"Questions To Ask Before Buying A Used Car"

Regardless of the economic situation, people generally want to spend as little as possible when they begin the process of Buying A Used Car. When Buying A Used Car from a car dealership, you will get the best used car deal when you arm yourself with enough knowledge to level the playing field with the used car salesman that you end up working with.

Following are a few points to assist you when you buy a used car:

• Has the used car been inspected? What work was done after the inspection? What still needs to be done? Ask to see a copy of the inspection. If the salesman will not let you see it, leave. There are plenty of other fish in the sea! If the car has not been inspected, be sure it is done before making a deal. If need be, take the car to a mechanic of your choice.
  
  
• What does the dealer know of the car's history? Whether a trade or a purchase, it is unlikely that the dealership will have much information regarding the history of the vehicle. Ask the salesman to order a Carfax on the vehicle. That is a pretty reliable source of the history of ownership. If the car has been "tattooed" for one reason or another and it has been "washed" by interstate titling, Carfax will usually be able to provide that information. It can save you a lot of grief later.
  
  
• Whether the dealer purchased the vehicle at an auction or from a customer outright or by trade, the previous two points should be observed. When buying a used car from a dealer, you want to know if it has problems that cannot be seen at first look, whether the dealer purchased the car or traded for it. Whether it is a trade or purchase, it can have problems not seen initially. The dealer is there to buy and sell cars. The car he wants to sell to you may or may not have problems. It is up to you to determine whether it does or not when you decide to buy a used car.
  
  
• Take the car for a test drive. Pay attention to the brakes, and suspension. Listen for motor noises. Listen for any unusual sounds from the rear end. If any of these cause reason for doubt, have an independent mechanic check the vehicle out if you still want it. The sounds you hear can be a forewarning to big problems.
  
  
• What kind of warranty does the dealer provide. In most circumstances, the dealer will sell the car as is. Regardless of what the salesman tells you, believe that if you have any problems once you drive off the lot, that the problems are yours to take care of. If a warranty is provided, make sure you understand what is covered. Often, a warranty may cover major problems but not problems like power windows, malfunctioning air conditioning, struts, steering racks, etc. These too can be very expensive. This is why it is important to see the vehicle inspection report. If you are not sure you can trust the report provided by the dealer, you must simply leave the dealership. Even if you have a mechanic to look at the vehicle, do you really want to deal with a dealership that for one reason or another you do not trust? When you buy a used car, it is very important that you trust the dealership and what they tell you.
  

• How much better of a deal will the dealership give you if you finance the car with them. Huh? You probably think I have that backwards, don't you? After all, you always hear that the dealer will give you a better deal if you pay cash, right? "Listen" closely. If the dealership can finance the car rather than sell it to you for cash, they would rather have the finance option. You, as a recently educated buyer, can take advantage of this little known fact.

  Do this. After you find the car you want, tell the dealer you want the best deal he will give you, and that you will be paying cash. Good salesmen will ask you where you are going to get your cash, as most cash buyers are actually planning to finance the vehicle on their own. Affirm that you have the cash. Negotiate the best deal you can for a cash offer. Do not tell them at this point that you have arranged a loan approval with a bank or credit union before you went "car hunting". Did you get that? Before you start hunting for a car, talk to your banker or credit union loan officer and find out what rate and how much you will be expected to put down on a car in the dollar range you are looking for.

  After you are confident that you have the best "cash" deal that the dealership will give you, tell the salesman that you are actually going to finance the vehicle. Tell him where and tell him the actual rate you are paying. Do not B.S. him about the rate you got. If you do, he may not even try to take care of the financing. This will leave you with a worse deal than you could end up with sharing honest information at this point.

  Once he knows the rate you have arranged, he will try to match it for you at one of his sources...while getting a small kickback for giving them the loan, which is called the reserve. This is where you re-kindle the negotiations. Tell the sales person that if they will discount the car further, you will finance it with them. (This further discount may be only $50 or $100 dollars, but it is still more than you had). If they feel they can make money on the "reserve" the bank gives them AND give you a further discount, they will do it. Not only for the additional profit, (which may be small), but also for keeping the opinion of a 3rd party out of the deal.

  Control of the deal is extremely important to the dealership. You would be surprised how many bankers and credit union employees are instrumental in ruining good deals for their customers due to their egos and lack of knowledge that they try to share "in good faith". They look at N.A.D.A. or Kelly books and think that they have all the answers. The dealership does not want to lose control to a banker who is clueless as to how to help you get a great deal. There is much more that goes into the making of a good deal than looking into a guide book.
  
  

• Is the vehicle you are looking at still under factory warranty? If it is, do you need to do anything to transfer it to you? Normally you do not have to do anything, as most warranties today cover the vehicle, not the driver. That said, there are exceptions. Know where you stand.