Routine maintenance is not that hard to do.  [...]]]> And the last step is maintenance.  This isn’t really a part of buying a used car, but I think this seven step guide wouldn’t be complete without it. ( Plus it would be a six step guide, and I said this was a seven step guide.) 

Routine maintenance is not that hard to do.  Sure , you can take it to a Jiffy Lube, or some other local place to get the oil changed.  But you can do it yourself as well. I think doing it yourself teaches you more about the car and it will save you some money.  Money that could be used to buy a better oil, like a synthetic blend or something.  Most people say a good rule of thumb for oil changes is every 3000 miles.  I have never done that. I guess I should have, but I just can’t get to it that often.  I usually go more like 10,000 miles.  I know what you are thinking, ‘that’s too long’, and you may be right.  I feel that somewhere around 6000-7000 miles would be fine. 

So to make a list of things to think about doing yourself.

• Change oil
• Change the brake pads
• Change the rotors as necessary
• Check radiator and flush every 2-3 years

I do many other repairs myself such as water pumps, radiators, radiator hoses, almost anything.  If you need to fix something, find a forum online where the people who own your particular model of car hang out.  An example would be the Jeep Forum.  You can find almost anything you need to know about your car and repairs on a good forum.  The people are always happy to help you out.

Lastly, get a good local mechanic that you can trust!  This is not that easy, but it will be worth it.  Ask friends if they know anyone.  Word of mouth is the best way to find a good mechanic. Most good mechanics will be very busy and it’ll take weeks to get an appointment. That may be a sign you have a good one.  A good mechanic will give you the old parts they replace and show you why it failed.  Just be careful and try a few until you are comfortable you can trust them.

This ends the “short version” of buying a used car.  Please add comments to this series so we all can benefit from your personal experience.  I’d love to hear from you. Do you have a secret that you could share?  Maybe you know a good technique to make sure you get a great deal?  Maybe you know a great website that we all need to know about. Leave a comment here so everyone can have that info!

Before we get into this, I need to go back a little to where we actually bought the car in step five. I really should have mentioned that [...]]]> This is the final part, really, of getting the car on the road. We covered need, affordability, search, research, negotiation(and actual buying), and now licensing the car.

Before we get into this, I need to go back a little to where we actually bought the car in step five. I really should have mentioned that we need to get a bill of sale at that meeting and we need to get the title. The Wise Geek has a blog that has some good info on titles and what a “bill of sale” is. See his website here. Depending on your state’s laws, you may need a bill of sale to help them decide how much “sales tax” you have to pay. Some places also require you to have this notarized as well. Each state is different. Here is a great website that will be very useful in finding out what your state laws are. You really should go here , before the negotiation, just so you know what you need in terms of paperwork.

Many states also have some sort of safety inspections that have to be done. My state has this inspection only once and that’s when you buy the car. Other states have a similar inspection either yearly, or even every six months. I think it is mostly a tax to be honest, but that’s my opinion. Anyway, you may need to get the car inspected before you can get proper registration papers and tags. If you do, think about this when you are looking for the car. This may be brought into the negotiation. After you have all your paperwork, and you go to the DMV ( Division of Motor Vehicles), you will pay your taxes and get your tags. This part is not hard, so don’t let a “dealer” convince you that you need to buy a used car from them so they can do this part. You can do it.

Your insurance company will want to know all about this new car as well, so be sure to call them before you go to the DMV. Usually, you will have to sign something saying the car you just bought has been added to your insurance policy.

Next we will talk about some routine maintenance you will want to do on your car. Nothing real difficult, but you can save a bunch of money if you can put brake pads on your car, for example.

Write to me if you have questions on these articles. Or leave a comment.

In Step Two, we decided how much we can afford.

In Step Three, we looked at some places to find a good used car.

Step Four concerned some research to make sure this car is a good deal.

Now we are at step five – negotiating the [...]]]> In Step One, we talked about what kind of car we need.

In Step Two, we decided how much we can afford.

In Step Three, we looked at some places to find a good used car.

Step Four concerned some research to make sure this car is a good deal.

Now we are at step five – negotiating the price.  This is a the place many people loose out, but it this is where you can make a pretty good deal, a great deal.  First of all, NEVER PAY THE ASKING PRICE!.. Cars, and especially used cars, are the most negotiated thing in the world today.  It is just expected.  As the buyer you are already in a good position.  The seller has already had to name a price.  But also, you have to go next.  It’s your turn.  Don’t blow it.  Here is an example of a typical negotiation.  In this exchange, we have decided ahead of time that the car is worth about 5000.00. We need to start with a much, much lower  price if we expect to end somewhere near this number. Depending on the price, I would start off at something close to 25% less than asking price.  That is just a ball park figure, but you get the idea.

Buyer: So what is your bottom line price? (this alone is a trick to get the seller to start off with a lower price than was advertised.  Sometimes it works, and if it does the same negotiation happens, just better for you). In this example the seller sticks to the asking price as a starting point.

Seller:  Well I am asking 5500 dollars for it.

Buyer:  It is pretty close to what I am looking for and it seems pretty good, but you know it looks like the tires are going to need replacing soon.  And I noticed some slight sound in the transmission..  I could give you 4000 for it, I know it’s a lot less than you wanted b ut that seems fair to me based on the problems ( blah blah blah)..

Seller: Well that is not even near what I had in mind.  I don’t hear anything in the transmission and the tires aren’t that old.. I could go down to 5000, but that is it!

Buyer: Well, I can’t be sure about the transmission, but I also noticed some rust in the fender area, I know it is not bad yet, but it looks like it could get worse quickly.. I have a little extra money I could add to the 4000.  I guess I could give you 4500. Would you take 4500?

Seller:  No, I just couldn’t.  I mean I need this money to pay off a small loan.. I can’t take that for it. 

Buyer:  Okay. I understand.  Let me know if change your mind.. You have my number.  I will keep looking, but you never know..

Seller:  Okay.  How about meet me halfway at 4750.00

Buyer: Okay.. I do like it, could you throw in that pair of fuzzy dice in the window?

You got a deal.

We saved 750.00 dollars on this deal. 

It doesn’t always go this way of course, but you get the idea.  I know this seems simple, but so many people I talk to just don’t want to do it?  Trust me, you can do it.  Play it through in your mind before you get to the “negotiation”.  You need to know pretty close to the maximum you can give.. Sure there is some wiggle room, but stick to your plan.  You may have to really walk away sometimes. It can go many ways. I assure you, when you get that car, and save hundreds of dollars off the price, you will feel good that you did it.  It is SO worth it.  Congratulations.

In step six we will talk a little about the whole licensing, registration part.

Any comments? I would love to hear from you if you thought this was helpful.

In Step Two, we decided how much we can afford to pay for this car.

Now we need to find a car that fits our need and is within the price [...]]]> In Step One, we talked about what the need is, why we need the car, and narrowed down the type of car we are looking for.

In Step Two, we decided how much we can afford to pay for this car.

Now we need to find a car that fits our need and is within the price range that we can afford. There are many places to look and I will list few good places here. Don’t limit yourself to newspapers and these ‘free’ local papers that carry a bunch of classifieds. Sure look there, but you will may not have good success from just that. Most people selling a car these days will list it somewhere online. The sites I start looking through are Autotrader, cars.com, and craigslist.com. There are many others, but these will give you a real good look at what’s out there. The time you spend doing this will help you decide if the one or two models you think you want are available and whether your price range includes them. Don’t get too focused on the photos that are on the websites either. Give cars without photos a good look as well, because often this means the seller is just lazy, and is not likely to be trying to get top dollar. That is a good thing for you.

Search your local "park and rides" also, on your way home work and whenever you are out. Let your friends know that you are looking and tell them if they see a car that fits your search criteria to give you a call. The more people helping you look, the better.

You can have autotrader email you a list of cars each day. This can help you be able to jump on a newly listed car.

Besides these places to search, I want to tell you what I consider a secret place that many people overlook. Are you ready for this? Government auctions! You may have seen infomercials about buying things at Government Auctions and you may think its difficult or whatever, but I have bought my last two family cars there. It is easy and it is a very good place to find a reliable used car. Here’s why.

The government has cars available for it’s employees for a variety of reasons, but many times these cars are not driven much. I just bought a 2000 Ford Explorer that had about 60,000 miles on it! seven years, 60,000 miles. That is less than 10,000 per year. These cars are also managed by a maintenance section that does routine oil changes etc, and they do this far more often than your typical private owner. This means the engines have "usually’ been taken care of. I will do a series of posts in the future about how to go about buying a car at Government Auctions and I will tell you now. It’s free. There is no reason to join a club that the infomercial tells you about. There are no fees to get lists of cars that are for sell. You have a right as a citizen to purchase these cars. Sure, you will be competing with mostly car dealers for the car you want. That’s the fun part.

Okay. Let’s assume we have found a car or two that we would like to pursue. The next step is researching the particular car you have in mind. Is it worth what they are asking? Does it have hidden problems that we need to know about? These questions will be covered in Step Four.