If you trust a mechanic. give the seller a deposit and take the car to him. Make sure he at least takes the wheels off.

Be suspicious of good deals if you are shopping for Toyotas, Hondas, VWs, etc and other cars that retain value well. These cars retain their value well because they are generally reliable and it’s OK if they don’t disappear overnight. If someone wants to get rid of one, they have an agenda, which means there’s probably something wrong with it.

I buy cars that have had collision repairs done and major engine work because I call the seller on their BS and get a deal. I’m not afraid to deal with the consequences because I know how to fix them. Don’t risk it. There are other cars out there that will cause you less headache later down the line.

Toyota Tercels are an awesome deal. I don’t know if they have them in Cali. Mazda 3s are also decent, but get rid of it if it starts giving you problems.

First thing’s first. Here are some inspection points. Take it to a dealership and pay $100 or whatever . They see a lot of those cars and know everything that commonly goes wrong with them. They want you to trust them if anything does go wrong with it because they want your future business.

If you’re going to do an inspection yourself (which I’d recommend anyways), do this on a bright day. Never buy a car when it’s overcast. Park it in the middle of a lot and walk around the car from about 8-10 meters away. Does everything look straight and symmetrical? If not, you’re looking at a collision repair. Open up all the doors, trunk and hood. Any evidence of a paint job? If so, rust/collision evidence.

Look inside the wheel wells and on the inside of the wheels for oil/grease. If you can get a good look under the car, inspect for things that look wet on a dry day. Some water will drip out the passenger side near the door hinge from the air conditioning, even if the AC hasn’t been turned on lately.

Inside the driver side door opening on the chassis, there’s a sticker with vehicle info. Does it match the one on the nose of the car under the hood opening? How about the VIN plate under the windshield (driver side corner) as well.

Inspect the paint job near where panels meet and look for inconsistency. This is indication of some repair which would be a yellow flag, but if the seller seems they might be trying to cover something up, I’d walk.

Look for rust around the fuel filler neck if you think it may have been flood damaged. These cars will have never ending electrical problems. Same thing goes with cars where some idiot installed an alarm or stereo and didn’t know what they were doing; stick your head under the steering column and look up in front of the pedals to see if there’s monkey business going on. If it looks “slapped on,” walk off.

Check the lower panels just in front of the rear wheels with your hand. This is a common area for rust to destroy a car.

Engine. Does it sound smooth? Does it look filthy or freshly detail-cleaned? A common trick is to put a new 3 chamber muffler on a little car before sale to make engine sounds quieter, so this is a yellow flag. If you watch the engine idle, it shouldn’t buck or shake. It should vibrate, but it isn’t supposed to jump around. There should be a light, even ticking at idle that disappears if you rev the engine slightly. You can rev the engine from inside the hood by moving the throttle plate directly. Follow the air tube from the filter to where it goes into the engine and there will be a lever there with a cable (like a bicycle brake cable) on it. Give it a twist. Usually, the main wiring harness comes into the engine bay by the rear passenger side corner. Follow every wire around the engine bay look for evidence of shitty repair work. Any sounds that appear only once your rev the engine in neutral are red flags.

On some cars you cannot rev the engine from under the hood because of how the electronic throttle control is hooked up. In that case, remove the air cleaner (they normally have a couple clips you just unhook) and rev the engine with the driver’s window down and the hood open. Opening the air cleaner allows you to hear any engine sounds muchbetter.

Look for yellow/white whiteout looking paint. That’s evidence of used parts from a wrecker – another yellow flag. Check all the fluid levels (the owner’s manual will describe this process). Never buy a car that has been neglected.

Feel the engine oil with your fingers. If it feels greasy or gritty they have put gear oil in the engine to cover up worn bearings. If it smells rank, same thing. If your paper towel takes on a pinkish hue hear the edges of where the oil wicks out, they have used transmission fluid to clear up carbon buildup and it may be about to have bearing failure.

Hopefully you parked the car on a clean surface and when you go for your test drive, you will be able to notice drips. AC condensate drilling off the evaporator core is fine., anything from the wheel area is not. A little engine oil is fine as long as it’s coming from the pan gasket itself. Coolant is not fine.

Bounce all four corners and listen for clicking sounds that indicate worn bushings and ball joints. Check all the lights and horn for function before you test drive.

*Edit: Some hipster below has pointed out that you should avoid buying cars with burned out lights, which I totally second. A seller should have taken the time to check that.

Take it for a rip and drive it hard. Take corners hard and nail some potholes or speed bumps. If something’s broken in the suspension, now’s the time to find out. Do that first with the windows down and then with the windows up. Clicks, Clunks, and other aberrant sounds mean repairs will be in order. Driving wide open throttle will trigger an emissions system check in the computer as well.

If you’ve never driven automatics, avoid automatics. That would mean you know how to hill start and you probably don’t have an idea how an automatic is supposed to shift. Or get a tranny shop to check it out for you. Manuals are hard to find in north america.

Here’s how to test an automatic transmission. Basically, it should never seem to slip. You need to test out low throttle, part throttle, medium throttle and full throttle shifting between all gears (up and down), as well as the lockout speeds for manual gear selection. The transmission should not downshift into a lower gear if the car is going too fast and itshould allow you to bounce off the rev limiter (this is hard on the engine and transmission if you do it too much). With the brakes to the floor, put the car in both drive and reverse and rev the engine make sure nothing slips. **Don’t do this for more than a couple seconds ** The engine should rev to about 1500-2500 RPM and hold there. The exact speed is specific to each car. If RPMs start climbing gradually, let off immediately; that’s bad.

Here’s how to check a manual transmission. Get going about 20mph and hold in the clutch. Hold the clutch to the boards and engage and disengage every gear several times and feel for looseness and inconsistency. For each gear in turn, get up to the lower speed range for that gear, let out the clutch in gear. The car should begin decellerating (engine braking) apply a little pressure on the gear shifter (your thumb on the base of the stick works well) and apply just enough throttle to pop the transmission back into neutral. None should stick.

Anyway, there’s some stuff to consider. There’s a lot more you can get just by interacting with the owner. I’d suggest bringing an american friend with you if you can, since you’re new. If the seller seems like a cheapskate or appears to be nervous or hiding something, just don’t buy his car. If he’s having to make up excuse after excuse, it’s probably also not worth sticking around. Same thing goes if the guy is seems like a car salesman or mechanic. Used car dealerships sometimes sell their problem cars under the table.

Determine Your Used Car Buying Budget

First of all you need to land on a budget. Not just the car, but insurance, gas, maintenance and repairs. That determines what you can consider – new or used and what types of cars. Don’t stretch out your budget too much in monthly payments or get temped by older luxury cars that are selling for cheap (because they usually have high maintenance requirements).

Here is one way to figure out the sale price you should be considering once you’ve deducted all the other expenses of owning a car from your monthly budget:

http://www.timevalue.com/products/tcalc-financial-calculators/car-affordability-calculator.aspx

Edmunds true cost to own (TCO) can also help with that. Pick a year and model of car to get an idea of what the next 5 years will cost.

http://www.edmunds.com/tco.html

http://www.edmunds.com/used-cars/

You can look for used cars on dealer lots, or you can find them private party. Private party offers better bang for buck, but you’ll do more legwork finding a car and sorting out the duds from the gems. Make sure to have your own mechanic lined up to inspect any car – dealer or private party, before making an offer.

Questions to Ask When Buying a Used Car

Here’s my canned list of questions to try and weed out the good ones from the duds before spending money on a pre-purchase inspection. If the seller doesn’t answer, then consider it your sign to move on:

• Are there any options you didn’t mention in your ad?
• Has the car ever been in an accident?
• Does it have a clean title?
• Are there any mechanical issues with the car?
• Are there any pending services I should know about – such as oil changes, tires, brake pads, timing belt, clutch, exhaust, etc?
• Does the air conditioning work?
• Do you have all the service records?
• Why are you selling the car?
• Understandably this isn’t a new car, but on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the closest to new, how would you rate;
• The paint and body?
• Headlights/tailights/foglights?
• Do the windows have any scratches, fading or cracking?
• Interior?
• Wheels and tires?

Test Driving a Used Car and Inspecting a Used Car

When I go to see and test drive a car, I prefer to meet at the seller’s house. How does the yard look? A nice neat yard is usually a good sign. If they are reluctant to do that (and some may be), meet at a coffee shop nearest their home (often well attended).

Take your time to inspect the car carefully before the drive. Inside, underneath, trunk and engine bay. Touch each flaw to draw attention to it (helps when negotiating). Are there any leaks under the car? Check for even tire wear as this can indicate alignment or worn suspension parts.

When test driving, have the owner drive it first. See how they drive it. Especially if the car is cold. Someone who jumps on the gas when the car is cold has probably given the car a hard life. Do they fly over curbs or ease gently off them? Suspensions last longer when you’re nice to them. Do they jam on the brakes or saw at the wheel? Bushings and steering gear take a beating.

When it’s your turn to drive, pay attention to everything. Does the engine respond smoothly? Transmission shift crisply but not harshly? Brakes aren’t grabby or weak? Does the steering pull either way? Any odd noises or smells? When you come back from the test drive, check again for leaks under the car.

If it all seems good, arrange a time to have your mechanic check it out. Every used car will have issues. The trick is to avoid the big ones.

• Test drive on a quiet road with the windows down and the radio turned off. Tire/road noise at ~35mph is a good sign of alignment issues, or lack of tire rotations. Vibration at highway speeds may be wheel balance-related, wheel bearing-related, hub related (lack of hubcentric rings on the wheels). Vibration when braking at highway speeds means you may want to replace the brake rotors / pads due to uneven deposits (colloquially known as “warped rotors” which is usually a misnomer). Brake squeal, while annoying, can be totally normal and you may just need to grease the back of the pads.
• This only applies once you’re already committed to a price, and ready to take delivery of the vehicle. Before this happens, give the car a very thorough inspection. Never buy a car unless you or a mechanic you trust has looked at the vehicle on a lift. Using a flashlight, inspect for rust, exhaust leaks or any evidence of rework/welding jobs, condition of O2 sensors / wires, transmission, differential, anything missing, damaged bolts, frame damage / bent frame, condition of flexible brake lines, suspension bushings, bent suspension / alignment parts, tire tread wear pattern, and anything else you or your mechanic can think of. Most original body parts/panels have the vehicle’s VIN number somewhere on them. Replacement body panels don’t

Other Tips When Buying a Used Car

1. Never look at a car in the rain. If it is wet you can’t see paintwork well and if the ground is wet you can’t hear it when test driving.
2. When test driving, roll the windows up, turn off the AC and the radio. Then drive on highway and listen.
3. Nowadays, I take a code reader and look for anything pending.
4. Check the labels on the glass to ensure it all matches. If it has all matching factory glass, that is an indicator that it hasn’t ever been hit too hard. If something doesn’t match, look deeper for other indicators of previous damage.
5. Flood cars are common, so always check around seat brackets and under the dash for signs of previous water marks.
6. Be skeptical of cars that are “over detailed”. A car that looks brand new is not one that has a shiny interior or engine bay. New cars’ interiors and engine bays DO NOT SHINE.
7. If the price seems too good to be true, it is. There could be something the seller is not telling you. They may claim they priced it for a quick sale, but use your instincts when the price is low. It could be salvaged, have a bent frame, need an engine / transmission rebuild, whatever.
8. Always demand a bill of sale that lays out all terms of the sale in writing (what exactly you’re buying, what is the actual mileage, is the odometer accurate, what is the method of payment, how much you are paying, and under what conditions you will take delivery of the car). Some of this may seem redundant in light of the transfer of title form, but in small claims court written documents like a bill of sale are key to protecting yourself, anything that’s not written down becomes complete hearsay and puts you in a difficult position should you find yourself in court. You don’t need to be a contracts attorney, just use common sense. Put in your contract that you will not pay for or take delivery of the vehicle until the vehicle passes inspection at your expense. 

    

    

9. Before you fully commit to buying a vehicle, it makes sense to be familiar with how the particular car drives. If you can, test drive at least one other vehicle of a comparable vintage, so you know how the car feels and sounds, in general

If you buy a used car from a dealership, find everything you can that’s wrong with it in under 3 months and call your salesman immediately. 9 out of 10 times they will fix almost everything under the standard 90 day limited warranty. Check all wear items such as tires, brakes, suspension components, etc. You would be amazed what they will do for free to keep you happy.

If you’re at all interested in modifying the car you’re looking at, there are forums dedicated to your car. Google knows. Go check out the forums, read those FAQs. Those places will tell you what breaks first, when it’s most likely to break, etc.

If you’re looking for best value / highest economic utility, gravitate towards the cheaper marque of the family of brands, and upgrade your lower-marque with parts from the higher-marque. ie upgrade your vw mkiv gti using audi tt or (a/s)4 bits. Commonality between platforms across brands is more prevalent than those buying the flagship marques want to believe.

If you buy used, and you don’t have a warranty, ignore the dealership. Find a reputable independant shop (using the forums you’ve already found / subreddits). The shop will be super happy to check out your prospective purchase if you work the deal a little bit – I test-drove my car to the nearest shop from the dealer and said “Hey, I called yesterday, here’s the $50 I promised to do a good once over. Show me what you find that needs to be fixed and explain why, and you’ll be my shop.”

If the car you buy was made before 2000 (or as late as 2005 in some models) CHANGE YOUR TIMING BELT. It’ll save you a lot of unnecessary money and repairs in the future.

A great resource for finding out how much other people have spent on the car you are looking is Truecar.com

It tells you how much the same car was purchased for and will give you a dollar amount that the dealer will sell the car. It is a good benchmark and Gives you a big edge in finding a new or used car

Also you can go to clearbook.com and get a trade in value that is based on actual data and trade ins. Kbb is a made up value and is just a corporation pulling some subjective number out of their ass

Tips for Selling a Used Car

When selling a car though, I like to try to receive payment in the safest way and place possible. For me, that means exchanging cash (paper money) inside a bank. My local bank has often been very accommodating of these kinds of transactions, and have even offered to make copies of the bill of sale, transfer of title forms, etc. A wire transfer is also acceptable. As the seller, I only like dealing in cash (paper money) because many other methods of changing money have the potential for scamming. Paypal can freeze money or reverse transactions depending on their whim/terms and conditions/claims by the buyer. Cashier’s checks are a favorite of scammers because they look official, and many people consider them to be perfectly safe, but fake/fraudulent/stolen cashier’s checks exist. Same goes for money orders. If you deposit a fraudulent cashier’s check, your bank will not help you sort things out. They will just remove the money from your account and that will be the end of it while you go to the authorities to help track down the scammer.

One of the biggest questions a car buyer faces when shopping for new car is whether to buy or lease. Most people you ask WILL have a strong opinion on the subject, and they will defend their opinion in this debate as if the future of the nation depended on it. If you visit Craigslist Auto forum, and ask whether you should lease or buy – within 5 minutes your mental abilities will be questioned for even considering leasing, because according to the frequent posters of that forum – everybody should buy only 10 year-old cars and pay cash, the only disagreement will be whether you should buy Japanese or American, which will trigger another wave of heated discussion and name-calling. The reality is that millions of people lease cars every year, a lot of them are very smart and successful, and leasing is something you should consider when shopping for a new car, the least you can do is keep an open mind.

What is a car lease?

When you lease a car – you get the right to use the car for limited time, in return you pay for its depreciation, interest and fees. At the end of the lease you have the option of buying out the car for a predetermined amount or return it in a reasonable condition (or pay for excessive usage, such as body damage and high mileage). Basically, it is very similar to renting.

Common questions people have about car leasing

What about car lease mileage?

Yes, a car lease has restriction on miles, but it is not as bad as most people imagine. First of all, mileage matters only if you returning the car to the bank after the lease, in which case they will charge you for excess miles, between $0.10 and $0.25. If you going to buy out the car – you buy it as is, and the mileage will not matter. Also, you can trade the car in right until the end of the lease, in which case miles will affect the trade-in value just as they would if you were trading a car you own. Another misconception is that you cannot lease if you drive a lot, and you cannot get more than 15,000 miles per year. In fact – you can get as many miles as you want (within reason – up to about 35K miles per year, depending on the car), you just have to pay for it. Most auto leasing companies will even offer you to purchase more miles at a discount, if you do it before your lease is up.

What about excess damage on a car lease?

Same thing as miles – only matters if you were to return the car to the bank, and they will charge you the going rate for fixing the damage, so it will cost you the same as if you owned a car and wanted to trade it in, or same as what you would have to pay to fix it. Also, you can always buy insurance for the excess wear. What about insurance? In California you must have same coverage whether you finance or lease.

What if I need to get out of my car lease early?

Again, you can do it in the same way you would get out of a car loan: there is a payoff to the bank, which changes every month, and you need to pay it to get out of a lease. You can either sell the car privately, or sell it to a dealer. If you sell the car for the same amount as what you owe – you are free and clear. If you sell it for less – you have to come up with the difference, if you sell it for more – you make profit.

Is car leasing the right way to own a car?

The answer is: It depends. Here is what you have to consider:

Your history:how long do you usually keep a car? Do you get attached to a car, and a thought of replacing it brings tears to your eyes? (I actually had people cry when trading a car) Or do you drool over new cars a month after you just bought one? If you get a new car every 2-3 years – you are throwing money away, but at least with a lease – you will throw much less of it.

Your future: are you going to live where you live right now for the next 6 years? Any expected changes in your family? You might move to a city where you can’t or don’t need to have a car, or you might need a bigger/smaller vehicle in a couple of years.

Specific lease vs. purchase analysis for a specific car – some cars have better lease programs than others, and if you are on a fence – check the numbers. For example, BMW Financial Services are known to offer high residual values for their leased cars, which keeps your lease payments low, while some other manufacturers either don’t support leasing as much, or their brand doesn’t hold value as well.

Your tax situation: are you going to use the car for business purposes? If yes – you should be able to use the lease payment as a write-off.

How to make a car lease analysis?

Now, how do we check these numbers? How do we know if a lease is good or bad? As I mentioned earlier, when you lease – you are paying for depreciation and interest. Depreciation is determined by the residual value, or lease-end value of the car. This is a projection made by the bank as to how much this car will be worth at the time of lease expiration. If you want to have lower payments, and have no intention of keeping the car at the end – you want this number to be higher, so you will pay less depreciation. Interest is determined also by the bank, and it is called money factor. While the residual value of the car has to be disclosed, and cannot be changed by the dealer – money factor can be raised for some banks, while some (like Mazda Chase) don’t allow rate mark-up. Banks also adjust these numbers monthly to make sure that their lease programs are attractive and competitive. As residual value of a specific model goes down as it gets closer to the year-end – the bank will also lower the rate, so the lease payment will stay in the same range. And the last piece of the puzzle will be the selling price of the car, or “Cap cost”. Selling price in a lease can be negotiated in the same way as purchase price, so if the selling price is lower – you have less depreciation to pay, since depreciation is always a percentage of MSRP.

Complicated? Kind of… Does it have to be? Absolutely not. All you have to know is the total drive-off, monthly payment, and if you are planning to keep the car after the lease – the residual value. Here is an easy rule of thumb: for every $10K of MSRP you should not pay more than $150 a month with $0 down and minimal drive-off, or you can simply multiply the MSRP by 0.015.Let’s take two cars as an example: Jetta has MSRP of $20,344, and it will lease for $265 a month with minimum drive-off. According to the rule – your payment should be less than $300 for a car in this price range, so the verdict – this lease is good. Now let’s look at a base Jetta TDI with MSRP of $24,004. This car will lease for 338 a month, which is still lower than $360 (the limit according to our calculations), but it is getting close. So the first car is definitely a great lease, while the second one will be a personal judgement call.

Why Should You Not Lease a Car?

Now I will address the main objection to leasing: “But I want to own it!” My response is that in general ownership is overrated. Here is why: Cars are one of the worst investments ever. Why would you want to own something that will lose half its value in 3 years? And the more expensive the car is – the faster it will depreciate. One of the main reasons I recommend leasing to my clients is that I hate seeing them discovering the car they bought 2 years ago for $30,000 total out the door is worth $18,000 today. I like my clients, I don’t like seeing them in pain.

Risk: remember when gas prices doubled? Remember what it did to SUV resale value? People could not give them away. As you are reading this – car manufacturers are working on new technologies, what if in 3 years they will come up with cars that get 100 MPG, how easy do you think it will be to get out of your car?

Risk again: what if you get into an accident, and it gets recorded in your car’s history? Even after you fix the car – it will follow you everywhere, and most people who shop for used cars would not touch a car that has been in an accident – unless you will give it away. The myth of not having monthly payments – once the car warranty runs out you are vulnerable to unforseen expenses – tires, brakes, urgent repairs, timing belt – there is no way of knowing how much you will have to spend on your car, while a leased car has a fixed expense – monthly payment.

Car Lease Sales Tax

Sales tax: in California you pay sales tax on your monthly payment only when you lease, but you do pay the full sales tax when you purchase.

Step by step guide on how to buy a car.

1. Establish monthly budget. To establish a monthly budget you will need:
   a. Your income
2. Get your credit score. Use free the services provided online
3. Research APRs for auto loans online
   a. Go to a few websites from big banks and a few smaller banks and research. You will be able to see the advertised APRs for new cars and used cars. These APRs tend to be for people with great credit and your APR might be higher or lower, but it will give you a general idea of what banks are offering at the moment. If you have great (730+) credit, then they will be pretty accurate.
4. Use online car payment calculator to calculate what price range you can afford. For the online car payment calculator, you will typically need the price of the car, down payment, tax, APR, length of the loan.
   a. Price of the car: Use the advertised MSRP, it’s a good estimate for now
   b. Down payment: You know this number
   c. Tax: you know this number
   d. APR: you can estimate very well this number because you did the research in step 2.
   e. Length of the loan: it’s up to you to decide. Usually between 36 and 72 months At this point, you have a great (nearly perfect) idea of the price of the car you can afford.
5. Call several insurance companies and get quotes for the car models that you are considering at this point. Remember that the insurance may vary and it should be part of your monthly car budget.
6. Apply for auto loans online, or at the bank and get approved for a loan amount that fits your budget. You can apply and get approved at several banks, as far as I know there is no penalty if you get accepted for a loan and never use it because you got a better APR somewhere else. At this point, you can go back to step 4 and get a nearly perfect idea of what car you can actually buy.
7. Find the exact car, model and trim that fit your budget. The goal here is to figure out what car you want and not let a salesman tell you what you want. Since you have figured out your budget, the pool of cars should be small (less than 15). You test drive some cars, do online research and ask around. Keep in mind that good dealerships will let you test drive without any pressure to buy.
8. Once you KNOW what car, trim and options you like/can afford. Email all the dealerships in your area that have the car. Let them know exactly what you are looking for and that you have financing already. Make sure you get a response in which they explicitly states the OUT THE DOOR price of the car. Ask them to include ALL fees in the price they are giving you. They will typically give you an exact number plus tag (they can’t tell you this number, but it won’t be more than 300 dollars). Note: when I did this, I emailed all the dealerships in my half of the state. Why? Because I was willing to drive if the price justified the drive and because I wanted more prices to negotiate a lower out the door price.
9. Since you have emailed several dealerships and received written OUT THE DOOR prices. You can email them back and negotiate a better price, just pick the top three and let them know you have better offer. Continue to negotiate until they tell you that they can’t go any lower. You will notice that the top 3 prices from the top 3 dealers will be within a few hundred dollars of each other and that is how you will know they are giving you the car for the lowest price.
10. At this point, you know exactly how much your monthly payment will be and the cost of you insurance.
11. Now you have the out the car, the out the door price and your APR from the bank. All that is left to do is to go to the dealership, make sure they honor the out the door price the quoted via email, and sign some papers. Make sure you go in the morning because you might have to call the bank to get the check, you might have to call the insurance to get coverage and a few other things. The dealer might realize you’re very well prepared and they might try to convince you to use their finance company (This happened to me and I took their finance because it was LOWER than the one I already had)
12. Make sure the terms of the sale are exactly as you expected in step 10. There should be no surprises and if the dealer backs out from the offer or tries to upsell you something you didn’t want, just walk away and go to the dealership with the second best price.
13. Congratulations, you have just bought a car with minimal negotiations, minimal human contact and you have the BEST possible price!

Tips on How-To Negotiate With A Live Car Salesman

1. Determine the car you want, and the car you can afford.
2. Do figure out financing ahead of time (it’s better to not make this decision at the dealership)
3. If you have trade-in, try to sell it on your own first. You’ll make more money for it, and it won’t add an extra variable to an already large, potentially complicated, transaction. Just remember to get your car smogged 90 days before sale (CA), and to alert the DMV immediately after selling it (get your liability off of it).
4. If you have to trade in your car at the dealer, that’s fine, but go to Kelly Blue Book and find the value of your trade in at “fair” value. Read the fine print, your 5yr old car with only a couple polished out scratches is NOT in excellent condition. Be realistic. If you transported pets or are a smoker in your car, then instantly take 10% off the fair value price, or use the “poor” price on KBB. Get over it, would you pay “fair” price for a car someone treated as their house?
5. Research the prices that others are paying for the car you’re now looking to buy. Admit that the average is usually around $1k off sticker, but it’s ok to push for $2K off, or more, if you’re planning on financing through the dealer (as they’ll make up their money on the interest).
6. Come up with the realistic number you want to buy the car for. In this scenario, let’s say it’s $20K MSRP, but you are willing to pay $18.5K.
7. Go do your test drive and sit down with the salesperson. Do not say the words “final offer” at any point in the first 30min. Instead, make a “fair” offer for negotiation purposes. My rule is to always start $2K below your final desired purchase price. So in this case, offer $16.5K.
8. Begin negotiations using the 50% rule. They won’t take your lowball $16.5k offer, but if you keep talking with them and don’t get all “final offer!” on anyone, they won’t want to lose someone who may actually be serious about buying a car today (and not just sending emails asking for the lowest price). So, using the 50% rule—act like you’re relenting a bit, and offer $1k more (50% of the $2k difference to your final price). $17.5k
9. They’ll be happy you “bumped” and they’ll go get another “pencil” from management. Their new compromised offer will be something stupid like including an extra 6 months of warranty. Just say thank you, but that price is what you want to discuss, not add ons–because the car is already the way you like it. They’ll eventually drop their price to $19.5K.
10. Keep this up, for as long as it takes. Just remember to bump each time only 50% of your last bump, and only when they take cuts off their end. So your next bump would be $500 more, and you’re now at $18K.
11. When they counter, bump $250
12. When they counter again, bump $125
13. When they counter again, bump $60
14. Etc, until it’s literally stupid $10 bumps.
15. By this point they will be convinced that you’re serious, and that they cannot get anymore money out of you. They’ll shake your hand on $18,450. Done, and under budget. You just successfully negotiated the price of your car without having to be afraid or go over budget. “Negotiation” in this case meant you kept the conversation going, showed sincere interest, and never committed to anything above your previous “bump.”
16. Go into the finance room, turn down all add-ons. It can all be bought cheaper, and better, 3rd party.
17. Don’t be surprised that tax, title, and license are going to add 12%. That’s not their fault, and it can’t be finnanced. You factored this into your overall budget, right?

Getting deals a garage sales can be tough. However, there are certain strategies what will help you get the best price for something at a garage sale. Below is a list of several garage sale strategies to try out next time you are shopping or selling at a garage sale.

Tips to Save Money at Garage Sales

Buy in bulk: You’re more likely to get a price break if you buy the entire box. Do a quick calculation of the worth of the box of things before you approach them with a deal offer. Get them to name a price first then bargain down from there.

Know that nearly everything is negotiable. Some sellers price items knowing that buyers will haggle. Remember, get them to name a price then bargain down. Either arrive early enough to scout out the best products or late enough to snatch up what didn’t sell at lower prices. If you can’t make a deal at the time leave your number with the seller so they can call you if it doesn’t sell.

Make a shopping list. You won’t find everything, but have an idea of what you need. Yard sales are great for: 1.Candles- Everyone has half burnt candles usually for 25c or less. 2.Books- very heavy when moving. 25c for paperbacks and 50c is acceptable except textbooks etc. 3.Tools- just the basics, power tools are another story. 4. Children/baby anything. Do you remember where your clothes/toys came from at age 4? I don’t have them, but kids seem expensive enough.

Go to the rich neighborhoods at the end of the day, a lot of the times they give stuff away just to be rid of it when its clear it wont be sold

Middle class neighborhoods have the best garage sales. Rich folks too often don’t know the value of things; they often price things at 75% of retail and expect people to consider that a bargain; too often they are a waste of time. I think they just never bargain shop so they don’t have a clue “I paid $1500 at Ethan Allen for that sofa just 4 years ago, so $1200 is a steal!”. Sometimes they are OK though. Whenever you see high prices as their standard; just move on. Poor folks tend to buy cheap stuff and they wear it out.

Plan first. Craigslist is the easiest way. Select the map view to see what’s close to you. I look for moving, estate, or neighborhood sales. The host of a moving sale wants stuff gone and is more likely to negotiate. Estate sales can be uncomfortable. Often someone has died or moving to assisted living. It may feel weird to haggle with the grieving, but they also want the stuff gone. Neighborhood garage sales save you the trouble of driving around.

Best types of neighborhoods for garage sales. Need baby things? Go to neighborhood garage sales in new construction neighborhoods. Don’t expect to find much else though. Want antiques or something like a boat? Go to older established neighborhoods; look for the big older trees. Upscale condos can be OK; those people are getting rid of good things because they don’t have room.

Figure 10% of retail pricing for most used items. New in the box items can be worth more, worn things less. Some things really hold their value, esp. quality name brand items. Even though I could get many of the things I buy for less if I were to haggle, I think it’s fair to pay asking price if it is reasonable. I generally only offer a lower price if I think the thing is priced too high. At the end of the day or second day of a garage sale, most people are very willing to bargain, however. Some things very often are over priced: I don’t care how well your Windows 95 PC works, it’s not worth $100. Why does everyone think their old $45 retail price shop vac is still worth $20?

Bring enough money to buy that big ticket item that you’ve been looking for. Practice self control but recognize it’s not too often that you will find that pristine $500 bicycle for $100 and the next person who walks up might buy it. Then you are stuck paying retail; your kid has been waiting long enough.

Again, don’t be afraid to negotiate at a garage sale. I was uncomfortable doing this a first, but gets easier with practice. Keep quarters and singles. If you are only buying one item just ask, “would you take X for this?” and present the money. Seldom does anyone say no or they return with a different but still lower price. If you are buying several items, offer an even dollar amount for everything. “Would you take 5 bucks for all of these?” Sellers hate making change. If you present the cash and are fairly reasonable, the seller will take it.

Be cautious of some items. 1.Furniture-huge savings, but bed bugs are a thing. 2.Electronics/Appliances- try it out. Most garages have outlets. 3.Disc media-I’ve bought video games that appear scratch free, but were still unreadable. 4. Valuables/antiques/collectibles- be familiar or just use your phone. Fakes and reproductions exist even if the seller thinks it’s legit.

When to Haggle at a Garage sale?

Gaggling is annoying, especially when the other guy refuses to name a price but just wants to ignore low prices and force you to give higher ones. However this is not always true at garage sales.

And set prices are certainly not how it works in most places. Most countries actually have deeply ingrained haggling cultures and even in the U.S. cars, furniture, cable/satellite services, and real estate are always negotiable.

You say the price you want. They say what they want. You meet somewhere in the middle. Or not. It’s just a conversation. Usually all you have to do to start is say “are you negotiable?” and that gets the ball rolling in a friendly way. You can also just say “can I have this for $x?” It doesn’t really matter what price they want. You make your offer and they can accept or not. If your price is way different than theirs, no big deal. It’s like fishing. Maybe you catch something. Maybe you don’t. The best way to catch something good is to go fishing a lot.

Getting the Best Deals at Garage Sales

Look for city-wide garage sales in your area. Allows you to hit the most amount of sales with the least amount of driving. I’ve also been known to plot a route based on Craigslist and newspaper ad postings. Get there early. In my area most people hold a garage sale on Friday and Saturday. Friday morning has the best selection; Saturday around 11:00 things start winding down and deals can be made. Strike up friendly conversations – I don’t always do this but if I’m buying a lot it helps in negotiating. If you see something you really want, get it because you might not see it again. I often find myself passing over something that is a fair deal in the hopes of finding it later at an amazing deal. Finally, I skip over sales in newer subdivisions. Not only do you end up getting lost in curvy side streets, the goods are usually subpar. Usually a lot of cheap plastic stuff for whatever reason. Your mileage will vary of course.

Purchasing a new or used card from a dealership is often an anxiety inducing experience. Dealing with car salesman tactics and car salesman pressure is tough. Car dealers and their employees are often very familiar with what tricks work get people to buy cars. Unfortunately, for buyers, auto salesmen do this hundreds of times a year and most people only do it a few times in their lifetime. The following tips are designed to prevent you from being pushed around by the salesman and to ease your mind of worries in regards to overpaying.

Tricks Car Salesmen Use to Take Your Money Buying Car

Know your market and Know the Car

Know your market. There are many companies like Edmunds.com and KBB.com that have accurate pricing other than internal dealer incentives and pricing. These car pricing websites tell you what your average consumer is paying, not that the car salesman wants you to pay. Your ultimate goal should be to aim for below invoice on any new car purchase. Your walk away price should always be invoice. If you can’t get close, walk away and call the next dealer. You can get enough car dealers working against each other that they’ll undercut each other.  This will avoid many car salesman tricks they may be trying to use to get you to pay more for a car.

When you finally find the car you like, you need to ask the dealer what their best price is, and then you tell them that was more than you budgeted and make a counter offer. You go back and forth a few times until you either buy the car or say no thank you and leave. If you leave the care dealer will often call you later that day or sometime in the next few days to ask you to reconsider, or to offer a better deal.

Know the Car Invoice Price: Avoid Car Dealer Tricks

Know the invoice price of the (which is what the car dealer “paid” before all kick-backs and incentives given by the car manufactured), and the market prices based on what others actually pay. Again, this is a good time to reference internet site in the car buying process. There are sites like truecar.com will give you an idea if you are already getting the best offers, or if you should wait them out a little longer (or contact more dealers in your area before proceeding). At the very least this will give you confidence that your number is fair and not leave you wondering if the price you paid was “too much”.

Don’t tell the car dealer you are paying in cash

Don’t tell the car dealer you are paying in cash! Refuse additional services from the dealer! A dealer might cut the price closer to break even if they have the hope that you will finance with them or buy a warranty, etc. I wouldn’t engage about those other things, but give them some hope: “I just want to see where I can find the best price before I look into financing, send me your best price for this configuration out the door and we can talk about the other stuff if you’ve got the best deal.” This might not be the most stress free option and you might have to “fight” to get that price once you turn down the other services though.

Avoid Car Payments When Negotiating: Old Car Salesman Trick

Car salesmen are taught to negotiate the payment with a car buyer instead of the final purchase price of the vehicle. Making the car buyer think about car payments has two benefits for them.

1) Making an affordable payment is relatable and gets your mind off of the actual car price. Car buyers end up paying more this way. Dealers know this and tend to exploit this psychological tendency.

2) The interest rate and the length of the loan can quickly fall into the background with this payment focused presentation. The payments method works because we are more likely to digest the affordability of a a monthly payments versus the 5 figure sticker price. Over six years, a $100 dollar increase is not that much, but by doing the math it will add on $6K to the total price. This is the car dealer trick used to get you to pay for more car than you want.

To avoid getting sucked into a higher monthly payments and higher overall car price be firm. Tell the salesman up front “I am not interested in going over payments right now, let’s stick to the price of the car out the door.” You must be proactive here and make sure the car salesman is listening. You want to know the individual price of the car and that is what you want to negotiate. You have now indirectly saved yourself hundreds if not thousands of dollars by directing the negotiations down this road. Also, the out the door price is the price of the car plus all of the fees that the dealer adds on.

Keep Negotiating with the Car Dealer For A Long Time!

When buying a new or used card, hold the negotiations open for awhile with the car salesperson. A month would even be reasonable. Remember that Car dealers have sales quotas and that they need to attain to get certain kickbacks from the automakers. If one of the dealerships is under “quota” near their deadline during the negotiations period, you might just get a screaming deal in order to bump their numbers over the line.

Consider Buying a Car Online

Internet sales is the big thing these days with almost all car dealers. Internet car sales can be good for the car buyer. The dealer already knows what each car must sell for to make money on them, so its much easier to haggle down to the lowest price doing it through email/internet/phone.

In addition, when buying a car online, the dealers already assume you’ve done at least the pricing end of your homework. A good idea might be to send out a blanket email saying “I’m asking every dealership in the area, I want to buy car X for Y amount of money, who can help me out?”

Practicing Negotiating a Car Sale

Go negotiate to buy a car you really don’t want, so you get comfortable with the process. When it comes time to decide, say that it’s not your decision, you have to ask your wife/boss/accountant etc. Ask for a printout of the financing.

Again, always negotiate on price, not payments. Stick to interest rates you’ve already been quoted. After you’ve been there long enough, they will bring up the extended warranty. This is where they make most of their profits in my estimation. Use this to your advantage! Ask if you can get a lower total purchase price if you get the extended warranty. This has worked for me 5 times.

Watch out of Emotion Manipulation

Car salesman use many subliminal tactics to get customers interested in vehicles that they are selling. One of the best ones is emotional manipulation. The reason salesmen often insist on test driving is to get you to create a sense of ownership in your mind. You are unknowingly getting excited and your mind is taking mental ownership of this nice new vehicle.

As the car buyer excitement builds, the emotional part of our brains begins to take over. When this happens, we are much more likely to make a choice based on emotions. The budget we set and the price we wanted are now more likely to be negotiable.

Be mindful of your emotions when buying a new car. Simply being aware of this tactic beforehand and how our mind/bodies will respond is a half of the battle in not making a poor emotional based decision. Never make a large purchase the same day. Be smart, go home, sleep, and revisit it the next day when your mind has had a chance to tend to other matters.

Emotional Car Negotiating Tactics to Used by Dealers

Offering a trial period where the buyer can unwind the deal without penalty is a common successful tactic used. “Why not take it home and talk it over with the wife?” – if the salesperson succeeds here, not only does he transfer ownership, but he also gets you to defend your decision to your SO, effectively making YOU the salesperson. It’s also important to note that there often isn’t a no strings attached policy, and if you do choose to return it, you’ll be paying to unwind the deal.

“Don’t waste my time” – This is less a sales tactic and more a method to make you go away, but surprisingly, it actually also works as a sales tactic. Customers hate to be dismissed. And some will insist on purchasing just to prove it. It’s also a lead in for more aggressive tactics outlined below.

“Who wears the pants?” – This is literally a dare to buy. Commonly directed at men, since we tend to get our panties in a bunch when our manhood is questioned. Don’t think you’re immune to this if you’re a woman – salespeople love to play on the inferiority that women often feel in these engagements, and can get women to buy by being dismissive about their abilities/knowledge.

Always Get Pre-approved Credit for a Car Loan

Always go in with a preapproval from a bank or credit union and negotiate from there. Car dealers will always come back with a rate better than your preapproval as they make money on the loan so they’ll want to push you to their lender. Having your preapproval in hand will make sure you get the best possible rate. Because if they don’t get you a better rate you will just use the check you have in hand. All of the money you save negotiating a car purchase can be washed away in the finance office. Customers let their guard down when a price has been reached with the salesman. Don’t let this happen to you. Being aware of yourself and the situation is half the battle.

If you walk on the lot with a loan ready to go. It’s the same as walking in with a suitcase full of cash. You can pretty much dictate terms (within reason). The best part is, the terms are ONLY the total value of the car. Get a rate quote before going into the dealership. That way you know what to expect on interest rates and can see through their b.s. You can even get a pre-approval and bring your own financing. Generally I’ve learned that they can’t do any better.

If you are feeling generous, let them put forward a financing plan. You can compare to what you already have. Most likely a bank will do much better than whatever they have. Credit Unions are the best. So if you have CU, call them first and see if they can give you a loan. Best part is, CU’s have a special clause, and if they check your credit score it doesn’t count as a point against you on your credit report

Call Your Insurance Provider for Gap Insurance

Call your insurance provider if you want Gap insurance. The dealership wanted $1,800 for gap insurance. I went into his office knowing that my auto insurance provider could add it to my policy for $3 a month. Also, if you bank at a big bank, please please please dont get your auto loan through one. Your local credit union will have way better rates.

Cancel Extended Warranties

Once the deal has really closed – usually when the bank sends you a statement – go down to the dealership and cancel the warranty. This will piss them off big time. Anyway, stick to your guns and do it. One of two things happens: a) the money comes out of the principle but it doesn’t affect your monthly payment, just the number of them or b) your number of payments will stay the same but will go down each month.