting for "THE deal." There are people who think we are nuts for that.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I guess picky. I wanted and got a 2015 Toyota Sienna minivan with dvd player, leather, one owner, AWD. Got it. Test drove 3 and we bought 1. Did it in 2 days, 1 day to test drive all 3 home for DH and the next day I made an offer and they took it. I went down that evening (drove wednesday, bought thursday), then went to pick up my parents from the airport.

Is it picky? I don't know. Last used car we bought it was price sensitive. $10k for 4 door sedan 1 owner, either accord, camry, sonata, low miles. We bought a 2006 sonata in 2012 for $10k. This time we weren't as specific but we saw a bunch of cars and bought one.

And for our new cars we said X, y, Z, shopped DH's car over the internet in 2016 Jan and bought it that weekend. I asked who would give us the best price, we drove and picked it up.