I am so sick of looking at screens honestly. My old Civic is basically a paperweight now and I am trying to find a Kia, maybe a Soul or an older Sportage, but finding a site that isnt just a pile of fake listings is driving me crazy. I have about $18,000 saved up and I really need this sorted by the end of the month because I commute into the city from the Chicago suburbs and taking the Metra every day is killing my soul and my wallet.

I spent all last night on Autotrader because everyone says thats the gold standard but honestly it feels like a total mess lately. I found three different cars that looked perfect but when I called the dealerships they were like oh we sold that two weeks ago but come in and look at this 2024 model instead. Its so frustrating. My logic was that a big site like that would have the best data but its all just bait and switch stuff. Then I tried Cars.com and I thought their filters would be better but I keep checking the CPO box and it still shows me random used cars from some sketchy lot three towns over that definitely arent certified. I read online that those big sites are supposed to be updated daily but it doesnt feel like it at all.

I even looked at Carvana because I thought it would be easier but the prices are just insane right now. Like why am I paying a $3,000 premium just for them to bring it to my house? So I was thinking maybe there is a better way to do this. Is there some specific Kia enthusiast site or maybe a better aggregator that people actually trust? I feel like I am going in circles and the more I look the more confused I get about which sites are actually legit and which ones are just selling my phone number to every telemarketer in the state. I just want a car that exists at the price they say it is...