Topic: Used cars dealers

[Fab]

[rant]
3 different used car dealers, 3 different cars, all miatas.
Each time after a good 15min of pocking around finally get the important information about the car.
- Stolen and with lot's of repairs to be done.
- Signoff by ICBC and rebuilt
- Break in and roof stolen (with suspicious low mileage)
Of course no matter how many questions I asked on the phone before going there, they will only provide that info only once I am there.

Add to that the wrong price in the internet ad, "but since you saw I will give you that discount", yes right...
or for the stolen one with the rear damaged and littered with garbage inside, "it's not ready yet".

And for some reason they seem to think having the dirtiest office possible will consolidate their credibility and will help to close sales, the one I went today was a mess, pc equipment was black with dirt/grease, desk was totally worn out and the remains of a week Mac Donald was spreading out of the garbage cans.

I went to the apa website afterwards and 2 of the dealers were listed and had failed investigation, one of them for trying to sell a mint condition car with 100 000km which was actually a repainted cab with 500 000km.

I thought Dealership might be slightly more honnest but I read on a rolled back odometer in another thread.

So I am trying to stick with privates sellers, but some of them aren't much better, in one case the ad was saying leather interior, new brakes, etc
Went to see it, the leather is in shreds and the disc brakes are totally rusted, so much for the selling points.

I knew it wouldn't be easy to find a decent 1991-93 Miata afterall these cars are 14 years old, the first one I saw was actually in very good condition even with it's 200 000 km but being a 1990 it wasn't an option (Miata Crankshaft issue 1990 early 1991)

All this to say, I hate shopping for a used car!
[/rant]

 

   

[The Mighty Duck]

IIRC, the crankshaft issue is easily taken care of.  I wouldn't bar a 90/91 Miata from consideration on that alone.  Those seem to be the most commonly found, as well.  At least out here...

Where are you?  If it's feasible, it might be worthwhile travelling to Vancouver to look at Miatas?  Plenty there, and some members who would probably be more than happy to show you around.

[paulk]

Oh, do I agree with you!  Sounds like you're also in BC.  I'm in the same boat as you -- looking for a good used car.  The dealers here stink.  Have you noticed how "City Gate Motors" (who seems to have a lot of cars) advertises a free ICBC report and Carfax report with every car sale?  I found out they had to start doing that because W5 did a show about bad used car dealers and they were profiled on the show, trying to pass off a cab, including holes for the meter mounting, as a low mileage used car.  I've also run into one guy who I think was a "curbsider", trying to sell a rebuilt Miata and Prelude.  He claimed the Miata had one minor accident but it was clear from the welding under the hood and on the door frames that the damage was probably more than just minor.

It seems like there were more good-condition Miatas available earlier in the summer.  The supply has dried up a bit.  I'm not sure if that's because people are keeping them because they get good gas mileage or because everyone with decent cars thought they'd get better prices at the beginning of summer.

Also, prices for used Toyotas and Hondas seem too high in BC.  The going rate for a 1999 Civic DX hatchback with excessive kilometers (200,000 km) seems to be around 10k.  That's nuts to me, given that a new Echo starts at $12.5k.  Granted you have to throw in freight and PDI on top of that, but the Echo gets better gas mileage, so you'd make some of that back, and you get a warranty, whereas you'd probably expect to pay another $1000 or so for necessary maintenance soon after you get the used car.

So frustrating.

[paulk]

BTW, I found the APA page you were looking at:
http://www.apa.ca/template.asp?DocID=194

Worth a read for anyone thinking about buying used cars!  Truly unreal.

[gta_driver]

I find with purchasing a used car, it takes a lot of time and patience. I think it is unreasonable nowadays to give yourself a time frame for a purchase. Over the years, I have found some real gems being sold by both dealers and private sellers.

[stodge]

Hey there's no page for Ottawa on that site! Promising?!

[wing]

No, just too small to bother

[Fab]

I am already in vancouver, I actually thought this would be a good time to get a Miata with the summer ending, Miatas price should go down a bit.

On the Crankshaft issue I am following Chris advice from Eunos in North Van, to stick to 1991 and up.

Source wise I am checking daily
http://www.buysell.ca
http://autos.canada.com/buying/
http://vancouver.craigslist.org/
http://www.canadatrader.com
http://www.usedvancouver.com/

and local newspapers from time to time.

But one thing is for sure I won't set foot at another used car dealers.

[sterling]

In the grand scheme of things, 15 year old cars are generally pretty junky. Finding a good one is definitely going to take some time and some effort.

[paulk]

I actually thought this would be a good time to get a Miata with the summer ending, Miatas price should go down a bit.

That's what I thought too, but it doesn't seem to be happening.  It may be the higher gas prices causing people to keep their Miatas.

If you go by the proportion of failed investigations on the APA site, it looks like Vancouver has the worst used car dealers in Canada.  Calgary isn't too bad at all, but you'd never find a pre-1998 vehicle with no rust.

[sterling]

I don't think the seasonal supply and demand rules apply to cars that old. The people that are buying and selling cars on a seasonal basis are usually not buying and selling 15 year old versions. If you were looking at 5 year old and newer Miatas, I'd bet that their prices typically drop off with the Winter season.

[mdxtasy]

Calgary cars with rust?  How?  There is no salt used in the winter roads, just rocks.  If anything, rock chips and cracked windshields are the biggest concern with used cars here.  I was in the market for a used Miata earlier this year.  Found a few good ones in Alberta and considered a few of them.  Ended up with a 1991 BMW 318is (with no rust) and have been happy with my decision ever since.  Good luck with your search, did you try the classifieds on the Miata club sites?

[paulk]

Calgary doesn't use salt on the roads?  I lived in Edmonton until 1994 and they definitely used salt up there.

[mdxtasy]

Sand and rocks are the main ingredients for our winter roads.  Salt may be used on a few occaisions but I don't think so.....

One thing is for sure, rust ISN"T as big an issue in Alberta as cars from other provinces such as Ontairo.

[johngenx]

Both Edmonton and Calgary use salt in their sand/gravel concoction.  Otherwise it would just bounce off the ice/snow. We have lots of "white" cars in the winter.  Last year in Calgary I noticed plenty of wet intersections where sand/salt had been put down.