Used Car Buying Tips
My Blog has dozens/hundreds of tips to make buying a used car/truck less painful, less dangerous, and more satisfying . I’m going to give a general overview of these tips I cover. Let’s cover THE most important tips:
- Set a budget
- Do research about the car/truck
- Get a Blue Book price
- Shop smart
- Get a CarFax report on the car
- Inspect the car
- Test drive the car
- Mechanic inspects car
- Negotiate the final price
- Take possession of the car
Set a Budget
You need to be realistic as to how much you want to spend. If you’re paying cash then this money needs to be gathered and you might actually get $100 bills ready. If you’re going to finance your used car you need to get your FICO score.
Set up a “K” table:
- Under $5K
- $5K – 10K
- $10K – $15K
- $15K – $20K
- $20K – $30K
- $30K – $50K
- Over $50K
There are all kinds of trade-offs with price. The older the car the cheaper the used car, the more mileage on the car the cheaper the used car, the less equipment installed the cheaper the used car. It’s your hard earned cash, spend an hour or so and do some budget planning.
Do Research
Want to avoid lemons and turkeys? Want to know exactly what a used car is worth? Want to know how to do a proper test drive? Well you need to do research in these areas.
Many of the research sources can be found at your public library and are FREE. There’s a good chance that these sources are on the library’s website and a library card is still FREE.
Get a Blue Book Price
Blue Book is a generic term that simply means a website that actively keeps track of what car sales take place and the price paid. There are many variables that can change the price of a used car – some are easy to understand, like the odometer mileage, and some are hard to understand like the condition of a car – is it “Excellent” or “Average”?
Shop Smart
Walk into a used car showroom and buy a car that looks good is NOT being smart – that would be dumb. If you are reading my Blog you are smart and aren’t about to do something that dumb. There are all kinds of tips in my website to make you a smart buyer.
Get a CarFax report on the car
A CarFax report will keep you from buying a lemon or turkey – it will help you decide if you want a particular car, it is you MAIN guide when buying a used car.
Inspect the car
One of our checklists will have you doing a thorough inspection of the car. There is a key tool that you must bring with you as you inspect the car – forget that tool and you can get fooled.
Test Drive the car
Bring one of our checklists with you as you test drive that used car. If you leave out just one step it can come back and bite you in the butt later.
Mechanic Inspects the car
Have a mechanic look at the car – pay him $50 for his time and you will get an expert’s independent opinion.
Negotiate the Final Price
Haggling a price that is acceptable to both the buyer and seller is the goal of both parties. Never forget that you, the buyer, completely control this sale. Sure the slick salesreps talk a good game but you have the money and you are in control. Trouble is that most folks hate to haggle over prices and wind up paying a lot more than they should have if they just followed a few haggling tips we teach.
Take possession of the car
As simple as this sounds there are all kinds of questions as to license plates or temporary tags issued by the state. Insurance MUST start the instant you sign on the sales agreement – those little square pieces of paper, the Proof of Insurance ones, must be with you as you drive out.
Well this is just an overview of the complete buying process and a hint at the tips found on my website.
Eric Thor
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