Used Cars By Owner

When you’re shopping for a used cars by owner, you will be faced with the choice of purchasing through a dealership or through the used car owner.

There are pros and cons with each method, as detailed below.

Benefits of dealerships

• Dealerships offer a large inventory, giving you many more choices with one shopping trip, rather than wading through a myriad of tiny classified ads that don’t give you much information.
• When you purchase a car through a dealership, you can obtain on-site financing, making it easier to purchase your used car. With a used cars sale by the owner, you are expected to have cash on hand.
• Shopping at a dealership lets you see the actual car rather than driving all over town only to find that the car didn’t meet the ad’s description.
• Depending on the car and the dealership, you may have a warranty offered with the car. This may be as little as a 30-day warranty that just lets you make sure there were no hidden problems, or it may be as extensive as an extended warranty option you can purchase.

Benefits of buying from the owner

• When you are buying a used car from the owner, he typically has detailed information about the car, having first-hand knowledge. An honest seller can provide you with maintenance records or detail any potential problems with the vehicle.
• Used old cars for sale are generally less expensive than the same car purchased from a dealer. The buyer wants to sell the car, not have it sitting in the driveway for an extended period. Owners might be motivated out of a need for cash. They usually understand they can get more from selling it outright than settling for trade-in value, which gives them more money but lets them undercut what the dealer would have resold it for.

Finding a good used car by owner

Your local paper will have used car listings, but these are often small ads limited to 2 or 3 lines. You’ll have to call the owner to ask additional questions that weren’t detailed in the ad, whether it was to save money on the ad or to avoid disclosing a problem like high mileage or damage. Even if the phone call seems promising, you’ll have to schedule a visit to see if the car is as good as it sounds.

Today, however, there are other options making it easier for both the buyer and seller of the used car. Web sites let sellers provide more details and even pictures of the car, whether it’s a site specifically designed for used car sales or something more widespread like craigslist. Having more information upfront makes it easier and more convenient for you to shop, eliminating cars that don’t meet your needs, and it saves time for the seller, not having to field as many useless phone calls. There are also newspapers such as Auto Trader that serve the same function, giving more information and pictures, and letting you compare available vehicles more easily.

Checking out the used car

When you have found a car that you like, schedule a test drive with the owner. Assuming everything still looks good, your next step is to have it professionally inspected. The owner may let you take it to your trusted mechanic, or they may take it for you if they don’t want to lose control of the car. If neither is an option and you have a good relationship with your mechanic, ask if you can schedule a house call. Regardless of how it happens, it’s important to have a professional opinion, as a car that looks good on the surface could be hiding many problems under the hood. Getting the best used car is not always an easy task, but the effort you put into it will give you a great result.