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I finally stopped buying $80 beater cars sight unseen, thanks to a guy named Ray in a Rite Aid parking lot
For about 3 years I bought cheap cars off listings without seeing them in person, figuring worst case I lose a few hundred bucks at the scrap yard. Last month I drove 90 minutes to look at a 2001 Civic listed for $650, and the seller met me in a Rite Aid parking lot in Stockton. A older guy named Ray was there looking at a different car, and he watched me hand over cash without even opening the hood. He said something simple that stuck with me, which was that a car with no plates and a cold engine tells you nothing, so make them start it and let it idle for 10 minutes first. The Civic started knocking about 6 minutes in, and the seller suddenly remembered it was already sold to someone else. I lost $0 that day but would have lost $650, and I have made every seller do the 10 minute idle test since. Does anyone else have a short test like that, or am I late to something obvious here?
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matthew_reed5020d ago
Cold engine tells you nothing, that Ray guy knows his stuff.
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