Art of Manliness How to Buy a New Car

in: Gear, Lifestyle

• April 11, 2010 • Last updated: June 2, 2021

How to Buy a Used Auto

Final twelvemonth, my wife and I were eating dinner when we suddenly heard a crash outside. We ran out the door and saw that someone had smashed into our car, which had been parked on the street. The lady driving the other auto was drunkard and driving on the wrong side of the road. The lush and her motorcar were completely unscathed, merely our car was totaled. Doesn't information technology always seem to work out that way?

Kate and I had to purchase a new machine.

Well, new to us. Nosotros ended up buying a used car. Now, this was the beginning fourth dimension I had always had to buy a used car without help from my parents, so I was sort of clueless about the process. This was my beginning big, developed buy. From doing some research on the web and talking to friends and family, hither'south a list of tips and advice on how to buy a used car.

Benefits of Buying a Used Car

Fugitive depreciation. It'due south common knowledge that once a new car drives off the lot, its value depreciates immediately. In the commencement two years of buying, a new auto tin lose about 30% of its original value. And if you decide to sell your new machine a few years subsequently you purchase it, you're going to lose a lot more money in the re-sale than if you had bought it used.

Price. If depreciation is your enemy when buying new, it's definitely your best bud when you buy a used automobile. In that location isn't much difference betwixt a brand new car and a two-year-onetime car. By ownership a car make new, you're basically paying 30% more than you need to. That'southward a big mark-upward for that new car smell.

Yous can save even more money if you make up one's mind to purchase older cars that have more miles on them. A buddy of mine back in college bought an '86 Honda Accordance hatchback for a couple hundred dollars. Information technology was super ugly, just it drove just fine and lasted him a few years.

Bigger selection. Considering used cars are cheaper than brand new cars, yous effectively widen the selection of cars you can purchase. Instead of being merely a dream, luxury and sports cars enter the realm of possibility. I remember dorsum in high schoolhouse when my dad and I were shopping around for a used automobile, I establish a late model (this was dorsum in the 90s) Mercedes Benz for near $5,000. I couldn't believe it! Something had to be wrong with it. So, nosotros took it for a exam bulldoze and to a mechanic. It was in tip-top shape and collection like a dream. I concluded up non buying the Benz. I was too punk rock for that. Instead I went with a 1992 Smurf Bluish Chevy Cavalier. At present that'due south punk rock. Still, the experience did open my eyes to the fact that if you expect hard enough, you can find some awesome cars for super cheap when y'all buy used.

Save money on insurance. If you buy a considerably older used car, you can salvage money on car insurance by just getting the state mandated minimum coverage. If your car is worth less than ten times the premium on your insurance, it's probably not worth getting comprehensive coverage.

Buy a Used Machine from a Private Owner or a Dealership?

When you lot buy a used car, you have two possible sellers: a private owner or a dealership. Each has its advantages and disadvantages.

Owner Advantages

• Neat deals. When yous buy from a person who put an ad in the paper or on Autotrader.com, you lot can often find some really proficient deals. The best deals I've seen are at estate sales. Yous can notice an older motorcar with depression mileage because the little old lady who endemic the car but collection it to church and the grocery store. The car might smell like mothballs, but you'll enjoy the sweet odour of saved cash.

• Less intimidating negotiations. Negotiations tin can as well be less intimidating because you're working with an average Joe and not some highly trained salesman who has to take your offering to a mysterious backroom boss to get it approved. Moreover, dealerships often try to throw in unneeded extras when you're buying from them — actress floor mats, XM Radio, etc. When y'all purchase from an owner, they're merely selling you the car and nil more. Makes the experience less irritating and cheaper.

Possessor Disadvantages

• Complicated and annoying negotiations. Owners tend to be more than fastened to their cars than dealerships. To them, they're not just selling a product, they're selling a retention. These sorts of owners can exist difficult to piece of work with. They'll bust your balls in negotiation over a piece of crap Buick simply because it was their grandfather'south beloved car, and they detest to see information technology get in the hands of the "wrong person."

• No consumer protections. Individual sales aren't generally covered by many states' implied warranty laws. Implied warranties are unspoken and unwritten warranties that agree sellers responsible if the product they sold doesn't meet reasonable quality standards. When y'all buy from an owner, yous're buying the motorcar "as is," meaning if the car has a problem (known or unknown by the seller), once you buy it, it becomes you lotr problem and the seller doesn't have to do annihilation to ready it. Moreover, private sales generally aren't covered by the FTC Used Auto Dominion which requires dealers to post a Buyer'southward Guide in used cars for sale.

Dealership Advantages

• Certified Pre-Owned Program. A CPO vehicle undergoes rigorous mechanical and cosmetic inspection before it's put on sale. Moreover, CPO cars are often covered by a warranty across the original factory warranty which includes items like roadside aid. Buying a CPO vehicle tin give you the slice of mind that the motorcar y'all're buying is in great condition and non a piece of crap. Even if you don't buy a certified pre-endemic car, when you lot buy from a dealer, you're likely protected by your country's consumer protection laws such every bit implied warranties or warranties of merchantability.

• Extra services. Dealers will often throw in extra services for gratuitous that a private seller can't. For example, when Kate and I bought our terminal car, before we drove it off the lot, the dealer cleaned and detailed it, performed a costless oil modify, and gave u.s. a discount on our start service visit with them.

• Trade-ins. Dealers also accept merchandise-ins which lowers the amount you lot have to pay in cash. Personal finance guru Dave Ramsey has a system set upwardly that uses merchandise-ins on used cars to allow him to upgrade his vehicles every year or ii without having to take out a loan on his automobile. Bank check it out. Information technology's pretty brilliant, if yous ask me.

• Ameliorate negotiation feel (possibly). The negotiation experience tin can exist a bit more even keeled with dealerships. It's just a business transaction for them. Yous can avoid some of the emotional baggage you lot often find when negotiating with owners.

• Financing. If you don't have all the scratch on hand to buy a used auto, a dealership can often provide financing to help yous make the purchase. And with the crum-dum economic system, auto manufacturers and dealerships are providing some pretty good deals if you decide to finance a used car. Things similar cash-back or zero interest tin can make financing a used machine a reasonable affair to do.

Dealership Disadvantages

• Higher list prices. List prices at dealerships tend to exist more expensive than when buying from an owner. However, you can ordinarily negotiate this down hands.

• High-force per unit area negotiation. Negotiations with car salesmen can be more loftier-pressured than when buying from owners. Selling is what these guys do for a living. They know every play tricks in the book and will unleash them on yous without hesitation. When you pace foot on the dealer'southward lot, gird up your loins, and prepare to play hardball.

• Up-sales. Dealers will try to up-sale you until your eyes bleed. They'll tell you that you need to add the extended warranty or that you need the new stereo. If y'all're non conscientious, you tin drive out with a used car that toll you $1,000 more the original value simply because you let the add-ons creep in. Withal, yous can turn the upwardly-auction to your advantage past merely using information technology every bit leverages in negotiating. If the salesman presses for an extended bumper to bumper warranty, tell him yous'll accept information technology but if he lowers the price of the car a few hundred dollars.

• Financing. Financing is both an advantage and disadvantage. When you finance a used machine, y'all can end up paying thousands of dollars more for your automobile than if you had paid in cash. Dealers that finance to buyers directly want this extra cash, and so they'll oft pressure car buyers to finance their new automobile. Relieve your coin. Pay in greenbacks.

Blue Book It!

When y'all've decided on the type of car you lot want, offset researching its value using the available tools online. Information technology'due south essential that you lot know how much a used car is worth when you kickoff negotiating.

Kelley Blueish Volume. Since 1926, Kelley Blue Book has been providing used car prices in their trademarked blue book.

Edmunds.com. Edmunds.com will non only give you the manufacturer'south suggested retail toll (MSRP) for a vehicle, they'll besides bank check what others have paid for that particular auto and requite you an almost real-time market place price for it.

How to Audit a Used Auto

Alright. And then you've picked out a used auto y'all like that's in your price range. Before you make an offer, you demand to inspect it to ensure you're non buying a lemon. This is peculiarly important if you're ownership directly from the owner. Your best bet is to take the machine to a mechanic yous trust and let him wait it over for any defects. If you lot don't have a mechanic handy, hither'south how y'all can inspect a used car.

CarFax. Go one. CarFax is a comprehensive study of a vehicle'due south history. The report costs money to buy, just it's definitely worth it. The report can tell you if the motorcar has sustained inundation or frame damage, two things you want to steer articulate of when purchasing a used car. All you need to run a CarFax report is the car'due south vehicle identification number (VIN) which tin can be constitute on the dashboard, simply below the windshield on the driver'southward side or on the driver's side door, just beneath the locking mechanism.

Initial Inspection

Before you start the car, give it this initial inspection:

• Look underneath the machine for rust. A used car with a rusted frame isn't structurally sound. While a rusted frame can exist salvaged, it can be expensive and time consuming. Choose some other motorcar.

• Check the tires and wheels. Expect for even tire article of clothing. Uneven wear in the front could mean the wheels or break are out of alignment.

• Inspect the outside. Look for recent paint jobs every bit this may bespeak body impairment. You can sometimes notice paint jobs by finding over-spray on the prophylactic window molding. Tap forth repainted areas and listen for a change in tone that reveals patchwork.

• Check the interior. You don't want a used car that's been torn to shreds on the inside. When inspecting the interior, cheque the odometer. If the car says it has depression miles, merely the wear and tear on the inside looks like it's been to hell and back, something might be upward.

• Await under the hood. If you come across rounded or stripped nuts and commodities heads, it could be an indication of shoddy repair work. While you're nether there, bank check the spark plugs to see if they're newer than the residual of the engine. If they are, that'due south a sign the car has undergone regular maintenance and tune-up. That'south a good thing.

• Kicking a tire. But for the hell of information technology.

Exam Drive

• Drive it cold. A cold engine volition tell you a lot more than then a warm one will.

• Plan your road. You lot want your examination drive route to be similar to your daily driving feel. Sure the car might drive squeamish on neighborhood streets, only how does she feel on the thruway? Mix upwards your route with freeways, urban center streets, rural roads, and parking lots.

• Plough the fundamental. Does the car kickoff hands? Does the engine brand whatever funny noises while turning? Do you take to turn the key a lot to get the motorcar started?

• Bank check controls. Exam the wiper, lights, radio, and air conditioner controllers. There shouldn't be any noticeable drop in engine operation when y'all plough on the A/C.

• Cheque the transmission. If the car is an automated transmission, it shouldn't make any loud clunking noises or hesitate when yous switch gears. A manual transmission should shift smoothly. If you hear whatsoever grinding noise when shifting it could hateful the synchronizers are bad. Likewise, cheque the clutch of a manual manual past going slowly uphill in a higher than normal gear, like 3rd or 4th gear. If the clutch is good, the RPM will subtract and nigh stall. If the clutch is bad, the engine will rev simply won't go anywhere.

• Cheque the brakes. Detect a road without any traffic and accelerate to about 50 mph. Hitting the brakes hard. If the car pulls to the correct or left, it may mean you take a loose brake caliper or there's not enough hydraulic fluid on the side it's pulling to. Too, if you feel a shuddering when you brake, information technology could mean the brakes are warped. The brake pedal should also feel firm when you press downwardly on it. If the brake sinks all the mode to the floor, you may need to replace the principal cylinder.

• Bank check the alignment. While driving, take your hands off the steering wheel for a moment and see if the car pulls in one direction. If information technology does, you might have some front-stop alignment bug.

• Check for smoke. You'll need a buddy for this test. While driving full speed, take your human foot off the accelerator completely for a few seconds, and and then floor it again. If yous see a blue cloud of smoke, it means oil is burning and the automobile has internal engine bug that may require an engine overhaul.

• Take the car over a bumpy road. Bank check out how the auto responds to the bumps. If you feel the bumps a lot, the shocks are probably worn.

• Listen. If you hear rattles, groans, and clunks, that's a problem. Sure, the disquiet might exist repairable, but why waste your time or coin?

Negotiating

We could devote an entire post to this, then that's what we did.

Alright, I know I missed some advice hither. That'due south where you guys come in. What other used car buying tips do you have? What should guys know when buying a used machine? Share your advice in the comments.

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