Dear members,

I would appreciate if someone could please help me: I have NEVER EVER bought a used car before, so it's safe to say I have no clue what to look for when buying one. I have been checking autotrader.com, craigslist (I'm from LA) and other sites for used cars (especially Honda CRV's and Toyota RAV4's) in the past 2-3 weeks and so at least know what the price range of such cars is...

Today I came across a car listed at ebay (2002 Honda CRV EX AWD) and while the "buy it now!" price was $7500 (already quite low for what other dealers are charging), the seller also accepted offers from buyers ("make an offer" option). Not really expecting to win the auction, I offered $6500 and to my surprise, the seller accepted just moments later. Now, before making an offer I did check the history record with Autocheck.com and it reported no problems (I believe the rating was 89%), and I also checked the private-party value of the car at KBB ($7400) and at Nadaguides.net ($6400), assuming the car is in "good" condition. Still, I feel uneasy about the whole thing, since dealers usually price these cars around $9-10k...

I also noticed that the listing has been viewed quite many times (200+ views), meaning if this were indeed such a good deal, someone would have probably bought the car before me. Thus, I'm just wondering if high mileage (most older CRV's come with high mileage, though!) and the fact that the car was towed and/or anything else is the reason the car was offered at such a price.

I'll have the car inspected by a mechanic of my choice before I buy it, but I'd prefer saving me the whole ordeal of meeting with the seller, having the car inspected, etc. if it is obvious that there's something fishy going on here and that the car might be a lemon.

So, here's the link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...m=350263587365

I'd appreciate any feedback or just your thoughts about the whole deal. As I said, I have no clue about used cars (or used CRV's in particular), so I'd be really grateful if someone knowledgeable could tell me a thing or two and just point me in the right direction...

Thanks!

Wendy


PS-I'm aware of the radio not working, and the car having manual transmission (which I prefer to automatic). I'm also assuming the car has been regularly and well serviced - if it turns out that it wasn't, I'll just turn around and go home...

 

welcome to the forum. From looking at the car thru the pic's, it looks very clean and cared for. If you go to edmunds.com and go to purchasing a used car, it will give you a run down on what to look for. Some things I look for under the hood look to see if there is paint color difference on the edge of the fenders ( repainting the hood ), the fluids to see they are up to par, look at the paint to see if there is any discoloration or new paint done. Look into the wheel wheel to see if there are any bent panels or freshly painted panels ( black ) check the gas cover, open it to see if the whole car might have new paint. The price is good, the seller has sold 1450+ cars so he has a good sales record. Do a good test drive, make sure the shifting is good, check for oil leaks under the car after the drive and before you move the car. Listen good for trans, rear end, engine noise, go over driveways or rough roads. climb a curb or 2 nicely at an angle and straight up, go up backwards over the same curb. If all is quiet and feels nice, good eye, good buy.