[simonsarris]

I'm surprised they didn't mention "Have friends", which can often save far more money than any of the listed tips.

It's worth remembering that you are not the only person that you know that buys cars. Often friends and relatives are considering buying a new car and want to get rid of their old one in an easy way. Make sure you let them know that if they are going to trade-in that you might be interested in their old car.

My brother's first car was a Subaru with 250K miles that our friend's family was replacing. Instead of trading it in my brother offered $50 for it. They decided to give it to him instead.

My first car was a Corolla that my uncle was going to trade in. I offered him the trade-in quoted price ($1500). Two years later I sold it for $3600 on Craigslist. I would have gladly sold it to a friend for $1500 though.

There are plenty of people that like to buy cars from dealers and do not want the hassle of craigslist and are willing to trade in. If you're in the market for a car, make sure your friends and family know!

[patrickod]

I wholeheartedly agree with this. Having connections and keeping your eye out for potential cars to buy can make a huge difference.

The first car I bought, a 97 Opel Corsa, was going to be scrapped by a friends neighbor until I stepped in. It had been sitting without use for ~18 months. The parts needed were minimal. It cost me €150 and 6 bottles of wine. It still drives absolutely perfectly.

The second car I bought was again going to be traded in/scrapped. $20 later and a can of 44K to clean out the engine it passed smog and has been running since.

tl;dr it pays to keep an eye out for cars that people are looking to sell. Offer to take them off their hands for a reasonable price and you'll find they're very receptive.

[vaksel]

that's partly because in Europe your insurance is through the roof so people throw away perfectly fine cars since they don't want to pay $6K/yr for a civic

[patrickod]

Pretty much everything in Europe is more expensive when it comes to driving. Tax, fuel, insurance are all higher than the American equivalent. In Ireland insurance for young males is ludicrously expensive due to the heightened probability of a crash.

[Tobias42]

Where do you pay that much? I have lived in Germany and Switzerland and had various cars. Liability insurance never was more than 700 dollars per year.

[DanBC]

English car insurance, especially for young men, is expensive. A 22 year old programmer driving a 1996 Honda Civic 15,000 miles a year for social and commuting to work would be paying about £950 if they shopped around but could be paying over £1,500 if they weren't careful. (That's fully comprehensive. And it's for a small town population 100,000)

£950 = $1497 = €1146

[durandal1]

This can go very wrong - I would advice against doing car deals with friends. If something very expensive breaks soon after purchase it can create a lot of stress for both you and your friend.

[rdl]

The only way I'd buy a used car is if i knew why it was being sold -- if a friend makes a lot of money and wants to sell a 5 year old well maintained car because he's buying a new one, sure. If someone has an S2000, has a kid, and needs something with more seats, score. Otherwise, adverse selection seems to be a big deal.

[jellicle]

The point of buying from friends is that they rarely stick you with a known lemon.

[rdl]

Yes, and I wouldn't trust a story of the provenance of a car/reason for it being sold if it were NOT being sold by a friend.

Also, my friends maintain vehicles well, which is a major factor in their survival past 100-125k miles with minimal ongoing maintenance. I like cars with turbos, high compression, etc., so it's a bigger deal.

[usaar333]

They also missed "be a mechanic" which allows you to get even better deals than merely "having friends".

[khafra]

Also the grand ultimate maneuver: "have friends who are mechanics."

[powertower]

I smell disruption!