When it comes to expensive investments in material goods, the house and the car tend to take up positions 1 and 2 on most people’s expenditures lists. A house is going to be expensive, no matter what. But if you know what to ask and where to go, you can save yourself a lot of money when buying a car.
The thing you have to know going into it is whether you’re looking for your dream car – where the car has to be the perfect car – or whether you just need a car that meets certain criteria, like “holds a family of four,” “is reliable,” and “gets decent gas mileage.” If you want that dream car, then price probably isn’t an object for you. But if you just want a good car, you’re better off falling in love with the deal first and the car second.
The first tool you should enlist is the one no one ever thinks to use when buying a car – your mechanic. Unless you’re buying a brand new car that comes with a complete warranty, you’re going to need to have that car inspected by a mechanic you trust. Fortunately, good mechanics are easy to find and most are happy to inspect a car for you for little or no money. Ask your own mechanic if he’s willing to do an inspection or ask your friends to recommend someone. If you don’t already have a relationship with a mechanic, this can help you develop one which will serve you well as you go forward. After all, no matter how good of a deal you get, every car eventually needs some time of servicing.
The next person to talk with is a car dealer. When you’re able to get a car dealer to stop talking about his new cars, ask him about fleet cars or test drive cars. Different dealers call them different things, so you’ll have to ask around. What you’re looking for are the cars they use for test drives and to allow the salespeople to get a feel for the cars. Every major dealer has these and they will be sold either with a decreased price or an increased warranty – or some combination of the two. In this case, you can get what is essentially a new car at a reduced price.
Another tool you can use is auto auctions – especially auto auctions that liquidate corporate cars or fleet cars. Know, however, that when dealing with an auto auction, you’ll get cars “as is” with little or no warranty and little or no information about their maintenance and repair history. If you can, it’s a good idea to bring your mechanic with you to take a look at a car before you place your bid. If you run into an auction that won’t allow you or other potential bidders to inspect the cars before the auction, take your money elsewhere – these people aren’t selling cars, they’re selling junk. Be sure to inquire about the policies of the auction ahead of time. They may only accept cash and the amount of time you have to remove the car may be limited to days or possibly hours.
Finally, social networking can help you find a car. If you want to find one of those legendary “grandmother only drove it to church on Sundays” cars, this is how you find it. These kinds of sales don’t appear in the newspapers – you find them through friends, or friends of friends. Spend some time looking around Twitter or Facebook – you can get some really good deals this way.
