How to Buy a Used Car in Buffalo, NY
When you need to buy a used car, the process can be very daunting. Luckily, it does not have to be a challenge. Buying a used car from a trusted dealership can be easy and cost effective. Read below about how you can buy a vehicle from Buffalo Niagara Used Cars.
Set Your Expectations
Before you start the process of buying a used car, make sure you do some research. What car best suits your needs? Are you looking for a truck or an SUV? What features are non-negotiable for you? How much are you planning to spend on a used car? You will want to look at the price of the car, including financing cost, and possible future repairs.
Check out Local Dealerships in Western New York
There are plenty of great dealers in Buffalo and Niagara Falls. Make sure you look around for dealers who have great reviews and a friendly staff. They will help assist you into getting the car you want.
Pick Out Your Used Car and Discuss Financing
Unless you have the cash on hand to buy a used car outright, you’ll need to take out a used-car loan to get the money to make the purchase.
Buffalo dealerships will have an application, either on paper or online, that will need to be filled out and signed. It will ask for personal information including your income, monthly obligations, work history, housing expenses, credit card debt, and more. It’s imperative that you answer the questions honestly and completely. Otherwise, you risk being turned down for the loan or having the lender demand immediate repayment of the entire loan if the misinformation is discovered later.
While you need to have a monthly payment that fits into your budget, it’s important to look at more than just the payment when comparing cars and financing offers. Instead, look at the total cost of the vehicle including financing. You can do that by multiplying the monthly payment by the number of months in the loan term, then adding your down payment and the value of your trade-in, if you have one.
You can find the monthly payment by plugging the vehicle price, the interest rate, and the length of the financing into a car loan calculator.
Inspecting and Test Driving a Used Car
Before you consider buying a used car, you’ll want to obtain and study its vehicle history report from a company like Carfax or AutoCheck. You’ll need to get the vehicle identification number (VIN) from the seller so that you can run the report. This report will show you the history of accidents, service history, sales information, and more.
When you go to check out the used car you want to buy, make sure you scan the car for any potential issues. Make sure it has a good paint job, the car isn’t rusting, and there aren’t any strange noises coming from the vehicle.
When you go to test drive the used car, you will want to make sure you are in a public place or meeting your salesperson at a dealership. As you start the car, listen for any indication of potential problems. Make sure you feel comfortable in the car and that it moves smoothly.
Closing the Deal
Before you start creating your listing, you may want to prepare a 5 sentence description describing details about the car. Buyers evaluate a car on what the owner has chosen to disclose in the seller notes and also by the owner’s writing style, so be sure to use proper grammar and spelling.