Okay, so you’re out shopping for that new, used car of your dreams. The question is, how do you get the best deal on a used car? Well, the pat answer is to go online or go into several dealerships and shop. Compare prices; look in Kelly Blue Book. Go to edmunds.com or any of the other car buying web sites on the internet.
After a little while as it won’t take too long, you’ll soon become an expert of what’s a good price on a used car versus a bad price. In this day and age with the internet you can easily determine a deal when you find one. The problem with the used car market right now is that used cars, especially clean low mileage cars, are bringing a premium. In other words, there aren’t any deals due to the supply and demand issues dealers are experiencing now.
But if you really want a deal, I say to go out and find a car that was in an accident. And no, that wasn’t a typo, and the last I checked I still have both ores in the water. You’re probably thinking that I’ve lost my mind, but I’m serious. Now here’s what I’m not saying…
If you consider buying a car that was previously in an accident, you must have it thoroughly checked out. Assuming that the vehicle was put back together to factory specs, there’s an excellent chance that you won’t have any problems with the vehicle.
Also assuming that when the vehicle was painted, the paint matches to the point that you’d really have to have a sharp eye to notice the paint work. If the paint looks good, and the car drives out good you could have a winner. So now the question is, “What’s a winner?”
When a vehicle comes into a dealer for trade and the dealer uncovers the previous damage on the vehicle, the dealer will appraise the vehicle for thousands less than the same vehicle that didn’t have any previous damage. Assuming that you were considering two vehicles that were about the same with being the major difference one had previous body damage, there could be a $4,000 difference (or more) between the two vehicles.
So again, assuming that the vehicle was put back together to factory specs and the paint work was of high quality, why wouldn’t you buy the vehicle that was $4,000 (or more) less? There’s always a risk when buying a used car, but accidents don’t make the engines all of a sudden blow up. Nor do they cause the transmissions to fall out.
The key is to have the vehicle thoroughly checked out. And when I say thoroughly, I don’t just mean by your friendly neighborhood dealer or your uncle that’s an auto mechanic. Take the vehicle to a body shop and have them check the vehicle.
They can put the vehicle on a frame machine and check to make sure that the vehicle was put back together to factory specifications. Sure, you’ll have to shell out some money, but you’ll get an honest answer from the body shop. If whoever did the work did a good or bad job, they’ll tell you everything.
However, take the vehicle to have it mechanically checked out first. Let the mechanic know that the vehicle was in an accident and get his opinion first. If he say’s it looks good, take it to a body shop and get their opinion. If they say the car is right, then I’d say “pull the trigger” and buy the car.
You’ll have a considerable amount of leverage when buying a vehicle that was previously in an accident. The dealer or seller, will discount the vehicle for thousands less than a comparable vehicle and you could be the next big winner when it comes to getting an unbelievable used car deal.
