1. Find your budget and stay within it. Make sure your tax, tag and title transfer fees are figured in. Do not look at dream cars while shopping because none of the vehicles within your budget will measure up after that. You may wind up buying a car that looks great and runs poorly.
2. Test drive at least 4 cars from more than one lot. Drive each car with someone who knows about cars. A car salesman may or may not be mechanically inclined.
3. Research the cars that make your short list. Find out about common problems to look for in the year and model of cars you are interested in. Find out about accidents the cars may have been involved in. Some damage can be covered very well. Check for factory recalls. Find out about overall consumer ratings for each car. Check Blue Book ratings. Most any information you need can be provided by the dealers or found on the internet.
4. Narrow the search to two cars and test drive them again. Ask the dealer or salesman questions about the car such as, how many owners, how long it has been on the lot. Has the car been serviced or repaired by the dealer. Sometimes a major repair by the dealer can spell trouble. If an engine had to be replaced from high miles chances are other problems will soon develop.
5. Make your decision then test drive the car once more. Now you can negotiate the price. Usually dealers leave a little negotiating room, but remember it is a negotiation, so you want to make sure you have some room to raise your offer if need be. Be fair, everybody should be able to win. Make sure you figure an inspection into your budget. Once you have agreed on a price you will want to make the sale contingent on an inspection. Usually two or three hundred dollars should be sufficient.
6. Once it has passed inspection seal the deal. Do not pay in cash if at all possible. A cashiers check or money order is best, if the dealer will take a personal check, even better. Get a detailed bill of sale that lists the condition of the car at the time of sale, the selling price, the terms of the sale, and the contact info of both buyer and seller. Be careful to note if anything that is not working properly and whose responsibility it will be to pay for the repair. For the most part used car sales are “as is” deals unless a contract specifies otherwise. Oral contracts are hard to prove and even harder to enforce so it is always best to get it in writing!
God Bless You.