Customer Reviews

Used Car Buying Guide 2005 (Consumer Reports Used Car Buying Guide)

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Buying a used car? I am. Buy the "Consumer Reports Used Car Buying Guide" first.

Rather than depend on the advice of semi-knowledgeable friends, a mechanic biased toward a car maker and not a specific vehicle, or by looking to see what your neighbor drives, you can depend on this.

I bought my 2003 Corolla LE using an earlier guide and intend to buy my next vehicle using the current edition.

In it, I found lists of "Good Bets," which are cars the authors consider to perform well over the years. That is guiding my purchase. I won't buy a car not listed there. I also found lists dividing reliable cars by price range, which cars have had recalls, unreliable models (by year), and detailed descriptions of the pros and cons of each vehicle.

That's not all. There are also articles on safety, buying strategies, batteries, insurance, towing, depreciation, tires and child car seats.

It is not a complicated book. It is straight to the point, with minimal car jargon. Novices like myself are not overwhelmed by information I am not concerned with.

I am interested in safety, performance, cost of repair and related information. I found all of this here.

I fully recommend "Consumer Reports Used Car Buying Guide." I am confident that because I have read it and will refer to it while I shop for an auto online, I am prepared to save money and to buy a better vehicle.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

I live my life on a budget, and when I have needed to buy a car, the Consumer Reports Used Car Buying Guide has saved my day. There are a lot of people out there looking to sell their mechanical troubles to someone like me.
The Consumer Reports Used Car Guide starts two years before the publication year, then goes back over the previous 8 years to rate the different makes/models/years according to the general integrity and reliability of the various components of the vehicles.
When I start my search, either at a car lot or online, I get out the buying guides. I usually have a couple of them so I can span more years.
I've found if the guide mentions a particular problem with a certain vehicle and year, and if I question the owner, the vehicle generally has had a problem in that area. Not always, but frequently enough that I trust this guide and don't even bother looking at vehicles they have rated poorly.
These guides are great. Now the second thing that may come in handy is one on how to read people. (Maybe a small take along lie detector kit?) Do your best not to need to buy a car in a hurry so you can take your time and buy smart.

I used an earlier edition to buy my Mercury Cougar a few years ago. While the book clearly showed that earlier models were unreliable, the ratings for the newer models were pretty good. I thought that meant the car had been improved in recent years. Turns out, all that meant was the newer models weren't old enough yet to start suffering from the same problems all the previous models had. Apparently, the reliability ratings don't take that into account. The book is fine, so long as you recognize that limitation and completely discount good reliability ratings for newer models. Instead, look at the ratings for the older models.

Read my review of the 2001 book, my opinion stands the same. It's o.k., just lacks some info.

is not a bad guide for used car research but just don;t see why it worth 10 bucks, price can;t follow try online usually is more accurate, blue book or edmunds, not details of each car either very basic guide not worth the money.

I bought this book as per my husband's request and he is very happy with it.