One of the most important things you may do to purchase a cheap used car at bargain prices is to do your homework. You should check your local classified ads and see what the asking price is for the type of vehicle that you are in the advertise for. Make sure to get the high and low Blue Book Price on the vehicle that you are interested in. Here are some excellent sources for getting pricing:
NADA GUIDESwww.nadaguides.com
KELLEY BLUE BOOKwww.kbb.com
EDMUNDSwww.edmunds.com
Other resources to check with is CARFAX. They can supply you with the vehicle history report. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has a research area to check recall history on cars. We recommend that you have the vehicle you are interested in purchasing be inspected by your own mechanic prior to purchase.
Newspaper Classified Ads are a excellent place to find cheap used cars at well below retail prices. Many times, everybody take their cars to dealers for trade ins and are offered below wholesale prices. Many of these many people will be happy to several hundreds more that what was quoted by the dealer and you will finish up with an EXCELLENT BUY!
Online Auctions can be a good place to find cheap used cars. You can shop right from the comfort of your own home. Look for auctions with no reserve, these auctions do not have a minimum price before they will sell.
Public Car Auctions are open to the general public and do not require you to have a Dealers License. Public auctions could be an excellent place to purchase cheap used cars at wholesale prices. Some of these auctions are: Auction Repossessions of Credit Unions, Banks & Lending Institutions. Some public auctions also auction Police and Local Municipalities, City, State, & County vehicles.
Estate and Bankruptcy Auctions can be a very sizeably efficient place to purchase cheap used cars at wholesale prices. These auctions are usually advertised in newspaper classified section Or handled by Probate Estate Auctioneers.
Government Auctions are an excellent source for cheap used vehicles. They include vehicles from DEA drug raid seizures, FBI, IRS, U.S. Customs Auctions, Department of Defense, General Services Auctions, Resolution Trust Corporation, Department of Housing and Urban Development, and U.S. Postal Services.
Rental Car Companies generally sell their fleets of cars by auction. They may be a nice source of cheap used cars. Contact these large companies and inquire.
Dealer Auctions may be one of the best sources to cheap used cars at below wholesale prices. Most of these auctions require that you have a dealers license. These auctions include lease cars, trade-ins, rentals, and fleet vehicles.