Using the Internet to Buy a Used Car: Important Online Research

You never know when that time will come when putting more money into your vehicle becomes a wasteful decision rather than a good one. As many have said before, buying a brand-new vehicle is not a good investment due to the high depreciation value that occurs once you drive off the lot with the car. So instead of rushing down to a dealership for a new or used car, utilize the internet first and do your research.

I say this because by doing over the course of three weeks of information gathering, I was able to purchase a great reliable used vehicle at a great price. Basically, instead of paying dealer price for a car, I paid less and got more. I was able to get a slightly older model custom car with low mileage that was in great condition inside and out. With a few simple tips you too can make your money work for you; because I know that there is nothing worse than buying a used vehicle that later breaks down on you.

First, make a list of what type of cars you are interested in. After doing so think realistically about what you do in your everyday life and what purpose will the car serve. This is a great thing to do because you do not want to go out and purchase a mustang if you are planning on this vehicle transporting you and your children around daily. This will end up being a costly purchase after insurance and gas consumption sets in. Also, the mustang is probably not the safest and family friendly car to have.

After you have decided on a particular vehicle, you will now want to come up with a price range that you willing to pay out. It is important to first look for a car that fits your needs then look at prices for the car, because the worst thing to do is buy a car solely on its low cost. The low cost could be due to a number of issues such as being prone to breakdowns, a flood or salvage vehicle, or the previous owner did not do proper maintenance which will lead to problems down the road.

A great place to look up information on your vehicle of choice that is strictly based on performance and reliability is edmunds.com I used this site constantly during my negotiations and searches to determine if I was getting a reliable car and if I was getting a good deal. Remember , just because you are going to purchase a used car, it does not mean that the initial offer is the best deal you can get. Keep this in mind once you start negotiations. Edmunds.com will allow you to do car pricing based on the model make year and how you are buying the vehicle. For example, if you are buying a 2006 Nissan altima from a private seller the cost will usually be less than purchasing it from a dealer. The website also allows you to utilize its information for free, which is great because there are a lot of so called search engines out there that charge a fee.

Another great feature with edmunds.com, is that you will be able to read customer reviews about your vehicle of choice. In my experiences I rarely come across a vehicle that has not had a few complaints listed about it; but if you see a high pattern of negative reviews, stay clear of that car. You can determine this by going to other car forums and Kelly bluebook.com to read, review and compare the comments to make a logical decision. When reading these reviews look out for complaints about constant repairs or hard to find parts or service sites. These complaints should be taken seriously because you do not want your money wasted.

Once you have settled on the vehicle, the price and you are certain that you will be happy with that particular car, it is now time to go to the web yet again and start searching the ads for sellers. Great sites to check out are cars.com and your local newspaper that will most of the time lead you to a larger seller site. I did search through eBay and found many cars but I did notice that the cars that seemed worth buying were being sold by dealers and the price was marked up.

At cars.com, you will be able to narrow your search by vehicle type, year, mileage, cost and zip code. I personally was more successful when I allowed a broader distance from my hometown. I allowed up to a 150 mile search ( from my city to the next) to find my car. I did this because I was willing to drive that far to get a great deal, and luckily I did. Keep in mind that this was the eighth person I had spoken to about a vehicle they were selling. This process is not quick When I had found the car that I was interested in I called the seller up and immediately asked for a price that I wanted to pay. I believe that the seller knew that I was a serious buyer and the person agreed to my price. By negotiating I saved 2 thousand dollars. but it will pay off. Prior to going to check out the car for purchasing I ordered a car fax on it and it came out clean. This is important to have because you want to know what history the car has.

Once I went to test drive the car, I knew it was good. After driving over a 100 miles and putting in a few weeks of homework, I believe that my research made me a better consumer and my vehicle is still going strong. Hopefully, you too will try utilizing the internet when shopping for a used vehicle and remember with lots of research and serious negotiating you can realistically find that great car at a great price.

Here is a comprehensive list of what to do when using the internet to shop for a vehicle.
1) Make a list of vehicles you are interested in and narrow the list down to a realistic choice
2) Decide on a price range and stick to it. It is better to save than to pay extra for a vehicle.
3) Think about all additional cost that you will incur and make sure you can afford your vehicle of choice( such as insurance, maintained, repairs, registration, gas, etc.)
4) Use edmunds.com to get honest information on your vehicle.
5) Use other forums to backup or discredit customer reviews of your vehicle and watch out for consistent complaints about repairs and breakdowns.
6) When you are ready visit cars.com and your local online newspaper to search the seller ads.
7) When you have found an ad , contact the seller and be up front with your asking price. Do not be afraid to ask for a lower selling price.
8) Check out the vehicle's history with Carfax.
9) Test drive the car.
10) Never feel pressured to buy the car, if the seller will not be realistic and let you think on it for a day or two then do not buy from them. If you feel pressured walk away!

http://www.edmunds.com/index.html
http://www.cars.com/go/index.jsp
http://www.carfax.com/