Negotiating For A Fair Price To Pay For A Used Car

When buying a used car, inspecting it thoroughly for possible flaws is as essential as negotiating for a fair price that you are willing to pay for the car. Shelling out money to match the sticker price of a used car is far from advisable because sellers and dealers are most likely to pitch used cars for sale at higher prices than warranted.

You can and should haggle on the price of a used car till your throat runs dry. A car depreciates in value as soon as it is driven off the lot. Add to that the fact that a used car has borne the brunt of long motorway journeys and changing seasons, and the value of the car declines even further.

Used cars for sale may be offered at high prices but you can negotiate for a fair deal with the private seller or car dealership. Usually, negotiating a used car’s price with a car dealership is a tougher task. With the following tips in mind, you can make sure that you come away buying a car that would give owners of new cars a run for their money!

Tips to negotiate a used car’s price

·        A used car is only worth what buyers are willing to pay for it

Before you head to the car dealership ready to haggle, make sure that you have done your research. Check out what other buyers would be willing to pay for a similar car.

You can use the help of Kelley Blue Book; a California-based vehicle valuation and automotive research company. The company reports the market prices of new and used automobiles.

·        Decide your floor and ceiling offers

Determine the lowest/floor offer and the highest/ceiling offer that you are willing to make.

When you arrive at the dealership, put forth the floor offer. This offer should be a few hundred dollars lower than the average market price of the used car.

·        Negotiate a fair deal

Start out with your floor offer for the used car. Most likely, the salesperson would reject this offer and try to pitch to you a price higher than the average market price. In such a case, gradually increase the price that you state as being willing to pay for the car.

During the negotiation, two scenarios may result. The salesperson may keep decreasing the demanded price as you slightly increase the price you are willing to pay till you both meet midway. In the other scenario, you may reach your ceiling offer or the highest amount of money you are willing to pay for the car (which shouldn’t be more than the market price). If the salesperson refuses to concede to your ceiling offer, you are advised to abort the mission. Give the salesperson your number in case they decide to change their mind though. You may get a call from the car dealership in a couple of days.

Even if the negotiation fails to match your expectations, don’t lose heart. If you stick to your guns, you are sure to get a used car for a fair price.

Car listings on reputable websites provide you access to authorized car dealerships that are less likely to try to rip you off. Soloautos is one such website that lists the used cars for sale in Houston and other cities of Texas. The cars for sale in Houston are listed along with the details of the sellers or dealers of the cars.

How To Get A Great Used Car Loan

Buying a used car can be a great bargain if you choose a well-maintained, high-performance car. You must make sure that you inspect the car thoroughly during the test drive. Car scams such as clocking or cloning that involve rolling the odometer back or stealing a car’s VIN to put it onto another, respectively, must be carefully avoided.

Another aspect to consider when buying a used car is getting a loan at a low interest rate. Despite the relatively low prices of a used car, as compared to a new one, you may have to take a loan to pay for the purchase. Getting a loan is rather like the process of shopping for the used car itself; you’ll need to fish through the various options available to choose what’s most suitable for you.

Things to keep in mind when looking for a used car loan

·         Evaluate the prevailing economic conditions

Interest rates on car loans are dependent on the prevailing economic conditions. Get to know if the interest rate on a desired car loan is going to be high, low or steady in the near future. Unless you are in a great hurry to buy a used car from one of the authorized car dealers in your state, wait for the interest rates on used car loans to fall.

·         Check your credit score

In the United States, a ‘credit score’ is a number that represents the likelihood of a person paying a loan back.

Banks and credit card companies evaluate potential borrowers on the basis of their credit score to foresee the risk associated with giving the individual a loan.

Your credit score depends upon how much debt you carry against your income as well as the regularity with which you have been meeting your financial obligations in the past.

·         The higher the down payment, the lower the interest rate

The more money you deposit as down payment for buying a used car, the lower will be the interest rate charged on the car loan. In other words, the more money you invest in the beginning, the more secure the bank feels lending you money. 

When buying a used car online, choosing a reputable site can quell most of your worries. Soloautos is one such online platform for helping San Antonio car dealers and car dealers across other states of Texas connect with used car buyers. The car listings of San Antonio car dealers, provided on this website, is comprehensive and credible.To know more about san antonio car dealers visit: http://www.soloautos.com/used-cars-san-antonio

Steer Clear Of Clone Cars

Buying a used car is not limited to choosing a car model you like and bargaining for the price you’d like to pay for it. You also need to look out for car scams perpetrated by dealers looking to dupe prospective buyers of used cars. One of such scams is car identity theft.

What is car identity theft?

Car identity theft, also known as car cloning or VIN fraud, is the act of stealing the Vehicle Identification Number or VIN of a legally registered car and using it to disguise the identity of a stolen car.

Using car cloning, stolen cars can be sold to unwary customers to earn substantial amounts of money. Even if the buyer pays several thousand dollars for the car, it would be confiscated by the police as soon as it is discovered that the car was stolen. Nobody is liable to reimburse the money spent by you to buy the used car and you may also have to become part of the associated criminal investigation.

How to avoid buying a used stolen car

·        Examine the vehicle history report of the used car for sale.

·        Check the VIN plate on the dashboard for any signs of tampering such as inexplicable scratches.

·        See that the VINs on the dashboard, driver’s door sticker, car frame, vehicle title and the service history documents match.

·        Beware of prices that seem too good to be true. If the car is being sold for a considerably less price than comparable makes and models, it may be a sign to watch out for.

·        When buying a used car for sale, review the vehicle title carefully for incorrect spellings or other signs that may indicate a forged document.

·        Get the car examined by a qualified mechanic to tell for signs of car identity theft that you may be unable to identify.

Buying a car that has been cloned could turn out to be your worst nightmare. After all, nobody wants to spend their hard-earned money on a stolen car, do they?

When you are looking for a used car for sale, make sure that you buy only from an authorized car dealership and that you review the car’s documents and the car itself with careful scrutiny.