USED CAR RATINGS

When you’re searching for a used car, you really need to think about quality and reliability. You don’t want to get the car home, and a week later, have it start making funny noises. The last thing you need is your new (used) car sitting in the shop for weeks.

Car buyers need cold, hard objective data when researching cars, but that data is generally not easy to come by. I mean, it’s not like car manufacturers are happily sharing this information with us. What, do they have something to hide?

In February of 2007, Warranty Direct, one of the largest underwriters of used car warranties, released their study of reliability and repair records of cars that were between 3 and 9 years old. This was one of the largest studies of its kind. Finally, used car buyers were given some real objective comparisons.

Warranty Direct covers over 450,000 vehicles in the United States and the United Kingdom, all totaling 33 manufacturers. They simply went through their claim records to see which make of car had more claims reported. The results show the number of failures reported for every 100 vehicles (3 – 9 years old) covered by Warranty Direct.

And just so you know what the numbers mean: Mazda, with a score of 8.04% means that nearly 92% of Mazda cars covered, experienced no mechanical failures of any kind. That’s impressive.

Here are the results:

1. Mazda – 8.04%

2. Honda – 8.90%

3. Toyota – 15.78%

4. Mitsubishi – 17.04%

5. Kia – 17.39%

6. Subaru – 18.46%

7. Nissan – 18.86%

8. Lexus – 20.05%

9. Mini – 21.90%

10. Citroen – 25.98%

11. Daewoo – 26.30%

12. Hyundai – 26.36%

13. Peugeot – 26.59%

14. Ford – 26.76%

15. Suzuki – 27.20%

16. Porsche – 27.48%

17. Fiat – 28.49%

18. BMW – 28.64%

19. Vauxhall – 28.77%

20. Mercedes-Benz – 29.90%

21. Rover – 30.12%

22. Volvo – 31.28%

23. Volkswagen – 31.44%

24. Jaguar – 32.05%

25. Skoda – 32.12%

26. Chrysler – 34.90%

27. Audi – 36.74%

28. Seat – 36.87%

29. Renault – 36.87%

30. Alfa Romeo – 39.13%

31. Saab – 41.59%

32. Land Rover – 44.21%

33. Jeep – 46.36%

So, now that you know which used cars are your best bets, where can you find the best deals? Public car auctions. You’re simply not going to find lower prices anywhere else. It’s not uncommon for people to save up to 80% off the retail price. Bidding normally starts at just $100, so if not a lot of people show up that day, you’re able to get a really good deal.

HOW CAN YOU FIND AN AUCTION NEAR YOUR TOWN OR CITY?

There are a few auction database sites you can use to find the car you want at a local auction house in your area. One is not very good at all and a couple are just so-so. There is one, however, that is fantastic. Most of the so-so sites have a monthly membership fee, but this site only charges $39.50 for a two year membership. Or you can pay $49.50 for a lifetime membership. That is truly an incredible offer compared to the rest. Other things that make this database site superior are:

A) It's much more user friendly so you can find information faster. They have detailed contact information for local auctions. Nationwide they have over 3,000 listings and add new ones every week.

B) The site has an extensive Auction Tutorial which explains exactly what takes place, how to bid, how to know the condition of the vehicle, and much more. It's perfect for people new to auctions and it's not offered anywhere else.

C) There's actually real customer support 7 days a week. When you have a question, someone gets back to you withing 24 hours (usually in a few hours) with a friendly response. And this real person is more than happy to help you with any further questions. Pretty rare nowadays.

D) And as an added bonus, this site lists auctions for tons of other stuff like computers, electronics, jewelry, real estate... you name it and chances are there's an auction for it. So if you're in the market for something not car related, you'll probably find it for dirt cheap as well.

If you want to check out the site, here's the link. Or just fill out the form below.