Hey, Scotty,
I came accross a 2006 toyota solara convertible sle v6 with 61k miles 3 owners and drove it around the lot a little bit and seemed to run smooth. How do I get a good overview of the car if I was looking through it myself and how do I not get scammed? Thanks. I am scheduled to pick up the car tommorow.
FIrst off if it's at a dealer you can count on them ripping you off one way or another.
You can't tell anything by running the car around a lot. You need to evaluate its performance under real-world conditions, including high-speed freeway driving and check carefully for odd vibration and noises. You should start when the engine is cold. Really you should have it checked by a mechanic but if you're going to do it yourself you need at least a basic scan tool you can check for codes, maybe take a look at some basic live data. Check for signs that it has been in a severe accident or flooded.
its a private owner, Chuck. I am scheduled to check it out tommorow and test drive it as well.
the carfax i got said no floods or wrecks and it has a small accident which only involved some bumps. It hs 3 owners btw.
OK, you said "lot" so I figured "used car lot". The rest still applies. Also, Carfax is not reliable and cannot be relied on.
I meant parking lot, which is where we met {black}:sweaty:
Chuck, you said carfax would not be reliable? Would a mechanic be money well spent?
Make sure the seller's name is the same as is on the title - ask for I.D. Shady used car salesmen frequently pose as private sellers. If they don't match, run from that deal.
Okay, thanks.
Don't take any feeble excuses on the I.D. match. Even if the seller claims to be selling it for a friend or family member I'd still say "no sale".
See below for what to look for:
https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/postid/6131/
https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/postid/98314/
https://carkiller.com/scottykilmer/postid/97761/
Good luck and hope it works out!
Thank you and after a long time of looking, i think this is finally the right one. She has the title and everything. My whole family is on board and will get a mechanic to see it most likely!
If you're picking it up tomorrow, it's already too late.
im inspecting it tommorow from a private owner 7600 cash no crappy dealers.
Go to the FAQ and click on "I need to buy a car"
