Buying a used car in Madison

[pawillia]

Okay, it sounds like Carmax...here I come Hopefully, everything will go well. I know that some think leases are better but it definitely has its pros and cons. So, I think I want to purchase one this time around. Thanks for all the help everyone.

Any sales associate in particular that anyone recommends at the Carmax Rivergate location?

[TNNative]

I speak from experience. What most people don't know about leasing a vehicle is that you have to meet the leasing companies insurance coverage requirements. For example if you have one or two other vehicles with liability coverage of $25,000 per person on bodily injury/$50,000 per accident and $25,000 on property damage, or even a step above at 50/100/50, that is not satisfactory for leasing. Your coverage must be brought up to $100/300/50 for leasing, and in most insurance companies the same coverage must apply to all vehicles on your policy. The more coverage the more premium. Most dealerships "forget" to mention that you have to have higher limits to satisfy the lease contract because that may be a deal-breaker to someone trying to keep their costs down. It's always best to call your insurance agent first anyway, to see what a change of vehicle is going to do to your insurance premium BEFORE you buy the car.

Regarding Carmax, we shopped them while looking a used cars and liked their inventory. Went back a couple of times and were very close to becoming their customer. Liked their Honda's and Ford Focus, but the found the Honda's almost the cost of a new one. A bad experience with the "clean" Carfax report (from Hayes Nissan) made me leary of used cars. Our previous Windstar that had a clean Carfax when we bought it mysteriously showed it had been in an accident when I put the VIN number in online three months after I bought it. Unforunately I didn't by the "Carfax guarantee" because I trusted them.

Ended up at Trickett Honda and bought a new Accord a couple of thousand more than one at Carmax. Mine had 6 miles on it and it was worth the peace of mind to know where it had been.

With that said, we can't afford a brand new one every time, and when we look for a used one again, Carmax will be where I go...no doubt.

[pawillia]

Thanks TNNative. That does help give me peace of mind

[TXRyan23]

I bought my truck at Town and Country Ford in Madison.

Never again.

I won't go into details right now but my experiences with T&CF made me want to NEVER buy American made autos again.

My next truck will be a Nissan Titan and it'll come from Carmax, My wife had a GREAT experience buying from Carmax when she bought her Corrola.

Nashville usually has ALOT more inventory then Rivergate though..

[artemis]

Originally Posted by TNNative

I speak from experience. What most people don't know about leasing a vehicle is that you have to meet the leasing companies insurance coverage requirements. For example if you have one or two other vehicles with liability coverage of $25,000 per person on bodily injury/$50,000 per accident and $25,000 on property damage, or even a step above at 50/100/50, that is not satisfactory for leasing. Your coverage must be brought up to $100/300/50 for leasing, and in most insurance companies the same coverage must apply to all vehicles on your policy. The more coverage the more premium. Most dealerships "forget" to mention that you have to have higher limits to satisfy the lease contract because that may be a deal-breaker to someone trying to keep their costs down. It's always best to call your insurance agent first anyway, to see what a change of vehicle is going to do to your insurance premium BEFORE you buy the car.

Regarding Carmax, we shopped them while looking a used cars and liked their inventory. Went back a couple of times and were very close to becoming their customer. Liked their Honda's and Ford Focus, but the found the Honda's almost the cost of a new one. A bad experience with the "clean" Carfax report (from Hayes Nissan) made me leary of used cars. Our previous Windstar that had a clean Carfax when we bought it mysteriously showed it had been in an accident when I put the VIN number in online three months after I bought it. Unforunately I didn't by the "Carfax guarantee" because I trusted them.

Ended up at Trickett Honda and bought a new Accord a couple of thousand more than one at Carmax. Mine had 6 miles on it and it was worth the peace of mind to know where it had been.

With that said, we can't afford a brand new one every time, and when we look for a used one again, Carmax will be where I go...no doubt.

A lot of companies are no longer requiring the higher limits on leased vehicles. They started reducing them a few years ago.