Used Car Virgin with Questions

Nargrakhan

I never bought a used car before... largely because I'm paranoid about all the horror stories I hear. However just this once, I'm considering to make an exception. I need a vehicle to haul oversized stuff like bags of garden dirt, television sets, and moving boxes. My current cars are a 2013 Scion iQ and a 2015 370Z NISMO, so I'm sure you can imagine how things like that are a bit difficult for me.

Long story short, I came across this 2005 Chrysler PT Cruiser for less than $4000 (pre-paperwork and taxes) at a local used dealer lot. Did some digging with Carfax and whatnot: the first owner babied the hell out it until 2012 -- changed oil every 5000 miles and even had one of those "overpriced dealer service plans" that involved changing light bulbs and windshield wipers at random intervals. Only drove it 7800 a year.

Car was then sold to a second owner who added another 10000 miles in a year, but did the 5,000 service check twice before selling it.

The third owner drove it 10000 miles in a rather short amount of time (certainly less than a year), and never bothered with a service check. That person sold it to the dealer who is now selling it. Said dealer has been trying to sell it for almost a year now.

When to see the car on a Sunday when lot was closed. Body looks solid. Paint still decent, all things considered. Tires were flat on the passenger side, though I'm sure that's because it's been sitting outdoors for over a year, unloved and neglected -- looks like it hasn't moved for at least a few months. I don't think the tires will pass a state inspection (serious balding on all four), so I'm gonna have to get all four replaced. Maybe even negotiate with the dealer on that.

I've read all those "how to buy a used car and not get screwed" articles on the Internets, but is there anything I should be thinking about? This car has such low mileage, a seemingly decent history, and is fairly intact. Researching the PT Cruiser gets me varied owner reviews, but it appears to have average dependability.

Naturally, I'll get a mechanic to inspect the car (don't have a personal mechanic though), but is there anything glaring I should suspect or at least be worried about? PT Cruisers aren't very popular in my area of America, so I'm thinking the great price is because the dealer hasn't been able to find anyone who wants it.

kenchan

i donno, how frequently do you think you will need to haul a lot of stuff?
might be cheaper to just rent a pickup at homedepot or something for the job.