Inspect a used car before buying from a private seller

  1. Set your walk-away price from comparables
    30 min

    What this produces: one number — the most you will pay for this car — written down before you travel anywhere. The twist: private listings are priced by sellers, not by any market. A car priced far below its comparables is a scam signal, not a bargain, so this step sets two rules, not one.

    1. Open Autotrader or Craigslist and search the exact year, make, model, body style and trim from the listing.
    2. Set the mileage filter to the candidate’s mileage plus or minus 10,000 miles, and the condition filter to “good”.
    3. Pick two comparable listings — same spec, similar miles, similar condition — and write down their asking prices.
    4. Average the two prices. If they differ from each other by more than 15%, add a third comparable and re-average. That average is your market anchor.
    5. Write your walk-away price as the anchor: the ceiling you will not exceed, not the offer you will eventually make.
    6. Write the two hard rules beside it: walk away if the listing is more than 10% below the anchor, and walk away if the seller asks for a deposit to “hold” the car.