Buying a used car

Thousands of pages have been written on this topic all over the internet.  We will try and condense the best tips we have to save you the most amount of money and least amount of hassle.

• Spend the money and look at reliability ratings at consumerreports.org for the year and model of the car you are interested in.  Make sure you know what you are getting into.

• Spend the money and buy the carfaxservice so you can get a background check on the car using the vin#.  This will give you info about salvage title, flood, or major accidents.  You get unlimited reports for 90 days so you only have to pay once and its well worth it.

• Use the internet to research as much info as you can on pricing, etc. so you have all the information before you start negotiating.

• Always have the car inspected by an independent mechanic, not the dealer's.

• Have financing lined up before going to the dealer.  Use the internet to get a great deal on a loan, that way you are only negotiating the price of the car.

• If you decide to buy from a dealer, look for a mismatch for best pricing.  For example, if you are looking for a used Toyota, go the Ford Dealer that has one since they will be much more flexible on pricing and still back up the purchase with a warranty, etc.  Their alternative is to wholesale the car for a much lower price than selling it to you, so they usually give a lot in terms of pricing.

• If you go with a private party, make sure you have it inspected and don't buy from "private dealers" that really just resell cars they buy at the auction.  If a private party is selling more than one car, be very suspicious.

• We recommend to try eBay for the best pricing and fastest service.  If you can find a vehicle that is also close to you, this is the ideal situation since you will get a great deal plus have the benefits of visually inspecting the car.  We know that making such a large purchase on the internet may seem strange, but we think this is an avenue you should take a look at.  Look at our eBay page for more info.

• Remember, use common sense when purchasing any vehicle, don't get fooled it the deal looks too good to be true.