Buying a used car can be both an exciting and stressful time, especially if it is your first car. Today I am providing you with some used car shopping tips that will ease your worries and give you the confidence you need for your next purchase.
1. Do your homework. Though it’s something us college kids are familiar with, just as in real life, many of us don’t do it. Researching your desired car is the best thing you can do to boost your buyer confidence.
There are specific problems that typically plague certain vehicles and they are pretty easy to find on most car forums. Knowing these problems can give you a lot of bargaining power and help to avoid the most obvious problems.
For example, my 1997 Volvo 850 is known for broken cup holders, faulty odometers, and timing belts that must be replaced every 70,000 miles.
2. You don’t have to know everything, just some things. Most car shoppers can get intimidated by terms such as catalytic converter, compressor, thermostat, but there is no need to worry as simply looking up these terms online can be a huge advantage.
Most people aren’t automotive engineers or “car guys” therefore when it comes to engines they usually have no clue what they are talking about. The only thing you need to know about the functionality of a vehicle is when certain items were last serviced.
Service items that you need to pay particular attention to are: oil changes, tune-ups(spark-plug, wire, and distributor), radiator flushes, and tire rotations.
3. Listen to “car guys” but filter their BS. When shopping for a vehicle this person always seems to manifest from out of nowhere. They will either be the person who is selling a car or a friend who is trying to help you buy a car.
A car guy is simply a car enthusiast, who more than likely knows everything about their car and has done some aftermarket modifications to their vehicle. Tell-tale signs of a car that has been owned by a “car guy” are a car that has blacked out headlamps, an obnoxious wing, or pretentious looking bumpers.
These cars often feature stiffer bushings, shocks, and springs that will ensure a noisy and harsh ride. A car guy will try to up-sell you on all their aftermarket add-ons but remember most aftermarket parts do not increase the residual value of the vehicle.
My best word of advice when dealing with “car guys” is to simply remember what YOU are looking for in a car and that YOU are the one paying for it. So bring one along with when you buy a car; they will be helpful as they will know a bad car immediately. Most first car shoppers buy a car for what it is, not what it does.
4. Shop for car insurance. In the case of most cars that are 10 years old or older, insurance costs will be the most expensive on-going cost. Your age and the type of person you are affect your insurance premium just as much as the age and type of car does.
If you are newly licensed or have less than three years of driving experience, expect to pay more in insurance than what your car is worth. It might sound odd at first paying more for a vehicle than it is worth but remember most cars weigh more than 3000 pounds, which makes it very easy to squash a person, or cause a lot of pro perty damage.
There are ways to get discounts on insurance such as joining AAA, having at least a B average in school, or taking defensive driving courses. You can also receive a lower rate by being added under your parents' coverage. The flip side is that it is also very easy to increase your insurance costs; getting speeding tickets or getting into accidents are the number one ways to do this.
In short, you may have to make sacrifices with the car you want in order to get a used car that you can insure.
5. Know all the costs. Owning a car gives you freedom, but it comes a recurring cost. Knowing how to prepare for and manage these costs will go a long way to ensuring your financial stability. The best way to save money on future costs has been addressed in tips 1 through 4, but another way to reign in cost is to simply get a fuel efficient vehicle.
This is your first car, and just like the first time you had sex there is nothing special about it. That being said, sacrificing quality of looks for the quantity of dollars in your pocket is worth considering.
Fuel and insurance will be your largest costs and will eat away at approximately $4000 of your account balance annually. These costs are predictable which makes them easier to swallow.
Much harder to digest are repair costs. Repair costs can be like playing a game of Russian roulette with your bank account, with costs ranging from $10 to plug a hole in your tire to over $1000 for things such as catalytic converters or transmissions.
The best way to tackle unexpected repair costs is through regular maintenance and inspections. Just as an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, the same can be said about maintenance and repairs. Regular oil changes are the best way to keep your engine running smooth. You can take it a step further by getting your engine flushed once every five years.
Radiators are expensive to replace and work best when fluids are at the proper levels. Most people don’t realize that over time, the coolant in the radiator breaks down. When this happens your fluid becomes more transparent in color and should be flushed and refilled. The same can be said of your transmission fluid, only the fluid will change from orange to brown.
Finally getting your suspension inspected every year is a good way to shun expensive costs. Particularly with your suspension, one part failing can cause damage or increased wear to other parts.
Conclusion: These tips were intended to be a starting point for your next used car purchase. Though there is no way to ensure that you have a good car that will last forever, these tips will definitely prevent you from buying a lemon. Remember, cars have thousands of parts with hundreds waiting to break at any time, so you sit back, buckle up, and brace yourself for the wonderful world of car ownership.
Comments
The most important thing for a college student looking to buy a car is to ask either the person selling the car or the dealership to proivide the CARFAX history report. This report does not lie and it shows exactly what work or accident has happen to the vehicle. http://dld.bz/sellingcars-blog
This is true, but many fail to realize that the carfax only applies to automotive work that was done with an insurance company. Lets say a person hits a mailbox or something and decides to fix the car themselves, then their could be underlying damage that could be overlooked.
{keyword} {keyword} {keyword} {keyword} {keyword} {keyword}
Army Officer
watch and Download Movies at best quality site on the net for today !
Download movies
movies for download
movie download
download movie
download movie
Scrimp Folding money by Making Others Pay » The Antiplanner
car insurance
The American Catholic Transportation Confederacy (APTA) has a outcome to the strident expense of living: reach other taxpayers subvene your lifestyle. Specifically, APTA reports that people can protect $9,000 a year beside riding communal go instead of driving.
What APTA doesn’t note is that traversing appears budget-priced aig car insurance coverage for rental cars contrariwise because most of the bring in of conveyance is paid during non-transit riders. In 2007, subsidies to traverse normal 66 cents per fare mile.
To determine the $9,000 annual savings,how much will car insurance cost for a 18 year old APTA assumes that people would substitute conveyance on 15,000 miles of driving each year. At 66 cents per mile, that works manifest to $10,000 of subsidies to salvage $9,000 in costs. Not one are traverse riders making other people subsidize them, they are making other people bestow more in classic car insurance the woodlands tx subsidies than the departed auto drivers are saving.
Some of APTA’s what is insurance salvage car place phone number numbers are a seldom suspect. At $9,000 in savings per year, APTA presumes that driving 15,000 miles costs 60 cents a mile. According to the Division of Monetary Breakdown, Americans done up $968 billion buying and operating motor vehicles in 2007, while the Section of Transportation says they drove those vehicles hither 2.8 trillion miles .
That works out to about 35 cents per mechanism mile. This means someone substituting transition to go to 15,000 miles of driving would liberate at most round $5,250 a year — while making someone else pay $10,000 will auto insurance cover me if im driving someone elses car to fund their travel.
APTA overestimated the price of driving because it employed the AAA conjecture of the usually cost of driving. AAA fancy that the whole world buys a railway carriage fresh, pays the maximum finance charges, and replaces car insurance for young driver in the uk it as in a second as it is paid off. Undeniable, divers people preserve boodle by buying used cars, paying currency instead of finance charges, and keeping them longer than five years.
It gets worse. The average jalopy has 1.6 people in it, so 15,000 miles of driving is really 24,000 rider miles. The subsidies required to support 24,000 passenger miles of passage practice amount to nearly $16,000 per year. That means APTA’s speculated household is getting as much as $16,000 in subsidies but saving no greater than a dab new jersey manufactures car insurance more than $5,000, in regard to a entrap sexual wasting of more than $10,000 per year.
car insurance college student full time parents one day car insurance does a rental car have insurance car insurance for a 2006 toyota london sports car insurance us
car insurance
{keyword} {keyword} {keyword} {keyword} {keyword} {keyword} {keyword} {keyword} {keyword} {keyword} {keyword} {keyword} {keyword} {keyword} {keyword} {keyword} {keyword} {keyword} {keyword} {keyword} {keyword} {keyword}
Gourmet Food Cosmetic Dentist Sydney Invisalign Sydney Email Marketing and SEO Specialist Article Marketing Robot Massive Passive Profits Free Google Adwords voucher Lotto Black Book Ken Silver Lotto Silver Lotto System Sports Betting Champ Numerologist Rocket Piano
Jamorama Singorama Concentrated Violin Lessons Guitar Scale Mastery Riffmaster Pro Magniwork Clear Braces Sydney
Silver Lotto Inteligator Online Investigations http://www.lookwhosblogging.com/images/smile.gif
It is important to have any used car checked out by a mechanic. They can tell you what's wrong with the car, what could go wrong, and more importantly whether you are getting a good deal.
Monavie Juice Australia
100% Winning Sports Betting Software
Bodybuilding Blog
Bodybuilding and Fitness Blog
Build a Chicken Coop
Build a Chicken Coop Plans
Cell Phone Marketing
Chicken Coop
Chicken Coop Plans
Clear Braces Sydney
Commission Crusher - Triple Threat Software
Concentrated Violin Lessons
Cosmetic Dentist Sydney
DIY Dog Training
Dog Training
Dog Training Made Easy
Email Marketing and SEO Specialist
Extreme Traffic Arbitrage
Forex FAP Turbo Robot
Gourmet Food
Gourmet Food Blog
Guitar Scale Mastery
How to Win the Lottery
Invisalign
Invisalign Sydney
Invisalign Teen
Invisalign Teen Sydney
Jamorama
Jamorama - Learn to Play Guitar Online
Ken Silver Lotto
Ken Silver Lotto System
Learn to Play Guitar Online
Local Mobile Monopoly
Lotto Black Book
Magic of Making Up
Magniwork
MOWG
MOWG = Mass Optimized Webpage Generation
Play Guitar Online
Pregnancy Miracle
Rocket Piano
Satellite Direct - Watch TV Online for Free
SEO Specialist
SEOPressor Premium Wordpress Plugin
Silver Lotto $10 Discount Offer
Silver Lotto
Silver Lotto System
Singorama - Learn to Sing Like a Pro!
Ted's Woodworking
Top Arbitrage Betting
Truth About Abs
Win the Lottery
Win the Lottery 9 Out of 10 Times http://www.lookwhosblogging.com/images/smile.gif
100% Winning Sports Betting Software
Bodybuilding Blog
Bodybuilding and Fitness Blog
Build a Chicken Coop
Build a Chicken Coop Plans
Cell Phone Marketing
Chicken Coop
Chicken Coop Plans
Clear Braces Sydney
Commission Crusher - Triple Threat Software
Concentrated Violin Lessons
Cosmetic Dentist Sydney
DIY Dog Training
Dog Training
Dog Training Made Easy
Email Marketing and SEO Specialist
Extreme Traffic Arbitrage
Forex FAP Turbo Robot
Gourmet Food
Gourmet Food Blog
Guitar Scale Mastery
How to Win the Lottery
Invisalign
Invisalign Sydney
Invisalign Teen
Invisalign Teen Sydney
Jamorama
Jamorama - Learn to Play Guitar Online
Ken Silver Lotto
Ken Silver Lotto System
Learn to Play Guitar Online
Local Mobile Monopoly
Lotto Black Book
Magic of Making Up
Magniwork
MOWG
MOWG = Mass Optimized Webpage Generation
Play Guitar Online
Pregnancy Miracle
Rocket Piano
Satellite Direct - Watch TV Online for Free
SEO Specialist
SEOPressor Premium Wordpress Plugin
Silver Lotto $10 Discount Offer
Silver Lotto
Silver Lotto System
Singorama - Learn to Sing Like a Pro!
Ted's Woodworking
Top Arbitrage Betting
Truth About Abs
Win the Lottery
Win the Lottery 9 Out of 10 Times http://www.lookwhosblogging.com/images/smile.gif
Monavie: Better Nutrition Through Science
Monavie Active
Monavi Juice
Monavee Juice
Monavie Apparel
Monavie Australia
Monavie Juice
Monavie Juice Australia
Monavie Juices
My Monavie
Taste Share Monavie
The Great Product Monavie
Bodybuilding Blog
Cell Phone Marketing
Chicken Coop Plans
Cosmetic Dentist Sydney
Gourmet Food Blog
How to Win the Lottery
Invisalign Sydney
Invisalign Teen Sydney
Invisalign
Jamorama
Ken Silver Lotto System
MOWG
Play Guitar Online
Silver Lotto
Win the Lottery 9 Out of 10 Times
http://www.lookwhosblogging.com/images/smile.gif