[Slick61]

from my own personal experience, buying a used car in L.A. is a dicey proposition at best. There are SO many curbstoners, resellers, scammers, & disreputable sellers. Your best shot is at a dealership or some place like CarMax, though you'll pay a premium for that. Most of the used car market out here is junk... a lot of it brought in from out-of-state & won't pass smog- which is another concern. I think you'd be better off buying something back there & driving it out. I can't tell you how many cars I've looked at that were advertised as "excellent condition"... only to find poor quality body work, bad paint, ill-fitting interior panels, & so on. By law, the seller is supposed to provide a valid smog certificate... though that rarely happens. Most are just trying to turn a quick buck.

Yes, you CAN get lucky... sometimes, but you've REALLY got to be careful out here. Perhaps I'm being overly dramatic, but having lived all over the country, I've found Southern California to be the worst place when it comes to honest sellers of used cars in that price range.