Buying a used truck

[Dbender]

Where is the best place to find a used single owner pickup? Autotrader and local paper are pretty much extinct.

 

[oops1]

Craigslist and Facebook.. I don’t have FB so I have to get my wife to look or use her account. Actually pondered gettin an account just to buy and sell stuff

 

[model88_308]

The GON classifies generally have such vehicles listed. FWIW, my first question to any private seller would be to how often and exactly what did said truck tow during the time they owned it.

 

[GLS]

In looking for a used truck, I found one on Craig's list this September, but the owner owed money to Capital One, was titled out of state, and there was an odometer discrepancy between truck and CarFax. I bailed on it and found one at an out of town dealer on Autotrader. Capital One exists online and good luck in finding a human response, if any.
While I paid more to the dealer than I would have with an individual, it was a 2016 with 30,000 miles, bought from the same dealer and serviced every 5,000 miles at the dealership. I paid a little more, but sleep a lot better. If you find one being sold by owner, insist on having a mechanic check it out and spend the $30 on CarFax. While not infallible, CarFax reports can be invaluable. It will report any and all commercial oil changes or mechanical work done at a dealership or at many stand alone local shops. All it takes to run a report is your credit card and the tag number. My dealer posted the one pertaining to my truck online and had the service history at the dealership. If the seller won't allow a mechanic to inspect, don't walk away from the deal. Run. If the vehicle has money owed, close the deal at the bank and get the title signed over at the closing. Don't give money without being handed the title. I had a buddy in the used car business and they often had to chase down the title despite sending the money to the lienholder with explicit instructions to send them the title and not the borrower. Gil

 

[Thunder Head]

Ill add
Auto trader on line
cars.com

 

[Hooked On Quack]

I've bought 2 Jeeps, 3 trucks here on GON.

 

[paulito]

Car gurus worked good for me when shopping for the wife's new vehicle. Course those are all dealership type used cars there. Private sales I haven't done in years.

 

[7 point]

I would use craigslist and put out the word with family ,friends,and co-workers .

 

[transfixer]

I've bought the last 3 of the last four trucks I've owned off craigslist, but I probably looked at 5 or 6 each time before I found one I was good with, being an auto tech myself I know what to look for, and I've been quite lucky, each time I've bought one for less than the going rate, but thats extremely hard to do. I bought one of the trucks from a customer that came into our shop with a vehicle they were going to trade into to the dealer, I bought the truck from them for what the dealer was going to give them, which was less than book value.

 

[mguthrie]

Try the apps OfferUp and letgo. I buy and sell a good bit of things on there. Just make sure you do your due diligence as others have mentioned

 

[lonewolf247]

AutoTrader, Car Guru's, Ebay, also look online, at Individual dealership websites, under pre-owned.

 

[Hillbilly stalker]

I prefer to take a Sunday drive and look for ones for sale in people's yards. A lot of vehicles have hidden problems and the Internet is the best place to dump them. You stand there in the yard with a man for 10 minutes talking and looking and you can learn a lot. Wheather he is the kind of fellow that keeps his oil checked or just runs the mess out of one. Or if he just bought it and is trying to turn it for a quick buck. And that translates into " he knows nothing about the vehicle". If you find one your interested in, daddy always taught me to take it somewhere and put it on a lift and look under it. You will find leaking transmissions, main seals, worn U joints and a host of other problems before you commit. All fixable, but good bargaining leverage on the price. My step dad bought a truck off the internet once, ended up it was a " "flood truck" from another state. He had all kinds of electrical problems within 6 months, and every time it rained his truck smelled like old wet carpet . That's my .2 cents worth.

 

[freedog74]

Carmax in Athens, GA and ask for Elizabeth.