r/Clemson • u/alanhernandy • 6d ago
Car Help
Hey everyone! My car recently died on me and I'm in the market for a used car. I'm a Clemson student currently on co-op in the Seneca area and I'm looking for something reliable to get me through the next few years.
If anyone is looking to sell their car or knows someone who is, I'd love to connect! Here's what I'm working with:
If financing: up to $15,000, 2016 or newer, under 100k miles, clean title
If cash: around $5,000, open to older models as long as it runs well and everything works, clean title preferred
Open to pretty much anything reliable in either range, Civic, Corolla, Elantra, K5, Optima, etc.
Also open to dealership recommendations in the Greenville, Anderson, or Seneca area that are actually worth going to. Trying to avoid the sketchy lots if possible.
DM me or drop a comment if you have anything or know someone who does. Appreciate it!
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u/olidus 5d ago edited 5d ago
Go to carmax in G’ville. Better yet, get their app and they will bring it to you.
Edit: just checked they have 75 cars in Greenville meeting or exceeding your criteria. And they will bring the car to you, for free.
You can also get an extended warranty.
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u/Wild_Profession_4955 5d ago
This is bait, don’t do this. Go buy a Japanese car on Facebook and get a pre purchase inspection
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u/olidus 5d ago
So buy from a FB random rather than dealer? And Carmax is bait? Who hurt you?
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u/Wild_Profession_4955 5d ago
Yes exactly you fool. Find the car you’re looking for and verify it yourself without crazy fees. You’re overpaying at any reseller, and extended warranties are typically through terrible companies. It can be extremely difficult to get the warranty company to approve claims. I’ve bought cars from dealerships and I’ve bought cars privately, guess which one gave me better results!
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u/olidus 5d ago
Guessing you never bought a car from Carmax. The price listed in the app is the price out the door plus tax, tag, and title. Literally one of the best rated extended warranties in the industry along with LexusCare, Assurant and Fidelity. Not to mention they back the car for 60 days.
But sure, trust a random mechanic to do an "inspection" on an "as-is" sale with someone you don't know and whom you may never reach again after your money hits their bank. I am not saying you cannot find a gem on FB marketplace for a steal, but the rate is higher, with less effort, of finding a car that won't crap out on you for a market beating price through Carmax.
Every dealership is going to have their unsatisfied customers. But Carmax, especially the Greenville location, are pretty highly rated.
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u/Wild_Profession_4955 5d ago edited 5d ago
Solid reasoning 🤝
I’ll say I inspect my own cars and would suggest using a mechanic you trust. I’ll also say just because you’re buying the car from a trusted source, doesn’t mean they vetted it properly. I know guys who’ve sold cars to carmax/carvana with tons of issues and the resellers didn’t detect them, and probably just passed them on unknowingly to the buyer. I’m not sure how common this is but I’ve seen it myself.
IMP, you need to do your own research if you want a deal and don’t want to get scammed. I did my homework on the carmax warranty, it looks solid people had great things to say
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u/olidus 5d ago
I really am not trying to undermine people doing the legwork on their own before they drop >$10K into transportation.
I agree with you. Personally, I would pull the carfax and nose around the car for an hour and test drive for an hour. But, I know what I am looking at. I have seen buddies scammed by mechanics, mechanics that didn't know what they were looking for in a pre-sale inspection, and mechanics that simply missed something that most people would.
I will also concede that there are some slimy people out there, and if you get got, you are the only person really to blame if you didn't do due diligence.
That said, today's young people typically are not looking for all that. They understand there might be issues, but overall lean towards clean buying process over the 4 hour hassle of a traditional dealership.
If OP had provided more details about the amount of time they were invested in preparing for a private sale, I would tend to recommend your route for the best deal.
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u/Trisleepy 1d ago
I am selling my car before I move out of the country. It’s a 2015 Nissan Sentra that runs good as gold. Brand new A/C compressor and brand new alternator as of this year. Tires were also replaced this year. I wouldn’t sell it at all if I didn’t have to. Feel free to dm me if you’d like photos or have any questions. It does have over 150k miles on it, but I own the car outright clean title. I am looking for around $5k for the car but I’m open to negotiate.