Used Cars for Sale in Roanoke, VA

Be mindful of deer. No, seriously. They congregate on most roads and it is eerie as heck to see, through slight, dense fog (there is almost always fog of varying degrees of severity towards the end of summer throughout fall on most roads in Roanoke), yellow eyes and nothing else in front of your vehicle until you turn on your high beams expecting to see one, maybe two animals and instead seeing upwards of 20 deer in the middle of the road, unafraid of your approaching vehicle and possibly contemplating carjacking you just to say they did, and then when you try to avoid hitting them, running at your car and making you change your pants because ATTACK DEER.

If you are an outdoorsy type--as there are quite a few national parks at your fingertips around Roanoke--I'd strongly recommend getting a vehicle with four-wheel drive and maybe even a lift kit for added fun in the mud or rock crawling. Such a vehicle would also be beneficial in the winter months because the snowfall can range from minimal to several feet and it's good to be able to get out of your driveway and off of your street, especially if said driveway is gravel and dirt, like mine was. If that is not your forte, something that has enough horsepower to climb the hills would be just fine. Downtown Roanoke is actually best driven with a small car, something compact that can fit in the narrow, limited parking spaces when you are visiting stores like Chocolate paper and want to explore. Craigslist is awesome if you need really cheap A to B wheels or parts. I've found parts for cars as old as 1930 if you're into that sort of thing. There are several car dealers in the area and I would personally recommend Magic City Ford if you want awesome customer service with a smile. Most of the car dealers are located off of Orange Ave and Williamson Rd in either direction. You'll find both large and small dealers. There is definitely something for everyone.

My favorite memory of driving in the great city of Roanoke took place not downtown but out in the country in nearby Blue Ridge. That is technically a suburb, I guess. I was driving home from work. It was about 1:00AM, I was tired and just wanted to crawl into bed after working such a late shift. Anyway, I'm driving along on Mountain Pass Road. The road is a series of at times nail biting hairpin curves and blind hills. I came around this particular curve that I was never fond of since the road is narrow to the point of being one lane and there is a steep, unguarded ravine to the right and a small cliff of tall trees to the left. As I was going along, there was a sudden THUD on the roof of my car. I swerved, looking out of the passenger window I saw a hoof hit my passenger window before disappearing into the darkness. A large deer had just jumped from the cliff on the left onto the roof of my car and leapt off at speed (I was traveling at about 35mph at the time) over into the ravine on the right. I have no idea if the poor thing lived but that particular ravine was a good 10 to 20 foot drop. I like to imagine that he or she flew Superman style to safety into the bushes below. It is amazing I didn't roll my Ford that night.

Blue Ridge Parkway. The Blue Ridge Parkway is a scenic byway that has a max speed limit of 45. Having said that, I never did 45 on that road. The stretch right near where I lived that went past my house all the way down to Star Mountain, I loved to drive. I raced a Mazda Miata on one occasion, nearly getting into an accident but having the time of my life. The hairpin turns and snakelike curves in the road coupled with the views of the forests, farms and mountains make for a wonderful experience as long as you know what you are doing and have the vehicle to handle it. I don't advocate breaking the law by any means since you never know when the Park Service might show up (yes, they do write speeding tickets), but the Blue Ridge Parkway will definitely tempt you into pushing your car to the limits.

The one tip I would give driver's in this city is to please learn to drive around the courthouse. I admit before I moved where I am now I found it confusing to do but a lot of people avoid it cause it confuses them and avoiding it is not going to help you learn anything. I don't know how many times I have went up North Walker St which goes around the courthouse and goes into South Walker St and someone will pull right out in front of me at the stop sign. It's like they don't even realize there is a stop sign there. I'm afraid I am going to be hit or hit someone one day.

Don't go to the smaller car lots because usually the cars have problems and I used to feel Ramey was a reputable dealership but now I don't recommend them at all. I traded in my car to get a little money and another car cause I had a bill I couldn't pay and it had to be paid. They gave me a 3 month warranty on the car that I got but they were so slow about getting things done to it. It stayed in the garage I don't know how many times and then I kept telling them over and over that the tires were leaking and they kept insisting that there was nothing wrong with them. The manager named Brandon, I don't know his last name was extremely rude with me on the phone. Once the warranty ran out the check engine light came on again and even though it had only been a few days that the warranty went out they refused to look at it. Also, t he tires are still leaking.

I liked to drive on some of the back roads in the country areas and look at some of the nice houses and even farm animals like horses. It is really fun to get out there and do that especially during the fall months when the leaves start changing colors. You can take so many pretty pictures and it is really relaxing to go on a drive like this. I'm not scared of getting lost like so many others are because you always end up somewhere that you recognize or a sign that points you to somewhere that will get you back home.

Hill Top Drive. I like to go down this road because there are some really nice houses. It is really curvy and I like the scenery and like that you have to drive it slow because of so many curves. It's enjoyable to get off the highway for a bit and go down this road. You enter from the highway and you exit back onto the highway so there is no danger of you getting lost. I find it relaxing and fun. I would really like to live on this road I think if it were possible. I would like to go up this one road where there are really nice houses like mansions but I'm not sure you are allowed up there unless you live up there so I haven't went up there. It's called Popular Grove Estates.