subject: How To Buy A Used Car And Get A Good Deal [print this page] How To Buy A Used Car And Get A Good Deal
It isn't difficult to learn how to buy a used car if you are prepared before you go to the dealership. There are some simple guidelines that can make the difference between finding a car you can drive for years or finding one that becomes a problem.I was a car salesman for 8 years and I can tell you that not every car salesman is dishonest. There are people in the car business who you can trust to help you get the most for your used car dollar. In my experience as a car salesman, I learned many invaluable lessons that have helped me to know how to purchase any used product and what to look for to make sure that I don't get taken for a ride.Listed here are a few simple tips that can help you make a good buying decision when looking for the right car to spend your hard-earned money on.1. Narrow down your choices to 1 or 2 models that you are going to be happy with before you start shopping.One of the best places to begin your research about used cars is at consumer sites like J.D. Powers. This site is probably my favorite place to evaluate the reliability ratings of every brand of car sold in America. Here you can find out quickly and reliably which auto manufacturers make the longest lasting cars sold. If you are going to buy used, you want to know the track record of the make and model you are considering. There is no better place than J.D. Powers.2. Know what the fair market value of the car is before you go to buy and know what you are willing to spend.Another great place to research is at Auto Trader. Go online to Auto Trader and do a 100 to 200 mile radius search of the exact model you are interested in. At the bottom of that page you will see the highest price, lowest price and the average price of the car you are interested in. This will give you a very good feel for the price you can expect to pay for that car and enable you to be prepared when negotiating.3. Shop by referral only.Ask your friends for referrals. They will give them to you if they have had a good experience somewhere. If you can't find anyone to give you a referral, then call the dealership. Ask the receptionist who she would send her best friend to at the dealership to buy a car. If that doesn't work, ask for a manager and tell him you only want to work with him or at the very least his most highly recommended sales person. If he is a good manager he will make sure you get treated well and he will spare you the runaround that so many people get at a dealership.These 3 things alone will make you a more sophisticated car shopper than 95% of the people walking onto a car lot to buy a car. Good luck and hopefully you know more than you did before about how to buy a used car.
