QuestionHi. We have 3 kids; 7, 2, 3mos.. I plan to sell my 01 Chevy Malibu at an Auto auction. (my mom has a friend who owns a rental car / used cars buisness who will take it to auction for me.)
I am told I can expect around $3,000 to $4,000 for the Chevy and Plan to add $2,000 to that to buy a mini van or something that would accomidate our family. I plan to purchase it at auction as well.
Question:
What's the best buy for under $4,000 at an auction? Also, I have never purchased a used car that had more than 65,000 miles. (one exception: last month I paid $500 for an 89 Acura Legend with 146,000 miles. Best buy I've made in years!) back to the subject, can you also recomend milage limits ? thanks Lisa
AnswerFirst things first... you may be better off selling your car privately rather than an auction... car auctions are almost always exploited for their LOW selling prices... most dealers send cars to auction when they aren't selling just to get rid of them... these low prices wouldn't be a good thing if you are looking to get the most out of your car...
Also be very careful when buying from an auction with any vehicle from the coastal states & northern states... coastal states are prone to flood damaged vehicles that are fixed up and sold at auction up north with clean titles (illegal but common).. and salt rusted vehicles from the north are commonly sold in the south at auction...
4000 and a family vehicle... you may have to give up the minivan dreams if you want a lower mileage vehicle...
The only real contenders in the minivan category would be the plymouth voyager, dodge caravan, and chrysler town & country (all the same vehicle... very slight differences).
They are the best that might be affordable, only problem is they aren't as reliable mechanically as the lesser import minivans (honda odyssey, toyota sienna).. which also tend to hold higher resale...
If you consider another car, look at wagons/hatchbacks (for more room).. but with your price range the list of cars you can get would be very long, from early 90's models.. to poor selling 2000+ models... how large of a car would you want? do you want a 4 door or 2 door? does power matter? wagon or sedan?
The truth is I don't know what will be at that auction, but if a mid mileage import (honda/toyota/acura/lexus/mazda) comes up that you like, pounce on it... while domestic cars are now very close to the same quality of the imports... they weren't even near it 2 years ago.. so when it comes to used cars with higher mileage, imports are king of reliability and quality... Your 01 malibu is worth.. 5000 max? close to it.... a 95 civic with 100,000 miles will sell for that much (for a 6 years older car)... all because of quality...
The minivan is different because the dodge platform and design on their van was so well refined that the poorer build quality didn't seem to matter... thats not so with the cars...
When it comes to 90's and early 2000s cars... 50,000 miles on a domestic = 80-100,000 miles on an import... thats about how much higher quality the imports were back then... the domestic would have problems at 50,000 that an import wouldn't have until 100,000... thus.. as for mileage limits.. it depends on the year and where it was built...
A 2000 ford Taurus with 50,000 miles vs. a 95 Civic with 100,000 miles... we'll I'd go with the taurus... but if it were 98 honda civic with 70,000 or 2000 malibu with 55,000 i'd probably go with the civic.... its a judgment call for the most part - if one has really low miles and is fairly new.. get it if you like it no matter where it was built.. but if its close... for similar prices... I'd get the import hands down.. even if its a little older with a few more miles... my limits: Imports=80,000 miles max... domestic=60,000 miles max... but thats for me personally... try to use what i've said to form your own...
I think thats everything... If you have some specific cars you want to know more about, or if you want any more information in general feel free to ask - I want to answer all the questions that I can, Thanks!
-Robert
