Quote:
Originally Posted by redpoint5
Sure, some private sellers are deceptive, but if you can't tell that from a 5min conversation with them, you've got to develop those skills.
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I do not like to try to interpret a person's motives. Maybe because I'm not good at it, but also because I hate it when people do it to me. If what someone says cannot be proven it may or may not be true. Not that I doubt everything, but I generally take what other people say and hope that it's true but prepare for if it isn't. If the risk is too great I don't take it, no matter how much the person seems honest.
That's why I do not like the cars that are in the 50k mile to 200k mile range and that cost some $5,000 to $15,000 or so, depending on the car and mileage. Someone can say it was garaged, that it was taken care of, was driven by grandma around the neighborhood, etc. It may even have a good CarFax report and a pre inspection didn't find anything, but eveen then I've seen too many people get a car like that and end up with a lemon. To me there are too many risks, and paying several months worth of income for something that might blow up tomorrow is too great of a risk.
I'd rather get a $100 car, put a used engine and transmission in it, pull out the dents, and drive that. That way I know what the costs are, there aren't any surprises that way, except that maybe something isn't as far gone as you had expected, which is a good kind of surprise.