Used Car Shopping

So my daughter and I went out yesterday to look at some used cars. She needs a replacement. Soon. Like, by the end of the month. Her current car failed inspection and will cost too much to fix.

I hate buying used cars. Some people swear by them and absolutely won't buy a new car. "It loses so much value just by driving it off the lot!" Some truth there. I'm the opposite. For when I buy new, at least I know what I'm getting. Buying a high mileage used car . . . you're inheriting problems. And it's hard to know just what.

A couple of years ago we did this and got her a car. Turns out it had a lot of problems. Maybe some we should have foreseen, others not. But we learned, and hopefully we won't make the same mistakes. We saw a Mazda like the one in the picture yesterday. Not too high mileage and it has a good reputation. I'm hoping the man will let us take it to a mechanic to get an evaluation done. If not, do we walk away? Try to low ball him? Problem is, we have a deadline and time is always in high demand.

The salesman was nice. A schmoozer, of course. Lousy coffee! Anyway, I'll let you know what happens. :-)