Buying a used car can be the best decision ever. No, seriously, you can get a better car than you can initially afford and at a lower rate. So what if someone used to ride it for a couple of years or so? It’s nothing a good cleaning can’t fix but, and in the long run, it is a win-win situation!

There are a lot of services that offer used cars for sale by owner today to choose from and you should definitely benefit from this selection. But how? What are the best steps to undertake if you want to get the best deal possible?

Know what you need

Most used car sites offer a wide variety of applicable filters like the age of the car, it’s model, geographical location, etc. Fill out all of them. Why is this important? Because you may see a Corolla for $5K in your city and a Corolla for $4.9K in a state nearby.

And, while it seems like a better solution to purchase the cheaper Corolla, expanses there and back for you to pick it up will be more than several dollars so you will be losing cash instead of gaining it.

Cheap VS Expensive

Never go for the cheapest option. It’s either a fraud or a scam or the car is in worse shape than described. No sane car owner would decrease the price tag of his car below the average cost of the same model. Just take it as granted. If something’s too cheap to be true it probably isn’t.

Cars that are too expensive, on the other hand, aren’t an option as well. Why? Because you can get the same car at a lower rate elsewhere, so why spend more?

Years and miles

If a car was manufactured in 1989, it’s not possible for it to only have run for 30-50 thousand miles. It’s meter should be way over hundreds. If the data the owner provides you with is too low it’s a) probably a lie and b) if he’s lying about this aspect, perhaps he is lying about something else as well?

Use Google to learn more

If you really like a car on a site and know its year and model – google that ride and check for reviews from former owners. Know its stats and the charts. How often does the car break? What are its strong sides and weaknesses? Perhaps some defects are common to the model and you should have a look at them before considering the purchase?

And that’s pretty much how you buy a used car. Good luck with your choice!