(10-07-2017, 07:29 AM)StroudCrowd1 Wrote: Offleaseonly.com or any certified pre owned.

Let some other poor schmohock take the 20% depreciation hit!

I helped my son buy his car from offleaseonly down in Orlando. He got an excellent car but caveat emptor definitely applies to that place. We spent over 8 hours examining cars with a fine tooth comb before we found the one he bought. Offlease buys these cars by the literal truckload and dumps them on the lot. There are some really good ones, and there are some horror stories. 

To offlease's credit, they do not try to misrepresent anything. The cars are unlocked and open to full examination. We opened hoods, trunks, glove boxes, pulled dipsticks and rolled back carpets. If you find one you're interested in, they have computers inside where the prospective buyer can enter the VIN and get a free Carfax report. Although Carfax only shows what's reported, they also show the car's location history. If it has spent its previous life in the northeast, then corrosion can become a problem. We found one car he liked that looked beautiful on the outside but when the hood was opened the engine bay was a mass of corrosion. They even have cars there which have had airbag deployments. I found another one which had the invoice from the body repair shop and the electrical connector for the airbag, which had been snipped off, inside the glove box. 

Offleaseonly is a good option but you have to pay due diligence and do the work. I like doing that sort of thing so it was no problem. My son got a solid 2014 Camry with good mileage with that nice depreciation discount. He's been driving it for a year and a half now with absolutely no problems. This is NOT a place to buy a car if you just want to mouse click for something that would look good in the driveway.

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