Used cars for sale near Des Moines, IA under $12,000

We bought a hail damaged car that is hard to see the damage and our daughter has been very happy with her new car.

My wife and I bought a 2019 Jeep Renegade as our first major purchase together about 5 years ago. In that time we have fallen utterly in love with this car and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for something compact that still feels roomie inside. As a nanny, I love that the back seat can fit 2 car seats and a booster with enough elbow room that the kiddos arent in each others' space while still being close enough to the drivers seat for me to hand back snacks and take their trash when they're done. The entertainment center is far from flawless but once you get connected to it and everything set the way you want, its awesome! I love having google maps pulled up on the screen with my music/podcast/audiobook next to it.

Website makes it easy to shop for a vehicle and I was able to decide on a vehicle to go look at and text drive

Interior is wonderful, love everything about this vehicle. Drives great, looks great, and was very affordable. I just feel very safe in this vehicle and I love it.

I’ve always been a huge fan of Camaros. I had been in the market for a couple of years, lo and behold this Camaro became available. From the moment that I saw its sleek style to the first time I sat in the drivers seat that just seems to wrap around me up to when I fired it up and felt the horses run on this powerful V6 engine, I fell in love. This car fits me well. The throttle response is unbelievable. Steering is nothing short of effortless. The exhaust tone gives me a reason to turn off the stereo. As the the commercial from the 70’s says… Try it, you’ll like it!

Worked with Andrew Fisher, excellent experience! Highly recommend! The whole staff was amazing and kind!

This car was the most reliable car I have ever owned. have had a number of new and used cars, I found the Mercury Milan to have great styling, handled beautifully, and never broke down. I always wonder why they stopped making this model.

I worked with a lot of good people and got a vehicle on payments and I got a 2011 Ford fiesta and the sales people there are awesome I think one guy name is Augie I believe he was a really good salesperson there so was the salesperson of Alexander I enjoy my vehicle that I just got for low payments. They did a good job

Now have 110,000 miles on vehicle and had to pay out 1800 on some mechanical parts. For the most part my 2014 Jeep Patriot has been pretty good. Great in snow.

We have now purchased two cars from Moss Motors. One for each of my daughters. The one car over 5 years ago and another just last weekend. I have nothing but good things to say about these guys. They are not hard sell and they work with you in anyway that they can. You will NOT be buying a new or certified car. What you will get is a nice newer car probably with a lot of miles on it but still in good shape. I WILL be bringing my business back to them in the future

Brittany was awesome at selling me my vehicle & the Vehicle is an nice size for me & baby , it’s so comfortable and cozy while driving just don’t like that I have to roll the window down by hand

Very helpful personnel. Dealership a little difficult to get in to and parking was limited. Good selection of vehicles in the price range I was interested in.

I have owned a Kia Forte for 7 years now. My husband and I love it! We do regular oil changes and maintenance, and keep the car in the garage. At almost 60,000 miles it needed new tires and brakes, but that's not a big surprise. We LOVE the performance of this car -- the turbo function makes it fun to drive and great for passing. It's compact enough that we can park anywhere. And the hatchback is surprisingly large! We ended up selling our Toyota Camry and keeping our Kia because the Kia is a workhorse that hauled furniture and boxes for my husband's business. Way more room than the Camry when we needed to haul things or take our electric bikes on an adventure.

Great group of guys. They stand by the product and really help you get what the vehicle that you want.

I have had my 2002 SXT Durango for 17 years with 165,00.00 miles on it and this baby is the vehicle I've owned, Living in Colorado you need four wheel drive this Durango is dominator in the snow. it still runs strong and does well at altitude. When the motor goes in it I will just put another motor in it. It's in great shape and I have replaced a lot of things on it, just maintaining.

My Dad has bought 4 cars from Toms before he over he passed away. I myself have bought at least 2 as far as I am concerned Toms auto is the only place to go for a Used car! So, as you can see, we have never been disappointed. This car I bought 3 days ago is the best yet! I had a saleperson that was great! Tom Phan thank you for all your help I sure do appreciate all your help and kindness!

I had a head-on collision with my 2013 Nissan Pathfinder Platinum going 60-65 mph. The entire engine compartment is gnarly; the engine is upside down and backwards, but nothing from under the front hood entered the vehicle. A law enforcement officer told me how surprised he was and said that if I plan to buy another vehicle, I should buy a Nissan Pathfinder because he had never seen so much damage to a vehicle without the driver un-injured.

I've only owned this car since January 31, 2025. Bought it used from a small dealer in Tennessee with 136,652 miles on it. I bought it because I moved to Tennessee and will be starting a new job soon, so I needed a reliable car to get to/from work. I've always had Hondas; this is my first Toyota, and has not let me down so far. It's comfortable, fun to drive, starts right up every time and you can shift the transmission manually for more fun. All I've had to do to it so far is oil change and replace tie rod ends. I always look forward to driving it. I love the styling of the SE trim, it has the 4 cylinder engine. Only thing I'm going to need to do to it soon is tires. I gave it 4 stars for performance cause the 6 speed transmission seems to lag a bit unless you use manual shift mode and it seems to want to shift into 6th gear too soon. Other than that, I love this car!

Tom was great to work with. All staff was very nice. I would recommend to anyone looking for a great vehicle. I will be a return customer; )

2007 Silverado 1500 engine 5.3 runs great 150k miles exterior rocker panels have rotted out cab corners also! Have had oil change every 3000 miles burn's no oil ride's great yet.

Joe was my go-to guy at one of the lots where this vehicle I was interested in is they have four lots in Des Moines. It's always wanting to come up there and have the vehicle taken to another shop nearby and pay to have it inspected so I can find out what it needs and decide if I wanted this still purchase it with whatever it needed and that was no problem but they wanted me to fill out the credit app online and that was cool and Danny but there's no reason to pull a hard hard copy of my credit report if I'm coming up to go look at the vehicle because if there's more things that need to be done to where then I want to put into it I probably wouldn't do the deal and I'd have a hard thing on my credit report that I wouldn't be able to get taken off so other than that them telling me to go do that even though they knew I wanted to get it checked first was my only irritation. But something came up and I had to register another vehicle that I have in my personal access right now so I may have to wait a couple months before I want to go up there and do that but my job allows me to travel all over so I might get to go up there if I can this month and check out the vehicle to see if it's something that I really really want before someone else gets it so yes Joe I appreciate you working with me and look forward to consuming this business transaction soon. Crazy from Energy Illinois

It has 3 usb ports. The ride is great but it's a crossover so can be bumpy like any Suv but not as much as most. The seats are leather, they all recline even the rear seats do. This car has lots of power!!. It's a v6 engine and it's gives you all the power you need for climbing hills, passing and more!!. This car has never left me stranded not one time. This had been a great car for me and it has a good looking body style too. All the windows are tinted but the rear windows have a good dark tint and it's not easy to see inside. The driver and passenger window are not as dark. Sunroof moonroof that opens rear panorama roof that does not open. In the very rear trunk area there is a car lighter plug for charging purposes and in the front there are two other locations of the same thing plus one USB port maybe two.

After shopping at few dealers, this was our first and last stop. we were approached by Mohammad Ali and transaction was very smooth from beginning to end. It was a great experience shopping at CAR CITY for the service we received. I will recommend this place and Mr. Ali to any one!!

This is the second 2009 Ford focus SE that I’ve owned. The first one had 147,000 miles on it with nothing needed but regular items. Tires, battery, regular oil changes at 5000 mile intervals and never used any oil between changes. If I kept my foot out of it, I got 38 to 41 miles mpg, if I pushed it I still got 35 at 80 mph. This one has 79,000 miles on it and I have not done anything but tires. It’s nearly as clean as off the showroom floor, as I keep my cars clean. I am very happy with this car. Depreciation is so low now, insurance is low, no payments with interest, make this an exceptionally cheap car to own. Reability has been second to none for me. Highly recommended but very hard to find a nice one with a regular maintenance performed and no rust. You can’t go wrong with the value of this car, great commuter car or for a new teenage driver. It’s rated safe. It’s also very comfortable to drive for a whole day.

They went above and beyond helping me get approved to get a vehicle. They never gave up like other dealerships. I'm very grateful for everything they did. The vehicle I purchased is absolutely wonderful! Thank you guys again.

It's a small but not tiny. It sort of roomier in the front but tighter in the rear seats. My model is the 2 doors coupe ex, with stick shift, it came well equipped with all the bells and whistles. Is good on gas and fun to drive. It's not incredible peppy but is fast and strong, and there's a lot of ways you can customize it with. Hondas have always been known for reliability, and this car won't disappoint you, it has 140k miles on it and stills runs like it was new. I got a really good deal from the dealer I bought it from, and they're pretty good overall. I would definitely buy from this place again!

I sent a request for availability of one of their cars via cars.com. I did receive a prompt email reply. However, I didn't proceed any further.

Still have one with 193,000 miles . Cha ge your trans fluid and keep that baby running . No major issues just usual wear and tear from my experience if I didnt need to drive as much I would still use it to commute tonwork and back and errands with no issues but any car with so many miles should start thinking of retirement and take jt easy fir the rest of its life 😊

Happy with the car . Have all the safely and I really like the way it drive . Easy to park on the street .

Had been shopping for another brand but when I test drove this car I fell in love. It was quiet, smooth driving and riding. Price was right for me.

I bought my Equinox new off the lot in 2015 to be my winter driving car. I’ve had it for 10 years, and have driven it 60 miles round-trip in some of the worst winter weather in the lower 48 states. The Equinox held the road well on ice, in slush, and in deep snow on days that I was on the road before the snow plows. It has always been reliable and has never left me stranded. I’ve had no major issues in over 107,000 miles. I appreciate the cargo space which is much better than the newer models. I regularly recommend Equinoxes to my friends and family.

Very knowledgeable and fair. I went to about 10 different places to drive cars and I could tell they knew more about the cars they were selling than anyone else I talked to. They will be my first stop any time I shop for a car in the future.

For buying a used car a manual 6speed at that, I would recommend this car if it has been taken care of like mine. Most definitely.

I've looked at their inventory for years and know the team over at Performance Auto. I recently purchased an Acura MDX from them and the car was spotless, despite over 135k miles! They put unbelievable care into making sure everything on the vehicle was up to standard. They have a great variety of import inventory. If you are looking for a Honda, Acura, Lexus, Toyota, or specialty Subaru, Sean and Brian are your guys. They were super responsive and easy to work with and I got a great deal!

I had all the major USA manufacturers of 1/2 ton trucks, they were all junk. Rust was a huge problem, granted I live in the rust belt, but my Ram truck was rusting before the first 4 years of it's life with body rot, but because that rot didn't go all the way through the warranty would not cover it, it eventually did rot through about a year after the warranty expired; the Ford the frame rotted the worse followed by the body, the frame got so bad in just 10 years the vehicle had to be junked; the Chevy had a lot of body rot too but started about 4 years after the Ram did; all their transmissions failed within 110,000 miles. Numerous repairs starting about 60,000 miles. Now the my 5.7 flex fuel double cab Tundra SR5 4X4 is 15 years old and not a spot of rust, it has 118,000 miles and not one single repair. Maintenance cost about $340 a year for 2 oil changes and whatever other maintenance stuff comes up due to the mileage. It is the most comfortable riding truck I've ever owned but in all fairness all trucks have been improving their ride quality over the years. Performance is the best of any truck I've had by a lot; the MPG is also better than any truck I had before, my worse MPG I had was the Ford that got 6 mpg towing, otherwise it was 10 in the city and 14 on the highway, the Tundra in comparison gets 12 while towing, 16 in the city and 20 to 21 highway. The SR5 is a pretty much a basic pickup with very little in options, so the interior is not grandiose, but it's a truck not a limousine! The radio/CD player and speakers are also just the base stuff, so the sound is ok. Even though the interior is the low end stuff it's holding up extremely well, there is no wear showing on the seats or anywhere else. The exterior trim parts are all holding up extremely well. While Toyota Tundra does cost more in the used market, and that's because of their known reliability, it is more than worth the extra price I had to pay, it also means that if I sell the truck I'll get more for it. I use the truck for my business, and for hauling my RV trailer, and my friend's boat when we go fishing.