Best Used Car Buying Tips…

Regardless of the price of gas today, most of us need to be able to buy reliable transportation at a reasonable price when we need it. When it comes time to look for good deals on cars, trucks, or SUVs, it pays to have a plan, starting with knowing what you need and what your financial limitations may be.

Let’s run through a few common sense tips that can help you get a good deal, no matter what type of vehicle you want. If you are a first time buyer looking for basic transportation, or are a seasoned veteran looking for a replacement for an older car that no longer suits your needs, work out your budget first. Determine how much car you can afford, either as a lump sum written from your checkbook or as a monthly payment to pay down a loan.

Include in your quest, the search for insurance as well. You will almost always pay less if you can buy a car outright, without taking out a loan and paying interest.  Decide which type of vehicle you need. While many cars can be used for the daily commute, some are ideal while others come with drawbacks. Consider fuel efficiency and safety no matter how you plan to use the vehicle. Of the abundance of outlets to shop for a used car, consider the private seller as an option for getting a good deal. Most folks are honest and don’t have quotas or commissions to worry about.

A used car lot offers a larger choice in one location; as long as you already know the value of the vehicle you need and are prepared to ask the right questions. Check the Kelly Blue Book or other resources to determine the fair market value of any vehicle you are considering. The fair market value is the price that a casual buyer would pay and an interested casual seller would accept for the object at hand. Once you have picked a potential candidate in your price range that is for sale for close to the fair market value, it’s time to inspect the vehicle.

Record the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) and the mileage and have it checked in CARFAX to obtain the vehicle’s history of serious damage or problems. There are numerous checklists online to use for the visual inspection for tell-tale wear, leaks, corrosion or other damage.  Somewhere in your evaluation process, the test drive should happen, and to maximize your assessment of the vehicle, you should have a mechanic check it. Armed with the printout of the vehicle’s fair market value, mileage, CARFAX and mechanic’s reports, your visual examination and test drive impressions, you are now ready to discuss the price with the seller.  

Whether you are considering a purchase from a private seller or a sales associate on a car lot, the better informed you are, the better you are going to fare in the negotiations. If the seller is asking more than you feel the vehicle is worth, based on your evaluation, enumerate the discrepancies that you found, the dollar difference those discrepancies may represent, and propose a counter-offer that takes those issues into consideration. Making things easier for shoppers is the used car superstore. These used car dealers eliminate the need for negotiating lower prices by providing low, no haggle pricing which helps improve the overall experience.

To strengthen your position, it can be helpful to have the reports and final negotiated price of at least one other vehicle that you have similarly evaluated to use as leverage. It is not usually necessary to play this level of “hard ball” with a private seller, but, on the other hand, sales associates sometimes require a little more persuasion. 

With the vehicle you have chosen as “the one” idling seductively in front of you, and you being so tempted to sign the deal, remember your prime directive, “Stick to your budget.” If you can’t swing the deal, walk away and shop another day. Or, pretend to walk away and see if the Assistant Sales Manager caves in.

Unlike the new car market, used car sales do not have a ceiling on how much profit the sales crew can take. Know the value of the car and don’t let them sock it to you. Don’t forget the hidden costs of auto insurance, DMV fees, sales tax, and more. Today in the automobile sales environment, with economics forcing dealer closures, it is a buyer’s market with deals out there for the asking.

Don’t buy the first Escalade with those spinning rims that you like.

With so many research and review tools available, what are you doing to make buying a used car easier? Share your experiences…

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