So you have an idea of what you are looking for, but now you need to know where to look. There are probably several lots within your local area you could check out, also maybe the classifieds section of the paper or Internet. There are several factors you should consider when making the decision where to purchase. If you are making a decision based primarily on cost, you will likely do best with purchasing from a private seller.
Private sellers will often list their vehicles below list prices you would find on a lot. Downside is, you don't get the piece of mind that comes with buying from a reputable dealership that offers a warranty. If you think you want to go through a private seller to purchase your new vehicle, I'd strongly suggest having your mechanic give it a thorough examination. If the seller has an issue with this, that's usually a good indicator there may be something wrong. While your mechanic has the vehicle on the lift, have them check for signs of body damage, like over spray from paint, or remnants of masking tape. Be sure to test drive the vehicle for a good thirty minutes on both highway and back roads. Keep an eye on the gauges as you go to make sure there is no evidence of a hidden problem.
Dealerships can help you with arranging financing, and in most cases, they have already detailed the vehicle and ran it through their shop to check and see if it needed any repairs. However, I'd still recommend taking the same steps you would if it were a private sale to ensure you are getting a good quality car. It is definitely possible that the mechanic who looked over your perspective purchase may have missed something, and it's best to clear up any issues before you sign paperwork. To get the best price here, you may have to work a little harder, but we'll cover negotiating with another entry.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Sunday, January 4, 2009
GET TOP DOLLAR! For your old car...
First and foremost, clean that old junker top to bottom, and inside and out. Sometimes you get so used to a car being less than clean that you don't even realize how dirty it is. Vacuum it, break out the armor all and the car polish. Clean it to the point where you reconsider selling it, then you'll know its ready for the market.
Next, you'll want to do a quick overall evaluation. Does the a/c work? Is there any major body damage? How about your states inspection laws? If it's in need of a new inspection, and it won't be too costly, consider inspecting it. Especially with older cars, these steps could not only increase the value substantially, they'll also make the vehicle stand out in the mind of perspective buyers when they mentally compare it to other cars they've looked at.
Now that you've got a nice older car, you need to figure out what it's worth. I'd recommend Kelly Blue Book, www.kbb.com, as a good resource for a starting point. Make sure to input all the information specific to your vehicle, everything that still works. If your car is in good shape, consider starting somewhere between the suggested private sale value and the suggested retail value. Remember, potential buyers will often try to negotiate down the price; rarely do they offer you more then what you're asking. The bottom line is don't shortchange your car. If it's clean and runs well, people will pay!
In addition to Kelly Blue Book, there are a number of other sources available to you for determining price. First, you could try your local paper to compare your figure with other similar vehicles listed by other sellers. Second, pick up the phone and call local dealerships to see if they have any cars on their lot like yours and, if so, what they are asking for them. Often times, if you call the car dealer for the brand you are trying to sell, most sales people will be happy to help you with establishing a value for your car. **CAUTION** They may try to suck you in by saying something like, "Just bring it down so we can have a look, " or, "We'll give you retail for it just stop by." Remember the example from my last post of why you're doing this in the first place, and avoid the lots until your ready.
Next, organize and write up your car's information. Get yourself some cheap signs or maybe some shoe polish. In my experience, the best way to do this also happens to be completely free, and very easy. This is the secret message you need to put on it to attract buyers. Go get a pen quick! Are you ready? "FOR SALE." I'd recommend putting the price on it. Also, use your computer and print out a description of the car. The description should have make, model, year and mileage. Next, list the maintenance information from everything you've done, any damage, or serious faults the car may have. Don't forget to put your telephone number on there somewhere.
Next, you need to make your car available to the largest number of perspective buyers. If you have a friend or relative that lives along a busy road, ask them if you can park it there for a few days. If you don't have access to a busy road and you live in a low crime area, consider a well lit parking area or a location where you've seen others leave their car when they are trying to sell it. Just be cautious if you choose one of these options because you do increase the risk of vandalism or possibly even theft.
If you don't get any interest after a few days, it's due to one of two things. Either you're asking too much and you need to reevaluate the value you came up with. Or you're simply not reaching enough potential buyers. Consider a cheap add in your local paper's classified section, or a website that will list your car, or even Ebay. I'll do some other research and try to add some potential websites to list your car on in the near future.
If you follow these tips you should be able to get top dollar for your car, and have an even better down payment if you're financing your new vehicle.
Good luck
YourCarBuddy
Next, you'll want to do a quick overall evaluation. Does the a/c work? Is there any major body damage? How about your states inspection laws? If it's in need of a new inspection, and it won't be too costly, consider inspecting it. Especially with older cars, these steps could not only increase the value substantially, they'll also make the vehicle stand out in the mind of perspective buyers when they mentally compare it to other cars they've looked at.
Now that you've got a nice older car, you need to figure out what it's worth. I'd recommend Kelly Blue Book, www.kbb.com, as a good resource for a starting point. Make sure to input all the information specific to your vehicle, everything that still works. If your car is in good shape, consider starting somewhere between the suggested private sale value and the suggested retail value. Remember, potential buyers will often try to negotiate down the price; rarely do they offer you more then what you're asking. The bottom line is don't shortchange your car. If it's clean and runs well, people will pay!
In addition to Kelly Blue Book, there are a number of other sources available to you for determining price. First, you could try your local paper to compare your figure with other similar vehicles listed by other sellers. Second, pick up the phone and call local dealerships to see if they have any cars on their lot like yours and, if so, what they are asking for them. Often times, if you call the car dealer for the brand you are trying to sell, most sales people will be happy to help you with establishing a value for your car. **CAUTION** They may try to suck you in by saying something like, "Just bring it down so we can have a look, " or, "We'll give you retail for it just stop by." Remember the example from my last post of why you're doing this in the first place, and avoid the lots until your ready.
Next, organize and write up your car's information. Get yourself some cheap signs or maybe some shoe polish. In my experience, the best way to do this also happens to be completely free, and very easy. This is the secret message you need to put on it to attract buyers. Go get a pen quick! Are you ready? "FOR SALE." I'd recommend putting the price on it. Also, use your computer and print out a description of the car. The description should have make, model, year and mileage. Next, list the maintenance information from everything you've done, any damage, or serious faults the car may have. Don't forget to put your telephone number on there somewhere.
Next, you need to make your car available to the largest number of perspective buyers. If you have a friend or relative that lives along a busy road, ask them if you can park it there for a few days. If you don't have access to a busy road and you live in a low crime area, consider a well lit parking area or a location where you've seen others leave their car when they are trying to sell it. Just be cautious if you choose one of these options because you do increase the risk of vandalism or possibly even theft.
If you don't get any interest after a few days, it's due to one of two things. Either you're asking too much and you need to reevaluate the value you came up with. Or you're simply not reaching enough potential buyers. Consider a cheap add in your local paper's classified section, or a website that will list your car, or even Ebay. I'll do some other research and try to add some potential websites to list your car on in the near future.
If you follow these tips you should be able to get top dollar for your car, and have an even better down payment if you're financing your new vehicle.
Good luck
YourCarBuddy
Friday, January 2, 2009
Why you should sell your car privately
If you're wondering why private sale is the way to go with your old car, let me break it down for you. No matter how meticulously clean and well cared for you keep your car, no dealership is going to give you anywhere close to retail value for your car. Your sales person, or the manager at the dealership you're involved with doesn't care that you service your car regularly, nor does he care that the oil was changed every 3000 miles. All he cares about is what the car is worth in a wholesale cash number (Also referred to as ACV - actual cash value). He's going to make some calls to several wholesalers, or perhaps someone who may be interested in your car for their lot, or even put a figure on it to re-list on his own lot. This ACV figure you are getting could be thousands less than what you may be able to get by using one of many resources to sell the vehicle yourself through private sale.
The downside to this, of course, is you may end up short a vehicle for awhile. You need to decide whether the inconvenience is worth the savings to your checking account balance. You can probably find some good leads before you list your vehicle. But if you have a particular car in mind, it may be gone by the time you sell your vehicle. Perhaps you can carpool for awhile, or borrow an extra car from a family member. Whatever you can do could save big bucks.
Below is an example of how it happens every day in the car business.
Say the car your interested in is on the lot for $12,995
You've got a 12-year-old car with 140k miles on it. It runs well for its age so they offer you! $2000 for it. Sounds fair right?
$10,995 ends up being the bottom line.
But are they actually giving you $2000 for your car? NO!
For the average car I mentioned at the top of the example, the ACV would probably be somewhere in the $200-$700 range at best, so lets use $500. That's a pretty strong figure for ACV on a car that old with that many miles.
So they've actually discounted their car $1500.00 to make the difference and show you a figure you could live with for your old car. This is how it works. Trust me; I've worked for many dealerships throughout my life.
Lets review
$12,995 car price
- $ 1500 discount
- $ 500 ACV for your trade in
______
$10,995 ends up being your bottom line price
or....
$12,995 car price
- $ 1500 discount
- $ 1900 cash you got from selling your car privately
______
$9595 your bottom line now that you've sold your car privately!
This is an example of a very real scenario, and sometimes all it takes is a day and a can of shoe polish. We'll talk more about getting it sold next time.
YourCarBuddy
The downside to this, of course, is you may end up short a vehicle for awhile. You need to decide whether the inconvenience is worth the savings to your checking account balance. You can probably find some good leads before you list your vehicle. But if you have a particular car in mind, it may be gone by the time you sell your vehicle. Perhaps you can carpool for awhile, or borrow an extra car from a family member. Whatever you can do could save big bucks.
Below is an example of how it happens every day in the car business.
Say the car your interested in is on the lot for $12,995
You've got a 12-year-old car with 140k miles on it. It runs well for its age so they offer you! $2000 for it. Sounds fair right?
$10,995 ends up being the bottom line.
But are they actually giving you $2000 for your car? NO!
For the average car I mentioned at the top of the example, the ACV would probably be somewhere in the $200-$700 range at best, so lets use $500. That's a pretty strong figure for ACV on a car that old with that many miles.
So they've actually discounted their car $1500.00 to make the difference and show you a figure you could live with for your old car. This is how it works. Trust me; I've worked for many dealerships throughout my life.
Lets review
$12,995 car price
- $ 1500 discount
- $ 500 ACV for your trade in
______
$10,995 ends up being your bottom line price
or....
$12,995 car price
- $ 1500 discount
- $ 1900 cash you got from selling your car privately
______
$9595 your bottom line now that you've sold your car privately!
This is an example of a very real scenario, and sometimes all it takes is a day and a can of shoe polish. We'll talk more about getting it sold next time.
YourCarBuddy
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Buying a used vehicle - tips, tricks, and strategy
I know how difficult buying a used car can be, so I thought I would share some of my incite into this industry. Hopefully this helps you with buying your next used car. First things first. If you're in the market for a used car, there are several things that need to be considered before ever setting foot on the lot, pursuing the net, or the classifieds of your local paper.
1. Will you be buying on credit or paying cash? If you are buying on credit have you checked the rates at your bank or credit union? If you have, are there any stipulations based on model year? Will the term length suite your payment budget? Either way, make sure you allow room in your budget for applicable taxes, title work fees and tag.
2. Do you have a trade-in? If so, have you given thought to selling it privately? In the majority of situations, if selling your older vehicle privately is feasible you can make out considerably better off on the bottom line of the total transaction. I'll explain this in more detail later on.
3. A mistake that many car buyers make is going shopping for a car and not having a clue as to what they're truly looking for. This is how many people find themselves getting pushed into a vehicle and regretting it down the road. What I would recommend on this topic is to define what is most important to you. By this I mean things like - style, make, fuel efficiency, transmission type, mileage, features and options.
Style
two-door or four-door?
sporty or conservative?
Make
sedan, truck, or SUV?
Efficiency
economic or powerful?
Transmission
manual or automatic?
Mileage
lower mileage = potential for greater longevity
higher mileage = lower initial cost
Features & Options
power options
cruise control, etc
Don't over-define these. What you don't want to do is narrow yourself down to an exact car. If you do this you will usually end up disappointing yourself. An example of what I mean by this is, "I want a black Nissan Altima with 45,000 miles, leather interior, sunroof, alloy wheels and heated seats." Often that car won't be available in your local market. You end up driving 60 miles to see the only one you can find and you've just wasted half of your day because it's a piece of junk! Some examples of what would be more realistic would be, "I want a foreign car that's roomy and stylish with less than 80k miles. I think I want a darker color and I'd prefer to have a sunroof," or, "What I want to look for is a domestic truck with good towing capacity and an extended cab. I don't need four wheel drive but would like to get something with lower miles." These are just examples, but in thinking along these lines you can get a pretty good idea and effectively whittle your search down to perhaps 10% of a dealerships inventory rather than wondering around aimlessly once you arrive at a lot.
Hopefully this will help you get started. There's plenty more to come. I will be blogging frequently and in more detail on this subject. Until next time, I wish you the best and good luck!
Sincerely
YourCarBuddy
1. Will you be buying on credit or paying cash? If you are buying on credit have you checked the rates at your bank or credit union? If you have, are there any stipulations based on model year? Will the term length suite your payment budget? Either way, make sure you allow room in your budget for applicable taxes, title work fees and tag.
2. Do you have a trade-in? If so, have you given thought to selling it privately? In the majority of situations, if selling your older vehicle privately is feasible you can make out considerably better off on the bottom line of the total transaction. I'll explain this in more detail later on.
3. A mistake that many car buyers make is going shopping for a car and not having a clue as to what they're truly looking for. This is how many people find themselves getting pushed into a vehicle and regretting it down the road. What I would recommend on this topic is to define what is most important to you. By this I mean things like - style, make, fuel efficiency, transmission type, mileage, features and options.
Style
two-door or four-door?
sporty or conservative?
Make
sedan, truck, or SUV?
Efficiency
economic or powerful?
Transmission
manual or automatic?
Mileage
lower mileage = potential for greater longevity
higher mileage = lower initial cost
Features & Options
power options
cruise control, etc
Don't over-define these. What you don't want to do is narrow yourself down to an exact car. If you do this you will usually end up disappointing yourself. An example of what I mean by this is, "I want a black Nissan Altima with 45,000 miles, leather interior, sunroof, alloy wheels and heated seats." Often that car won't be available in your local market. You end up driving 60 miles to see the only one you can find and you've just wasted half of your day because it's a piece of junk! Some examples of what would be more realistic would be, "I want a foreign car that's roomy and stylish with less than 80k miles. I think I want a darker color and I'd prefer to have a sunroof," or, "What I want to look for is a domestic truck with good towing capacity and an extended cab. I don't need four wheel drive but would like to get something with lower miles." These are just examples, but in thinking along these lines you can get a pretty good idea and effectively whittle your search down to perhaps 10% of a dealerships inventory rather than wondering around aimlessly once you arrive at a lot.
Hopefully this will help you get started. There's plenty more to come. I will be blogging frequently and in more detail on this subject. Until next time, I wish you the best and good luck!
Sincerely
YourCarBuddy
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