Breaking News: How to Pay for a Car with Cash

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

How to Pay for a Car with Cash

Knowing how to buy a used car is not difficult. You don't need to know a lot about cars and what makes a car work. What you do need to know are some common sense tips that will help you avoid buying some other person's problem.

I sold cars for 8 years and I can tell you that not every salesman is a rip-off artist. There are people out there who you can trust to help you get the most for your used car dollar. Through selling cars myself, I have learned 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 ripped off.

Here are a few common sense tips to help you make a good buying decision when looking for the right car to spend your hard-earned money on.

1. Decide what make and models you will be happy with, before you go to the dealer.

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.

The internet has made it so easy to evaluate car values in today's market. Do your homework online at Auto Trader and also on Kelly Blue Book. These are 2 incredibly accurate resources for determining the value of used cars. On Auto Trader, do a 200 mile radius search for the model you are interested in. Then go to the bottom of that page and you will see the highest price, lowest price, and the average price that car is being sold for. Tremendous information. This gives you great ammunition when you are ready to negotiate the price of the right car.

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.