1.) What can you afford?
This is the most important question a car buyer should ask themselves. Forget overpaying or being duped by fraud, if you make a buy outside your financial comfort zone, you’ve set yourself up for sabotage. Things to consider for what you can afford is how much you have saved against how much you are willing to pay. This will put you in a realistic target range for what type of car is safely available to you. Another thing to consider is how much your current car can be traded-in or sold privately for. Generally, it’s better to sell a used car personally or through a third party like OSM. The reason being is dealers will never give you the proper value for a trade-in. When all of your numbers are configured, combine them and see what you actually have to spend.
2.) Do you have good credit? Can you get a loan?
After you have your own personal numbers, you should look into your credit score and whether taking out a personal loan from a bank or money lender would be a viable option. Since most people aren’t sitting on fifteen grand to drop on a good used vehicle, a loan can spot them the extra months it would take to scratch up the cash. There are countless credit check programs people can plug their name into online. If you find that your credit is right and a loan is something you are considering, go to your credit union or local bank and inquire about a reasonable loan.
3.) What kind of car do you need? What kind do you want?
Once the financial has been assessed, you should have a pretty good picture of what your price range is. Now you can start making some decisions on what kind of car to shop for. The first thing to decide is what you need the vehicle for. What will you use the car for? A construction worker, as an example, might need a truck or SUV to haul material and tools, while an accountant only needs to get to and from the office. Associated with a buyer’s need is their preference and lifestyle. That accountant might have a family of five to cart around town or could be an expedition junkie in need of off-road capabilities. All these things need to be asked and answered, but in the end it comes down to what car calls out to you.
4.) Did you do your research?
Before you physically search for your new whip, you should do your homework. The Internet is an endless source to find everything from professional car articles and reviews, car spec breakdowns, peer insights and automotive pricing. Resources such as Kelly’s Blue Book (www.kbb.com) or Edmunds (www.edmunds.com) provide web surfers the freedom to evaluate a new or used car based on a number of plug-in values. Once the information about a specific car is entered, you’ll have access to the true worth of that Chevy Malibu you’ve been circling. These sites are ideal because of their mass amounts of resources compacted into one area. You can even find a car recall history on the model. If you’re not sure what you want, you can search based on a general number of car types and pricing to help narrow your search. Knowing what you’re walking into when you finally approach a seller is crucial to avoiding being taken advantage of.
5.) Have you test driven the car?
The next step in the ever expanding checklist is simple; test drive before you buy. Purchasing a “lemon” car can happen too often with shady dealerships or equally ambiguous private sellers. These vultures prey off of a buyer’s lack of knowledge and understanding of how car shopping should be done. When you go to look at that car you saw in the ad, you should first ask the seller about the car history. Companies like CarFax disclose a vehicle’s accident history to protect buyers and should be consulted before you make your initial visit. If what you know about the car is different from what the seller has told you, that should set off an alarm immediately that they are untrustworthy. If it checks out, hop in and take the car for a spin. The purpose is to look and listen for abnormalities in the car’s behavior while in motion. Not sure exactly what to look for? Follow the link to our Test Drive Checklist (available here). If something seems off, consult a mechanic before making a purchase.
6.) How does your prospect stack up?
Once you’ve met with the seller and completed the test drive, you should do a quick re-evaluation of everything you’ve learned over this process. It can’t hurt to crunch numbers a second time, just to be safe. Contact your insurance provider and get an estimated quote on how much the insurance on that specific automobile will be. Don’t forget to add in registration and DMV fees to get the car on the road. If everything stacks up and you are satisfied, then it’s time to take that next step. If you’re on the fence, back off and take some time. Don’t make a bad decision because you weren’t 100% or the seller was pressing your for an answer. This process should revolve around you and how comfortable you feel towards your purchase.
7.) Have you made an offer?
The last step to buying a car is the actual buying of the car. This can be harder on the more gentle souls, but projecting a shark’s aggression when putting in that offer is essential to getting the best deal. Most sellers have an asking price which is different from what they are willing to settle on. They know how much their car is worth and they should know how much they can get for it. When you make that first offer, you should bid a grand or two below the asking price. This will get the seller swinging at your pitches instead of the other way around. If the asking price is already a steal based on your research, you should re-evaluate what you know about that particular vehicle. If it seems too good to be true, it almost always is. If the seller doesn’t budge from their price, they might already be at their settling price. Try your best to gauge their demeanor and haggle your way into a better price for you. Most always, the seller will negotiate and come down from their original price.
Buying a car shouldn’t be stressful on you or your wallet. If you play your hand right and do your homework, you’re almost certain to come out ahead in the end. Now that you know what to do and what to look for, you can go nuts. Remember, what you drive reflects who you are, so making a good automotive buy is making good on the kind of person you are.
Tyler Baker; OSM Writer
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