buying a used car will always suck because you don't want to get ripped off
and you don't want to end up in a car that you totally regret buying now in
this video I'm going over the three key steps on how to buy a used car from a
dealer so that you can buy one knowing that you're getting the best value
possible if you just found this channel I'm Jason with honest finance and I make
a lot of videos on different financial topics so if you are interested feel
free and subscribing or at least give this video a like and now onto buying a
used car so if you're shopping for a used car there are definitely some
advantages over buying new to consider I mean think about the fact that most new
cars lose about 30 to 40 percent of their value in just the first five years
and when most of these cars are five years old they're probably only gonna
have about sixty thousand miles on them so that is a really good deal
considering it's 40 percent cheaper than it was when it was new think about it
like this would you rather buy a brand new crappy
little commuter car with roll-up windows for $15,000 or would you rather buy a
used car with 60,000 miles for the same price with every single feature on the
planet upgrades depreciate the most on new cars so if you want Bluetooth
leather seats and all that kind of stuff then buying used is something to really
consider and not to mention the used car is probably a lot safer too because it
was more expensive to begin with keep in mind that the best value for a used car
is when they're only about two to eight years old and they only have 24 to 96
thousand miles on them this is the best time to buy a car because it'll be
plenty reliable and the worst of the depreciation is over with now obviously
your budget is important here so make sure to buy a car that you can afford
but just keep in mind that its best value is gonna be before it hits ninety
six thousand miles and sometimes buying a new car like a year-end one might not
be that much more expensive than a used one so it is something to consider but
if you are open to buying a new car then you can watch this video right here now
you've got to understand there are three key steps in order to get the best value
in buying a used car from a dealer you've got to do a lot of research on
the car you've got to get the best price for the car and you've got to get the
best financing for the car as well now when it comes to buying a used car
research is huge because they still cost a lot of money
and the last thing you want is some random repair bill right after you buy
the car you'll want to check Edmonds comm TrueCar comm and Kelley Blue Book
for the best online research for car buying these websites will help you
decide which car is right for you and what you should be paying for it
the first used car I ever bought was a huge mistake because I didn't do enough
research before I bought the car I paid about three thousand dollars too much
for that car and I found out after the fact that it was a rental car and it had
been smoked in and to all you smokers out there do not smoke in your car
because the resale value will go down because of the smoking now obviously you
need to research the car safety and its resale value but also pay attention to
its repair costs and the maintenance schedule as well trust me you don't want
to buy a used car that's right on the line to needing a bunch of repairs done
and you'd be surprised at how many cars out there don't require any maintenance
until a hundred thousand miles so keep that in mind when you're doing your
research cars are so advanced these days that the hundred thousand miles stigma
needs to end for most of the cars out there and also before you buy a car make
sure to call up your car insurance and find out how much more it's gonna cost
you for the new car that you're looking into you don't want to go buy a car and
then after the fact realize that your car insurance costs way more because of
the car that you just bought so just call up your insurance ahead of time so
that you know how much more or less the car is gonna cost to insure so once
you've done your research and you know exactly which cars you want to go look
at and go check them out at a few dealerships you'll want to visually
inspect the car for any dings scratches stuff like that and you'll want to take
it for a good test drive as well and it's a good idea while your test driving
to check what's called the engine run time because this is going to give you
the best indicator of the type of miles that have been driven on the car so
let's say that you're driving a truck with only 50,000 miles on it but it's
got an engine run time of thirty three hundred hours all you're gonna do is
take fifty thousand and divide that by thirty three hundred which is going to
give you 15 which is how many miles per hour that car has averaged over the
course of its life and in this case 15 would be a bad indicator that the truck
has been to a lot of work sites or that it's done a lot of city driving but
let's say that the average came back at like 30 or four
miles per hour then that's a lot better to me knowing that the car has done a
lot of highway and freeway miles instead of City most of the newer cars these
days do log engine run time so just pay attention if you're looking at a newer
car here's just a quick look at the log that's currently running in my car no
matter what time of year it is make sure to check the AC and the heater just to
make sure you don't have any surprises when you actually need to use them and
make sure to check all the controls in the car and even turn up the radio to
make sure that the speakers aren't blown because trust me this happened to me
when I bought a used car and that sucked you'll also want to hop out of the car
and make sure that all the lights are working because trust me this is the
only chance that you're gonna be able to get the dealer to fix these types of
problems now if it's winter time when you're looking at the car you're not
gonna be able to tell if it's been smoked in because it's too cold outside
but you can at least check the ashtray for any signs of use if it has one I
bought my used car in January and I had no idea that the car had been smoked in
until about four months later when I was deep cleaning the car and I found a
cigarette butt in the middle of it now that just pissed me off because the
salesman told me that the car hadn't been smoked in which it obviously had
been now once you've found a few cars that you're legitimately interested in
buying asked to look at the CARFAX or buy one yourself most dealers will
already have the CARFAX available so hopefully you don't even have to buy it
the CARFAX will give you a really good representation of the car's history but
keep in mind that some stuff can still squeak through the cracks it'll tell you
how many owners the cars had the status of the title and it'll even tell you how
the car was registered to those owners so if you find out that the car's had
like 10 owners then that's a huge red flag because the car's been around the
block way too many times now I found out later with my used car that it was
actually registered as a rental car which I'm not down with because we all
know how we treat rental cars if I'd looked at the CARFAX like I should have
then I would have realized that it was a rental car and I would have looked into
something else I would stick with a car that had less than two owners that drove
it as a personal vehicle and if it's a lease trade-in then this is a good thing
too because it probably implies that the car has really low miles and it's been
well-maintained and if the car has a branded title you're gonna want to do a
little more research on it to find out what exactly happened at the car so that
you know if it's worth the risk and buying it now once you're confident that
you're buying the right used car asked to take it to your local McCann
that you can have a few things looked at and if you're looking into a certified
pre-owned car it's pretty justifiable that the tests have already been checked
but it's always a good idea to get a third party's opinion because they're
not invested in the sale this can cost up to a hundred bucks but trust me it's
worth it especially if you're looking at a car with a lot of miles the first
thing you'll want to have checked is your computer because you're gonna want
to see if it has any trouble codes on it and then after that you're gonna want to
check what's called the drive cycle monitoring just to make sure that the
computer hadn't been reset to hide any problems now just check under the car
for leaks and wear and tear and then also have them check under the hood for
fluids and belts and stuff like that and once again now is the time to
double-check everything just to make sure you don't have any surprises down
the road and if the car's got any normal repairs that it needs like tires or
brakes then definitely have the dealership pay for it because it's in
their best interest to still get the sale because if the dealership has a
shop they can fix all of this stuff for chief because it's at their cost and
normal wear and tear is gonna have to be fixed regardless so just have them do it
now while it's cheaper for you and at this point if you do find any huge red
flags with the car then it was probably worth paying that hundred bucks to have
it checked because nobody wants a problematic car now once you've found
the right used car let's cover price because that's kind of a big deal and if
you've made it this far could you please give the video a like because that will
help me out a lot thanks used cars are a bit harder to
know how much the dealer paid for them but as an average just figure in about
ten percent but if you're looking at a really old car the numbers are gonna be
all over the place so the only way to know if you're getting a good price for
a used car is by checking the websites that I listed earlier the average price
paid is a really good representation of what others have paid for the same car
in that same region but just keep in mind that demand has a lot to do with
the value of the car that you're looking at so if you live in snowy Utah like I
do then you'd understand that two wheel drive SUVs don't sell very well the
four-wheel drive models is what everyone is looking for up here so unless I go
down to Vegas to buy a car I've got to understand that that demand is stuck in
my local area but if you are willing to go outside your region to buy a used car
then you're probably going to find the best deal but it is a bit of a hassle to
have to drive 400 miles just a test drive a few cars now once you know the
average price paid in your you're gonna want to make sure that you
buy the car for less than that average understand that dealers have bills to
pay too but trust me it's a lot better just to give them a quick 500 bucks
rather than three thousand dollars if they were willing to sell the car
regardless so at this point just tell the dealer that you want to pay five
hundred dollars over what the low average price was paid for that car and
be sure to mention any dents dings or anything that you want fixed at this
point because they'll either fix the problems or they'll just charge you less
for the car to have the problem solved now the key to negotiating is to be
confident and polite because nobody wants to have to deal with an asshole
and if you've got a timid personality then I would highly suggest faking your
confidence because you're always gonna get screwed when you're trying to buy a
car now if you do need a little more help when it comes to negotiating a car
deal check out this video right here now once you've got the best price for the
car it's time to cover financing which can really screw you if you're not
paying attention the financing department has even more ways to make
the dealer money so you have to be paying attention to everything that
they're doing now as far as interest rates go dealers can actually get you
really good rates just so long as they're not taking a cut most
dealerships can get you really good rates from all the big lenders so just
go ahead and use them because it's a lot more convenient now financing an
interest and stuff like that can get really techie so if you need some help
just watch these videos right here so once you've got your financing all
settled the salesman is gonna offer you extended warranties and stupid carpet
cleaning and stuff like that but you've got to understand that all of these
services are negotiable so do not pay full price for any of them and if you
are interested in any of these services just tell the salesman confidently that
you want to pay invoice for them and trust me he'll probably sell it to you
at cost because it's most likely still in his best interest to get the sale
even if he doesn't get a commission they're still monthly and quarterly
goals that are still gonna be worth it to him now as far as fees go just
understand that these are sneaky ways that the dealer can make more money
the only fees that are legitimate are taxes and license and registration that
is it now taxes just plain suck but there's no way of getting out of them
but if you have to pay sales tax on anything then that's how you can tell
that it's a fee because you're never gonna have to pay tax on a tax so if
you've got some stupid doc fee that's like 300 bucks plus tax then that's a
fee and you can get out of it just tell the salesman confidently that
you do not want to pay it now if the salesman tells you that the fee
be removed because it has to be documented then just have them
compensate with the price of the car or your trade-in so that you can get out of
it just have them either lower the price of the car for 300 bucks or add three
hundred dollars to your trade-in that way the fee is at least documented but
now you can get out of it in a different area and trust me at this point the
salesman is not gonna love you but you're too far into the game for them to
lose the sale now once you've got everything signed and documented then
you can truly drive away knowing that you just got the best deal on a used car
possible now once again I'm Jason with the honest finance channel if you are
interested in any of this type of content feel free to subscribe or at
least give this video a like that's all