Steps to Buying a Used Car
Settle on a Price. It is good to have a general price range in mind for the car you would like to buy. Do you want an SUV, a pickup, a sedan, a coupe or a convertible? There is a wealth of information online. Check the car manufacturers web site, consumer reports and Websites like www.edmunds.com, Kelley Blue Book (www.kbb.com) and N.A.D.A. Used Car Guide (www.nada.com). Don’t be surprised to find a wide margin of car prices among the various sources. Know the approximate value of the car before you head out to the dealer. Realize that there are many different models of the same car. You may not find exactly the car with all the extras you want, or the exact color, but you may find something close that is a great deal.
Go to your bank or to your credit union before you go shopping and see how much money they'll be able to lend you on a used car. Be sure to ask what guide to used car values that they use. This way you'll have a much better idea what you can realistically spend. As a general rule, car dealerships do not offer the best deal on car loans. And if they do—you will know for sure because you have already checked with your bank and/or credit union.
Go Shopping. Shop on the Internet, shop at new car dealerships, used car lots and see what’s available from private individuals.
Do your homework. Research is the key to getting a deal on a used car. Once you've found the car you might buy, check its history and safety record.
History. Get the VIN, or vehicle identification number, to check a car's history at www.carfax.com or www.AutoCheck.com. Be on the lookout for a mileage discrepancy or a salvage/junk record. Also note if the car has crossed state lines. State salvage laws vary, and a state-to-state move could be an attempt to hide problems. If you are checking just one vehicle, Auto Check and Carfax have a single time rate. But for just a few dollars more you could do an unlimited number of checks for 60 days.
Consumer Reports provides reliability histories on used cars based on surveys of thousands of car owners. The survey results are published each April in the magazine and are available to online subscribers.
Safety record. Crash-test results, consumer complaints and manufacturer's technical bulletins, which alert dealers to problems, can all be found at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Web site.
Research won't guarantee that you'll find every problem with a car, but it will help you steer clear of a clunker.