Used Car Shopping

Buying Really Cheap Used Cars Of Quality

Knowing the ins and outs of buying really good cheap used cars is sooooo important! Nowhere will you be taken advantage of more often and for more money then when you purchase a vehicle from a dealership. For the most part, there are no good deals on a new car.

The good news, we're going to share with you used car shopping strategies that we've successfully used for years that will enable you to save a great deal of money when buying a used car.

Avoid Dealer Rip-Offs When Used Car Shopping

• Dealer bluebook. Don't fall for the phony dealer bluebooks. Some dealers carry their own version of the bluebook which list prices that are several hundreds of dollars higher than the car's actual value.
• Back end charges. You will save yourself a great deal of heartache with your used car shopping by avoiding the dealership's back-end loads. This occurs after you've cut a deal for the vehicle with the dealership's salesperson.

  What will happen, is the dealer will have you sit down in their hotbox, which is the dealership's finance department. At this point, they will get you to try and buy credit life and disability insurance, an extended warranty and market an inflated interest rate for your monthly payments.

  Trust us, having substantial work experience having had to work with these finance and insurance managers at several dealerships, you will want to avoid these back-end rip-offs at all costs. They are extremely expensive and basically worthless.

  Credit life insurance is supposed to pay off your car loan in the event of death and credit disability insurance is supposed to pay a limited number of monthly payments if you become disabled. Basically, you'll receive poor or negligible coverage at outrageous rates.

  You really don't need it. Your regular auto and health insurance will help with your financial burdens should you become disabled in a car accident and your regular life insurance is a much cheaper and better way to pay off debts should you pass on.

  Dealers push these rip-off products on people because they make huge profit margins. For instance, a decent finance manager will make at least $10,000 a month selling people these products.

Buy A Used Car That Still Has A Warranty For Huge Savings

A new car depreciates by 20% as soon as you drive if off the lot. So, if you bought new, your $25,000 car drops in value by $5,000 right off the bat. The average car will actually lose about 50% of its value in its first 2 years. So your $25,000 new vehicle will be worth half that amount 2 years down the road.

While used car shopping, you'll want to buy a 2 year old used car that has already taken a 50% depreciation hit by someone else who purchased it new. In this example, you would pay about $12,500 for the vehicle and still have a manufacturers warranty to boot. We've purchased all our cars this way and saved a great deal of money.

Some people prefer to buy new over used because they want to avoid buying a used car inheriting someone else’s trouble. But, when you buy a 2 year old vehicle, you are usually buying one where the original owner spent their first year or so having had the dealership get the bugs out of the car so you won't have to.

Used Car Shopping Vehicle Financing

That being said, many people do not have this luxury when doing their used car shopping. If you need to finance, you do not want to get a car loan that exceeds 36 months. In fact, try and keep the term of your loan as short as possible.

The longer the term of your car loan, the greater the percentage of your car payments (especially earlier on in the payment cycle) that will go to interest and not the principal balance to pay down your loan.

Not only will you be spending more money with a longer term loan, but you can really be in for a big disappointment should you get into a car accident and totally wreck it.

If you have a total car loss, your insurance company only has to pay for what your car is worth, or its value. They don't have to pay for the balance you owe on your car loan.

For instance, your car is valued at $10,000 and you owe a total balance of $15,000 to the bank for your car loan because you took out a 60 month loan. You get into a bad accident and your car is deemed a total loss - can't be repaired.

What will happen is the insurance company will pay the $10,000 to the bank, leaving you still owing $5,000 on the car loan. The bank will come after you or the $5,000. So, you owe $5,000 on a car that you’re no longer driving. Uggh..

The solution is to have the term of you car loan as short as possible, with 36 months being the maximum term. This will enable you to pay off your loan faster than your car is depreciating in value.

When used car shopping, you will also want to avoid financing your car at the dealership. Many times the dealership’s finance manager will charge you 1 to 3% or more for interest on your car loan than you would have had to pay if you had gotten the loan directly from your bank, credit union, or on-line financing you can secure yourself.

Don't forget to run your credit report before you apply for a loan. You want to make sure your credit is being reported right and if not, you can get it corrected to avoid paying higher interest on your auto loan.

Online Used Car Shopping

Next, you can examine the online Kelly blue book to know what the used car is worth and whether or not that cost will fit into your budget.

Speaking of budgets, if you're not paying all cash, you'll want to figure out how much you’re willing to pay monthly for a vehicle factoring in your down payment.

Two of the best used car shopping online sites for used cars are Autotrader.com and Cars.com. With Autotrader.com, you can search using their filters which include make, model, color, body style, doors, engine, fuel, drive type, transmission, year, price and distance from where you live.

Cars.com filters include vehicle type, make, model, year, price, and distance from where you live.

The big advantage is you can search for the exact vehicle you want without spending time and gas running around to shop at various dealerships. And, when you find your ideal vehicle, you know exactly what the price range of that auto is to prevent you from getting ripped off once you visit the dealership.

Car Reviews - Used Car Shopping

You can also check out JDPower's. This site is also an excellent auto review source. They'll compare and rank used cars by dependability and you can get specific reviews on the vehicle your interested in.

Another great feature you'll enjoy with JDPowers' when used car shopping is they go into great detail about vehicle features "and" they discuss the vehicle's competitors and how the car you’re reviewing matches up against those competitors. This sight will really help you make an informed decision.

Car Inspection When Used Car Shopping

Before taking the time to self inspect the vehicle you’re interested in, run a used car history check on the vehicle using Carfax.com. When we thought we were getting a great deal on a used car we found on-line, we ran a carfax check. We found out the vehicle had been in 2 accidents - not good.

You'll find the history report will reveal accident history, odometer readings, whether or not the auto has a clear title and a slew of other information.

Be sure to take a close look at ownership history. We found 1 used car to have been a rental car and ran away as fast as we could because rental cars are generally driven harder because they're rented and not owned.

Items to bring for your inspection include a flashlight, a small magnet, a tire wear gauge, a notepad and pen.

• Always inspect the vehicle during the day
• Don't feel rushed. Take your time doing the inspection
• Don't be afraid to ask the seller to help or show you something

• Car Body

  Are the seams where the doors and fenders meet look even and straight?

  Check the seams where the hood and trunk meet the fenders as well.

  Are all the body panels the same color?

  Does a magnet cling to all the steel body panels, hood, trunk, doors. If it doesn't cling, then there was probably filler repair work done on the body.

  Check the edges of the doors, inside the hood and trunk to make sure they're all the same color. If not, the vehicle was repainted due to an accident or rust.

• Suspension

  Bounce each corner of the vehicle. Corners should only bounce once or twice before stopping.

  Do you here a metal on metal or cracking noise when you bounce the corners?

  Does the vehicle appear to sit level?

• Tires

  Are the tires all the same brand?

  Do all the tires have the same amount of tread ware? If not, could be an alignment problem or tires were not rotated properly.

  Is there a spare tire, tire wrench and a jack? Is the spare inflated?

• Accessories

  Does AC and heater work?

  Windows work?

  Radio/CD work?

  Seats work? Test power seats and tilt

  Car alarm work?

  Wipers work?

  All interior and exterior lights work?

  Turning signals and hazard light work?

  Dash light up?

• Vehicle Interior

  Carpet in good condition? Check for stains, burns

  Dashboard in good condition?

  Headliner in good condition?

  Are the seats comfortable? Have plenty of room?

  Does the car smell? May be signs of water, mildew damage

  Check the dash where it meets the top of the carpet. Are there stains meaning possible heater core or AC damage?

• Vehicle Frame

  Look at the row of holes underneath the sides of the vehicle. Are the holes scratched, recently cleaned? If yes, the frame was probably straightened following an accident.

  Look inside the trunk and hood and underneath the wheel wells. If you see what looks like straightened out crumpled up metal vehicle, then the vehicle was probably in an accident.

• Engine

  Signs of leaks?

  Engine dirty?

  Run engine until warm. Abnormal smells?

  Unusual noises like metal on metal sounds, hissing.

  Look for new parts indicating replacement. Ask what happened.

• Check for leaks

  Under vehicle, see any leaks? Puddles of fluid on the ground after running the engine. Go to clean pavement to check.

• Test drive the vehicle

  Drive on a straight road. Does the car pull to the left or right suggesting alignment problems, tire inflation issues, etc.

  Brakes. Put the brakes on and gently left off the steering wheel. Does the car pull left or right?

  Take the car up to a higher speed and hit the brakes hard. Does the vehicle pull to one side when the brake is applied?

  Do the brakes stop the vehicle properly?

  If vehicle has ABS (anti locking brakes), a pulsing brake pedal is normal when applying brakes hard coming off a faster speed.

  Does the parking brake hold firmly and release properly?

  Handling. Comfortable drive and view?

  Good steering responsiveness when make long and short turns?

  Transmission. Shift easy? Car engages properly in different gears?

  Blind Spots. Check for blind spots while driving and parking the car.

  Engine Performance.

  Start easy?

  Stall?

  Hesitate when accelerate from a stop?

  Idle smoothly?

  Have power or lack of it?

Used Car Shopping Negotiating Tips

Once you've found the car you want, got your financing lined up, and inspected the vehicle, it's time to negotiate with the dealer. At this point, you're a used car shopping icon also armed with knowing what the price range of the car is worth.

First, you don't want to fall for the dealer's monthly payment game. Typically, the dealer will ask you something to the effect of what price range would you like to have your monthly payments at. If you answer with a number, this opens the door for the dealer to try and put you in a more expensive car, increase options or give you long term financing.

To avoid this scam, you can ask "what is the bottom line price for this particular vehicle?" More than likely, the dealer will not offer you the bottom price range of the car. At this point, with a surprised look on your face, you ask, "is that the best you can do?"

If the dealer replies, yes, then you can tell them you've done your research and you know this car is valued at $$$(provide the bottom price range value or less) and I can't see overpaying for this when I can shop elsewhere.

Wait for the dealer’s response. If they play hardball with the pricing, then you can tell the them that you're in no hurry and you know you're going to get the car for the $$$ you indicated. Then ask again, while standing up heading for the door: "so, is that really the best you can do?"

The dealer doesn't want to see you heading out the door. They're watching a sale go out the window. So, at this point, if you’re working with a smart dealer, they'll negotiate down the price to your range. If not, leave them with your contact number, thank them for their time and walk out the door.

You will get that car in the price range you're looking for. Sometimes we've hit up to 3 dealerships; sometimes 1 and got what we wanted for our ideal car. We've also had dealers where we walked out the door call us back offering the pricing we were looking for.

Oh, and don't forget, if you found a better price at another dealership on-line, let the dealer know and push them to beat that price.

Buying a car is a big expenditure, so if you're a little patient, you'll do fine and save a great deal of money.

Used Car Shopping Auto Insurance

You'll want to make sure you call the insurance company and check the rates for the cars you're looking at. You don't want to find out that the insurance rates for that vehicle are exceedingly high after you’ve already spent time hunting down, inspecting and negotiating pricing.

Used Car Shopping Summary

We're happy to have shared these used car shopping strategies with you. We're confident that you'll benefit from these tips as we have over the years.

Happy Car Hunting!





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