# Buying a used car



## AnneF (Apr 1, 2015)

Hello all, I work in a school and I am settled in Mississauga. My earlier home was at walking distance from the school, but now I have moved to a new place due to certain reasons. Now I need a car to commute to school daily. I cannot afford to buy a new one, so obviously I am looking for a used car. I checked with Prudent Financial Services as they are offering used cars even for people with not so good credit. I am thinking of getting a car from there. What do you guys think of this decision? Is there any other option that you know of?


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## none (Jan 15, 2013)

Bus?


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## tenoclock (Jan 23, 2015)

If you can't take the bus, buy an old 15 year old Honda or Toyota with cash, preferably for less than $2,000 and run it in the ground. Anything more and you are putting yourself in financial trouble.


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## chantl01 (Mar 17, 2011)

I suspect Prudent Financial Services could be one of those subprime car loan horror stories where the rate would be in the 25 - 29% range, meaning you'll pay more than the value of the vehicle in interest over a few years. If you can save up a couple thousand for a used beater that a trusted mechanic says still has some life in it, that's definitely the better way to go.


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

Get a 50cc scooter ... price is low and cheap on gas/insurance. Oh, and get some rain gear.


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## wendi1 (Oct 2, 2013)

If your credit is not good, I would not recommend you buy a car at all. Scooter, motorcycle, ride share, bus, or my favorite, bicycle. Even a person of moderate fitness can do quite a distance - it only takes time.

If your credit is acceptable, stay as far away from sub-prime lenders as possible - start with the bank or credit union and work your way down until someone says yes.


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## gardner (Feb 13, 2014)

I would not touch Prudential with a barge-pole.

Their cheapest car is 

2010 Toyota Corolla LE 4dr Sedan
96,000 KM
$15,495

In autotrader.ca searching downtown Toronto (M5W 1E6 + 25km) I see:

$12,788
41,310 km
2012 Toyota Corolla

$11,495
57,500 km
2011 Toyota Corolla

$17,300
19,227 km
2014 Toyota Corolla

You can get way more car for way less money. You can get a practically new car with warranty for similar money.


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

My advice is to avoid subprime auto car lots and lenders at all costs.

Go to a new car dealership and talk to a sales representative.

They sell quality used cars only. The used car lots buy the cars from the dealerships that they don't want on their own lots. 

Their reputation is important to new car dealers and they don't want to create unhappy customers by selling them junk.

New car dealerships also have access to all the lenders for "on the spot" financing. 

They can get you the best rates for your purchase because of their volume of business and lenders know they are selling quality cars that will last as long as the financing.

You may find that a new car is almost the same monthly cost as an older vehicle. but on a longer term basis...........given the rebates and low interest rates.

Above all ..............don't buy an old piece of junk that you will have to pour money into just to keep it on the road. 

That is a complete waste of money and the car will probably be unsafe to drive.

Good luck................go talk to the experts at the new car dealerships. If you are near London, Ontario I could recommend a good salesman for you.


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## tenoclock (Jan 23, 2015)

I have owned MANY cars under $2,000 and none of them were ever junk. The $700 Honda Accord that I bought at 270,000km - I ran it until 403,000 before a douchebag rear-ended it and it was still running strong. I never spent more than $1,000 annually on repairs and oil changes on any of these cars.


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

sags said:


> ......go talk to the experts at the new car dealerships.


In all my years of dealing with new car dealerships I've yet to meet an "expert". I've met mostly bad sales people, some ok sales people and on the rare occasion (really rare, only 2 come to mind) a good sales person. That's one of the big reasons I call them stealerships, the other reason is to do with their service departments.


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## LBCfan (Jan 13, 2011)

The cynic in me suggests that the op was similar to Bavarian Meatloaf.


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## crazyjackcsa (Aug 8, 2010)

Utterly. Where is Monte Python when you need him?


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## CalgaryPotato (Mar 7, 2015)

I'd skip the car lot all together, buying from individuals is way more affordable. Find a car that seems like a good deal, pay for a good inspection. Like others have said, you can probably find a good car in the $2000 range (it may take a bit of searching and a couple of inspections).


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## lonewolf (Jun 12, 2012)

Is there anyway of placing a needing a ride ad, be creative such as a ride to a mall, a factory what ever where someone travels regularly then walk, bike, bus what ever from a closer location. Mitsubishi has a 3 cylinder that is advertised on TV for just under $10,000


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## Fraser19 (Aug 23, 2013)

$2,000 Honda all the way!
I paid 2,500 for my 1999 Civic which was in great condition and had 130,000 km.

Beyond easy to take care of, and I get about 500km/$30 Insurance is $53/mo.

Hard to do better than that especially considering Hondas regularly exceeded 400,000 km


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## Westerncanada (Nov 11, 2013)

How bad is your credit and what makes you think you need to use that type of service?


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## Letran (Apr 7, 2014)

CalgaryPotato said:


> I'd skip the car lot all together, buying from individuals is way more affordable. Find a car that seems like a good deal, pay for a good inspection. Like others have said, you can probably find a good car in the $2000 range (it may take a bit of searching and a couple of inspections).


COUPLE WARNINGS on the advise above;

One, private sellers are not regulated to disclose anything to you about the car (accidents, rebuilt, salvage etc) you will buy at your own risk. Most of these in Kijiji I find are either untradeable after evaluation by a dealership therefore usually being pawned at a higher price to unsuspecting private buyers.

Two, because of stricter emission test guidelines you will find a bunch of them in Kijiji that are unable to pass emission test and too expensive to fix so you might end up with something that will be too expensive to get licence plates.

Three, don't forget over and above what you pay the seller taxes on the book value need to be paid no matter of a steal you got


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## Letran (Apr 7, 2014)

cainvest said:


> In all my years of dealing with new car dealerships I've yet to meet an "expert". I've met mostly bad sales people, some ok sales people and on the rare occasion (really rare, only 2 come to mind) a good sales person. That's one of the big reasons I call them stealerships, the other reason is to do with their service departments.


This is highly stereotypical. 
Like any industry there will be good and bad sales people.
It is like saying most RE Agents are sell u anything for commission, or most lawyers will milk you. 
And all bankers want to nickel and dime you etc..

What I have found though at any industry is that these are all people just working for a living and not necessarily there to rip you off.
I find that in any industry (even yours) if you treat people fairly and with respect you might be surprised and get the respect back.
Treating people like people goes a long way. And makes a difference in any buying experience. (or any transaction period)
In anything that you want to buy or invest in do your proper research, due diligence and be an informed buyer/investor.


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

Letran said:


> This is highly stereotypical.
> Like any industry there will be good and bad sales people.


Just stating how it is from my actual experiences, you can call it whatever you like. I find many sales people these days (not just autos) don't seem to know enough about the products they are selling.


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

The age old problem of cheap old cars is...........how much money do you pour into trying to keep them on the road.

When are you spending good money after bad ?

Spend $3,000 repairing an old car...........and you still got an old car.

I have been lucky from time to time with cheaper old cars......but more often they became money pits that I eventually gave up on.

Then I would look back and think..........I would have been better off making payments on a new one.


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## banjopete (Feb 4, 2014)

sags said:


> My advice is to avoid subprime auto car lots and lenders at all costs.
> 
> Go to a new car dealership and talk to a sales representative.
> 
> ...




You must sell cars for a living. Most of what you said is pretty one sided, and the op doesn't have the finances to consider this direction from the sounds of it. Much as it seems you do about new cars, I feel very strongly that no should ever buy a new car for the depreciation costs alone. Even a $200/mo car payment is an annual cost of replacing the same car with the honda/toyota/nissan beater being recommended each year, to infinite, with no loans, no deprecation, no salesman, no contracts, or asterisk in the fine print, and if that's not enough, cheap insurance rates without the need for collision coverage, or theft, or fire.

I say bike though... haha


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## Fraser19 (Aug 23, 2013)

Realistically I have found buying used cars to be easy.
If you have an opportunity to take some time to find what you want and how to tell if the car is good or not it should not be a problem.

Get a Carpoof, send it for an inspection, get a compression check done. Join an online forum for the specific model of car you are interested in and find out what the known weak spots are and get them checked. If you do these things there is a good chance you will not buy a lemon. 

The deprecation aspect of a new car is gut wrenching to me.


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## lonewolf (Jun 12, 2012)

Fraser19 said:


> The deprecation aspect of a new car is gut wrenching to me.


 Sometimes a new car does not depreciate much driving off the lot i.e., I purchased a new Pontiac Sunfire that had $6000 rebate with another $1500 dollars off from GM credit card points, plus I negotiated below sticker price. I cant remember if I paid aprox 10,800 before or after the taxes in 2005.


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