Buying A Used Car - 5 Things To Remember

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So you are in the market for a great used car. You want one that will start every time you turn the key. You want one that will get you where you want to go safely and economically. You want one that will look good and be fun to drive. You can have all of these things in a car, and you can have them more easily if you remember these 5 things when you are car shopping.

The first thing to remember is that our car will almost always depreciate. It will get older and parts will wear out. It will get scratched, dented, dirty, and it may rust. The longer we own the car, the less valuable it becomes. That's the bad news. The good news is that it's okay for our car to depreciate, if it provides good service to us. The decrease in value should balance with the good use we receive from our car.

The second thing to be very clear on is that people get emotional about their cars. Its part of the human condition to get attached our car, because our car is really just an extension of us, of our ability to go where we want, and of how we look and feel when we do that. We identify with the way our car looks to us, and the way we feel about that. These emotional influences can distract us from facts that are screaming at us when we go to buy the car. It is hard to not become emotionally involved, but we can be aware of these influences when we get close to buying a car, and that can save us from making expensive mistakes.

This leads us to the third point which is that we need to be extra smart when buying a car. To buy our car well we need to be smarter than the average person is about buying a used car. This is not that hard to do! Making a good buy can lessen the financial hit we take from depreciation, save us money on the purchase itself, and potentially save us thousands of dollars in the years following our purchase.

The fourth thing to remember when buying a used car is that cars are complicated things! Some are built better than others, and some have been maintained much better than others. We want a well built, well maintained car. You may not know all the questions to ask, or all the things to look for when buying a used car, but you can ask someone who does. Having a mechanic check out a car for you before you hand over all your cash can reduce the risk that complexity brings.

The fifth and final point to remember is that cars are much easier to buy than to sell. In fact, it is quite easy to buy several of them in one day! Anyone can do it. Selling them is much more difficult. My point is this: Don't be in too much of a hurry to buy a used car. If you can't find one you really like the first time you look, don't be discouraged. The ideal car for you will come along if you look systematically for it. Taking your time to find a good one will pay off in the long run.