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buying a car
I am 18 years old/female and i would like to purchase a car. at this point, anything will do. the only problem is, is that i have NO idea where to even begin. i can find a car at a used car dealership, but then what? my sister said all i have to do is go find a nice car that i like, pay the down payment(which i hope will be no more than a 1,000), and the car dealership will do the rest,meaning find someone that will finance me. is that all there is? so, i can get a car whenever i want just as long as i have the down payment?? im really confused because i have no idea how to do this sort of thing at all. i dont know what i have to do or anything. any advice??
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Want to answer more questions in the Technology category?
Maybe give some free advice about: Cars?
First off, NOT anything will do. Believe me, you definitely don't want to end up with a lemon! Nor do you want a car with high repair costs and a tendency to break down. That can be a nightmare.
So let me start by strongly recommending that you consider a used VW, Toyota, Honda, or Nissan. I've never known ANYONE who got one of those and regretted it. On the other hand, I've owned a number of American cars and ended up with huge problems every time.
I'll also warn you to stay away from Kia. :D
Okay.
About the financing: yes, most used car dealers will offer financing for your used car purchase. And they'll try to make it easy for you; they don't want to lose the sale by presenting you with a lot of complicated paperwork! But that doesn't mean they'll care if you don't get the best interest rate, either.
So go to your bank or credit union, and see what sort of used-car loans they have. Write those interest rates down and bring them with you when you shop. Even if you decide to go with the dealership's finance company, you may be able to use that information to leverage down the rate. And every little bit lower on interest helps.
I don't know how much you're planning to spend, but this will probably be the biggest purchase you've ever made so far, so it's important to be really, really smart about it. Which means, RESEARCH. Look up the cars you're considering. Check out what price they're selling for elsewhere. Read reviews of that specific year of the car, and see where their weak points are.
This Google search will give you a lot of useful links with great information:
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
Personally I've found [Link](Mouse over link to see full location) and [Link](Mouse over link to see full location) to be particularly useful when researching used cars.
When you start to narrow your search to a specific car, look up that vehicle (by VIN, Vehicle Identification Number) to make sure that it has never been in an accident. You'll pay a few bucks for the report, but it's VITAL. There are a lot of cars out there that have been in fairly serious accidents. Body shops can make those cars look good. But those cars are almost *certain* to have serious problems soon, because there's no way to undo the damage throughout the car.
You can look up a car's history at [Link](Mouse over link to see full location) . There are other services that do the same thing.
You should know that the warranties offered by used car dealerships usually aren't worth much. They're generally only good for 30-60 days, and almost everything is exempted in the fine print. But once in a while you'll find a car - a USED car - which is still under the original manufacturer's warranty. If you find one, take a good hard look - because it's potentially a great find. I found one a while back that had over a year left on the warranty, and we were able to get several problems taken care of for free. It saved us a couple of thousand bucks, easily.
You should also find out as much as you can about the dealerships you shop at. They're not all the same; some really screw their customers, others provide good service. At the very least, you should Google the dealership's name and check out the top ten or twenty entries. You might also want to look them up on Google Groups and Google News.
Have your mechanic (or a mechanic you trust; ask your friends and family, if you don't know one) check out any car that you're thinking about buying. They'll charge you a few bucks for the service, but they should be able to spot potential lemons. It's definitely worth the money.
One last thing: since gas prices aren't likely to ever go down (and are likely to go way, way up): make sure to check the gas mileage of the cars that you consider. Even an extra 2 miles per gallon could add up to a fortune in savings over the life of the car.
Good luck, and drive safely!
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