How to Own A Free Car

by William Lipovsky | Mar 1, 2014 |

Want to own a free car?  Keep reading.

When I was 16 I bought my first car: a 2nd generation Mitsubishi Eclipse.  Dad and I drove 400 miles across the continuous cornfield called Iowa to make the deal.  I bought the car in early ’06 and sold it in late 2011 for the same price. I had a free car for 5 years.  If you follow this guide, you can do the same.

This post is about buying a used car.  Buying a new car is crazy:

1. New cars are too expensive (duh)
2. They depreciate too quickly
3. They have recalls and unknown problems
4. Most new cars look good for the first few years but their styling often doesn’t stand the test of time
5. That sticky vaseline type crap they put all over the car is super annoying

With that said, here’s your guide to ‘buying’ a free car:

Step 1: The Money

1. Who will pay for which aspects of owning a car?  Things like the car itself, fuel, maintenance/repairs, insurance, tax, title, and license fees all need to be paid.  My parents gave me $2500 to spend towards a car and I would pay anything above that.  Fuel was on me, repairs were split 50/50, and they paid tax, title, and license.  Pretty generous.
2. Want to do the repairs yourself?  Convince your parents that if you fix the car, they will cover the costs of parts.  They will likely opt for this because they are proud to see you showing initiative and learning how to do things yourself.  Plus no one has to pay labor.

Step 2: The Car

1. Choose based largely on appearance.  This sounds a bit shallow but people take better care of pretty things.
2. Consider reliability, mpg, safety, comfort, and passenger/cargo room.  In this step you should Google over and over again to see what real owners think.  Sites such as Edmunds.com, cars.com, consumerreports.com are very helpful.  My favorite are the unbiased reviews posted on cars.com.  Be sure to check out Edmunds.com’s ‘True Cost to Own’ Calculator as well.  You’ll find sometimes a BMW is actually cheaper to own than a Mitsubishi.
3. Pick year(s) of the car.
4. Decide trim of selected car.  Research the different options available from the factory.  This is helpful because you’ll want to snag as many of these options as possible.  $200 extra for factory floor mats may fly when buying a car new but we won’t pay that when buying it used.
5. Pick a car with helpful owners.  Check out the message boards for the cars you are considering.  I’ve found it reassuring to know that if I have a question about my car, there’s a community to help.

Step 3: The Hunt

1. Buy the car directly from its owner!  Dealerships markup the price thousands of dollars!  And through a private party transaction you can see the car in its true environment.  Does the current owner take care of himself?  If not, he probably abuses the car as well.
2. Decide how far you will travel for the right car.  Some people go to Hawaii and all they bring back is a sunburn.  Don’t be afraid to take a road trip to snag the perfect car.
3. The best sites to search are autotrader.com, cars.com, ebay.com, and trusty ol’ craigslist.com.  Sometimes I would randomly Google “Mitsubishi Eclipse” to see what was out there on message boards, etc. that these sites don’t show.

Step 4: The Purchase

1. This isn’t like the ‘three days rule’ in dating (not that that’s a great rule either…).  When the car you want comes up for sale, act quickly!  I can’t begin to tell you how many deals have fallen through for me just because I didn’t get to the car quick enough.  Once you find a car you want, connect with the seller ASAP and if there’s a phone number listed, use that instead of text or email.  A buyer will know you’re more serious than someone who texts.  BUT do not act desperate!
2. Schedule a time to meet.  Tell the seller you are bringing cash so he knows you are serious.  Ask the owner to email you a Carfax.  It’ll run him about $35 but he shouldn’t mind.
3. Bring cash.  Paper checks are boring.  Cash is hard for a person to decline.  I prefer crisp stacks of $50 bills.  Go to the bank and ask them for new, wrapped bills and they will happily comply.  Bringing cash allows you to peel bills out of the stack before the purchase if the car isn’t quite as described.
4. Bring a friend/family member.  Bring an older, responsible car guy/girl with you.  This will add security for you and your cash, gives you another pair of eyes to look the car over, and helps you from feeling intimated.
5. Inspect the car.  Ask for maintenance records!  Look for rust, smoke smell in the interior (often poorly masked by 15 air fresheners dangling from the rear view mirror), smooth sound of the engine, and easy gear shift changes of the transmission.  Make sure to take on a nice long test drive.  Pretend you own the car and make sure it suits you.  If you’re buying a convertible, I strongly recommend taking it through a car wash to see if the top leaks (as many do).  If it does, probably say no to the car and send the owner the car wash bill (just joking… but seriously, you don’t want a leaky, smelly, moldy convertible).
6. How to deal.  You should know how much the car is worth based on its NADA.com, KBB.com, and market values.  Sometimes if people are selling private party it means they must sell quickly.  Remember you can walk away from a deal at any time.  If you remember this, you can be a lot more confident in the negotiating process.  Also, when someone says they want $10k for a car but you only think it’s worth $8k… forget about the $10k number.  It’s about the price you will pay not the price they are asking.

Step 5: The Satisfaction

1. Enjoy your freedom and remember to drive that car to your job more often than to the movies!  And take good care of the car and the car will take good care of you!

I hope you’ve enjoy the how-to guide!  Now go buy low and then sell high!