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