Want To Buy A Car

Out with the old, in with the new. The best time to buy a car is towards the end of summer through the end of the year! Dealerships are making more room for the newer models on their lots giving you the upper hand in negotiations. They want to clean out their old inventory so they are willing to make a deal that saves you more than if you were to buy at the beginning of the year.

want to buy a car

Your leasing company may communicate to you your lease-end options toward the end of the lease. Before deciding to buy out the lease, you may want to check out other car buying options. Though it can be convenient to buy out a car you've gotten used to, you may be able to save money on the same make and model at a different dealership.

Buying a leased car is not for everyone. Some people may prefer to continue leasing new vehicles, and others may want to check out the used car lots for their next purchase. When making this sort of decision, it's best to weigh the pros and cons to determine the right move.

You may want to think twice before buying a car if the seller doesn't have the title. A car title or "pink slip" is the document that tells you who owns the vehicle. If the seller can't produce the title, it could mean they aren't the rightful owner.

For example, this could happen when someone wants to quickly flip a car they recently purchased. They might want to leave the title open (in other words, not transfer it to their name) to avoid paying taxes and fees, and then sell it to you. This is called title jumping or skipping, and it's usually illegal.

While used cars might not have the latest bells and whistles, they can offer significant savings. However, due diligence is important if you want to be sure you're getting a good vehicle for the price.

Whether it's with an individual or used-car dealership, buying a car from a private seller can come with additional risks. You may have taken your time to review the vehicle, but you also want to make sure the sale and transfer will be easy and legitimate.

A down payment is calculated as a percentage of the final purchase price. For example, if a car you're looking at is $30,000, here are a few different scenarios based on the percentage you may want to put down:

Something else to consider is many dealers can take the value of a trade-in and put that toward the down payment, too. So, depending on the value and the amount you want to contribute toward your down payment, a trade-in could cover all or a significant portion of it.

For example, if the dealer offers $3,000 for your current vehicle, you could use all of that and cover a 10% down payment. Or if you had already saved an additional $3,000 and wanted to lower your monthly payment, you could combine the amounts and put 20% or $6,000 down.

Your credit score is one of the main factors lenders look at to determine if they want to loan to you and for what amount. While your credit score doesn't directly impact your ability to provide a down payment, it may affect your loan.

TrueCar provides a market average for cars like the one you want, based on actual recent transactions by other buyers. Additional information regarding the calculation of TrueCar's Market Averages is available at navyfederal.truecar.com.

Not sure if you want to take the leap into a used car with no warranty coverage? There is a used car option that does have factory warranty coverage. Manufacturer-certified pre-owned cars (CPO cars) offer a blend of used-car affordability with manufacturer-backed warranty coverage. They're usually low-mileage cars that are just a few years old, with service records and no history of accidents. They are often cars returned at the end of leases, dealership service loaner vehicles, or vehicles driven by dealer or automaker staff.

If you're sitting on a pile of money and plan to pay cash, you can skip this section. If, however, you're like most used car buyers, you'll need a loan to help pay for your used vehicle. It's true that you can have the dealership's finance office arrange your financing. Still, if you want to save money, you need to get a pre-approved financing offer before you get anywhere near a car dealer. A dealer may be able to beat your pre-approved loan, but if you don't have one, they'll have no incentive to do so.

When you apply for a car loan before choosing a specific vehicle, the approval will likely be conditional, with a limit on the amount they will loan to you. With multiple offers, you can compare the interest rate they're willing to give you, how long of a loan they're extending, and the size of the down payment they require you to make. You can then choose the best offer once you've negotiated the price of the pre-owned car you want.

It is vital to have a monthly payment that fits into your household budget. Still, you need to look beyond the payment when comparing loan offers. You want to look at the total cost of the car, including its financing. Fortunately, it's easy to do. Just multiply the monthly payment by the number of months in the loan term, then add the amount of any down payment you're making and the value of your trade-in, if you have one.

Just as there are many places to get used car financing, there are various places where you can purchase a used car. Each has its strengths and weaknesses in terms of service, ease, and price. Like the car you want to buy, you should strive to learn as much as you can about the dealership or private seller trying to sell it to you. Checking the company out with your local Better Business Bureau or consumer protection agency is an easy way to find out about their track record. You don't just want to look at the number of complaints, but how they responded to correct the problems.

OK, now the real fun starts. When you've identified a vehicle you might want to buy and secured a pre-approved financing offer, it's time to delve deeper into the car's history. You want to find out as much as you can about any vehicle you're considering. That means getting a vehicle history report, taking a test drive, and having it inspected by an independent mechanic to ensure that it's mechanically sound.

Seeing an accident on a vehicle history report should not instantly knock the vehicle off your shopping list. When you do see an accident in a car's history, it's something that you'll want the mechanic who does your pre-purchase inspection to know about. That way, they can evaluate the quality of repairs. Knowing that a car has been in an accident gives you leverage for a significant price concession on the seller's part during price negotiation.

The report should note if a car has been stolen and recovered. If it has, you'll want to see when it was stolen and when it was recovered. If a long time has passed between the two dates, you'll want to take the car off your consideration. It's a red flag that indicates the vehicle was abandoned and later found.

Maintenance and Service History: A car that a seller can show was properly maintained is worth more than one without any service records. You can get a sense of its maintenance history with the information included in a vehicle history report. You'll also want to get copies of the vehicle's service history from the seller, and have the mechanic who does your pre-purchase inspection assess the quality of the work.

When the time comes to start looking at used cars in person, your first impression of both the vehicle and the seller should tell you if you should move the process forward or walk away. If you're looking at a car from a private seller, it's a good idea to treat it like a blind date and meet somewhere public away from your home and theirs. You want to look at cars in the daylight, as the dim light of evenings can prevent you from spotting damage.

While it's not a good idea to bring your kids along when looking at cars, it is a great idea to bring along their car seats. Not all child seats fit well in every car, and you'll want to know if yours do. The same goes for dog crates and other items you frequently carry.

A proper test drive starts well before you start moving. You want to get comfortable in the vehicle by adjusting the seats, steering wheel, and mirrors. Ensure you can reach all of the controls and see what you need to see from the driver's seat. If you can't get comfortable on your test drive, the car isn't going to magically become more accommodating after you buy it.

It is sometimes true that the dealer believed you would qualify for the financing. In other cases, unethical dealers know that you never had a chance to get the financing deal. Instead, they want you to take the car home, fall in love with it, and then be coerced into signing for a new, more expensive loan.

If that happens to you, the first call you want to make is to a local bank or credit union to determine what kind of a deal you qualify for and get approved for a new deal. Take that pre-approved loan back to the dealer and use it to buy the car. If you can't qualify for financing from an outside lender, take the vehicle back to the dealer and demand they undo the deal. In some states, the laws regarding spot financing are in the buyer's favor. In some states, however, they favor the dealership and leave you with few options.

Before you do, you want to do your research. In many cases, the products can be purchased outside of the dealership at better prices. Products such as extended warranties can be purchased from many lenders and insurance companies. The same goes for gap insurance coverage, which can usually be packaged with the rest of the car insurance coverage you buy from an auto insurance company.

The time pressure will come from the dealer's desire to include the products in your car's financing. "It will only add a few dollars per month to your payment," you'll be told. The truth is, you rarely want to finance these add-ons. They add no little value to your vehicle but raise your financing's loan-to-value (LTV) ratio, potentially putting you underwater. The "just a few dollars per month" argument also hides the real cost of the products. 041b061a72