Buying a Used Car
If it came down to it I’m sure we’d all want to go out and buy a brand new version of our favorite automobile. However, as many of us have found, this isn’t the most cost effective way to get that car that you’ve always wanted. That’s why thousands of consumers have decided to buy used vehicles. Along with this growth in sales of used vehicles has come a surge of scams that have stolen millions of dollars from buyers. This article will provide some basic tips as well as some links that will help you make the right decision.
The first step to buying any car is to log on to the Internet and do some searching. Decide what brand of car you are interested in and log onto their website. Most car manufactures have a design and build feature that allows you to create a custom automobile that fits your standards. The problem with these new cars is that, well, they cost full price. Write down your selections. Include brand, make, and any other extras that you are interested in. Make sure that you write down prices for the different add on packages that may be available as well as the manufacture’s suggested retail price (MSRP) for the base car. This can help you accurately calculate the price of a car that you are looking for. Also, when buying a used car it’s important to think about depreciation. I’ll get to this later. For now let’s concentrate on basic research.
Before we go any further I’m going to say a few words about avoiding scams. Let me say that I wouldn’t recommend buying a car over the Internet. This includes auction sites and online dealers. I say this because there are too many scammers out there who are just waiting for you to log on and try to buy their car. Many of these scams revolve around fake escrow services that consumers use to pay for the cars. Every month hundreds of new scammers create IDs on auction and car selling sites and advertise their “car” for sale. When you go to buy it they ask you to put the money in escrow. Typically the scammer built the site, and they basically take your money and leave you in the dust. For an interesting and in depth article on this please click here†. I have heard too many horror stories about consumers getting ripped off online to feel safe doing it myself. So, if you like living dangerously take the risk, but if you’re more like me only shop in your area. I guarantee that you’ll be safer if you stay local.
This leads to another topic. Where should you buy locally? You have two choices. You can buy from a dealer or you can buy from an individual selling their car. As far as dealers go it isn’t smart to buy from just anyone. My suggestion here is to log onto www.metroinfo.com. At this website you’ll find dealers who are reputable and follow strict business ethics. Metroinfo insures this by carrying out thorough history and background checks and by conducting continuous spot audits that check up on businesses and makes sure they are adhering to Metroinfo.com business ethics. These include covering used cars with a warranty, being honest with consumers, and providing courteous sales service to potential buyers. When you buy your used car stick to these dealers for best results. It probably isn’t a good idea to buy a used car off of the side of the road. There are too many things that could go wrong, and without a warranty you’d be left out in the cold.
There are many places on the Internet that consumers can use to find cars, buy cars, and even get loans to purchase cars. It is important to utilize some of these tools, but for the most part consumers will have the best luck using local service providers. However, there is one Internet source that I find helpful. Use these two sites www.cars.com or www.car.com when you first start searching for your car. Fill out the form and search for the car that you are interested in. After the search results have popped up try to find the car that best matches your price range. Open the page on this vehicle and read what exact features it has as well as the mileage that the vehicle has. These pages are handy for finding what prices are though out the dealer community for specific options in a make of automobile. This information will come in handy when you go to look at local dealerships for the car that you are interested in. It will allow you to make sure that the price you are getting is fair and concurrent with market values.
The second Internet source that you may want to use is www.carfax.com. Many people suggest running a CarFax report on every used car that you are looking to purchase. However, after running a sample report myself I found that it might be a waste of your time. In my case the vehicle history was blotchy at best and only went up to 1999. This really doesn’t help the consumer out that much.
Tell the dealer that you’d like to have the car looked at by a mechanic. Now it’s time to log back onto www.metroinfo.com. Metroinfo listed mechanics will be able to provide a thorough check of any used vehicle.
When you’ve decided on which car you are going to buy it’s time to find a way to pay for it. Sometimes the best way to buy is with cash. By doing this you can avoid paying interest on a loan. However, most car buyers take out a loan that they pay back over time. Many online banks have begun offering loans through the Internet. However, they have some major setbacks. First off, you have to input all of your personal data into the loan forms. This includes your Social Security number and other financial information. There are two main problems with getting this kind of loan. The first is that there isn’t anyone for you to meet with. Typically at a local bank you have a loan representative who can help you through all the issues that you might have. This personalized service is not possible when you are dealing with an automated online bank. My second concern is with information security. Anyone who puts their personal information online is taking a risk. There are numerous techniques that hackers are now using to attack online databases, and no one is sure what identity theft pros are going to come up with in the future.
When it comes down to it buying any car it shouldn’t be about the money (unless you’re blatantly being taken advantage of). It’s important to think about the reasons that you are buying the car. You’re buying a car so that you can drive to work, go grocery shopping, and pick your children up from school. Having a car is about having transportation and having transportation is about being able to go where you want. What is the price tag for that? And lets say that you do buy your car from the Internet for $400 less; who are you going to fall back on if you have problems with your car? Lets analyze that decision. Most likely you are going to finance your car, which means you’ll be making a monthly payment. This means that by purchasing your car online you’ll be paying six dollars less a month. Paying six dollars a month for a local dealer who will help you out is worth it. What if your car has problems? I seriously doubt that an Internet dealer or a dealer that is 50 miles away is going to be able to help you out. For that six dollars a month you get a salesman in the dealership who is going to try and help you get your car running again so that you can do the things you need to get done. To me having that safety net seems well worth the extra six dollars a month.
By utilizing the Internet buying a used car can be easier than ever. The sources listed above can help you find the car that’s perfect for you and also help you find a trustworthy dealer who can get you a quality car. It’s important to remember with anything that if it seems to good to be true, then it probably isn’t true. If a car is priced far below market value it’s priced like that for a reason, so look at some other cars. Below is a quick checklist of things to do when you purchase your next car.
Log onto manufactures website to get MSRP's on cars you like.
Write down base prices as well as prices for additional add ons.
Log onto www.car.com or www.cars.com to check market prices.
Find a reputable local dealer by logging onto www.metroinfo.com
Go to dealers and look at cars. Be sure to get VIN's.
Make sure the dealer provides a warranty on used cars.
Log onto www.carfax.com to get a vehicle history report.
Use a www.metroinfo.com mechanic to inspect the car.
See if your local bank provides used car loans or go through the dealer finance dept.
IF IT'S TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, IT ISN'T TRUE
†This article is the property of www.auctionbytes.com
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