Buying an Automobile

Buying an automobile overview

Whether you are buying a car, truck or SUV you want to make sure you are not getting a lemon, yet getting the best value. You can purchase a car from a dealer or private seller. They can be found online or in the classifieds. Here are some sites I have found to be helpful.

Finding an automobile online

You can search by various criteria, and sort by most of them. For example, you can look for:

Make
Model
Year range
Price range
etc.

Most people know about eBay. There is an entire "Motors" section on their site. Once I have the list I like to sort by distance, so we can calculate the added cost of getting the vehicle to us.

Another site you may have heard of is Autotrader.

Magazines you can pick up for free in Memphis area

Autos-magazine.com - http://www.autosetcmag.com/

http://www.autoextra.com/

http://www.automart.com/

Automobile dealer sites

http://maps.google.com/maps?...&cd=2

Checking the history of an automobile

First check the history of a car at http://www.carfax.com. While this is not a complete history of all records for all cars, it does give a great deal of information that would otherwise cost a lot to gather yourself. You can pay for one time use or for 30 days. You will also see car listings near you that match the vehicle that you are checking.

Finding the value of an automobile

Next, you will want to know the value of a car. This can vary so you may want to use all three that are listed below. For these you need to know:

Make
Model
Year
Trim
Miles
Additional options

http://www.nadaguides.com matches the NADA which our credit union uses, helping me know what they will finance.

http://www.kbb.com seems to be what the auto dealers are using. So this can help you see what to expect on a car they have listed.

http://www.edmunds.com includes a feature when you appraise a car, that allows you to print a window sticker to put in a car you are selling.