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Comment by everdrive | Hacker News Reader

I've been buying cars second-hand from private parties for my last three cars. It's been a great experience. Everyone's been honest so far, and I've never had unreasonable problems with any of the cars.

I'm not sure I'd ever go to a dealership again. They make things so painful, and wring as much money and stress out of you as possible. There seems to be zero benefit for the consumer.

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I anticipate moving to Los Angeles within the next 12 months and am absolutely dreading the inevitability of needing to buy a car. I haven't needed a car since 2007 since I've lived in a series of major cities with excellent train/bus/subway systems. Every single day, I've said a silent prayer of thanks that I haven't had to pay for gas or insurance / sit in traffic / deal with road rage (mine or that of others) / worry about someone keying my car or stealing my catalytic converter.

Reading the comments here about peoples' experiences at dealerships, I kept thinking "Do I really need to move to LA? Is there any other way I can accomplish my goals?" I'm glad to see you've had success dealing with private parties. This is absolutely the way I will go when it comes time for me to bite the bullet and buy a car.

Well, LA has some nice weather...Have you considered maybe looking into a three-wheeler like a Can Am Spyder [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Can-Am_motorcycles]? (As someone who is a big fan of motorcycles, I used to recommend folks to consider the wonderful life of 2 wheels, but i understand not everyone would be into it...plus LA traffic might make conventional motorcycles risky for new riders.) Of course, I'm assuming that an alternative like that a three-wheeler might be cheaper, or more obtainable (either new or used). Then again, if your job is not far from where you will live, could a bicycle fit the need - either electric or conventional?

Los Angeles resident here. Depending on where you work, there's actually some great options for biking here. For one, there's an awesome bike trail on the beach ranging from Malibu all the way down to Torrance. Occasionally there are creeks going inland that have protected bike lanes and act as "bicycle freeways". Look for Ballona Creek bike trail for example. Finally, there's a great Metro connection between Santa Monica and downtown Los Angeles (expo line).

I bike to work everyday on my electric bike and run most errands by bike (doctor, haircut, groceries). While I do have a car, I only use it for trips outside of town on the weekends (plus monthly Costco runs).

LA has one of the best (if not the best) used car markets in the world. Prices are admittedly high for any vehicle right now, but if you do your research and are ready to jump when things pop up on CL, you can never overpay for a car again here.

Depending on where you live in LA, and your interests, you may not need a car. LA's public rail system can get you to Downtown, Pasadena, Long Beach, Inglewood, Redondo/Manhattan Beach, Santa Monica, Culver City, and Hollywood/Universal City. The bus system can get you to 95% of the county. The commuter rail system can get you out to Ventura, San Bernardino, Riverside, and Orange County.

I know a number of NYC and Chicago transplants who moved to LA without cars and get along fine. Pre-COVID I commuted to work by rail for several years, and occasionally take the rail to work now.

Interesting. I lived in LA up until 2007 (Westwood, in particular) and commuted by bus to Santa Monica via Wilshire Blvd. Back then, even that was a PITA. Glad to hear your friends have had a better go of it.

I'm now working in tech, so I'm able to work from home and avoid commuting (thank God). I'm tentatively planning to move to East Hollywood, where my community (improv comedy folks) mostly congregates. My goal is to live within spitting distance of Barnsdall Art Park (near where The Clubhouse venue is), or, failing that, the UCB Theater on Franklin Ave. I figure there will be a Vons or Ralphs somewhere nearby, and I guess I could Uber for everything else. That said, I'm a huge foodie and having a car would allow me to explore the city in a way that public transportation just wouldn't.

I was planning to buy a classic car like an old 70's-era Ford Bronco / F150, Jeep Grand Wagoneer, or Chevy Silverado since I'm not a huge fan of modern auto aesthetics, and that kinda lends itself more toward a private-party transaction anyway. I feel like, as long as I find an apartment with gated garage parking, that should reduce most (but not all) of the risk, right?

Buy the car before you move. Southern California dealers are greedy.

You'll probably have to pay the difference between sales tax in your current state and CA tax when you register it in CA though.

This is the way!

When buying used from a private seller you really can find almost anything you want at a substantial discount if your timeline is not urgent.

My last two car purchases were off of Craigslist. So far they have both been good. But I did have to walk away from a few bum deals to get those cars. That said, the last time I tried to use a dealership they weren't exactly honest[1] so it's just part of the process of buying a used car.

[1] They insisted the car was in perfect shape and passed their 87 point inspection even though it was listed as totaled due to flood damage when I ran the Carfax. Plus it had this weird thing where it was listed as garaged in New York but titled in Florida and it seemed like nothing on the report matched up. That and the VIN was obscured by the black goop they used to glue the windshield on when someone replaced it, I had to use the VIN from the door. This was back around 2006-2007, so maybe the situation has improved, but I kind of doubt it.

The only benefit to the consumer is you can go to a location and see several different car models at the same place. If buying used you need to go to some person's house at a time that works for the seller and then hope the car is insured and if a big purchase price hope that they are not currently driving it so that you can take it to your mechanic to have it checked out. But other then that the dealerships have no benefits in my opinion. The multi point inspections they do are basically a joke. The person doing it is some 10 month mechanical school graduate tasked with the jobs that don't make the company any money but that they are forced to do like warranty work and inspections. You would be much better off taking it to a mechanic that knows what he is doing and is being paid by you to find issues. I am very thankful I am a backyard mechanic and can buy used with much more confidence then the average buyer. I can also buy cars with known issues and fix them. The last time I was at a dealership was with a friend and she was so set on a used car from them. I tried to convince her to buy elsewhere but she just had to have it that day. As you can guess they knew this and took advantage of it.

Here I think it makes sense for newish cars. Just check that there is some warranty left and it has full service history.

I would personally avoid private for cheap cars or those that transact often. As you might end up dealing with "jobbers" that is unofficial resellers.

On the contrary, I only buy older used cars - the savings on a car with some warranty isn't near as much. I've always had good luck with merely taking a car I'm considering to a mechanic to get it checked out. One day the luck will run out, but whatever that will cost will come nowhere near the amount I've saved over the years.

The term I learned was "curbstoners". Learning how to spot them is important when buying off of Craigslist or the like.

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