i am buying my VERY FIRST car... what to look for? how to make the best deal? how not to be fooled?

Question

because i know NOTHING about cars
and i wanna do it on MY OWN

since its my first car, i want to spend about $2000-4000 max

and i want a USED car
i can't afford a new one

Answer 1

honestly. your best bet is to take your dad or another guy who knows about cars with you. my parents got me my first car for graduation from high school, it wasnt nothin fancy... but it got me from point a to point b... and it looked ok. but when i hit a deer and totaled it, i decided i was gunna buy a car on my own. yea, BIG mistake!!! The car had all these electraical problems, the lights would start flashing and then trun off while your driving (it was sorta scary- i couldnt see where i was going an all!!) Then the radiator was bad and it leaked oil. I got rid of it asap. But i learned my lesson!!! Please, play it safe and have a man who knows about cars go with you!!!

Answer 2

By all means, do your homework. Find out all of the information that you can about the car that you are looking to buy. If you are not sure then you need some idea as to what kind of car you want/need. Start out by renting a couple of cars and drive them for a couple of days until you get some idea as to what you like and don't like. Do not go car shopping UNTIL you know what you want because every dealership that you go to will run a credit report on you. If you have too many inquiries on your credit report, it will be harder for you to get financing. If you are able to get the cash or a loan from a separate financial institution you are better off dealing in cash with the dealership. Having money in the bank to the point where you can write a check for your car will give you more leverage to negotiate.

Secondly, do not get emotional over the process or the transaction. When shopping for a car and making the deal stick primarily to facts, figures, and purpose. Do not allow yourself to be concerned by the color of the car, the fabric of the interior or the vanity mirror. All of these things can be resolved after you make your best deal. Also do not express the obvious concerns- i.e. do not tell the salesman that you want a car that is "reliable" or "good on gas" or "easy to maintain" because NOBODY is going to tell you that any of their vehicles are not reliable. And if you bring that up, the salesman will use that against you to screw you over.

Third, be prepared to walk away if the terms of the deal are more than you are able to comfortably afford.

If you are buying a new car, do not take any extra options like the rustproofing, rubberized undercoating, paint sealant/protectant and life insurance. These are addons that the dealership really makes a big profit on.

Answer 3

Read "Car Buying for Dummies" It gives a lot of good tips. If you don't buy the book here's a few tips:
1) Agree on the price of the car you're interested in before you start talking about anything else such as trade in's, credit, payments etc.
2) If you are trading in a car park it down the street and walk to the dealership.
3) Don't get emotionally attatched to a car (and if you do, don't let it show)
4) Know what your credit and FICO is before you go.
5)Don't let the salesman play games with you. They like to make you wait and bounce you around from person to person. So, either go in the dealership with a good book and pretend you're not anxious or in a rush or give them a time limit. Let the salesman know when he walks away to talk to his manager, which he will, that he has 10 min, and then you're walking away. Stick to your guns.

Answer 4

First of all start looking at the year, make and model of the vehicle that you want to buy. Instead of going to a dealer for test driving rent the one that you are thinking to buy. After you have decided which vehicle you want to buy. Check with credit unions, banks and other finacial institutions to see how much interest they would charge you to finance that car. Check what is the warranty of the vehicle. Never, Never buy AS IS. that is just a big sign that says give me you money and walk away.

Now depending how much you drive, how much you can affor to pay on a montly basis and how finacial secure are you, it is how much you can afforth to buy a car. Never buy a car that you can not afforth or you will end up having the repo guy running away with your groceries and car seat.

Always buy GAP insurance which is on top of your regular insurance, that will prevent you from having to pay for a vehicle that you do not have after an accident.

Check websites to see how much the vehicles are sold for. and call your local dealers and see how much they would sell it for. Remember never have somebody put pressure on you and if some one is doing it, just walk away. You are the one with the money and not them. Remember they are there to make money not to loose money and if they said that they are loosing money they are lying, just think when was the last time that you had to pay to go to work.

Shopping for a vehicle is fun and you should enjoy it. Never commit, never believe 100% unless they are willing to put it in writting, If it is your first time check how long would they warranty the vehicle, what is cover and what is not.

I, personally never trust use car dealers, they are a buch of scums, some of them will dress good, but they still scumms.

If you are buying from a New car dealer, call them a head and ask them to give you information about the vehicle or have it e-mail it to you, ask them for the price on it and how much they would sell it to you.

Never negociate finacing and buying at the same time.
First request how much is the vehicle and then compare with the price given by other dealers.

What I do is to call them and even lie about how much the other dealer was offering me the vehicle for. For example, I got a 2006 vehicle for $9000, plus tax 5.4% and licence $148.00. They where trying to sell it for $12K, but as I called every single dealer I told them that another dealer was giving me a price of $10500 some of them would say that the would match it or some of them would offert it for $10250, untill I got a salesman that said that he would get it for $9000 and I went with him. I got A/C, CD, Splash guards, rugs for that price.

Remember be smart, read a lot specially about the vehicle that you want. Consumer Report has great information about buying a car, its features, statistics and many more.

Do not buy when you are in a need! that means that take your time and shop around that is how you get the deal. If people sees the need in you they would always take advantage of it. Just relax and enjoy the ride.

Answer 5

look at tire wear,trunk door hood alignment, make sure you don't feel compression coming from the oil dipstick tube. Look for brake noise,steering wheel pulling or front end wandering,heavy smell of fuel inside car. That's a start.

Answer 6

Figure out what you want and how much you'll pay before talking to a salesman.
Go to the dealer and make your offer. They many complain but when they figure out you've made up your mind already, they'll make the sale if they can.

Answer 7

get a 2006 now because the 2007 are coming out and they need to get rid of the 2006's--don't take the first price you can always get lower--lawyers and car salesmen are the biggest liars

Answer 8

make sure the lines of the car are all straight- around doors will give you a good idea if its been in a wreck, also if the headlights have fog in them or moisture-the car had been in a flood.

Answer 9

depends on your style and how much money you are willing to invest