I am looking at buying a used car in Newark NJ and need to know of a good mechanic in town to check out the car for me before deciding to buy. The car is at Autosport of Newark, 790 Raymond Blvd, Newark. Can anyone recommend a good mechanic for me? Thanks!

 

Sorry that I don't know any good mechanics in that area but start with the carfax A lot of the cars sold on raymond blvd and at those used car dealerships on mccarter highway have shady storis behind them. Many of them have been salvaged, water damage, or have had the odometers rolled back. What car are you looking to buy? I'm guessing a 350z but figured i'd ask. Don't mean to discourage you but looks like you're from PA and might not be familiar with the dealerships in the area. Just my opinion, good luck.

 

I appreciate the input. Yeah I'm near Philly, never been to Newark but haven't heard too many great things haha. I actually have a Z, but looking to get a WRX as a daily driver. The one I am looking at is here:

http://www.autoshopper.com/used-cars...NJ-3141251.htm

The price seems too good to be true. I called and talked to 'Gustavo' there today and flat out asked him 'what's wrong with this car that the price is so far below KBB value?' He responded 'Nothing wrong with it. Times are bad and I just need to sell cars'. Not sure whether or not that is shady? Seems kind of like an honest answer.

The only weird thing I can see with this car is that it has had 4 previous owners. But I ran the carfax and the title is clear as far as I can tell, so if anything shady did happen it wasn't reported I guess.

 

stay away from dealers in Newark. price is low for a reason.

 

^ thats not even true ive had some friends get really reliable cars from newark.

 

Yeah the carfax report doesn't show any foul play. Handful of owners but from what I can see two or three of them were car dealers. The would get traded in by the owner and then bounced around at auctions from dealer to dealer. I just need to find a reputable mechanic up there so I can take the train up, cab to the dealer, take the car for inspection, and buy it if it's square.

 

buying a car in newark is just like picking a needle out of a haystack, becareful

 

I understand what romey is saying, but I would be extra cautious like Goku says. I had an uncle that worked at a dealership on mccarter highway and he quit after a week because of the unscrupulous practices they had. be careful man, if something is too good to be true it usually is.

Not sure if you've considered CPO cars, you can get a pretty good deal and often get the remainder of the factory warranty plus an extra year from the dealership. I know it might cost a little bit more but in the end you get warranty and piece of mind. Good luck.

btw, the car in the pics looks nice and clean. I'm sure its been raced like hell though if its from the newark or surrounding areas. Where did the car fax say the car came from?

 

cool good for your friends. You think I'm making things up then? my dad owned a shop on Mccarter highway for a long time and ended up moving because all the dealers would bring him cars asking him to cover up and fix things the cheapest way possible to sell them. My dads friend also worked at a dealer in Newark.. left cause of the same bs. I'm speaking from experience, I know how they run those dealers there... I grew up hearing all about it. So once again OP stay away from dealers in Newark.

 

Thanks for your input guys. I did a lot of thinking about this over the weekend and still haven't come to a conclusion whether or not to pursue this particular car. I looked at the Carfax report again and still can't find anything shady. Of the list of previous owners a few of them were dealers / auto auction houses (each title transfer counts as an 'owner'), but I think there were only 2 previous owners who drove the car.

Here is my thought regarding shady business: The car title is reported as clean and the Carfax shows no record of accidents / flood / theft / damage or anything. This place is selling the car for a few thousand less than the KBB 'retail' value. If there was something wrong with the car and he had his best buddy shady mechanic do some work to cover it up and make it 'invisible' to the average inspector, then wouldn't he be trying to get closer to blue book value for the car? Seems like if you're in the business of scamming then you want to make the most profit possible. Unless maybe he got it at the wholesale auto auction for a song, but I doubt I'll get that information from him.

Any more ideas from you guys would be appreciated.

 

It's not unreasonable to tell Gustavo that you want to bring the car to a mechanic of your choice, even if it means having the car out for a few hours. Doing that should help your comfort level. If you want to stay local to Newark, maybe find the nearest Subie dealer and pay a few bucks for them to check it out? good luck