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Good used car dealerships? (1 Viewer)

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Need to get a car, anyone have recommendations on good used car dealerships around the Houston area?
 

Diesel

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Around Houston.............NO!
You'll pay all the city taxes.
I'll buy all my trucks in Sealy Ryan Ford.
Needed a used truck for a new crew in august, I just looked on I-10 a bit, Ford, GMC, Dodge and Chevy.
When I found something I to pic of it and the VIN, went to Sealy and got that same truck for $5k less, they just bought it for invoice from the dealer in Houston.
Now if you want to buy new with all the rebates going on you get almost a better deal than a 2 year old used.
 
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tektite
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Not looking for anything fancy at all, the cheaper the better :) Just needs to be reliable and get good gas mileage. Our only car was totaled on Friday, so we're stuck with a rental till we find a car lol.
 

cacarnold3

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That's a tough one Cat. We just bought a used car for Alex in August. If you buy from a dealership that specializes in used cars, be sure to get the carfax or similar type of report. Most of the cars we saw ended up having salvage titles even if I was told they did not. The used car lot of a regular dealership was a better bet for getting a car that had a clean title but the prices were not as good.
 
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tektite
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Will definitely get the carfax, especially with the recent flooding in this area!
 

inigomontoya

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I'm going to steal your thread to ask if anyone knows the best way to dispose of a used car that isn't in normal condition? I got hit by a fire truck (not on call) and instead of fixing the car am going to sell it. I got a quote from carmax but it's a bit low- since it has the damage I really don't want to do the craigslist/autotrader thing since I am only looking for around $3500 (sure to bring out scammers/flakes at that price).
Does anyone know a wholesaler that might quote for it? It's a 2002 Toyota Avalon 120,000 miles, actually still runs perfectly - drove it to work for two months after the wreck until I got my new car.
 

dayton

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Cat, I am a loan officer by trade (not saying you need a loan) BUT I deal with car dealers every day; Plus I spent a lot of year in the industry. For the most part, go with your gut. Look at the cars and their condition, if the cars look good generally speaking it reflects on the dealer but of course still use your head. If you need any help to make sure your not getting taken on the deal let me know; id be happy to give my advice.
 

jhill9

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Everyone I know has enjoyed working with Texas direct auto. Never been there myself though.
 
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tektite
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Thanks. Will have to get a loan, blue book was pretty low on the totaled car so not expecting much from insurance unfortunately.
 

madehtsobi

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if u had full coverage ud be suprised what theyll pay u. my dads car was blue booked at 5k and they paid us almost 9k...

i always had good experiences with import cars with reliability and good gas mileage. u know FORD stands for right? Found On Road Dead! LOL
 

trb

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i always had good experiences with import cars with reliability and good gas mileage. u know FORD stands for right? Found On Road Dead! LOL
I resent that remark! My Mustang was Found On Road Dead only once, after the motor blew at 306,817 miles and 24 yrs of faithful service! :D

The last 4 used cars I've bought at new car dealers and have not had a single problem with them, except things covered by the 3/36 B2B warranty. I got pretty good deals on all of them, and bought them from all different dealers as far away as Conroe, Corsicana, and Fort Worth. The deals were well worth the drives.

Have you decided on what kind of car you want? I've always made that decision and then looked on Cars.com or autotrader.com for dealers selling the vehicles I wanted, and then called, emailed and finally went to test drive them. And getting pre-approved at a credit union is the best way to finance a used car. The dealer will generally make a good percentage of profit from the loan, so at least you have a base line interest rate for them to beat with their financing.

And you ONLY pay 6.25% sales tax on a vehicle no matter where you buy it. The city does not charge sales tax on vehicle sales, but I'm sure that the taxes Diesel is referring to is the taxes the dealer pays on their business, so they can in turn sell for less. Also make sure you get the sales tax included on your insurance payout. On a $5000 payout, that is an additional $312 you should get due to the accident to make you whole. No sense paying out of your pocket for sales tax since you are being forced to buy a new car.

And Carfax is not a sure thing. It really just eliminates potential bad cars. There is so much damage that is not reported to Carfax, it is best to have a trusted mechanic or friend to do a thorough inspection once you've pretty much made up your mind on a particular car. I've always done my own inspections for body damage and such, since 3 of the 4 were still under the full new car warranty and were covered for that. Plus many new cars have a 5 yr/100K mile powertrain warranty.

Good luck on it!
 
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steveb

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Stay away, run away from Mitsubishi auto's. My 2002 Galant GTZ is the biggest piece of junk I have ever owned (original owner 86k miles). Had nothing but trouble with it. The starter (4 times now), the valve cover gaskets sealing correctly, ATS traction control sensors, fuel tank level sensor, 2 timing belts and a evap solenoid on a pear tree.

I think I forgot a few things but you get my point. All of the problems started at about six years of age and 50k miles.
 

d2mini

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Everyone I know has enjoyed working with Texas direct auto. Never been there myself though.

I was going to suggest the same. I have only sold there but they seem better than carmax and they have all kinds of stuff from old and cheap to crazy high end imports.
 
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