10 Tips to Save Money When You Buy a Used Car

Buying a used car is an art. I’ve bought and sold quite a few used cars over the years. Today, I thought I’d share my tips with you for shopping and buying a used car. Here are my top 10 tips for buying a used car so that you can save yourself some time and money.

Tip #1. Determine your budget before going to the car lot and looking at used vehicles to buy.

It’s much easier to do your research before you go out onto the car lot. First, determine your budget before you waste any of your time looking at cars that you cannot afford.  Don’t forget to also factor in taxes into your estimate. This way if you find a car that falls at the max of your range, you’ll still be within your budget. You don’t want to go over budget with a car. Read how to “Significantly Save Money on Your Car Expenses” to learn a few tips for reducing your car expenses.

Tip #2. Calculate the maximum price you are willing to pay for a used car before going shopping.

When you buy a used car, you will have to pay taxes and fees. So, it’s best to think about the total cost when you set your budget. In addition, a used car may cost you more than you think it will as prices really skyrocketed in the past few years. Looking for a used car in early 2022 was not any easier than it was in 2021; in fact, it was harder! You may have to pay more than you think when used car shopping. We started looking in early 2021, and we thought waiting a year would make things better. But, that didn’t work out well for us, but it did give us time to save more money as prices were higher than expected!

Tip #3. Research your used car’s trade-in value, if you plan to trade it for the used car you will buy.

If you plan to trade in your used car, then it can be helpful to calculate its fair value. Then, you can apply that amount to your budget. The easiest way to do this is by going to Kelley Blue Book. You can enter your car’s information into the system and easily find the value. Then, I like to print out a copy or take a screenshot. This way I have it on hand whenever I go to the dealership. Doing this in advance can help you figure out your overall budget more accurately. We were quite pleased with the quote we received!

Tip #4. Be flexible with the make of the car when shopping for a used car to buy.

There are a limited amount of cars available at dealerships right now. It can be really hard to find one that meets your needs. So, it helps to be flexible with what you’re looking for. Consider a few different options. We decided to look at Honda, Toyota, and Subaru even though we really wanted a Honda.

Tip #5. Determining the make, year, model, and estimated mileage for the used car that you can afford to buy.

One of the best ways to do this is to go onto Kelley Blue Book. Enter the year, make, and model of the car that you were seeking to purchase. Then, start playing around with trims and mileage to see what you can afford. This will provide you with a general range of years and mileage. Once you have this, you can do a more targeted search. For example, you can take that information and use it to filter the dealership websites. Then, sort by price and begin looking at the cars within your specific range of budget.

Tip #6. The car dealerships want to buy your used car so explore all options, including trading in.

We were able to easily get a fair trade-in value price for our car. The day we went into our dealership to purchase a car, we had already scheduled a pick-up with Carvana so that we could trade in our car for a specific price. We knew what we could get for our car. We planned on taking it to Carvana to get that money. However, this was our Plan B, in case we weren’t offered a fair price from our local dealer. Our local dealer gave us a trade-in price that was $600 over Carvana’s offer, and it required zero negotiations. This was actually pretty optimal for us because we didn’t want to drive our car 45 minutes to Carvana, as they are no longer driving to our local area to pick up cars. I ended up being a really happy person that day.

Tip #7. Search for used cars and compare their values to the KBB price.

Before you go check out any cars, print out all of your Kelley Blue Book information for all the cars that you’re interested in looking at so you know what fair market value is so that if you want to buy that car that day that you are ready and able to do so.

Tip #8. Browse the car lot for vehicles not yet listed as you go shopping.

When you go look at cars, take a look at all of the cars on the lots, as not all of them are listed on the websites. The inventory changes so rapidly that new vehicles aren’t always listed. With the limited amount of inventory, you may have to watch the lot to see what’s coming available soon.

Tip #9. Connect with multiple car dealerships and tell them what type of used car you are looking to buy.

It would be helpful if you network with a few different dealers so that they can let you know what is coming to the lot before it’s actually there. We were working with multiple dealers and they would call us before cars were even listed, priced, and even detailed.

Everyone is frustrated by the used car situation not just us as consumers. In speaking with many different people car salesmen, they are also feeling the pressure of not being able to find the cars that you’re looking for. With that said, a really good salesman is going to look for you across different dealerships and find you what you need. This is exactly how we found our car.

We went to a local Honda dealership, that also owned a Buick dealership. We had a specific car we were interested in but did not like the exterior of the car as it was in bad shape. The salesman had looked at the inventory at the other dealership and knew that there was a 2014 CRV available on that lot because he saw it that morning on their website. Thankfully our salesman was doing his research before he started working with his customers that day as he found us our car!

Tip #10. Be ready to buy the used car and close the deal when you find what you want!

Make sure you have all of your finances in a row so that when you find a used car you can buy it instantly because it may disappear the next day. Seriously, it just might! Don’t rush the process though if you aren’t confident with the decisions yet.

Be prepared to negotiate, but realize the value of used cars has increased so you may not be able to negotiate as much as you like, or were able to in the past. If you can’t negotiate the car you are buying, then focus on the trade-in value of the car you are trading in (if you have one). But, always make sure you are paying a fair price that falls in the green range for Kelly Blue Book.

Are you searching for a used car? Have you recently purchased a used car? What tips do you have to share?

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