Buy Wisely to Save Long Term

Debt-free living advocates such as best-selling author Dave Ramsey, or Crown Financial Ministries co-founder Howard Dayton recommend buying a good used car instead of a new car. This is not just good advice for people with limited budgets. Warren Buffett, ranked one of the ten richest men in the world by Forbes magazine, is reported to prefer buying two year old Lincoln Town Cars. Buffett can obviously afford any car in the world, but chooses to spend his money on a good value. Ramsey also buys two year old luxury automobiles, for cash, and then keeps them for many years afterward.

The tricky part in this plan is buying a GOOD used car. We sometimes see people who have bought a used car to save money, but immediately have to spend an equal amount of money on major repairs. This obviously did not save money. How then can you go about buying a good used car?

The first step is buying from a reliable source. A new car dealer is one of the better sources. They have first pick of the trade-ins, and their buying volume gets them choice picks at the used car auctions. If they take in a car that they think is questionable, they will usually sell it at auction rather than risk their reputation with local customers.

Private sellers should be approached with caution. They usually are looking for the same price as the dealerships, and yet they cannot in anyway back up the sale. Many supposedly private sellers are really people with some special connection that are selling several cars each month. These people are frequently selling the problem car that the reputable businesses did not want. If you get the sense that you are buying from someone like this, be very careful.

The next step is to pay $30 for a CarFax report. This report will list changes in ownership, insurance collision or flood history, and the extremely rare lemon law repurchase. You are paying $30 just to make sure the above are not a problem. It will not list warranty repair work, recall work, or paid repair work.

The next step is to have a repair shop, independent of the seller, inspect the vehicle. This inspection is looking for anything that looks out of the ordinary. The best result is a very plain report that says everything is okay. When the report begins to list items that the seller did not disclose, you should probably look for another vehicle. Ask the repair shop to be very critical. You want to know the worst news now, not after you own it.

Do not set your heart on the vehicle before you get this report. If the repair shop lists too many concerns you need to step away from the deal. These inspections are usually $75 to $85. Do not buy a car with many concerns just because you have paid $85 for an inspection. You are gambling with thousands of dollars in repair work. We had one customer bring us three different vehicles. The first two we recommended she not buy. The third one was a beauty. She has had no problems with it since. The cars that have required thousands in repairs shortly after purchase weren’t inspected by anyone prior to the purchase. Of course, those people saved $85.

Brian Klaubert has written for the Neighborhood News for four years, and owns Christian Brothers Automotive – Hamilton Mill on Braselton Hwy in Dacula. They have been voted Best of Gwinnett in both the Gwinnett Daily Post and Gwinnett Magazine.