{"id":3058,"date":"2022-03-29T11:00:20","date_gmt":"2022-03-29T11:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onewomanowner.com\/usedcars\/?p=2973"},"modified":"2022-03-29T11:00:20","modified_gmt":"2022-03-29T11:00:20","slug":"7-tips-for-a-great-used-car-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onewomanowner.com\/usedcars\/7-tips-for-a-great-used-car-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Unexpected Tips for Getting a Great Used Car Deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re looking for a great used car deal, the chances are you\u2019ve heard all of the usual advice<\/a> \u2013 do your research, shop around and get a full check before sealing the deal. The thing is, most dealers and private sellers have heard this advice too. They\u2019re expecting you to haggle on price and in all likelihood, they\u2019ve done their research and added a margin to the car price for that exact reason. So how do you get a true used car bargain?<\/p>\n

Get your finance sorted first<\/strong><\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re planning to get a used car on credit, you\u2019ll want your finance in place before you go shopping. A pre-approved loan ensures you\u2019ll stay within budget. It also gives any dealer who is keen to sell you a car on their finance a little incentive. They\u2019ll have to beat a deal that\u2019s already on the table for you. That\u2019s a strong position to be in when you\u2019re looking for a great used car deal.<\/p>\n

Buy from a private seller<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In most cases, the best deal on any set of wheels is going to be with a private seller. Why? Because a private seller doesn\u2019t need to worry about overheads like a dealer does. On top of that, a dealer can have a car sit in the forecourt for a while. A private seller, on the other hand, most likely needs to shift their wheels so they can buy the car of their<\/em> dreams. If they\u2019ve already gone ahead with their purchase, even better for you! They\u2019re more likely to be keen for a quick sale to recoup some of the cost of their new car.<\/p>\n

Look for the unusual bargains<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Once you\u2019ve decided what you want, think about the places and times of the year with a good supply but low demand for that kind of car. If you\u2019re looking for a small electric car, rural areas are likely to have less demand than inner London. A full-sized twin cab pick-up will have fewer interested buyers in the cities.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the same for the time of year you choose to buy. A great used car deal for convertibles will be likely to happen in winter \u2013 no one wants the windows down, let alone the top in freezing temperatures!<\/p>\n

Get multiple insurance quotes<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It\u2019s not just the price of a used car you need to worry about, it\u2019s on-road costs too. Car insurance can vary greatly between the makes and models of different vehicles. Get some quotes<\/a> on a few of the cars you\u2019re considering. This will help you spot a truly great used car deal not only from the price but your expected costs once you buy it.<\/p>\n

Prepare your part exchange<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Trading your current set of wheels in for a reduction on the price of your next car is fairly common practice. To get a great used car deal from the salesperson, make sure you have everything<\/em> for the car you are exchanging. That means the spare key, full-service history, receipts for work and parts – the whole shebang. If you can show the dealer this, they can show you more money.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t bother offering cash either. This isn\u2019t going to win you any friends nor will it grease the wheels for a great used car deal. Dealers have to provide an audit trail of where car payments come from. Cash makes this a nightmare for them and banks charge business customers for depositing cash.<\/p>\n

Choose your time and words carefully<\/strong><\/h2>\n

If you\u2019re buying from a dealer, early in the month can be a good time if the previous month was a bumper time for part exchanges. However, the other end of the month can also be good. This is when salespeople are more likely to be looking for sales to make monthly quotas.<\/p>\n

Whichever time you do decide is right for the dealership you want to buy from, remember your manners. Used car dealers<\/a> are people too! You\u2019ll always get a better deal if you are friendly, polite and show the dealer some respect. As the saying goes, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar.<\/p>\n

Keep your emotions in check to negotiate a great used car deal<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Buying a car is exciting and getting a great used car deal is nerve-wracking! But showing your feelings is going to make it harder to negotiate a bargain. Negotiating with the seller online can help if you\u2019re really nervous. Otherwise, taking a friend along can help to calm your nerves and keep your poker face in place.<\/p>\n

When you have found the car you want, it’s a given that you\u2019ll have to haggle a little. Dealers won\u2019t have any emotional attachment to the car they\u2019re trying to sell you, but a private seller probably will. Be prepared to back any offer you have with marketplace facts. Remember you can always leave them your contact details and walk away if they won\u2019t come down on price. Chances are if they get the same bad news from other interested buyers, they\u2019ll be giving you a call within the week.<\/p>\n

Never be afraid or too embarrassed to walk away from a deal that\u2019s too expensive or just doesn\u2019t feel right. Buying a car is a big decision and one you should avoid rushing. Size up any deal you\u2019re offered and consider the value you\u2019ll get from it. Added extras are easy to say yes to when going through the paperwork with the salesperson and a nightmare to pay off if they\u2019re not improving your driving life. It is always easy to walk away and find a great used car deal somewhere else than it is to be lumbered with a lemon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re looking for a great used car deal, the chances are you\u2019ve heard all of the usual advice \u2013 do your research, shop around and get a full check before sealing the deal. The thing is, most dealers and private sellers have heard this advice too. They\u2019re expecting you to haggle on price and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":2972,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buying"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onewomanowner.com\/usedcars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3058"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onewomanowner.com\/usedcars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onewomanowner.com\/usedcars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onewomanowner.com\/usedcars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onewomanowner.com\/usedcars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3058"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onewomanowner.com\/usedcars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3058\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onewomanowner.com\/usedcars\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onewomanowner.com\/usedcars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onewomanowner.com\/usedcars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onewomanowner.com\/usedcars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}