I've been looking at these cars. Some are in $30's others are $60's? The dealers are placing the vehicles in the 50 - 60. Private sellers are leaning below 55K. They all seem like the same car, what to buy? The garage queens are out for me, I believe a car should be driven not shelved.

 

Without knowing the details of the cars, I'd assume a seller who values the car and has treated it well, will sell in the $50s, assuming good condition, passes PPI, decent milages, etc. I'd stay away from any "steals" unless you know for sure they need to liquidate for some legit reason...and even then, I wonder why they wouldn't just trade-in to dealer at that price...

 

There are so many circumstances that will drive the price at which a car enters the resale market... the trick is to understand these factors, understand what needs to be evaluated in the car, and be prepared so that when a car comes to your attention you can make a fast and appropriate decision.

Asking price is usually not a true or perfect indicator of the underlying condition.

A

 

Agree. I was just in the market. Prices for solid cars, low miles needing no work are are in the mid 50's. If its too cheap, its too good to be true.

 

+1

I've been actively looking as well.

 

If you find a car in the 50's, it's likely to be a decent car (condition and mileage), if you see a car in the 40's or, gulp, 30's...be very cautious...they are still "used cars" and not all great deals. I think 50-55 is a good window for a quality car.

 

Really, I am not that scared to look at low priced cars. I like to tinker and if I can find a car that has normal usage and a few kinks I'm satisfied. What scares me are the cars that have little to no mileage, or the ones with a lot of add-ons to them. I would recomment the PPI to everyone, because even a low mileage garage queen could have issues. Frankly I can't phantom having a car like this brand new and putting less than 8K per year on the odometer living in California.

 

There is a 2001 996TT speed yellow, 1 owner, 12K miles, extended wty, aftermarket wheels on Autotrader. The car can be bought for $45K. It drove out exceptional, I just couldn't pull the trigger on a yellow car. There are always buys out there for the discriminate buyer. Depends greatly on how motivated the sellor is.

 

At least 50K with mods.