How to choose a used car.
There are many things to consider when looking for a car. First thing to do is find out the price you want to pay. Next thing to do is find out what you want in a car, and where to look and the distance you will go.
You can look in many different places, neighborhoods, car lots, newspapers, Craigslist, Autotrader, eBay, web browsing, just to name a few.
Personally, I find my best choices locally and on Craigslist.
When looking for a vehicle, once you know what you want and how much you want to spend, you check your neighborhood, then you check Craigslist, and know the distance you are willing to travel.
Find out if you want to go east, west, north, south. For my area, north or south are my choices, towards Seattle, north, or south to Portland. Usually, I go south.
I check Craigslist south under Portland, under cars-n-trucks, by owner. If you go to car lots, you will pay more because of salesman’s commissions and overhead.
Next, once you have found at least 3 or 4 vehicles you have called, usually on a weekend (more people are home,) set approximate times that same day to look at them. Always take someone with you, preferably someone who knows mechanics.
Next, when you inspect a car, always find something wrong with the vehicle. This is leverage on price. Also check the oil, water, and gauges. Always, after the test drive, say, “What’s your bottom dollar?” You get to know what the person is thinking and how negotiable they are. Ninety percent of the time, they tell you their bottom price. That’s when you tell them what you have to do to the vehicle, all the work you have to do to it. Even if you love the vehicle, downplay one thing. Always remember, there’s always another vehicle for sale. If not today, tomorrow.
When negotiating, the friend you brought can always help you by saying a lower price, so whatever you pay, it’s your friend’s fault in the seller’s eyes. (Have your friend tell the seller and you that 3 or even 5 hundred less is all he’d pay.) Never say bad things about the vehicle, but you can point out its flaws, reassuring the owner that the vehicle is still nice.
Always make sure they have a clear title. You don’t want title hassles. They aren’t worth any vehicle. (I know!) Once you get the price set, make sure you get the seller’s information.
Get a receipt, title signed, dated, give them the money, get the keys, you or your friend take the vehicle to follow back home, wherever that is, making sure the vehicle is safe to drive.
Always check the fluids, oil, water, etc., before and after getting home. Keep an eye on the gauges.
—Randy Long
[Editor’s Note: Normally, this type of “self-help” article wouldn’t be appropriate for a literary or art blog, like The Primitive Entertainment Workshop. However, when you consider the creative nature of the delivery, as well as the performance / ritual aspects of the “negotiation,” this piece, as well as the next work on “selling,” fit in just fine. Besides that, it’s my damn blog, and I can put anything I want on it, so leave me alone! Jerks…]
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